When We Had Wings

In fictionalizing the experiences of real women, the novel depicts heroic acts not often central in public perceptions and historical representations of war. Eleanor’s perspective points out early in the novel that women are often the forgotten figures in military histories, even by other women, when it suddenly occurs to her that nurses like her were at Pearl Harbor during the attack: “She could have been one of them. How many had survived? How many of them were hurt? How many of them had to rush to ten to the terrible wounds of bombing victims? Where in the world had they found the strength to do it?” (23). Eleanor often worries about having the strength to carry out her duties as a nurse while their lives are in danger, and her unrelenting efforts represent many real-life stories that go untold. As the nurses assist with surgeries and tend to POWs, the women take leadership roles often reserved for men and defy the gender expectations of their time.

While Eleanor “loved being a nurse, had wanted to be one since her earliest childhood memories” (2), Penny and Lita’s perspectives subvert the stereotype of nurses and women as natural nurturers.