After Ruth is picked up by the sheriff, questioned about her unmarried status, and condemned for harmless habits such as going out with friends, she realizes that society has arbitrarily deemed some behavior as evidence of women’s “virtue” or “depravity”; in short, some acts earn them the label of being “good,” while any actions that smack of autonomy and personal independence cause women to be seen as “bad,” even though their activities break no laws. Ruth’s parents have already warned her against living alone, as society would deem her good looks to make her a threat and a “bad” influence on men. Because Ruth is unmarried, her independence puts her beyond a man’s control, thereby rendering her very existence suspect and dangerous in the eyes of her male-dominated community.

The novel soon establishes that society’s perception of “bad” femininity has more to do with appearances than a woman’s actual behavior. As Josphine says to Ruth, “You mean to tell me you got picked up because you were living on your own? [….] Here you had you a job, minding your own business, and [the sheriff] just come along and demanded you go to that doctor?” (84). The incredulity of her tone emphasizes the sheer injustice of the reasons that caused Ruth to be imprisoned at the Colony; she is not dependent on a man, and in the eyes of her community, that fact makes her immediately suspect. Similarly, although Opal never cheated on her husband, he believed that “breathing in the direction of another man makes [her] a whore” and therefor gave her “two choices: go where crazy people go, or come [to the Colony]” (232). In Opal’s case, merely existing in the same space as a man who is not her husband justifies her husband’s vindictive, abusive behavior; he condemns her to outright incarceration at the reform facility and is permitted to make such a life-altering decision for her without her consent. 

As the novel demonstrates, the construction of “good” and “bad” femininity is so deeply engrained in American culture that some women internalize these expectations and use them against other women. For example, neither Baker nor Stella ever questions why reform institutions exist for women but not for men, and Everhart uses the narrative to explicitly condemn the real purpose behind such facilities: the control of women, their behaviors, and their bodies. The permissive attitude of mainstream society toward these institutions is fully illustrated once Ruth is finally discharged, for when she explains to her friend Patty why Stella came to the Colony, Patty says, “It’s disgusting. That’s why these places exist, I suppose. To correct such behavior” (337). In this moment, Patty views Stella as the one to be corrected and does not blame Cordell, the rapist, for the girl’s pregnancy and predicament. Patty even goes so far as to state, “There’s a certain decorum women should follow. Even a girl, for that matter. I doubt anyone would’ve married her, not with that sort of past” (339). Patty’s words are a prime example of internalized misogyny, for she blames Stella for failing to exude the sense of “decorum” that constitutes the only measure by which women are judged to have value. Everhart thus implies that this victim-blaming exists because society as a whole faults women for men’s immoral behavior, as though men only make bad choices because women tempt them to do so.

The novel makes it clear that despite the abuses the women endure in the Colony, they do glean one positive development from their time there: the support from their fellow residents. Faced with the injustices that Baker and her minions perpetuate, the incarcerated women find that class differences and other arbitrary distinctions dissolve in the face of the one disadvantage that they all share: their undeserved status as erring females in a misogynistic society.

Even Stella, whose naivete compels her to betray her fellow inmates in her attempts to curry favor with Baker, benefits from the solidarity that arises amongst the residents of the Colony. Despite her determination to report the women’s rule infractions, the other women still pity Stella and try to comfort her when she is in crisis. Although Lucy judges Stella’s actions harshly, Ruth’s claim that Stella is like a “puppy” starving for “scraps” helps Lucy to see the traumatized Stella with more compassion. Likewise, Ruth and Frances both refuse to participate in Stella’s group punishment, and Ruth willingly endures another round in “Meditation” for her act of rebellion. Even the girls who do hold Stella down only do so out of fear, and their “averted” faces suggest that they feel a kinship with the girl, “even as they hold Stella’s limbs in place” (247). After the punishment is over, Opal and Sally try to “accommodate [Stella’s] slowness and poor effort” (264) in the kitchen because they sympathize with her physical and emotional pain. These various actions show that the women take comfort in giving and receiving support from one another despite their fundamental differences, and they rely upon each other to survive. 

Even Baker witnesses this solidarity, but because she has never experienced it herself, she struggles to understand it. She often watches the women working and considers their bond to be “a thing to be admired and envied” (163). Notably, Baker never develops any sense of solidarity with her own peers—Maynard, Dillard, and Crawford—because they are not in the same disadvantaged position as the Colony’s residents. For the women incarcerated at the facility, their shared hardships inspire them to band together against the control and authority that the staff exert, and this dynamic allows them to overcome the social divisions that would otherwise keep them at odds with one another. Even Lucy, whose status as a sex worker might otherwise cause many of the women to ostracize her, enjoys acceptance and community at the Colony. 

Baker’s own internalized misogyny merely emphasizes the bond amongst the other women, for she hates Ruth so much that she cannot understand why others applaud the independent woman’s behavior. After Ruth skips church and refuses to write a letter praising the Colony that has oppressed her, Baker sees Ruth as a threat, reflecting that she cannot “afford a renegade resident. Someone who holds merit with the rest” (187). Because the other women see Ruth as “an icon, a hero” (187), it is clear that Ruth is an avatar of justice. She stands up to the forces that oppress her and her peers, who rally around her in the hope that they might someday successfully oppose or escape the cruelty under which they live.