Slammerkin Discussion Question

12. When do you think Mary's downfall begins?

I think that Mary's downfall begins before she even makes her way to Monmouth. In my opinion, she dooms herself by having sex in exchange for the ribbon. In a way, it's Mary's desire for the greater things in life that ends up causing so much destruction everywhere she goes. That being said, I do think that Mary killing Mrs. Jones wasn't fate so much as it was a choice. Everything that happened was a choice. She didn't have to go into prostitution to begin with. Even after she arrived in Monmouth, Mary kept making decisions that reflected poorly on her and gave those around her insight into the kind of person she really was. There were unfortunate circumstances for Mary but, she had a chance to be safe and keep herself safe and she didn't take it.