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Given what you know about how Hiram and how he treated Carole, how do you think he treated his wife; Billie's mother? Does he treat her badly like all women, or does he treat all women badly because he misses her?

He cannot justify his ill treatment to other women with the fact that he misses his first wife. From Sophie and Billie I learnt that he also treated her badly, even when she was sick, he just left her suffering and yet she was the mother of his children.

Hiram McDowell was a bad person i think he would have ill-treated Billy's mother as well.

I think Hiram was just as bad to his first wife as his second. The womanizing thing didn't just come upon him overnight. It seemed to be a well-rehearsed habit as he judged women by their body type, breast size, etc. I think he was a lifelong womanizer.

He probobly wasn't that great to her either. Who knows when he just gave up caring. I think in the book you learn that he was terrible to her also.

Hiram lacked compassion in the first part of the story. His behavior was almost similar for everyone and not biased towards someone particularly, but rather uncompassionate.

Hiram's behavior of mistreating any woman for missing his late wife is and can never be acceptable.

He treats her badly like all women.

His treatment is probably the same across the board - bad

I honestly don't know how to talk about this. There is no way to understand why Hiram acts the way he does. And there is no point in the storyline which lets us know about his previous marriage. Hiram is just career driven just as portrayed in the book

I think he must have loved Billie's mother. He was just too scared of opening his heart to another woman and going through such a loss again. He just transferred the love to his children.

Hiram McDowell didn't seem to have the capacity to be good to anyone other than himself. That is, until he killed his grandson and escaped from prison. On the run, he was forced to rely on others, and he recognized the goodness inherent in much of humanity. He would have been cruel to his deceased wife because that was before his "revelation."

From Sophie, we learn that Hiram did not treat his second wife very well. Considering the type of person that Hiram was at the time, I don't think he would have been too concerned about anyone else but himself.

I think he probably treated his wife that died a little better. I think her death is what caused him to be cynical about things.

I don't think he treated her very well either. I just don't think he has the ability to do that. However, he did care for her (I think) and her passing did affect him in some ways.