Oh my gosh. This is one of my biggest gripes with romance stories. Take away the trauma and it’s just a woman being subservient to her husband because he’s her savior. This is a common trope. I want more depth and passion. There needs to be more to these female leads than them being meek and weak and subservient. I would love to read one from the opposite end of the spectrum. Where the FL is jealous and mean due to an inferiority complex and how she’s planing to make amends and change. That would be refreshing and entertaining. I enjoyed reading your take!
Haha how silly of you. We all know only men are justified to act like an aggressive asshole because of trauma. Women are only allowed to get sad, and even then, if it gets expressed aggressively they obviously have heinous character defects, not justified trauma responses. Under the Oak Tree does a good job of displaying the fl’s dependence alongside her actual personality. Her safety beside her husband allows her to more clearly know and express her personality and goals without her seeming like a caricature.
Most of the female characters seem very one dimensional, even Nanao. If you take away her trauma and affection/gratitude for the ml, she really doesn’t have a personality. They’re all Saints (pure souls who can do no wrong like Nanao) , Snakes (hateful opportunists who abuse others like Akemi), or Sheep (most of the other women who just go with the flow of more powerful people). They really don’t have individual goals or personalities beyond that. However, what is interesting is that all of their efforts, good or evil, revolve around the whims and rules of powerful men.