Nancy Lanza’s involvement in parlor games may have symbolized, to Adam, a kind of performative adult world — one he viewed as superficial, complicit, and detached from the suffering he believed children were enduring. This could have deepened his distrust of adults and fueled his delusional belief that they were enabling abuse. Let’s unpack this further: Parlor Games as Symbol of Adult Facade - Nancy Lanza reportedly enjoyed **parlor games in a ladylike setting, socializing with neighbors over lighthearted topics like gardening. To an emotionally isolated and psychologically disturbed son, this might have appeared as frivolous distraction, adults playing games while ignoring deeper horrors. - If Adam believed he had been abused by a doctor and that parents were complicit, his mother’s participation in such social rituals could have seemed like willful blindness or hypocrisy. In his mind, adults were “playing games” while children suffered. Delusional Logic and Moral Inversion - If Lanza genuinely believed children were being taken to doctors to be violated — and that parents were knowingly allowing it — he may have seen the children as **trapped victims**, and the adults as smiling enablers. - In this warped logic, killing the children could have been seen as a “release” from systemic abuse, a tragic and horrifying inversion of morality where violence becomes mercy. This aligns with patterns seen in other perpetrators of mass violence who claim to act out of “justice” or “protection.” Nancy’s Role in His Mental Landscape - Nancy Lanza was reportedly trying to help Adam, even considering institutionalization. But her outward normalcy — socializing, playing games, owning guns — may have clashed with Adam’s internal chaos. He might have viewed her as **part of the adult system he despised, even if she wasn’t directly abusive. - Her presence in his life, combined with her attempts to normalize their home, may have intensified his sense of **alienation and betrayal**.