Ann Leary’s The Foundling reminds us how far society has come in 100 years and how far it has yet to go.
The inspiration for the book was Leary's discovering her own grandmother had worked as a stenographer the 1920s at an institution in that was part of the eugenics movement. Women who were deemed “feebleminded” were held at this work farm while they were of childbearing age so they would not pass on their traits. Shocking by today’s standards, such ideas were commonplace then.
Leary’s protagonist Mary Engle is a young woman who had grown up in an orphanage and takes a job as a secretary at the institution, which is headed by a female psychiatrist, Dr. Agnes Vogel. Mary accepts the place and its morays and is in awe of Dr. Vogel until she recognizes one of the residents. The girl was strong-willed and often a bully, but she was not intellectually challenged.
After Mary’s relationship with her journalist boyfriend deepens, she begins to see the hypocrisy and cruelty of the institution. The narrative follows her as she comes to this recognition and through harrowing experiences as she tries her best to do what’s right.
The story takes time to develop but works itself up to a thrilling and satisfying ending. Leary does a great job showing how a young person could be taken in by an institution she trusts and an authority figure she admires. It should serve as a reminder that those in power may be looking out for themselves more than those they are charged to help and protect.
No comments:
Post a Comment