Midwives

Over the summer, Bill Tanner offers a plea bargain to Sibyl. If she pleads guilty, she will spend only a year in jail and six on probation but must give up midwifery. Tanner thinks that this is an extraordinary offer since Sibyl may have to serve a 15-year term if found guilty by a jury. Consequently, Tanner is appalled when Sibyl refuses the offer. As news of the plea bargain spreads, doctors around the state express outrage that a midwife can get off so easily for the serious charge of practicing medicine illicitly. Connie is astonished by the rage of the doctors, who flood newspapers with op-eds demanding the highest possible sentence for Sibyl. While the doctors lobby through opinions, midwives around the state gather on roads to protest Sibyl’s persecution, often holding placards.

The trial is held in July in a courthouse in Newport, on the edge of Lake Memphremagog (on the border between Vermont and Quebec, Canada). Sibyl’s seat faces the windows overlooking the picturesque lake. While Sibyl enjoys the sight, Connie dislikes the narrow, cold lake, especially because of urban legends about monstrous creatures living in it. Connie is to be present in the courthouse during the entire trial, a decision that surprises Sibyl’s mother, Connie’s “Nonny.