Comments of chapter undefined of Under the Oak Tree
Under the Oak Tree
Suji Kim
Chapter comments75
This is probably an unpopular opinion but I'm gonna say it anyways. I love Riftan and I feel so bad for him suffering all those years. but I honestly don't get why people are blaming maxi for not understanding riftan because he never communicated any of this stuff. and yeah she knew he cares for him but only the readers who read is pov actually know how much. It’s not like maxi did this for her own sake, she did it for him too. And she told him she would return but he chose to believe otherwise. When she returned, she tried her best to break the walls between them, and riftan didn't let her. I understand if he was not ready to open up yet but he wasn’t mature about it. I don't think maxi is to blame here.
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As frustrating Riftan can be, once you read the story from his perspective, as a reader I can understand why it can be so difficult for him to open up. Maxi was literally the purpose of his life for so long. When faced with the possibility of losing her, he instantly put a barrier to protect himself. I’m glad that these two are growing both as individuals and as a couple.
How disappointing Riftan's character development is. In book 1, I understood his perspective and why he thought and felt the way he did and the relation to his actions. He was trying so hard to become deserving of Maxi and he perceived her in such a way that was not reflective of who she truly was. In this book Maxi is growing into her own person, while Riftan wants her thrown back into her gilded cage and is sulking throughout the entire book because Maxi actually has a personality now. I feel most readers are just pushing for the r19 scenes but no one is actually analyzing the characters. These r19 scenes are actually depressing considering the mental and emotional state of Maxi and Riftan. It's like how people say, having a baby won't fix a relationship or make a marriage better.
Riftan reconciling the version of Maxi in his head with real life Maxi is a major part of his character arc. Fantasy Maxi is not a healthy relationship. He recognizes and knows this. yet he struggles to be vulnerable enough to actually interact with real life Maxi. Fantasy Maxi needs Riftan to be rich and powerful to accept him. She stands on a pedestal. Real life Maxi needs him to be accessible and allows for flaws. This is much harder for Riftan to achieve. He legitimately falls short and he is painfully aware of it.
For Riftan opening up and laying bare his feelings about how affected he was by Maxi leaving must be so incredibly hard. Him having been so conditioned by his past experiences to keep to himself, to never be vulnerable. Ritan has a true fear of abandonment that Maxi only partly grasped up until now. Even though Maxi leaving was what needed to happen, for both both Maxi and Riftan to evolve, it nonetheless traumatized Riftan. Good progress.
