Why is my friend lying about who beat her up? 1.6 and 17.5

[Owlietta]

Background info: I have a friend (Ann) who has been beaten severely by her boyfriend for years. He has put her in the hospital multiple times, and he (Matt) has gone to jail multiple times. Right now Matt is in jail again for giving Ann a brain-bleed and some broken ribs about 2 weeks ago.

Ann came here crying the other day because she got beaten up badly, again. But this time she claimed it was her female friend (Nancy) who gave her black eyes swollen up so bad she could hardly open her flaming red eyes, and punched her in her already broken ribs. Her face was in the worst shape I had ever seen her. Ann is tiny and Nancy is a little taller than average. Her friend Nancy filed a police report, saying that it was two unknown men who were after money that Matt owed them, who beat up Ann.

A couple of months ago I hung out with Nancy in my home, and she seemed much nicer than Ann described her, though she admitted she punched Ann in the face (in March) because Ann had said something rude about one of Nancy's children. I figured it was a one-off drunken argument. Nancy is homeless and sometimes stays with Ann. Ann complains about Nancy to me, but yet Ann seems very close to Nancy, calls her all the time, etc.
Ann has a social worker. I overheard her telling her social worker about the 2 men who beat her up. Ann told me it was Nancy who beat her up.
The social worker decided right then that Ann check herself into the emergency psychiatric ward or else the police would come get her. So I took Ann there. At least she'll be safe there. Oh, and she had surgery for a punctured lung that same day she was forced to check into the hospital.

Question: "who beat up Ann most recently?" Hexagram 1 changing line 6, -> 43
Question: ""why is Ann lying about who beat her up?" Hexagram 17 changing line 5, -> 51

It's either Nancy or the 2 unknown men. It can't be Matt because he's locked up.
Ann lies quite a lot, I knew that already. I don't understand her motivation for lying about who beat her up this time.

I'm not seeing any obvious answers from the oracle, so I would be interested in your insights. Thanks for reading.

 

[Lao_Tzu]

Reality is your perception of the universe - and yours alone. Oracle knows only what you know. If you seek to involve yourself in this situation, oracle will gladly guide you towards correct action. This is following.

At time of divination, specific query (who done it) is dismissed. Oracle speaks directly to you - Arrogant dragon will have cause to repent. This should cause immediate reflection - if your action was truly altruistic and of service to the victims, why would this line appear in response?

Breakthrough.

 

[Owlietta]

Thanks for responding.
Your wording seems a little accusatory. I didn't exactly "seek to involve myself" in this situation. I suppose I could have shut Ann out of my life and refused to answer the door. She calls me, I don't call her.

 

[rosada]

If 1.6 is the oracle speaking directly to Owlietta I see 1.6 (Arrogant dragon will have cause for remorse - Wilhelm) as a warning "Don't ask, you're messing with people you don't want to get involved with," in which case I think this is the IC's way of pointing you towards the two unknown men theory.

17.5 - 51 Describes a way of handling a shock so could it be your friend is afraid that if she tells the truth she could be exposing herself to more violence?

 

[dfreed]

Question: ""why is Ann lying about who beat her up?" Hexagram 17 changing line 5, -> 51

I'm thinking that perhaps this is a shocking event for Ann, and maybe that she feels threatened and that she still feels like she is being pursued, chased after, put in danger. That she would try to make the most of this, even if it's to lie - is not out of the question.

The text for line 17.5 is: "captives at a triumph (victory)." It reminds me of "making lemonade from lemons" - that even though she is a victim, or a 'captive', she's trying to make the most of this situation. But pretending you are not a captive - that you are not experiencing long-term, dangerous, and serious abuse - only works for so long. At some point she needs to act, and respond to this situation in a real way, even if it's shocking or fearful for her.

Stepping away from what the Yi is saying here, it is not uncommon for victims of domestic violence to lie and be far less than honest about what's happening with them. And here - if you're telling of the facts is correct - Ann has done this with her boyfriend and now with others for a long time.

Other questions I might consider: what can others do to help her? Or, what is it she needs to do to get out of this situation, to stop being a victim, or a captive?

Best, D

 

[Owlietta]

Thank you for the replies!
Dfreed, your questions are to-the-point and much better than mine, thank you.
About my questions: If someone changes their stories in my presence, I would think my subconscious could sense what was true and what was a lie. Also, I think that "why is my friend lying?" is potentially related to me, since she is a person I care about. I could be wrong though, as I'm a novice at iching.

Rosada, I am also leaning toward the 2 unknown men. My boyfriend (also Ann's longtime friend) believes Nancy made it up, and that Ann went along with it to protect Nancy. I just don't think Nancy could or would beat up Ann that bad.

Apart from making sense out of this, I needed to express myself, as this is very stressful for me to witness. The severe abuse has been going on for years now, and nobody has been able to help her get out of these destructive situations.
Ann comes crying to her friends (honestly she doesn't have many left, and I don't blame them for giving up on her), but nobody can set her straight. Everything in her life gets worse and worse. I've never personally seen someone fall so far in just a few years. She's lost everything except her apartment, and she will probably lose that, too. She's lucky nobody killed her yet. But the hopeful part is that she has a social worker and is getting professional help.