Anney: A Terrible Mother or Bound by Circumstances?

I cannot stand the fact that Anney is such a bad mother. Yes, I said it. Anney is a horrible mother. In the beginning of the novel, Allison goes to extremes to lay the foundation of the importance of family bonds in the Boatwright family and the depths that she went to just to get a legitimate birth certificate for her daughter. As soon as she married Glen, she becomes so wrapped up in this new husband of hers that she rationalizes everthing and believes every word that Glen says. So while she may see or have an indication of what is going on she does NOTHING to stop Daddy Glen from abusing Bone. Even after Bone ends up at the hospital with a broken tailbone and countless bruising, Anney fails to do anything to change the situation. She fails to save her daughter from this monster. Still, when Ruth tells her what has been going on, Anney still won't believe it and stays with Glen. It is Ruth and the rest of the family who pitches in to rescue Bone by allowing her to stay with them when she does not want to go home. This choice is much like the one Stella had to make in A Streecar Named Desire. Who does she choose-- the sister/daughter whom they have raised and grown up with (I think this can be applied to both stories, since Anney was so young when she had Bone)? It is that kind of competition that allows Glen to dominate both of them and have this power over both Bone and Anney-- the fear of being alone, of doing something wrong and that fear that their family is really screwed up creeps in for Anney. For Bone, she is a child and what can she do? Daddy Glen is an adult and she must have done something wrong to deserve such punishment. Anney continues in this denial as her family falls apart: they are continually more isolated and with Glen being out of work so often, always moving and out of food, which continues the stigma that they are white trash that Anney has tried so hard to banish. This idealism is crippling and both Anney and Glen live in denial because they cannot face what they have done--destroying a little girl and ruined her childhood. Glen blames his behavior (whether is is losing a job or his family relations) on others and then takes his anger out on Bone, any little thing sets him off; like Bone running in the house. Much like the abuse in Dave Pelzer's off four book series A Child Called It. Nothing is good enough for these people and Bone though a smart enough child to stay out of Daddy Glen's way and to try to find something else to help her (like gospel music and church) will not be able to stop the abuse until she can vocalize it and tell someone. Child abusers never stop until they are forced to and Glen is not going to want to lose his emotional outlet.