Lessons from Wisteria

In order for you to understand the lessons on Wisteria, which are actually a lesson from Desperate Housewives, I have to give you a short background…

Paul Young’s first wife commits suicide after being framed for some dark secret she had successfully hidden from family and friends. She decision to kill herself was intended to save her family from shame and hurt. Paul finds out about the framing and decides to avenge his wife’s death. He murders the perpetrator, Martha.

Martha’s sister, Felicia finds out about the murder but unfortunately cannot prove that Paul is guilty.The whole of Wisteria is convinced that Paul is a horrible man and a menace to their peaceful quaint street. Martha takes the law into her own hands and frames Paul for her own ”faked” murder. She does such a wonderful job that Paul is arrested for the murder of Felicia. 

Felicia decides that jail is not enough to avenge her sister’s murderer, she sends her daughter, Betty, in. Betty marries Paul in the hope that one day he will confess to Martha’s murder. She marries a man in jail (who does that?). After a couple of years Felicia is caught driving without her licence and is apprehended, this is when the authorities discover that she is alive and Paul is set free. 

He moves back to Wisteria to punish his neighbours who did not stand by him in his time of need. He hatches a plan that wreaks havoc on Wisteria lane. Paul also learns that Betty, his new wife is Felicia’s daughter and that the entire marriage was a sham. He drives her away and pushes her to commit suicide. Now both his wives have committed suicide. After Betty’s death Paul discovers that she had truly fallen in love with him and this leaves him devastated…

After Betty’s passing, Felicia is released on compassionate grounds. She too decided to move to Wisteria to punish Paul for the deaths of her sister and daughter.

Paul the murderer

Now that you have the very long background, I can get to the point.

Susan, one of the ladies on Wisteria, sympathises with Paul. She forgets all his past mistakes, including the huge mistake where he KILLED someone. Susan takes it upon herself to feed Paul and help him through this difficult time. She is doing his grocery shopping and making him three square meals EVERYDAY. Her husband and all her friends are totally against these gestures of good will, but she continues to be kind to this seemingly cold heartless man.

In the middle is Susan, the philanthropist

Felicia decides that Susan’s generosity can be used to her advantage, she starts injecting a poisonous substance into Paul’s food while Susan is preparing it. It must have been coolant, I cannot remember. Anyway Felicia starts to constantly hang around Susan so as to continue with her poisoning.

Eventually Paul falls ill and after several tests it is revealed to him that he has been ingesting considerable amounts of a poisonous substance. What does he do? He forgets… he forgets Susan’s kindness, he forgets that she has been the only there for him, he forgets her words of encouragement, he forgets that she is going against her family and friends for him, he forgets that he really is a murderer who probably deserves to DIE!!!! Paul young forgets and quickly assumes that Susan is guilty. His assumption becomes his “fact” and in no time he has the police arrest Susan for his poisoning.

Susan is let out of course but you can imagine how she felt. Being castigated, accused and punished for an act of kindness…

Lessons from Wisteria

1.       How many times do we hold on other peoples past mistakes like all the other women on Wisteria? Opting to recall only the bad. They wouldn’t lift a finger to help Paul even though they could see that their neighbour was grieving.

The Cast of DH

2.       How many times are we “Susan” to other people in our lives? Where we see a person in need and immediately forget their mistakes and go to assist them contrary to what people may say?

3.       How many times are we “Paul Young”, who forgets the good that Susan had done for him and focuses on what seems to be the bad?

4.       How many times do we judge people and proceed to make decisions that hurt them based solely on ASSUMPTIONS?

Yes there is a lesson or two hidden in the streets of Wisteria….