The Girl in His Shadow

“Enduring some female ill-temper—and eccentricity, Daniel thought […]—was a small price.”

In this passage, Daniel is indirectly characterized as a conventional, upper-class Victorian man, for his disparaging comments about women shows that he expects women to be capricious and emotional, as this is how upper-class women like his fiancée typically behave. Daniel also assumes that his interactions with Nora will be few because he intends to spend so much time in the clinic, and he does not expect her to be there too because this would be improper.

“She was used to problems of all sorts besides the usual domestic wrinkles: [including] the doctor’s repugnant but necessary trade in dead bodies.”

With this matter-of-fact tone, the narrative establishes Nora’s pragmatic approach to Croft’s illegal practice of buying corpses from graverobbers for the purposes of studying anatomy: something that many people would deem morally reprehensible. Her assessment establishes her practical yet nuanced thinking, for even as she recognizes the practice’s moral ambiguity, she also acknowledges its vital role in the development of medical knowledge. The passage also foreshadows the fact that Croft’s actions and those of Nora herself will prove equally complex as the story unfolds.

“Her husband’s frantic voice sliced like a razor inside Daniel’s ears.”

Daniel is particularly susceptible to the grief and pain of others, and he lacks Croft’s knack for blocking such things from his perceptions. This simile emphasizes his empathy and conveys the extent of emotional pain he feels when he is confronted with the pain of others. This personality quirk stands as a distinct departure from the stoic demeanor expected of a Victorian gentleman and doctor.

“An expression crossed Nora’s face that he hadn’t time or energy to translate.”

Because the story is told from the third-person omniscient perspective, this moment demonstrates how foreign Nora seems to Daniel, for although the narrative reveals the full range of her experience and skill to readers, Daniel is not aware of them. Thus, Audrey Blake creates dramatic irony when Nora’s expression is unintelligible to Daniel, even as the narrative makes her fury plain to those who know her background.

“Nora […] discovered she was more content when she had meaningful things to do.”

Nora isn’t unconventional for the sake of being rebellious; instead, her unconventionality stems from a desire to be useful and to play a meaningful role in the world. While most ladies learn needlepoint and select dress patterns, Nora would rather spend her time doing something of value to society, and this preference explains her aversion to conventional femininity.

“Though accomplished, Vickery was thick-jowled and thin-skinned, his mouth set in a permanent frown as if anticipating an insult to his skill and intelligence.”

Vickery’s bulldoggish appearance and inflated ego instantly characterize him as a bully. Likewise, his considerable pride prevents him from keeping an open mind or admitting that other practitioners’ methods could lead to better results than his own. He therefore represents the traditional medical establishment in London and spearheads the faction that disdains Croft and other creative thinkers, instead favoring tradition that leads to stagnation.

“You poor child! You must be terrified.”

Daniel’s response to finding Nora mid-dissection is to react with horror and a form of sympathy that is deeply imbued with condescension, for Nora is neither “terrified” nor a “child.” Operating on his own unthinking biases, Daniel assumes that Croft has forced her into this work, and his willingness to call her a “child” highlights society’s infantilization of women. That Nora engages in this work because she enjoys it never occurs to him because he believes women to be intellectually limited and inherently delicate.

“Croft […] admitted his mistakes without ego to a crowd of students.”

Unlike Vickery, whose massive pride overwhelms every other consideration, Croft is far more desirous of medical advancement than personal recognition. When Croft is wrong, it is nothing to him to acknowledge it, and this willingness makes Croft a particularly good teacher. He understands The Correlation between Risk and Reward and openly embraces the idea that failure is a step toward success.

“It would be easier for me if you would—couldn’t you—be less dismayed that I exist.”

Nora’s singularity makes her a source of fascination and fear to Daniel. He doesn’t know what to expect from her because she fails to behave as he has been taught to expect. Unsure of her, he becomes less sure of himself, and he plays by rules to which Nora will not submit. Despite The Arbitrary Nature of Social Conventions, such rules render men and women intelligible and predictable to one another and establish a semblance of order on society, however unjust aspects of it may be. Nora’s existence, for Daniel, calls everything he knows about women into question, and this makes him deeply uncomfortable.

“Despite her lack of feminine refinements, [Harry] seemed to like her […] For the first time in her life, Nora tried on hope like a garment and found it suited her.”

Harry’s attraction to Nora is heightened by her intelligence and skill, and this allows her to hope for a future that includes romantic love as well as the practice of medicine. The simile in this passage shows how unfamiliar this form of hope is to her and how much she enjoys it. The scene also demonstrates the contrast between Harry and Daniel.

“You are useful here […] What would you do at home? Give up your work and live a safe life centered on trifles? Here you help people. You do what matters.”

When Nora encourages Daniel to continue his work in medicine, the similarity between his reasons for practicing and hers are clear, and this similarity renders her more intelligible to him. He may not understand why she isn’t like other young ladies, but he does understand her appeal to his desire to help others and do something meaningful. Knowing that she feels this way about the work helps Daniel to see her less as an enigma, and he slowly learns to recognize and respect her as a colleague.

“[H]e was going to abandon the profession she would give anything to practice.”

When Daniel appears to forsake medicine for his fiancée, Nora’s thoughts reveal how significant freedom of choice is to men’s experience in the novel, highlighting Women’s Lack of Agency in the Victorian Era. Daniel can reap the benefits of formal education and years of training and still choose to walk away from the profession. By contrast, Nora would give anything for the opportunities Daniel has had, and in this moment, she feels more strongly about practicing medicine than he does. She also finds his freedom and her lack of it to be monumentally arbitrary and unjust.

“Daniel didn’t realize how much he’d missed the bedlam of Great Queen Street until he watched Nora tug on Dr. Croft’s sleeve and scold him for pulling on the sleeping dog’s tongue.”

When Daniel returns to Croft’s home after his break with Mae, his emotional response is indicative of how much he has changed since his first arrival. Early on, he was pleased by his own fastidiousness, but now he enjoys chaos. He used to insist on order and convention because he understood them; now, he delights in the strangeness of his situation, and this shift foreshadows the change in his feelings for Nora as well.

“In the surgery, a sudden singleness had been born between them.”

Prescott’s surgery combines with Daniel’s and Nora’s subsequent realizations about what happened between them to represent a turning point in their feelings for one another. There is no denying that their old resentments and fears have been replaced by an understanding of how much they admire one another.

“When we first gave him the ether, he didn’t even twitch […] There was little danger of an accidental cut because he didn’t move.”

Though Daniel and Nora can’t be sure that the ether will work as they hope, they recognize that Prescott will die without surgery and that the operation is far too risky to be attempted on a conscious man. When Daniel tells Harry just how well the ether worked, he is excited about its potential uses. The use of ether demonstrates The Correlation between Risk and Reward, as Prescott owes his life to it.

“[H]er lips found his as easily as the needle of a compass finds north.”

The simile describes Nora and Daniel’s first kiss as though it were inevitable, like the coming together of two things that are meant to be. A compass will always point north, no matter the weather, terrain, or location, and by comparing the way that Nora’s lips find Daniel’s, the narrator suggests that the kiss is natural and right.

“Never did [Mae] risk her good name to protect [Daniel’s].”

Daniel realizes how dramatically different Nora is from Mae, but it takes him some time to understand how much more Nora suits him and how useless it is to measure a person’s merit by the extent of their adherence to social conventions. Nora risks her reputation when she goes into the club after him, while Mae rejects Daniel out of hand to avoid further personal embarrassment. However, society considers Mae to be proper and modest, while condemning Nora for her talent and skill.

“The sumptuous meal had turned to sawdust in Nora’s mouth beneath Mrs. Gibson’s disapproving stare, and the excitement of attending the theater and wearing such a beautiful gown was now as sour as vinegar.”

Blake uses similes to draw attention to Nora’s deep mortification and disappointment upon meeting Daniel’s parents. She can enjoy neither her meal nor the theater because of Mrs. Gibson’s resentment and disapproval. Nora’s guileless innocence contrasts with Mrs. Gibson’s haughty propriety, sharpening Daniel’s growing awareness of The Arbitrary Nature of Social Conventions and heightening Blake’s criticism of Victorian society.

“You seem to forget the sisters who pass by you every day in hospital, doing the skilled work of healers and nurses. Miss Beady continues their tradition of mercy.”

During the public meeting, when Vickery suggests that Nora is lying by claiming to have some surgical skill, Croft points out that there are many nuns who serve as nurses in the hospital. Vickery thinks that only men can practice medicine, and Croft’s reminder of the many women who also do so underscores the falseness of such a belief and the conventions that appear to support it.

“I hardly know the rules with her.”

Daniel’s confession that Nora’s unconventional behavior makes him unsure of how to act demonstrates how powerfully Victorian social conventions order society. This widespread trend makes life simpler and more convenient for those like Daniel, who accept those conventions. He has not yet realized how thoroughly these rules disempower people who refuse to conform.

“That is what you want?”

Salvio Perra is the first person to ask Nora this question, and it is indicative of just how little English society respects her desires. Croft assumes that she will marry Daniel and does not understand her reasons for rejecting this course of action. Likewise, Daniel says Nora must go to the country because that is his preference, not hers. Perra’s more sensitive question is emblematic of how much more freedom Nora will have in Italy.

“I don’t wish you to marry me only to save me from the shame of my unwomanly pursuits. Or perhaps the greater shame of being ignorantly seduced by some Italian doctor? Which is it—am I too removed from my sex or too weakened by it?”

Nora points out how easy it is for men to manipulate the conventions that govern female behavior. She doesn’t want Daniel to marry her to prove that she is no threat to society, nor does she want him to marry her to protect her from being bedded by an Italian lothario. Nora points out that his contradictory comments suggest that she is simultaneously too headstrong and too weak.

“If I were a man, you’d allow it.”

When Croft initially refuses to let Nora go to Italy, her arguments become more incisive. She has already said that she will never forgive him if he denies her this chance, but he doesn’t respond to emotional arguments. This comment, however, points out one way in which Croft is thoroughly conventional, for he believes that Nora, as a young woman, is too fragile to go alone. He has never found her to be too delicate for any difficult enterprise, and his unwillingness to separate her competence from his expectations of conventional women makes him no better than Vickery in this moment.