The Girl in His Shadow

Nora’s talent in the field of medicine and Daniel’s propensity to feel and empathize deeply with others’ pain both show that the social conventions meant to reflect the sexes’ inherent qualities are actually designed to control behavior and maintain social order. When Daniel walks in on Nora performing an autopsy, he notes her precision and yet struggles to accept her choice to do this work, as everything he knows of feminine sensibilities conditions him to believe that a lady could never stand the sights or smells involved. Furthermore, he is incredulous of Nora’s skill and knowledge, regarding her as “an antithesis of femininity” (83) even as she deftly conducts an autopsy. Daniel’s concept of femininity is based on what his upper-class mother, sisters, and fiancée have taught him: that women are “delicate” and modest by nature. Nora is neither, and as she tells Harry, “You’ll find women are bred to be nervous, not born to it” (106). This dynamic is further illustrated by the women in the audience at the public meeting, who “pretend” to faint because they are expected to blanche at the topics being discussed. The