hey there i totally agree with you if feel the exact same way. Ive rea this webtoon twice now and honestly, its still boring. I totally agree with all your points, i dont think being an "abuse victim" should be a character trope because 1 that fucking stupid and extremely insensitive to actual abuse victims. 2 its extremely hard to do it correctly, like i mean ive never seen a character that has been abused done right is always shitty and half assed.
Look i understand that our MC never fully "grew up" in an emotional and mental aspect. I dont think the MC being "sheltered" is the right word for her its more like captive or imprisoned. My main problem with the MC is she really dumb because at this point she shouldve ran away and i bet she could have escaped. But the author has serious pacing and story building skills. Which makes the reader upset or bored because we're at 34 chapters and the plot hasnt advanced not one bit there are just more problems and conflict. The thing that gets on my nerves the most is the stupid face the MC makes :0 wtf does the author not know how to draw a blank face shm. Well im being nit-picky but overall the negatives this webtoon has really hurts it, it makes it boring and confused
yeah I think you really nailed it when you mention that handling abuse especially towards a child is a very difficult thing to do and this author really is not equipped to do that in a sensitive and thoughtful way. Honestly the abuse comes off as cartoonish in how over the top it is. It is handled with 0 subtlety or grace. Why does the counts daughter and wife have to be cartoon evil bad guys too? They could be interesting multi dimensional villains especially the daughter who maybe could be at first be mean because she dosnt understand why this new replacement daughter is here and have grown to understand that what her dad is doing is fricked up and gross and instead resent her dad and not our lead. The mom could just watch and be too scared to say anything about it or be really concerned and disturbed by her presence. It would add a lot more characterization and context to how messed up the count is. Instead we are probably going to get 3 cardboard psychopaths who are totally devoid of empathy or reason.
Honestly they are perfect for her to work with too because she dosnt want to be there and they don't want her there. Why dosnt she suggest to work with them to leave? Or she could trick the daughter into helping her by being like you know what you are right I dont deserve to be here I'll leave right away! distract your dad while I hop on the first carriage out of here! This wouldnt even require a lot of cunning or street smarts just basic problems solving and having the advantage of her past life's knowledge this should be something she is capable of negotiating for. She also had plenty of time to tell the duke and her caretakers that she knows she wouldn't be welcome there and to just ask the countess and her daughter if they will work with them to keep the count from taking custody of her.
I agree with you she has no character development after 30 chapters like you said as the “heroin” we expect a lot from her but all she dose is think of what she could of had instead.
Honestly its kind of crazy how divisive her character is in this comment section when you consider she has done literally 0 harm to anyone ever. Shes basically just an adorable sponge for abuse. And it has got me thinking why are characters like this so hated? In general I think people don't tend to like weak characters. Lots of series have these abused and sad protagonists and they get labeled boring, weak and useless and those series get dropped in droves. I think because from a narrative standpoint you are just stuck as an outsider watching this cute kid be traumatized and bullied over and over again and you just have to wait for someone to come save her. "Narratively" she is a bad heroine because she is a passive participant in her own story. She does not drive the narrative or make decisions or is capable of any heroic or interesting plans. So as the audience we are stuck next to her waiting for plot to happen off screen to move her to a new location or meet a new character. Along the way we don't really see any new facets of her personality or growth that could make up for the lack significance she has on the plot. All we see is that shes a cute abuse sponge and she has been one from chapter one and has not made much progress in over 30 chapters. When bullied at the table she said she'd be more upset but she has been treated well now so isnt as sad but again this is very passive behavior. She says nothing while still looking like a kicked puppy so the viewer is left frustrated for her and her lack of action.
As a function of what her character is we are only left satisfied when a different character helps her. It means that the only affection we have for her is from pity and not any achievement or trait of her own. It is the same empty feeling we have for OP characters who we are supposed to like because they get some great cheat and breeze through the story with inflated stats. Their personality is never developed because they have a crutch that carries them through the story. without an interesting character quirk or unique skill or development they are left as very boring trope characters.
The massive amounts of constant and repetitive abuse is being used to cover her lack of development. the more you feel bad for her the more you are supposed to like her. not because you learn more about her unique thoughts and dreams but because she is pitiable. The people who don't like the story see this as being a boring character because they are right. She is boring. I am not saying the story is terrible. I don't even think she is necessarily a bad character but as a "Lead" She is boring because of her inability to display a strong sense of character or action.
I don't hate the story I like all the mysteries that have been dropped about whose kid is she really? Does she really have holy powers? Why does the count abuse her so much what is their connection? But as a vehicle for the story to be delivered it feels like you are in a ditch with spinning wheels going nowhere while you wait for help to run down the road and push you out of the ditch. This is at least my hypothesis as to why she is so disliked by a lot of long time readers and comes off as bland. idk I find discussing her character and its flaws a lot more fun to read then the character itself but if people like her then all the power to you. Why did I write an essay for a manga character instead of my actual writing assignment who knows but if anyone reads this-thankyou and im sorry this is such a waste of time