I don't think we disagree in essentials Robbin. I do not mean to gentle Mary's behaviour towards Maria and agree that it falls within the dictionary definitions of cruelty - she certainly isn't on the side of the angels here (if ever)!

But 'cruel' is a word that can be applied to such a wide range of human behaviours, from what one might term 'petty malice' at one end of the spectrum to utterly horrific acts at the other. I feel that by using it too freely to label the smaller-scale bad stuff, there is a risk of devaluing the word - of it losing it's 'punch', so to speak. I personally prefer to reserve 'cruel' for the nastier stuff.