Any relationship that resembles the one found in The Giving Tree needs to be thoroughly condemned as disgusting in the ways it fortifies entitlement at the expense of the one who gives. “And the tree was happy” perfectly captures the aching heart of the Two, whose pride in being able to give something covers the lie of how she denied her own needs and allowed herself to be taken from. The flattery of Twos convinces them that diminishing themselves through self-abnegation is a legitimate form of love.
