Chapter 54 Summary: Nurse Auxiliary
⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.
Summary
Still shaken by the bombing and her narrow escape, Molly Wakefield is desperate to find employment and a foothold in war-torn London. She approaches several chemist shops offering to mix powders, but is turned away—first politely, then rudely—because of her youthful appearance and disheveled condition. Rejecting her attempts is a man who scolds her for wasting time during wartime. Molly tries other businesses with “Position Needed” signs, but each owner finds a reason to refuse her, perhaps because her clothes, though grimy, still look expensive.
As she is about to give up, Molly spots a sign for the Covent Garden Medical Clinic Branch. Peering through the window, she sees a makeshift hospital full of bomb victims and busy nurses. Inside, a placard announces “Nurse Auxiliaries Needed.” She straightens her dented hat and enters.
Sister Helen, a thin nurse with worry lines, dismisses Molly as too young. Molly replies that she is sixteen and has medical training from Leiston, where she worked under a senior nurse and a doctor, assisting with surgeries and wound care. Sister Helen scoffs, but the Principal Matron, Tweedy, overhears and challenges Molly with a test: how would she treat a serious infection? Molly answers correctly, mentioning sulfanilamide and penicillin, and goes on to describe using plasma for blood loss and morphine syrettes for pain relief, all while explaining the protocols learned from actual battlefield nursing. Both women are astonished.
Matron Tweedy, impressed, notes that the clinic is short-handed and that auxiliary training is only fifty hours—far less than Molly’s experience. She offers four pounds a week plus meals. When Tweedy asks for a letter from her parents authorizing her to work, Molly quickly lies, saying her father will gladly provide one. She gives her name as Molly Wakefield and leaves with the position effectively secured.
Key Events
- Molly fails to obtain work at several chemist shops and other places due to her age and shabby-but-costly clothing.
- She discovers the Covent Garden Medical Clinic Branch and sees the nurse auxiliary sign.
- Sister Helen initially refuses her, but Molly insists she has medical training.
- Matron Tweedy appears and tests Molly’s medical knowledge.
- Molly correctly explains treatments for infections, plasma, and morphine use.
- Tweedy hires her on the condition of a parental letter; Molly deceives her by claiming her father will provide one.
Character Development
- Molly Wakefield: Demonstrates remarkable resilience and quick thinking. Although exhausted and disheartened, she perseveres through multiple rejections. Her composure under the matron’s interrogation shows growing confidence and skill. She also reveals a willingness to lie (about her father’s authorization) to secure the job, reflecting the desperate pragmatism war demands of her.
- Matron Tweedy: Initially stern and skeptical, she respects evidence of competence. Her decision to hire Molly despite her age shows flexibility and a recognition that extraordinary times require extraordinary measures.
- Sister Helen: Embodies the gatekeeper’s skepticism; she quickly defers to Tweedy and later apologizes once Molly proves her knowledge.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
- Age versus Capability: Molly’s youth is repeatedly used against her, yet she proves that experience and knowledge matter more than years.
- War as a Catalyst: The war has disrupted social norms, allowing a sixteen-year-old girl to work in a military-affiliated hospital.
- Truth and Deception: Molly’s lie about the parental letter foreshadows the moral compromises survival requires in wartime.
- Medical Terminology as Authority: Molly’s fluent use of terms like sulfanilamide, sepsis, and syrette serves as a password to gain entry into a world that would otherwise refuse her.
Why This Chapter Matters
This chapter is a turning point for Molly’s role in the novel. It moves her from being a passive refugee of the bombing to an active participant in the war effort. Her nursing position at Covent Garden places her at the heart of London’s medical response, giving her access to information and people that will be crucial later. The chapter also solidifies Molly’s resourcefulness and cunning—qualities that define her character arc in the second half of the book. Additionally, the detailed portrayal of wartime medical practices grounds the story in historical realism.
Study Questions and Answers
1. Why do the chemist shop owners refuse to hire Molly, and what does this reveal about society’s view of women and class during the war?
The owners cite her age and appearance. One suspects she is joking, and another implies her clothes once belonged to a wealthier person. This reveals that wartime employment was still governed by class assumptions and that young women, especially those who looked “better off,” were not trusted to do manual or skilled work. Molly’s grimy but formerly expensive clothing marks her as an outsider.
2. How does Molly prove her medical competence to Matron Tweedy?
Tweedy quizzes her on treating serious infections. Molly answers by naming sulfanilamide and penicillin as disinfectants, explaining the danger of sepsis and gangrene. She then voluntarily elaborates on the use of plasma for blood loss and morphine syrettes for pain, including the safety measure of pinning the syrette to the collar. This detailed knowledge convinces Tweedy that Molly has real battlefield nursing experience.
3. What lie does Molly tell, and why is it significant?
Molly claims that her father will gladly write a letter authorizing her to work. In truth, her parents are dead or absent—this lie is significant because it shows Molly will bend the truth to survive and contribute. It also creates a future complication when the letter is demanded, raising the stakes of her deception.