S05.E03: Episode 3

[Tara Ariano]

A typhoid outbreak at Nonnatus House is investigated. In other events, Sister Winfred learns that an unwed teacher is pregnant by a married man.

[Primetimer]

When she finds herself in an impossible situation, one Poplar woman goes to dangerous extremes.

Read the story

[Spunkygal]

Well, crap! Another multi-tissue episode! I love every nun and midwife on this show. Phyllis IS a brick! I do miss Chummy but the newer additions of Phyllis and Sister Winifred contribute greatly to this show. What a great cast. I really feel that these people are these roles. Please, Sister E, come back soon. I may have to go on IMDb and spoil myself to see how long she stays away. I just can't believe that DA caught on like wildfire and no one I know watches this gem of a show. Such compelling storylines and acting.

ETA...looks like Sister E returns in episode 7!

Edited April 18, 2016 by Spunkygal

[NoThyme]

ETA...looks like Sister E returns in episode 7!

Any idea why she is away?When does Chummy return?

[Kohola3]

Any idea why she is away?

 

She asked to go away to contemplate the errors of her ways when she kept insisting the mother breast feed the baby and the kid almost died of dehydration.  I hope she's back soon.

[Straycat80]

Another weeper of an episode. This show is so good. And educational too. I didn't know typhoid was still around in the early 60's. And how awful what happened to the poor schoolteacher.

I'm rooting for Tom and Barbara as a couple.

[frogprof]

My PBS station (or somebody) totally dropped the first Bitch Angie scene AND Patsy snapping at Delia. The hell?!

[AuntiePam]

I'm rooting for Tom and Barbara as a couple.

 

Me too.  She'll be a great vicar's wife. 

 

I feel sorry for the actress who played the landlady.  What a beeyotch!  Whoever dropped off the vitamins needed to be a bit more circumspect. 

 

It wasn't surprising that Margaret was the carrier -- she was feeding everyone -- it's just surprising that more people weren't sick.  The new apartment was clean, but how she must miss being so close to everyone. 

[GaT]

Oh that poor schoolteacher, when they showed her with the hanger I thought I was going to throw up. 

 

I don't understand why the woman isn't considered dangerous anymore because she's still a carrier, isn't she? Why can't she infect lots of other people?

 

 

My PBS station (or somebody) totally dropped the first Bitch Angie scene AND Patsy snapping at Delia. The hell?!

Since I have no idea what scenes you're talking about, I guess my station did too.

[MaryHedwig]

My PBS station (or somebody) totally dropped the first Bitch Angie scene AND Patsy snapping at Delia. The hell?!

Since I have no idea what scenes you're talking about, I guess my station did too.

You will find them summarized in the (outstanding) recap.

[Jodithgrace]

Whenever i read the recaps I am always reading about scenes that I never saw. So either the recapper has quite the imagination, or my PBS is cutting the hell out of this show. I wish i knew why this is, but I have never been able to see an uncut version of this or other BBC America shows. 

Since I was born in 1950, I can well remember the horrible stigma of unwed pregnancy and the illegal (and dangerous) abortions that were often the results. It's truly incredible how much things have changed.

Typhoid is a very scary illness, since it isn't transmitted person to person, but from a source or sources of infection, which are often difficult to find. Once Typhoid Granny was identified, it is much easier to prevent her spreading the disease. I kept thinking it was going to be the strawberry jam, which everybody was eating through the episode, but I guess if that had been the case, the entire cast would be dead.

[Blackie]

 I was wondering why their was no more Delia in the episode and now I find they cut the scene.  Why would they cut that seen, it seems important to forward their story, they could have cut the scene of Fred and Tom in the garden, that meant nothing.  The missing scenes for us in North America is so frustrating, thank God for the great recaps.

 

Trixie's new dress was gorgeous.

 

Under most circumstances I don't think it a good idea to date your friends ex, but Tom and Barbara really seem like a good match.  Tom is coming off a little bet predatory but again I think Tom and Barbara really are a good match.

Edited April 18, 2016 by Blackie

[JudyObscure]

I like Tom and Barbara together, too, and I don't blame them for not dating other non-Trixie connected people because they neither one meet that many people. They both work with the poor people of that neighborhood all day and probably don't do much clubbing in London. I do wish the costume designer would get over putting contrasting belts on women with no waists. I hate the new uniforms and although Barbara looked very pretty for her date, a figure skimming shift like Trixie's two new dresses would have been much better on Barbara, as well.

I kept thinking it was going to be the strawberry jam, which everybody was eating through the episode, but I guess if that had been the case, the entire cast would be dead.

Me too! Then I realized it was from watching, "Doc Martin" so much where Bert Large is forever poisoning everyone with his money making schemes.

I'm so glad someone got a clean new apartment with running hot water. I'm not sure how hand washing removes all risk but I, at least, wish someone had taught her to take off her watch and wash up her wrists and arms a bit. I hate watching Rachel Rae and other TV cooks, frying, mixing and washing with sweater cuffs over their wrists. Germy!

[sigmaforce86]

My PBS station (or somebody) totally dropped the first Bitch Angie scene AND Patsy snapping at Delia. The hell?!

 

Agree!  I only realized what we missed when I read the re-cap.  I wondered why they only had Delia in once scene.  Now I wonder if something happened in the missing scene that changes the meaning of Phyllis' later comment, about Patsy being very good at keeping secrets.  Maybe not and it was just an off hand comment but Patsy did get a look on her face when Phyllis said it.

They could have cut the jam conversation between Fred and Tom but I think it was important for two reasons, I think the jam was the red herring (no pun!) of the typhus source, they wanted us to think that was where it came from and worry about Sister Monica Joan coming down with it AND Tom mentioned the date to Fred which upped the awkward factor of who knows, who doesn't know and who's accidentally going to tell Trixie

 

I think from various comments this is the minority opinion but I like Tom and Barbara together and I have no problem with them becoming a couple.  It was Trixie who couldn't handle being a vicars wife when she found out it wasn't going to be the two of them in a cute little parsonage in the country and that a lot of life decisions would be out of their (her) hands.  I like her, she's trying very hard to change but she let Tom go, she can't dictate who or if he loves next.  It's unfortunate that she and Barbara work and live so closely, and because they're that close it would be unrealistic to play it as though her feelings weren't hurt at all.  But it's not fair for her to have an extreme jealous reaction either.

Edited April 18, 2016 by sigmaforce86

[Kohola3]

I wish i knew why this is, but I have never been able to see an uncut version of this or other BBC America shows.

 

PBS has to have all of those commercials (VRC, This Program is Brought to You By....) so they cut things out to make room.  Maddening.

 

Warning:  contains unpleasant material to read at a meal.  Typhoid bacteria is shed in the urine and feces of a carrier.  If the carried doesn't practice good hand washing after using the bathroom, typhoid germs can be "added" to any food prepared by the carrier.  Simple, good hand washing is really all it takes to keep people safe.  I can only imagine how often hand washing wasn't as thorough as possible when the toilet was three stories from the apartment and water had to be heated on a stove to wash up afterward.  I wager that got skipped a lot.

 

Even if she had made the jam, the cooking process would have killed any bacteria.

 

In the 60's there were no ever-present squeeze bottles of hand sanitizer from the Dollar Store stilling around like there are now.  People were not hyper sensitive to passing things along via the hands.

[MissLucas]

The story-line about the young teacher is one of the reasons I have to roll my eyes hard at people who call this show 'nostalgic trash'. I remember that even back in the late 70's being a single mother was still a problem. What made her situation even worse was her profession. That story will always hang over her head with the potential of making her lose her current job wherever she goes.

 

But it was a good plot to give us a bit more insight into Sister Winifred's character. Way too often she's just the chipper little sister who can handle everything life throws at her. Getting to see her behave not quite so perfectly and paying the price for her attitude was good character development.

[zoey1996]

I feel sorry for the actress who played the landlady.  What a beeyotch!  Whoever dropped off the vitamins needed to be a bit more circumspect. 

The landlady became suspicious when she heard Miss Whitmore vomiting in the bathroom, and found the vitamins in Miss Whitmore's room.  She'd gotten them when she had the exam with Dr. Turner.  Huge invasion of privacy there.  

 

I was born in 1951, and it was a huge deal when one of my (married) teachers continued to teach after she was showing.  She took leave about 6 weeks or so before her due date.  I remember an aunt told me that back in the 50's, when she worked in a doctor's office, she wasn't allowed to keep working after they knew she was expecting, and she was also married!  So much has changed for the better since those  times.

Edited April 18, 2016 by zoey1996

[MaryHedwig]

Typhoid bacteria is shed in the urine and feces of a carrier.  If the carried doesn't practice good hand washing after using the bathroom, typhoid germs can be "added" to any food prepared by the carrier.  Simple, good hand washing is really all it takes to keep people safe.

But Dr Tucker said that Nana Meg probably had typhoid fever as a young child. How is it that she did not inflect any of her children or neighbors in that tenement in the last 50 years?

Edited April 18, 2016 by MaryHedwig

[ZoloftBlob]

.  It was Trixie who couldn't handle being a vicars wife when she found out it wasn't going to be the two of them in a cute little parsonage in the country and that a lot of life decisions would be out of their (her) hands.  I like her, she's trying very hard to change but she let Tom go, she can't dictate who or if he loves next.  It's unfortunate that she and Barbara work and live so closely, and because they're that close it would be unrealistic to play it as though her feelings weren't hurt at all.  But it's not fair for her to have an extreme jealous reaction either.

 

I get the basic gut reaction of hurt.I won't be happy if the story turns into Trixie being a utter bitch about it when the above quote sums it up nicely - Trixie didn't want to be a vicar's wife when she realized it was going to be kind of time consuming and would force her to live in places she didn't like.

[MaryHedwig]

I get the basic gut reaction of hurt.I won't be happy if the story turns into Trixie being a utter bitch about it when the above quote sums it up nicely - Trixie didn't want to be a vicar's wife when she realized it was going to be kind of time consuming and would force her to live in places she didn't like.

I also think that she had not wrestled enough with her inner demons to attach to anyone at that time.  Marriage forces us to go along with decisions we don't like (and I'm a romantic.) Trixie might have realized that she wasn't ready for the next step of marriage to anyone.

 

I do agree that Tom and Trixie were a poor match. Tom did not seem to have the emotional depth to love all of Trixie, at least not in the way that Peter loves Chummy...

 

By the way, where is Chummy? Don't tell me Peter is leaving her at home barefoot and pregnant! (Don't make me eat my words from the paragraph above.)

 

Seriously, can't the writers come up with one expository line about Chummy?

 

Chummy's bringing her father back from India.

 

Chummy's volunteering on the moor.

 

Chummy will be here shortly.

 

Chummy sends her regrets. Young Sir is down with a cold.

 

Chummy is taking Sister Monica Joan for a walk.

 

Writers, choose one or several.

 

The first two are free.

Edited April 18, 2016 by MaryHedwig

[JudyObscure]

The more I think about this episode the more it becomes my least favorite.  One thing I really loved about the first season was the authentic stories about the period with little or no white wash to make it suit today's conventional wisdom.  Last night's show seems so contrived to manipulate our present day prejudices.  The land lady and Angie were awful in every way and at no time did we see anything at all to help us understand their point of view.  Had Angie's father been killed by Asians during WWII? Did any of the landlady's other boarders threated to move out after word got around about the teacher? Had her own reputation come into question at some time? Why was the teacher so surprised that she couldn't keep her job at a time when you didn't even see store clerks or bar maids working pregnant? Where was the married man's wife?  Did he have children who might be impacted? Most of all where was the sympathy (even a prayer) among the nuns for a 'baby,' that died by coat hanger? I'm pro-choice but I know plenty of people who aren't and I don't think their biggest concern would be one of the nuns having  critical thoughts about the teacher.

 

Where is the show that made me understand why a brother and sister who suffered the work house together might end up living together as husband and wife?  I want that show back and not one that leaves me feeling all self-righteous and superior in 2016.

[Black Knight]

Agree!  I only realized what we missed when I read the re-cap.  I wondered why they only had Delia in once scene.  Now I wonder if something happened in the missing scene that changes the meaning of Phyllis' later comment, about Patsy being very good at keeping secrets.  Maybe not and it was just an off hand comment but Patsy did get a look on her face when Phyllis said it.

(snip)

It's unfortunate that she and Barbara work and live so closely, and because they're that close it would be unrealistic to play it as though her feelings weren't hurt at all.  But it's not fair for her to have an extreme jealous reaction either.

Phyllis's comment wasn't about Patsy keeping secrets - it was just a general comment prompted by the Barbara/Trixie situation that there's never been any good in keeping secrets. It basically seemed like a continuation of the previous episode in which Phyllis talked about how people should live the lives they want to live, and Patsy similarly reacted. I still think they're setting Patsy up to confide in Phyllis, since Patsy is clearly tired of not being able to confide in anyone.

 

When Patsy went into Barbara and Phyllis's room saying that Trixie was out like a light, at first I was so confused about why she wasn't going to Delia's room instead. But then I thought about it and realized that Patsy is playing this very smart. She needs to set up a pattern of routinely going to the other women's rooms when Trixie is asleep, because then no one will think anything of the times she goes to Delia's room. It will just look like when Trixie is asleep but Patsy still wants to socialize, she goes to whoever still happens to be up. So, it's very smart on Patsy's part, but also no wonder that she's exhausted of having to live her life with such secrecy and strategems.

 

As for Barbara and Trixie, I agree it wouldn't be fair for Trixie to have an extreme jealous reaction. I don't think the show will really go that way, though. The problem is just that Barbara did not tell her and she had to find out by seeing Barbara and Tom on their date. That was indeed badly handled on Barbara's part. I know she was going to tell Trixie, but she put it off until the last minute and the problem with procrastinating is that sometimes, as happened here, you learn that what you thought was still an open window of opportunity has suddenly slammed shut. Barbara and Tom have every right to date and without enduring excessive jealousy from Trixie, but Trixie should never have found out about them that way.

 

The more I think about this episode the more it becomes my least favorite.  One thing I really loved about the first season was the authentic stories about the period with little or no white wash to make it suit today's conventional wisdom.  Last night's show seems so contrived to manipulate our present day prejudices.  The land lady and Angie were awful in every way and at no time did we see anything at all to help us understand their point of view.  Had Angie's father been killed by Asians during WWII? Did any of the landlady's other boarders threated to move out after word got around about the teacher? Had her own reputation come into question at some time? Why was the teacher so surprised that she couldn't keep her job at a time when you didn't even see store clerks or bar maids working pregnant? Where was the married man's wife?  Did he have children who might be impacted? Most of all where was the sympathy (even a prayer) among the nuns for a 'baby,' that died by coat hanger? I'm pro-choice but I know plenty of people who aren't and I don't think their biggest concern would be one of the nuns having  critical thoughts about the teacher.

 

Where is the show that made me understand why a brother and sister who suffered the work house together might end up living together as husband and wife?  I want that show back and not one that leaves me feeling all self-righteous and superior in 2016.

Well, in 1939 Agatha Christie wrote "And Then There Were None" (with a far more racist title originally) in which one of the horrible people marked for murder was a woman who kicked her unwed pregnant servant out of her house, and the servant then drowned herself. Christie considered what she had done to be murder, and the woman was portrayed much like the landlady in this episode. So really, I don't think the portrayal of her here is about wanting to feel superior with 2016 sensibilities, if 22 years prior to 1961 there was already condemnation of such behavior by at least some part of the population. Yes, sometimes people have nuanced reasons or catalysts for their prejudices...but that's not always the case. Sometimes it really is just as simple as hating The Other for no reason than being Other (as in Anita's case) or being unswerving in their ideas of morality (as in the landlady's case).

 

And I don't think the teacher was surprised exactly that she couldn't continue to work. She was just hoping that she could finish her term out since there were only a couple of weeks left to go and she had no money. (Note that although the landlady was horrid in keeping back the month of rent just paid, she did not steal the money out of the envelope later left for the teacher. "Last month's rent" is a thing for a reason, it means the landlord/landlady has time to find a new renter without losing income, so although it was certainly not a compassionate action there was a justification for that one that had nothing to do with hate or judgment, just business.)

 

The actress who played Winifred commented in the aftershow that this season is letting the writers go deeper into all the characters, that Winifred very much is someone who can flip on a dime between being the friendly, chipper nun to the rigid, judgmental one. They had that in the previous episode, too, when Winifred was the only one who was completely against the idea of inducing labor for the woman with the dying husband. On the one hand, I agree that Winifred couldn't just be the sweet one all the time and that it's nice that they're finally adding layers to her character. On the other hand, it feels sort of like this was prompted by Evangeline going offscreen for multiple episodes and so the writers needed someone to fill the niche of being the rigid one.

 

Speaking of the aftershow, while I do like seeing the actresses talk, if I had to choose between the aftershow and getting the scenes that PBS edits out of every episode, I'd rather have the scenes, thank you. There would certainly be enough time for the scenes they're editing out if they weren't airing the aftershow segment.

Edited April 18, 2016 by Black Knight

[Patricia07]

Why was it entirely Barbara's obligation to tell Trixie that Tom had asked her out?  

[MaryHedwig]

Why was it entirely Barbara's obligation to tell Trixie that Tom had asked her out?

No, but Sisters before Misters.

[Bad Example]

Okay, I need to pay better attention. I missed something and it's not in the awesome recap. What is it that Trixie is going off to do that Phyllis seems to approve of?

[willowk]

This episode left me feeling sad afterward, wrung out. Think Miss Whitmore's gloom overtook the happy Jeanette ending. What a horrid time to be a single woman! And Jeremy made the perfect weasel, the way he pretended not to know her on the phone, I wish she'd marched over to his house and made a scene.

Barbara should have told Trixie, only reason I forgive her is that she's so socially awkward, but still it was bad and now Trixie not only knows, but will realize everyone knew but her. I don't think Barbara and Tom are a good match, although the show likely will make them one. Barbara's never gone out with a guy, and to make her fall in love with a vicar is limiting to me. But maybe they'll go through something where Tom turns out to be more flexible than her dad, although his highhanded manner of assuming her ascent doesn't bode well.

They are really hitting us over the head with the "secrets" theme and Patsy. If it comes out between her and Delia I can't see how Patsy will remain in Nonnatus House and a midwife. If they treated single mothers so poorly, and mediated gay men, what will they do to a lesbian? And I love Patsy's character.

On the aftershow, I agree I'd rather have the cut scenes than the small talk. One thing the aftershows have convinced me of is that no one looks good in a wimple. The difference in how the nuns look in the show and the aftershow -not made up just with the wimple off- is astonishing.

[MaryHedwig]

What is it that Trixie is going off to do that Phyllis seems to approve of?

Phyllis was tacitly telling Trixie that she approves of her weekly AA meetings.

[Jeffurry]

 

My PBS station (or somebody) totally dropped the first Bitch Angie scene AND Patsy snapping at Delia. The hell?!

 

Whew! I thought I missed something. For a while I was wondering if Mr. Su was supposed to be Chinese and was surprised this wasn't remarked upon in 1961. The neighbo(u)rhood is much more diverse than it was when the show started but I didn't think it had come that far.

[AuntiePam]

Okay, I need to pay better attention. I missed something and it's not in the awesome recap. What is it that Trixie is going off to do that Phyllis seems to approve of?

 

Alcoholics Anonymous meetings is my guess.

[MaryHedwig]

I don't think Barbara and Tom are a good match, although the show likely will make them one. Barbara's never gone out with a guy, and to make her fall in love with a vicar is limiting to me.

Don't a lot of us fall for someone just like our father?  At least the first several times?

[Bad Example]

Phyllis was tacitly telling Trixie that she approves of her weekly AA meetings.

 

Well, DUH.  Of course.  Thank you.

[proserpina65]

Whew! I thought I missed something. For a while I was wondering if Mr. Su was supposed to be Chinese and was surprised this wasn't remarked upon in 1961. The neighbo(u)rhood is much more diverse than it was when the show started but I didn't think it had come that far.

Well, he was Chinese, but came to England as a child.  London in the sixties was starting to get more diverse, especially with people coming from colonies and former colonies in the decades after WWII, but there were still people like the awful Angie who obviously disliked him just for being Chinese.  (Still are, for that matter.)

[willowk]

 

Don't a lot of us fall for someone just like our father?  At least the first several times?

   

 

So True!

[StatisticalOutlier]

I like Tom and Barbara together, too, and I don't blame them for not dating other non-Trixie connected people because they neither one meet that many people. They both work with the poor people of that neighborhood all day and probably don't do much clubbing in London.

 

Probably don't do much clubbing in London?! 

[JudyObscure]

And Jeremy made the perfect weasel, the way he pretended not to know her on the phone, I wish she'd marched over to his house and made a scene.

I agree Jeremy was a weasel but they were both cheaters. Making a scene at his house would only have hurt his wife and any children he might have had, all truly innocent parties in the situation.

[attica]

The minute Ms. Whitmore picked up the hanger, I covered my eyes. I didn't think they could've/would've shown much, but I was just not having it. My ladyparts were already grimacing in sympathy.

 

I remember an aunt told me that back in the 50's, when she worked in a doctor's office, she wasn't allowed to keep working after they knew she was expecting

 

Same with my mom. She took an office job when she knew she was preggers; they wouldn't have hired her if she didn't lie about it. And kept it only until she was showing more than loose fitting clothes could camouflage.

[Black Knight]

On the aftershow, I agree I'd rather have the cut scenes than the small talk. One thing the aftershows have convinced me of is that no one looks good in a wimple. The difference in how the nuns look in the show and the aftershow -not made up just with the wimple off- is astonishing.

The only one who I have thought looked better in a wimple than without - talking only about presentation in the show - is Shellagh who started out as a nun and then married the doctor. The wimple suited the shape of her face well!

 

Where is the show that made me understand why a brother and sister who suffered the work house together might end up living together as husband and wife?  I want that show back and not one that leaves me feeling all self-righteous and superior in 2016.

I was thinking on this more since my last reply, because it's an interesting topic, and I think I put my finger on why this particular statement felt off. And I figured it out: Incest remains as taboo in the 2010s as it was in the 1950s, when that particular plotline took place. So there was really no difference between the reactions of present-day viewers to Jenny's and as such we naturally understood and sympathized with why she reacted the way she did. Both Jenny and we needed Sister Julienne to explain a different way of looking at that situation.

 

But Miss Whitmore's pregnancy out of wedlock and Patsy's lesbianism and Mr. Su being Chinese simply aren't the same as incest. Societal mores have shifted. There are still people who disapprove, to one degree or another (and the most extreme degree of disapproval now can be just as awful as back then - murder, rape, etc.), but by and large viewers are going to be sympathetic and feel that Patsy is doing nothing wrong in loving another woman; that there's nothing wrong with Mr. Su being Chinese and married to a white woman; and that while Miss Whitmore did do something wrong (having an affair with a married man), she suffered far more than she deserved for it. That can't be helped. It's not that the show is presenting these situations differently, in a less nuanced fashion, than it did the incest situation, it's that mores haven't changed where incest is concerned.

 

I think the suggestion that Anita and the landlady should've been given POVs where they had reasons for their prejudices is sort of a way of trying to address this from the other end: Since we don't naturally understand and sympathize with Anita and the landlady like we did Jenny's revulsion over the incest, they should be given reasons that will make their prejudices more understandable in our eyes and thus sort of reverse-engineer a sympathy and thus make it seem like the show is being as balanced. But the underlying idea is flawed, for the reason I said above, because mores have shifted for some things but not for incest, so it's comparing apples to oranges. And certainly in 2016 there's no shortage of people who are as horrid as Anita or the landlady were in this episode.

 

No, but Sisters before Misters.

Agreed. I would have been fine with Tom telling Trixie, but at this point in time Trixie sees far more of Barbara than she does Tom. They live together and they work together much more frequently, so it's important that they maintain a functional relationship.

 

Trixie finding out on her own instead of hearing from Barbara makes me wonder if that might have ramifications for if she finds out about Patsy and Delia. I don't know how Trixie would react to that, but I already was thinking that I could see her being angry - angry that Patsy didn't tell her. Feeling hurt and upset that Barbara didn't tell her about dating Tom might exacerbate that.

Edited April 18, 2016 by Black Knight

[marceline]

I'm so grateful this show is around to remind people about life before legal abortion. When Trump says that women should be punished for having abortions, this is exactly the kind of thing he's talking about. 

 

Amazing to think that even a married teacher wasn't allowed to keep working if she got pregnant. I remember that still being the case as late as the early 70s.

[willowk]

Just wanted to note that I loved the scene where Sister MJ replanted the dandelions in the raised bed. The look on her face, Patsy's, and Fred's from their various points of view was hilarious.

[JudyObscure]

I think the suggestion that Anita and the landlady should've been given POVs where they had reasons for their prejudices is sort of a way of trying to address this from the other end: Since we don't naturally understand and sympathize with Anita and the landlady like we did Jenny's revulsion over the incest, they should be given reasons that will make their prejudices more understandable in our eyes and thus sort of reverse-engineer a sympathy and thus make it seem like the show is being as balanced. But the underlying idea is flawed, for the reason I said above, because mores have shifted for some things but not for incest, so it's comparing apples to oranges.

But you see I wasn't comparing Jenny's revulsion to incest to our revulsion about anything today. I didn't even remember anything about Jenny being upset. I was comparing the way the show used to take our natural attitude toward "bad," people and show us the humanity behind the stereotype. We thought, "Ugh, incest!" and found out the couple had understandable reasons for what they were doing even though they remained "wrong" in the larger sense. Last night we were all "Ugh, judgmental landlady!" and "Ugh, racist Angie!" (and how very easy it was for the writers to get us to jump on the "We hate them!" bandwagon with those two tropes) but the greater understanding part never came. We just went away still hating those two and keeping the sainted Single Mother on her pedestal. We learned nothing new about them last night. We got to hate the usual suspects and stay with familiar, comfortable attitudes.

Miss Whitmore didn't get thrown out into the snow to freeze, she got help from the midwives and taken to a safe place where she would be cared for until the baby came. It was her choice not to wait out her pregnancy, but to try something she had to know was terribly dangerous. Yet, by the end of the show, there still remained a feeling that she was a victim of circumstances beyond her control and that the entire community had failed her.

I was far more sympathetic to Sister Winifred who was encouraged to despise herself for thinking a few common sense, if critical, thoughts about an educated woman who should be a little smarter than the poor girl who got pregnant by her sailor boyfriend. Miss Whitmore had an affair with a married man. She knew she was taking a big chance at hurting his family. She knew she could easily get pregnant. She didn't take Jeremy's offer of help getting an abortion by an experienced practitioner. She used the coat hanger. Wanting to shake someone for her dumb decisions is not the same as being judgmental. Yet I thought we were supposed to dislike Winifred for her very thoughts. It all just seemed so heavy handed and predictable.

[Tardislass]

I saw it differently. The reason they didn't go to the practitioner is because they didn't have the money. I think that envelope that Jeremy slipped in the mailbox contained money but it was never actually stated. I didn't see the single teacher as sainted. I think they made it very clear she made a bad decision but was the only one punished-even though Jeremy was as much in the wrong-i'm thinking no condom. He got to keep his wife, family and job. 

 

As for the POV of the landlady and headmistress, I don't think it would have helped because basically you were a social pariah if single and unmarried. Landlords who ran "respectable" boarding houses thought that having a unmarried woman would blemish their home and the landlady being elderly didn't help her mindset. As for the headmistress, I read in the UK forums that many teachers back in the 1950s and before had to leave when they got married and/or pregnant, so I'm sure it was a condition of her contract. Was the headmistress wrong for firing her-no. But it just showed how much has changed from today. It also was a pretty clear advocate of pro-choice. From what I've read about even doctor-provided abortions, it was very hush-hush and there were some unsanitary and unsafe procedures. The nuns being okay with abortion did strike me as being rather modern and rather unrealistic. My father was a minister at an inner city parish back in the sixties and he remembers the back alley abortions of some of his parishioners. 

 

I myself found it a powerful episode-I think it all depended on your view of abortion. Though I do find myself rather bored of the Tom/Barbara saga. Though Nurse Crane is a wonderful wingman to all the girls. I actually like her the best. 

[marceline]

Just wanted to note that I loved the scene where Sister MJ replanted the dandelions in the raised bed. The look on her face, Patsy's, and Fred's from their various points of view was hilarious.

 

As a gardener, that scene drove me bonkers. I was practically screaming, "Sister, step AWAY from the garden! NOW!!"

 

The nuns being okay with abortion did strike me as being rather modern and rather unrealistic. My father was a minister at an inner city parish back in the sixties and he remembers the back alley abortions of some of his parishioners. 

 

I thought it was in line with what we've always seen from them. They are there to serve the population to the best of their ability. They see people at the best and worst times of their lives and it's not their place to judge. Although it's interesting how we've seen each of them struggle with that depending on the patient. Sister Julienne has calmly dealt with incest and abortion but the introduction of The Pill seemed to trouble her. Sister Evangelina had her blind spot around breastfeeding vs. formula. Now Sister Winifred getting unable to get past the fact that her patient was a teacher. Trixie struggled with that poor Irish family with dysentery because she remembered what it was like to be a child no one cared about. I love how none of these women are perfect. They just do the best they can and sometimes they screw up.

 

 

I myself found it a powerful episode-I think it all depended on your view of abortion. Though I do find myself rather bored of the Tom/Barbara saga. Though Nurse Crane is a wonderful wingman to all the girls. I actually like her the best.

 

When they brought her on, I couldn't have imagined loving Nurse Crane as much as I do now. 

[JudyObscure]

I think they made it very clear she made a bad decision but was the only one punished-even though Jeremy was as much in the wrong-i'm thinking no condom. He got to keep his wife, family and job.

Just another reason why women should take control of their own bodies and never trust the man to handle birth control.  So long as Mother Nature has determined that the woman is the one who will be visibly pregnant,  she will always be the one to suffer most of the "punishment,"  but then she's the one with the most options.  Today she has dozens of birth control choices, the morning after pill, the option of abortion, the decision of whether to keep the baby or put it up for adoption and usually the baby is considered more hers than his by the courts.  In 1961, Miss Whitmore, like all women, knew she had the most to lose and so was the most reckless.  Whining later about how it wasn't fair that his life wasn't as ruined as hers was, would have been pointless and childish.  I'm glad she didn't do that.

[AuntiePam]

I saw it differently. The reason they didn't go to the practitioner is because they didn't have the money. I think that envelope that Jeremy slipped in the mailbox contained money but it was never actually stated. I didn't see the single teacher as sainted. I think they made it very clear she made a bad decision but was the only one punished-even though Jeremy was as much in the wrong-i'm thinking no condom. He got to keep his wife, family and job. 

 

There was money in the envelope.  Unless there was also a referral to a doctor who could be trusted to perform the abortion, that money wasn't much help.  She didn't know where to go and she sure wasn't going to ask the nuns, maybe not even the midwives.

 

The landlady can be seen as someone with her own moral code.  Yeah, she kicked Ms. Whitmore out, but she also delivered the letter.  One point in her favor.  But she loses points because she couldn't just deliver the letter to the school and keep her mouth shut.  No, she just had to tell the principal that Mrs. W. was pregnant by a married man, ensuring that Ms. W would lose her job.  We can guess about the landlady's motivations -- strict bringing-up, never had a boyfriend (or had a bad experience with one), worried that her boarding house -- her livelihood -- will get a bad reputation.  If this had been an entire series about an unmarried pregnant woman in 1962, we might have learned more about her, and about why Ms. W made such bad decisions, and whether Jeremy really loved her.  We have this shorthand version that leaves room for a lot of opinions.

[MrsR]

"Potato salad is often the harbinger of Doom!!"

Best line ever.

[zxy556575]

"Potato salad is often the harbinger of Doom!!"

Best line ever.

 

Haha! And even today, still true.

[MaryHedwig]

No, she just had to tell the principal that Mrs. W. was pregnant by a married man, ensuring that Ms. W would lose her job.

Didn't Jeremy also work at the school? Didn't Jeremy mention to Ms. Whitmore at the park that he had to go because of his upper-sixth grade class? If I am right, I wonder if the principal ever found out about Jeremy's involvement.

[AuntiePam]

Didn't Jeremy also work at the school? Didn't Jeremy mention to Ms. Whitmore at the park that he had to go because of his upper-sixth grade class? If I am right, I wonder if the principal ever found out about Jeremy's involvement.

 

I think that was a different school.  Ms. W's school seemed to be near the Poplar neighborhood.  Jeremy's school looked a lot more posh -- park-like setting, etc.

[Driad]

Wondering why Delia got a single room.  Don't most of the midwives share rooms?  If a single was available, they might have given it to one of the others and had the newcomer share a room to help her get to know the others.  On the other hand, Delia may still be working elsewhere so maybe that was the reason.  

[doodlebug]

But Dr Tucker said that Nana Meg probably had typhoid fever as a young child. How is it that she did not inflect any of her children or neighbors in that tenement in the last 50 years?

He also said that the typhoid bacteria can lie dormant in the digestive tract of a carrier for many years, which is apparently what happened with Meg.  For whatever reason, the bacteria 'woke up' and started multiplying rapidly, which made her far more likely to spread it to others.  Based on the fact that she'd always lived in close quarters with others and that the bathroom facilities and running water were always at a distance and shared by many; it must have been a very recent development that her dormant infection became contagious again.

 

As for the money that Jeremy gave Miss Whitmore for the abortion, it might've been enough had she not lost her job and her home, too. He obviously didn't know she'd been evicted from her apartment due to her pregnancy or he wouldn't have left the envelope there. And, of course, it was the envelope that caused the landlady to go to the school and tell the principal. I think Miss W. probably hoped to keep the pregnancy a secret for the few weeks left in the term, and, if she'd been able to do so; she could've left and gotten an abortion (or had the baby and given it for adoption) and most likely have been able to return to work with no one the wiser.  It was the loss of everything; her relationship, her home and her job that drove her to try to abort herself since she wasn't going to be able to support herself for the foreseeable future, let alone care for a child. Suddenly the money for the abortion was needed to support herself until she could find work, which would be impossible if she was noticeably pregnant.  I don't think she expected to keep her job over the long haul, just to keep the pregnancy a secret for a few weeks until the term ended and she hoped in vain that the principal might be sympathetic enough to her plight to let her stay on for a brief time before she was obviously pregnant.