I Kinda pity Earl. Yeah he treats her REALLY poorly, but he does also REALLY love her. I don't think he knows how to love someone, I would be intrigued if something happened to him when he was younger. I know the story is about Jenna, but I think something affected Earl, which affects how he treats her. I think he means well.
shareI think a lot of speculations can be made about Earl and why he treated Jenna the way he did.
My theory regarding people that abuse in relationships is that they are absolutely insecure about themselves. They transfer the disappointment in themselves on someone who is much more successful at life than themselves. I feel like most men are verbally and physically abusive because they seek to feel better about themselves by belittling their partner to such an extent that they are quite literally trapped from their potential.
For instance, Jenna was quite obviously a wonderful baker and a very attractive woman. I would like to think that, before she married Earl, she was once a very kind and caring mother -- given that we hear some very happy memories of her mother when she is baking with Dr. Pomatter. From the sounds of things, she had a relatively happy childhood. It seems to me that Earl realized just how wonderful she was, looked at himself and couldn't stand what he saw. So what did he do? He punished Jenna for all of the good things she had going for her. He buried her under his foot and made himself feel more important that way.
Personally, I found it horrifying and disgusting. Do I feel bad for the character? Yes and no. Watching that kind of thing makes me bubble over with anger, especially knowing that it actually exists in society (I actually have a close friend that suffers a verbally abusive relationship... why, I really can't guess). But if I step out of that overwhelming humanity inside of me, I see that Earl really needs help. And he might have cared for Jenna in the past, but his insecurities turned him into a monster (probably thanks to some painful childhood events like an absentee father or a promiscuous mother). Personally, I hope he got his comeuppance out of the whole ordeal.
Also, I'd like to add that there may be some relevance in her staying in the same town. Obviously she got a divorce. Her case would have been hellishly strong, and any evidence that Earl was, in any way, abusive could have very easily gotten her full custody of their baby. Not to mention, Earl didn't seem entirely thrilled about Lulu anyhow; although, with men like Earl, the likelihood of his considering the child his property is VERY high. That being said, there is also a very strong possibility that she had a restraining order put against him.
Yes, the movie had quite a fairytale ending. But, aside from her suddenly inheriting over $270,000, it isn't entirely unlikely. I really enjoy this movie every time I watch it. The acting is superb and I absolutely adore Nathan Fillion. So charming, funny, and sexy. This was also probably the first time I really enjoyed Keri Russell's work, too. (Also, the "rollin' with the homies" comment made me lol. YAY CLUELESS! Elton was "such a snob and a half" and I find that Jeremy Sisto does very good work portraying bad guys as well as he does the good ones). Alright, enough of my blathering. I'm done for now. ^_^
"The hardest thing in this world is to live in it. Be brave. Live. For me."
We don't need to know Earl's background to know that being abused doesn't give anyone the right to pass that pain and abuse on to others. There are many people that come from tragic pasts that do not abuse.
The fact that he made her promise her to NOT love the baby more than him shows that he had no feelings towards the baby. The fact that he reminded her of that promise minutes after the baby was born confirmed it.
As far as the divorce. Everyone knows he was abusive and everyone knew he took all her money and made sure she had no assets. I think she's probably doing fine and doesn't owe him anything. He probably owes her, but is probably a dead beat dad. I bet he probably even left town to find another woman to abuse and damage mentally.