·· Neglection
According to the Archives book, Sherry was born in 1986. It’s most likely Annette and William married in the same year, or late 1985. Birkin became dreadfully busy with the G-Virus during 1988 and all the way through 1998. He had devoted ten years of his life to work, and not to his daughter. Annette assisted in the research with the G-Virus, and though her impact can be debatable, it’s most likely she was so busy simply trying to keep up with her husband’s labor that she dismissed the need to care for Sherry properly.
Neglect occurs when a parent refuses or delays providing several needs of children, and in Sherry’s case, it would be attention and affection. Sherry’s emotional abuse has a lot to do with rejection and isolation due to her parents working so much.
But, Annette did love Sherry; she just never expressed those emotions to her daughter. I'm sure during Annette’s pregnancy she had to take leave at some point, but probably didn’t until it was absolutely necessary, which would be about a month before birth. No doubt, Annette didn’t stay home with her newborn for very long. Sherry was probably taken care of by a nanny or sent to a daycare. Seeing as how she’s the daughter of two scientists, we can assume she’s somewhat of a child prodigy, or was at least excelling at a higher level in school. With that assumption, Sherry was most likely capable of taking care of herself at home around the age of six or seven.
Child prodigies are usually pushed by their parents to use their talents to the point where the child is overwhelmed. Hereditary factors actually have little to do with precocious genius. Because of this fact, the parents do not feel special and unique themselves, so they show off their child’s ability to boost their own ego. Annette and William were geniuses though. They would feel no need to have Sherry’s talents expressed because they were already feeling confident in themselves. Sherry’s abilities as a genius may have never been exercised, and though I believe she may have skipped a few grades, she probably wasn’t receiving proper challenges. She probably wasn’t even labeled a genius because no one acknowledged the fact she may have been gifted.
The abandonment Sherry received from her parents is a major link to her personality. Having no parents to praise her in any aspect of her life has caused Sherry to become extremely insecure. She is not sure if anything she says or does is correct. Children who are ignored by their parents often become needy, and start relying on any adult figure they can find in their life. If Sherry ever had a teacher she adored (or a baby sitter, a nanny, etc.), she would most likely see this person as a “surrogate parent.” But, as time passed, these people would have left Sherry’s life and caused the girl to feel unwanted, even though the person never even realized Sherry was looking up to them.
Children learn from bad experiences, but when the lesson is not directly said, it occurs several times before the action is completely avoided. Sherry would definitely have this problem, especially since no one ever taught her proper ethics or behavior. The only reason she is so well composed is because she’s not sure what to do; thus, the reason she started relying on everyone until there was no one left.
When Sherry met Claire, she went through the same cycle of attachment. Claire wasn't infected, and because Sherry was helpless, Claire took it upon herself to look after the girl and protect her in Raccoon City. Even though Claire showed her much affection during the Raccoon City disaster, she left Sherry to find Chris, abandoning the girl and breaking her heart.
Sherry’s abuse was purely emotional, but because she’s nearly a teenager, reversing the damages is complicated on many levels. Maltreated children begin to develop low-esteem and often act out towards those who have “betrayed” them. And, to Sherry, the one how broke her heart the most happens to be Claire Redfield.
Claire’s abandonment would most likely be Sherry’s breaking point, the point where Sherry begins to think she is unlovable and incapable of keeping someone in her life. Her RE3 epilogue clearly states she is unsure Claire will ever return to her. By the time Wesker's organization kidnapped Sherry its possible the girl’s emotional damage and broken heart turned into malevolence.
The fact Wesker wants revenge on Claire and Chris makes this theory more plausible. Wesker’s characteristics for manipulation are evident, so it’s quite obvious he would be capable of discovering exactly where Sherry was hurt and then use it to hurt Claire. Wesker could clearly open up the possibility for Sherry’s revenge; it’s just a matter of if Sherry wishes to take it...
If the Resident Evil series follows Sherry’s complex history, all points lead to the girl wanting to seek revenge on Claire. But, only time will tell if they decide to go the realistic route, or the route where her emotional abuse and maltreatment are blown off simply to fulfill the new route the series has taken since RE4.
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