she always had wounds from her father, so her face was always swollen, her diet was insufficient and thats why she looked worse, but now its healed and her body is healthy.
The moment her mother gave birth to her, she said she was ugly
Yeah, I didn't misremember that! I thought I was crazy for a sec. I find it a bit lame when characters that are considered ugly in a story are drawn just as pretty and generic as everyone else, but now it's just confusing! Her mother thinks she's ugly at birth, she's been bullied for her looks her entire life, yet these two nobles, who should have higher standards than other people, consider her beautiful. It's kind of important to know how she actually looks like, considering that her appearance has been her source of trauma and motivation since forever.
I agree
agreed! I have seen so many times that characters are called "ugly" but objectively they are not. :/
Ok, right now I can't remember for sure, but after some thought, wasn't the born baby the youngest sibling? The story started with the mother giving birth but it didn't specifically say it was her, right? I'm going back to check right now
Nevermind me, the mom did call her Paula.
I do really like this, but I feel like the gap between a servant and a noble is the crux of the story and unlike with Vincent, we don't ever see it with the other characters. It makes the story feel a bit childish in comparison to the start, when Violet drags her around like a friend and Lucas kisses her on the cheek. At the start, the tone and setting were presented so that we would feel like Paula is constantly in danger for her life. Like pride as a noble is something that'd make a person live in isolation rather than face help from servants. Those were interesting themes, and they played into the romance so nicely, so I'm not sure why it's necessary to act now like nobles are totally chill with befriending servants and be seen befriending servants. Why Paula is suddenly okay with being treated as of more importance than two noble sons and arguing with nobles in private. Again, I get it with Vincent, but for the others it seems rushed and portraying them as closer to Paula than Vincent takes away from the main relationship.
Also: Is Paula ugly or not??? There are people saying "Of course she is ugly! The artist just draws her pretty. Learn to read <3" which 1.) would just make the art lead a coward and wouldn't make the reader stupid for being confused as to why X is portrayed as Y and 2.) Is just not true right???? Violet and Lucas never once treat her as though she's ugly. There's not even a scorn at the start.But the villagers at the start treat her as though she's disfigured in a sickly way, so why is it so??? It's fine if Paula doesn't know, but we should right?