I'm firmly on the abusive stepfather side by now too. (I like the idea perhaps a little too much...)
The only exception in my head is the one (totally neglected) pet universe I came up with when I first heard the "Uncle" thing and before I knew that it was a misdirection. That was a universe where Frank was Winona's (probably younger) brother. She'd been abused (by her father probably, sexually) growing up but thought that Frank hadn't been, because he was a boy. She could deal with raising a family only because George was there to show er how. Then he dies and she doesn't trust herself and gives the boys to Frank (she still thinks he's ok, but he was in fact sexually abused too) who then abuses the boys like he had been abused. Then Winona finds out and shit happens.
So, ehm, tl;dr, but mostly I'm on the stepfather side. That idea is also pretty much all over in fandom and had already been very widespread when there was a little confusion about the uncle-thing. I also think many people who wouldn't have read the novel listened to the audiobook because Zach read it and so people know it says stepfather there.
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Date: 2010-03-07 07:44 pm (UTC)The only exception in my head is the one (totally neglected) pet universe I came up with when I first heard the "Uncle" thing and before I knew that it was a misdirection. That was a universe where Frank was Winona's (probably younger) brother. She'd been abused (by her father probably, sexually) growing up but thought that Frank hadn't been, because he was a boy.
She could deal with raising a family only because George was there to show er how. Then he dies and she doesn't trust herself and gives the boys to Frank (she still thinks he's ok, but he was in fact sexually abused too) who then abuses the boys like he had been abused. Then Winona finds out and shit happens.
So, ehm, tl;dr, but mostly I'm on the stepfather side. That idea is also pretty much all over in fandom and had already been very widespread when there was a little confusion about the uncle-thing. I also think many people who wouldn't have read the novel listened to the audiobook because Zach read it and so people know it says stepfather there.