Midwives

The first-person narrator of the book, Connie, is an obstetrician who has recently joined a practice in central Vermont. Connie describes herself as resembling her mother, Sibyl, with dark blonde hair and blue eyes. However, while Sibyl’s hair was curly, Connie’s is straighter. Connie is a complex and dynamic character: Since Connie is a retrospective narrator describing a tectonic event during her adolescence, the reader is given a look at both her teenage and adult selves. Connie’s narration also illustrates the difference between her internal experience and her parents’ perception of her. Connie’s parents, Sibyl and Rand, see her as mature and competent, but Connie’s narration shows that she is far more vulnerable than she appears. In particular, she is wracked by fear at the prospect of her mother being sent to prison. Thus, Connie positions herself as an adolescent who is forced to grow up too soon, making her arc central to the theme of Growing Up in the Shadow of a Family Scandal.

Connie’s narrative voice indirectly characterizes her as a wise, empathetic woman who has a generous yet fair view of her childhood self, her mother, and the larger world.