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Celia, a âwavy-haired 24-year-oldâ dressed in âher brand-new dressâ (3) takes a long train ride to an unknown destination. She shares this âsecrecy-soaked adventureâ with âa small group of womenâ (3) who are likewise unaware of where their journey will end. As she moves further from the poor, declining mining town where she was born, she wonders âWhere am I going? What will I be doing?â because, âfor her new employment and soon-to-be home, âsecretâ [is] the operative word,â repeated so often that it ârender[s] the most innocuous questions audaciously nosyâ (4).
Celia accepts that âsecrets [are] secrets for a reasonâ (4). Besides, in a country where âwar permeate[s] every aspect of existence, from sugar, gas, meat rations to scrap metal drives and the draft,â how can âshe or anyone heading to a good, safe job complain?â (5). Like Celia, the other âwomen on the train [have] been told that their new jobs [serve] one purpose only: to bring a speedy and victorious end to the warâ (7). Taking the job is âhow Celia [is] doing her partâ (7) to contribute to the war effort.
Celia had taken a job in the civil service working for the State Department in Washington, DC with a salary far exceeding her previous earnings as a secretary.