You took care of your mother (for two years--diaper changes included!) instead of putting her away in a care facility, as Americans tend to do--you have my admiration, sympathy, and applause, @magaft1!
Phil had brought up feminism - and the 100-yr-anniversary here in the U.S. is fresh in my mind, so I brought up how much effort and personal sacrifice it took for women just to be allowed to vote. To vote! Women as property, marriage as an economic and social arrangement, is a fairly recent page in history. There are statistics. There are personal anecdotes. My point is that I know, and know of, far too many women who are trapped in miserable marriages and see no way out. I agree, murder is not the way out. It's the quickest and most final solution, maybe, but not the best one.
Love your thoughts on "War and Peace" - and wonder if you've read all of Brothers Karamazov. Americans today have little patience or time for long novels like these, but they're so rich, with so many insights into family dynamics and social issues.
Americans tend to cherish liberty and personal freedom over what's best for society as a whole. Servitude, obedience to authority, accepting our "lot" in life - not what USA is best known for!
But I'll stop now. I could go on about this stuff all day. :)