One of the biggest victims of them all in Pat Conroy’s The Prince of Tides is Lila Wingo, the mother of the main protagonist Tom Wingo. She has been through a countless amount of trials and tribulations, and in turn she pushed her pain onto her children, hurting them as well. The events in Lila Wingo’s life have resulted in the person she becomes. Lila’s childhood, the people she encountered, and the traumatic events she had gone through all resulted in her retaliating on her children. Lila Wingo was always the most beautiful. Always considered to be the most beautiful in the town, even when she got older she was appealing to the eye. “My mother appeared in the doorway, immaculately dressed and groomed” (Conroy 19) Tom describes his mother when he sees her. She is supposed to be this great woman, and she wouldn't let anything tarnish her image. Sadly there are many thing that would ruin her reputation. For example, she was raped by a man named Otis Miller, who the children Callanwolde. After that incident she says “’this didn't happen. Do you understand? Do you all understand? This did not happen’” (Conroy 485). The children don’t understand why she is saying this because they don't realize that what other people think is very important to Lila. She also goes on to say “’I’m thinking of our family’s position in this town’” (Conroy 485). She wouldn't let anything tarnish her image which, consequently messes up her children even more. She didn’t allow the cops to be called, no one got mental help, Lila just forced her children to forget everything. Lila Wingo also made sure that her husband and the children’s father, Henry Wingo, did not find out in fear that he might leave her, or he might think that Lila was doing something that was asking for her to get raped. Henry Wingo is also a very violent, abusive husband and this affects Lila extremely: He smashed her face against the picture tube and I was