The Suffocating Nature of Family Relationships

Dawson uses Blix, Marnie, and Noah’s stories to demonstrate how suffocating and debilitating family relationships can be. Blix’s family turned against her when she moved to Brooklyn and followed her own desires for her life. Marnie’s family, on the other hand, wants to create the life that they think is ideal for Marnie. They question her when the path for her life takes a different direction than the one they had in mind for her. Noah is a masterful manipulator but he is also being manipulated by his family. His mother, in particular, uses him in an attempt to get ownership of Blix’s house.

Blix has allowed her life to be shaped by the way her family treated her. First, she allowed them to bully her into being passive, and then she decided that she would rather...