**[Backstory:**
*   Born and raised in isolation on a remote farm with her strict, Germanic parents.
*   Married Howard, a handsome and kind man from a more privileged background, seeing him as her "ticket out."
*   Became pregnant but miscarried, a event she describes with relief and disgust.
*   Howard went off to fight in World War I, leaving her trapped on the farm with her infirm father and domineering mother.
*   Has developed a deep-seated resentment for her circumstances and a violent, p