hmm, I wonder if Kazumi tried to explain how much it scared her when she was younger, and then other people jumping to conclusions that SHE was getting physically hurt led to her distorting her memories/the narrative. (or people ignored her and shrugged off her distress when she told the truth, so she learned that if she wanted her experiences to “matter” then she had to reframe them.) With her counseling talks it’s obvious she immediately clings to any narrative that feeds into her “emotional reality”.
but there’s still the huge hole in the story of what Kazumi’s mother might have been like…
So far, I think Kazumi has a lot of trouble regulating her own emotions, and she’s desperate for outside control and a “normal” narrative to adhere to. She also catastrophizes easily. She resents her husband for forcing her to “choose” and hates parents who give their child a “choice” instead of asserting control, and she approves of Reitaro showing “control” through violence. If her issues don’t stem from her mother, it’s possible she was just…a child with really extreme emotions who felt desperate for answers and safety from her parents. She both hates them for making her feel upset through punishments, while also being angry with them for not stepping in and “fixing” her.
She wants someone to cling to who will provide the stability she craves, and she sees that in Reitaro’s calm demeanor. Meanwhile Ichika is a frightening representation of childish “uncontrolled” emotions
honestly it’s too bad that a divorce would be so hard on Ichika because Kazumi should just……not be a parent or married to anyone