Areyaar - when you get a chance would you be interested in writing a thread from Imlie's point of view the story to date? I start thinking about what has transpired from her pov - its hard for me to understand it fully. Till aDi wedding - I could understand her staying at Adi's ...after that I cannot see what her basis for wanting to stay with T's was. She is quite strong emotionally and far thinking...what made her settle for status quo with no plans for future...until Adi actually took matter in to his hands and kind of pre-empted her decision to leave. Why did she not leave earlier when Malini entered? I have some thoughts - but I thought it ill be good to see what everyone thoughts are. Meethi attributing all of Imlie's problems to NN is what got me thinking. Also Imli did say in one episode that NN actually shows her affection in a negative manner - never saw any sign of this - unless gettign Imli married to Adi was her idea of doing Imli a favor.
To understand Imlie's thinking, one has to set aside expectations of "logic". 😆......Imlie is a mix of paradoxes.....a village girl who has deep faith/belief in God, in the sanctity of rituals/relationships, but also has an independent mindset...these two things don't generally co-exist in a person from her background.
As she mentioned in yesterday's epi also, she runs on faith more than logic. I'm guessing your expectation is that she should have left after Adi married Malini? She did leave for PD then, didn't she? 😆....but destiny brought her back to Adi's life and his home with a gunshot....so maybe your question is about why she continued to stay at the Tripathis after recovering from her gunshot injury?
Overall I think there is a mix of reasons for why Imlie stayed back with the Tripathis.....firstly, as she told Adi in the hospital convo, she believes him to be her husband even as she understands he doesn't accept her as his wife.....this sounds like a statement without logic....lol so again, it's Imlie....this is about her faith more than what is rational/logical. She had nowhere else to go in that phase.....couldn't go back to PD cuz it was too dangerous. Education could be her ticket out but as we've seen she needed help/guidance there too....she's in the city now and she doesn't know her way around like she did in her village. No one in the story thought to push her education/college admission until they wanted to move the story.....lol so it didn't move.....and Imlie was content in her existence because again, her faith was enough for her even if she didn't have anyone else....that's how she saw it.
Once she was in the house, she became such a close part of it that it just became more difficult day by day to extract herself....she feels attached to Adi's family cuz she considers them her own now too....so she kept on staying....cuz again this is a girl who considers people her own without any expectations from them.
Imlie has been caught in her own conundrum all this while.....her beliefs ask that she do her part in being true to her marriage even if she gets nothing out of it....not even acknowledgement.....and conversely, her dreams have still been inside her somewhere - asking that she follow her wish to study, to become an officer like she had dreamt for so long....but she pushed aside the dreams for a bit to keep the sanctity of her beliefs alive.
Imlie is one of those rare cases who will do her part in respecting rituals even as she has the self-awareness that they aren't always fair to women....she pointed this out in yesterday's diya scene too.
Then there's the angle that she actually did become emotionally attached to Adi beyond just looking at him as her husband.....she became even more closely attuned to his every mood, the swing of his emotions, the few smiles she could pull out of him....even as her future seemed in limbo, the relationship built on the side.
Now finally the point of why she left.....because Adi attacked her faith/belief.....and that was in a sense the ONLY anchor she had left in her life....everything else got taken away from her.....her dreams, her husband, her choices.....faith was all that was carrying her through all this uncertainty....and Adi questioned that when he told her to find another husband....that is why that broke her and she finally left.....even though nothing else had changed and she'd still go back to facing danger in PD.....she already knew he considered her a burden....but this was the straw that broke her cuz it was the only thing she had to hold on to.....and so she left.
Her independent mindset didn't suddenly spring up when she decided to leave and told him she can manage on her own.....it was there all along....what changed was that she was hurt enough to react to this degree. Imlie is intelligent and knows her capabilities but she also struggles with motivation because she feels adrift due to her current situation....she wants to move forward but she also feels this great pull towards Adi now that has grown in all the time they've spent together......so that's where she is currently I think.....emotionally strong enough to survive on her own but her heart keeps pulling her back to Adi too......and to tie this in with Mithi's declaration that Imlie is a mashaal/torch.....the point of all of this is that Imlie prevails in the toughest of odds and only comes out burning with a brighter flame.....to the point now where the husband that she never wanted is now supporting her through the toughest of times.