Okay, this is another character I wasn't sure about discussing, however after watching the movie for a third time with more people and hearing their thoughts as well as from getting a clearer look at the character, I've came to the conclusion that she needs to at least be discussed.
WARNING this proposal and the character in question will discuss and deal with issues such as paedophilia and sexual assault, if that makes uncomfortable I suggest you sit this one out, seriously
What's the Work?[]
Cracks is a psychological horror novel that was later adapted into a film of the same name in 2009 by StudioCanal, the story takes place in the 1930s in an English All Girl's Protestant boarding school and follows a new student named Fiamma Corrona an asthmatic Spanish aristocrat and the way she deals with troublesome peers and her diving instructor who has a very apparent and perversed crush on her, the latter of whom is the discussion for today's proposal Miss Gribben.
Who is She?[]
Miss Gribben is the agoraphobic diving instructor at St Mathilda's Boarding school and is loved and admired by all of her students especially Di Radfield, while at first she appears as nothing more than an eccentric, slightly childish and jovial teacher eventually her true colours are shown when Fiamma arrives at the school and she becomes almost immediately infatuated with her.
Shortly after Fiamma's arrival Gribben begins favouring her over all of her other students, to the point of emotionally abusing the rest of the diving team, even her former favourite Di, all the while however she tries to keep up the act of being an adventurous and loving role model to the girls something Di sees through almost instantaneously due to actually being an experienced traveller and avid reader who recognises Gribben as a fraud.
Overtime Gribben grows more and more bitter towards her entire team, due to Fiamma's constant attempts to beat her at her own game, leading her to unfairly punish the entire team and even snap at them on occasion. This is also shown when a jealous Di goads Fiamma into running away leaving an angry and embittered Gribben to furiously rant at how the latter had made a mistake and how the diving team were "nothing" without her.
After she returns however Fiamma starts getting along better with the rest of the team including Di, making Gribben even more bitter and resentful than ever. She does however still maintain her facade and even allows the girls to have a midnight feast, with Gribben supplying them with alcohol.
This event leads to Fiamma passing out drunk, with Gribben deciding it would be best to hide her in her own bedroom to avoid suspicion from other teachers. Unfortunately however this was an excuse for Gribben to finally make a pass at Fiamma and she sexually assaults her while rambling to her about travelling and the two becoming "friends".
The following morning Fiamma wakes up completely distraught and fully aware of what Gribben did to her and consequently storms off while Gribben follows her, trying to persuade her not to "upset the others" an enraged Fiamma however argues back that they should be upset and see Gribben for who she really is.
Panicked and despaired Gribben weeps before deciding to trick Di, by telling her Fiamma intended to "make up terrible lies" about her, even threatening to leave the school, knowing this would set off Di's insecurities and make her upset due to her own crush on Gribben.
Consequently the entire diving team are tricked into believing Fiamma was lying and perverted and chased her down before savagely beating her, triggering Fiamma into having an asthma attack, all the while Gribben watched. After realising what she'd done Di tells the others to return to the school and get help while she looks for Fiamma's inhaler, after finding it however Gribben appears before her and tells her to go and that she'll take over the situation.
Gribben holds Fiamma in her arms and allows her to die, claiming she wasn't meant for this world. All the while several students and staff come by in horror at the scene.
After this Di recognises Gribben for who she really is and tells the rest of the team about what really happened between Gribben and Fiamma, prompting all of them to quit the team and abandon her. Enraging Gribben.
Shortly following this she is fired from the school and moves into a local inn, presumably for the rest of her life thanks to her agoraphobia.
Heinous Standards[]
While she doesn't have many resources, she uses them all to her full advantage and is easily the most evil character in the story.
Let's start with the obvious: her rape and incredibly grotesque infatuation with Fiamma one of her STUDENTS who is roughly 16 years old, she vigorously stalks, torments, harassers and on one occasion even pressured her into over exerting herself during a diving lesson to near death thanks to her asthma. On top of this she manipulates her students into savagely beating Fiamma (we'll come back to that) triggering another even worse asthma attack before allowing her to die slowly and painfully in her arms by refusing to give her inhaler back.
Her treatment of her other students isn't much better, with her constantly grooming, manipulating and lying to them as well as unjustly abusing and punishing them for little to no reason, on top of this she constantly plays with Di's emotions and deliberately pokes her insecurities by telling her how much better Fiamma is than her. She then even tricks Di and the rest of the team into believing her fabricated stories about Di's rape to the point of having them savagely beat her and trigger her asthma.
Next up there's her blatant paedophilia, obviously there's the way she treats Fiamma but there's also the obvious grooming she commits, constantly weaving her way into the girl's heads to the point where they all adore her and buy into her lies, going as far to even buy them alcohol. Not only that but there was a scene in the film were she takes the entire team including a reluctant Fiamma skinny dipping in the lake during the middle of the night, keep in mind that ALL of the characters other than her on the team are girls between the ages of 11-16.
She feels no remorse for any of these actions to start with, but not only that they all have effects on the characters. Starting with Fiamma who is visibly traumatised and distraught after being assaulted, Di and the rest of the diving team who are horrified at the fact that they were partially responsible for Fiamma's death and Di herself who is clearly upset at Gribben's continuous obsessions and strange behaviours regarding Fiamma and the treatment of the diving team.
Freudian Excuse[]
Gribben does have mental health issues and agoraphobia however she is stable enough to know what she is doing and her issues do not in any way justify her crimes.
Moral Agency[]
Again she does have mental health issues and does justify herself in bizarre ways especially with when she kills Fiamma however she is still able to recognise right from wrong and knows full well what she is doing.
Migating Factors[]
See the above two sections and you've got literally the same answer here. None of her issues are enough to justify her atrocities however.
There is also the times we see her crying, however in both instances they stem from her desires and lust for Fiamma being crushed and not out of genuine pity, regret or sorrow.
Sympathy?[]
None, even with the aforementioned she is still unsympathetic due to how far her justifications fall flat.
Verdict[]
Beyond first glances she is nothing more than an entitled, unstable, paedophile who punishes and abuses her students for petty reasons and felt no remorse or guilt for raping and murdering a girl she had an unhealthy obsession with, or for the abuse and psychological trauma she put the rest of them through. All in all, a perverted, disgusting, and abusive paedophile and an appalling person all around.
YES.