That is part of it , no matter how bad a situation that was she compounded it by hating herself and living and breathing that hate.
That hate infected everyone arround her just like Mitch's unbearable self love infected everyone arround him.
They were the oposite extremes of what we face in life.
Butchie was Us , he was the one who could not find his way in the mist.
He took lifes extremes and bailed on life.
John was the innocence and the Boy was the future.
The innocence came for them all.
The towel heads referance was how we are living this out in the global perspective.