I'm in bed, with the soaps on.
Soaps are relatively mindless and funny. And cathartic, really; only on the soaps are there frank discussions about dead children, hearts broken by betrayal, etc. In real life, one is expected to pretend the dark side of life doesn't happen, lest one upset the complacent. So, soaps are good for a cleansing weep now and then.
For instance, Carley on General Hospital miscarried a baby a few years back and she's about due with another baby now..six more weeks, I'd think. Sonny's other pregnant wife died in a car bombing, meant for him (he's a gangster, sort of). So he's convinced Carley's gonna lose this baby, if he sticks around. Guilt Guilt.
In real life, idiots say things like, "it's not your fault; it was an accident; you couldn't help it..." and the dreaded, "you can always have another baby." Well, it doesn't work like that. One may understand, intellectually, that one is not responsible. But if one is truly a Parent, something visceral and primal blames one for the death of the child. It's not rational; it's instinctive. Logic has nothing to do with it.
ONLY on the soap operas is this phenomenon addressed directly.
