Andrew hated to see her humiliated and pathetic like this, but he half hated her too, for landing herself in it.
Andrew hates to see the way in which his father treats his mother. Simon Price is both verbally and physically abusive, and he is a bully. Andrew's mother is understandably frightened of his father, and takes what he dishes out because she knows that things will only get worse if she rocks the boat. She has nobody to ask for help and nowhere to turn.
Andrew hates to see her humiliated by his father, but he does not really understand the psychology of an abused wife; he is frustrated, almost contemptuous, because he feels that she stays and accepts things out of weakness. Andrew doesn't understand why his mother hasn't left his father, or why she married him in the first place given that he has never been a nice person. He has a tendency to blame her for her own abuse, which is also something that can be seen in society when women are blamed rather than their abusers.
Disgust rose in Samantha like vomit. She wanted to seize the over-warm cluttered room and mash it between her hands, until the royal china, and the gas fire and the gilt-framd pictures of Miles broke into jagged pieces.
Samantha feels incredibly trapped in Pagford. She has absolutely nothing to occupy her time other than working in a lingerie store that is failing faster every day. She has no friends of her own, no interests and no interest in becoming part of the fabric of a town that she hates. Samantha has also lost interest in Miles. She is not sure if she still loves him and she is sure that she is not still attracted to him. Samantha is aware that her life is a facade, and that beneath the trappings of acceptable middle class identity she has nothing that makes her truly happy. She blames her marriage to Miles for this and this is why she wants to smash the photograph frames that have his picture in them.
