Rita is a woman trying to find her own strength. Her entire life she has never been in real control of what happens. This leads to her having very low self esteem. Since Rita has never gotten the chance to really make her own decisions, she was not able to have experiences that would give her confidence in herself. As a result, she spent most of her life believing she did not deserve good things. She accepted that people would treat her poorly and maybe to a point even expected to be mistreated because she was not good enough for anything else.
She slowly starts to come out of that way of thinking thanks to her relationship with Dexter and gaining custody of her children following her husband’s imprisonment. Winning custody sadly enough seems to be the first time she has really had any control over anything including her own children. Rita manages to handle this beautifully despite this being the first time really on her own. She holds a job and makes sure her children are well taken care of at the same time.
Even if it is a sham relationship at first (on Dexter’s part at first) it also starts adding to her growing confidence. She views Dexter as a good man. He treats both Rita and her children very well; notably much better than her husband Paul ever did. This introduces her to the idea that maybe she did deserve this wonderful man who was always there for her. We also see her relationship with Dexter reveal some flaws of Rita’s. Dexter, being as reliable as he is, becomes easy to depend on.
At times Rita loses sight of the fact that Dexter may have problems of his own to contend with and dumps all of hers onto him. On some level it seems like she forgets that Dexter can even have problems at all since he is something of a hero to her. There are also those issues involving control. Now that she has some of it, she is worried about losing it. At times she will nag at people when it is not entirely necessary just so she does not feel like she is being taken advantage of.
Despite her worries about being taken advantage of, she does prove to have a great deal of faith in people and can be someone you can rely on for moral support. For example when Dexter’s biological father dies she insists on going with him to see the body and look at the house he lives in because “she might need him”. It is the same when it comes to her children or friends. Astor’s bed wetting due to stress over her father’s return, Rita is does not yell or make a scene; just comforts Astor and changes the sheets. Finally when her friend’s fiancé went missing she immediately put her efforts into helping her find him (with Dexter’s help) and comforting her by just sitting out by the ocean with her worried friend. She is not entirely docile however. Rita is fiercely protective of her children and will not tolerate anyone speaking badly about Dexter (she defends him more than once in the show to other people).
To sum it up, Rita is a good, caring woman who needs a little more confidence and to depend less on her man.
Other:
If this app doesn't give you a hint already I am hoping to play Rita from season one of the show or alternatively have her be from Brian's world who is in that timeline. I would like to assure the mods that I have seen the entire series (minus five.... I'm still not over Rita's death okay?!) and would be more than happy to provide additional history if you feel it's necessary.
Additional Links:
Rita wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rita_Bennett)
Rita dressing up as Lara Croft (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTPzhnpS_0E)
Rita Bennett [Dexter] 2/?
Rita is a woman trying to find her own strength. Her entire life she has never been in real control of what happens. This leads to her having very low self esteem. Since Rita has never gotten the chance to really make her own decisions, she was not able to have experiences that would give her confidence in herself. As a result, she spent most of her life believing she did not deserve good things. She accepted that people would treat her poorly and maybe to a point even expected to be mistreated because she was not good enough for anything else.
She slowly starts to come out of that way of thinking thanks to her relationship with Dexter and gaining custody of her children following her husband’s imprisonment. Winning custody sadly enough seems to be the first time she has really had any control over anything including her own children. Rita manages to handle this beautifully despite this being the first time really on her own. She holds a job and makes sure her children are well taken care of at the same time.
Even if it is a sham relationship at first (on Dexter’s part at first) it also starts adding to her growing confidence. She views Dexter as a good man. He treats both Rita and her children very well; notably much better than her husband Paul ever did. This introduces her to the idea that maybe she did deserve this wonderful man who was always there for her. We also see her relationship with Dexter reveal some flaws of Rita’s. Dexter, being as reliable as he is, becomes easy to depend on.
At times Rita loses sight of the fact that Dexter may have problems of his own to contend with and dumps all of hers onto him. On some level it seems like she forgets that Dexter can even have problems at all since he is something of a hero to her. There are also those issues involving control. Now that she has some of it, she is worried about losing it. At times she will nag at people when it is not entirely necessary just so she does not feel like she is being taken advantage of.
Despite her worries about being taken advantage of, she does prove to have a great deal of faith in people and can be someone you can rely on for moral support. For example when Dexter’s biological father dies she insists on going with him to see the body and look at the house he lives in because “she might need him”. It is the same when it comes to her children or friends. Astor’s bed wetting due to stress over her father’s return, Rita is does not yell or make a scene; just comforts Astor and changes the sheets. Finally when her friend’s fiancé went missing she immediately put her efforts into helping her find him (with Dexter’s help) and comforting her by just sitting out by the ocean with her worried friend. She is not entirely docile however. Rita is fiercely protective of her children and will not tolerate anyone speaking badly about Dexter (she defends him more than once in the show to other people).
To sum it up, Rita is a good, caring woman who needs a little more confidence and to depend less on her man.
Other:
If this app doesn't give you a hint already I am hoping to play Rita from season one of the show or alternatively have her be from Brian's world who is in that timeline. I would like to assure the mods that I have seen the entire series (minus five.... I'm still not over Rita's death okay?!) and would be more than happy to provide additional history if you feel it's necessary.
Additional Links:
Rita wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rita_Bennett)
Rita dressing up as Lara Croft (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTPzhnpS_0E)