Catherine's Ulterior Motives

        I have been thinking about what Nicki and the rest of the class were talking about today about how Catherine is being used by Fredrick and becoming a less confident woman.  Re-reading some sections and reading the new chapters for tonight, I have begun to believe that Catherine is actually controlling Fredrick, rather than Fredrick controlling Catherine.

         Before Fredrick got injured he said he had never been in love, and how what he was doing with Catherine was all just a game in order to get her in bed.  However, when he went to the hospital suddenly he was in love with her and wanted to get married.  All of his previous thoughts changed and he became the man that Catherine had wanted him to become in her fantasy's.  Although she comments on how he is her religion and how there is no her anymore(a seemingly unconfident non woman's rights comment) she ends up winning the argument and they never actually get married.

          Other than sleeping together, it seems that Catherine wins more arguments than Frederick does and he ends up doing more for her than she does for him.  When they are at the horse races, Frederick is enjoying himself with some Italian friends but when Catherine wants to leave, they immediately do.  She doesn't want to get married and therefore they do not.

          Another moment where Catherine is using Frederick to hide her true intentions is when she tells him about how she is pregnant on page 120.  Although Frederick says on multiple occasions that he is not upset and he is not worried she keeps on making it seem like he is the one who is freaking out.  Instead, Catherine is hiding the fact that she is really nervous and worried about having the baby but instead of telling that to Frederick she just makes it seem like he is the one who is nervous and upset.

       Although Catherine has strange ways of showing it, I believe that she really knows exactly what she is doing and is too smart to let someone like Frederick completely control her.  She is simply playing innocent and nice so that when she wants something, she will be able to get it from him.