Even in the second grade I wondered about nuns. I didn't know the word for it then, but looking back on it, "malevolent" comes to mind. Sure, getting picked up by your ears was painful, but the psychological cruelty was even nastier. Then years later, a fellow who went through the same school I did made it all clear for me. He told me, "After all, a nun is just a girl that something went terribly wrong with."