“The difference between stupid and ignorant was that ignorant could learn.”
Even if it seems to you that it is difficult to teach somebody to do something, you are mistaken. You can always teach a person to do something right, but he or she just needs to have a strong desire for it. When Grace Marks first begins to work as a servant, she does not know how to wipe the dust properly, wash floors and rub silver. Her friend Mary Whitney is confident that Grace can be taught to do anything, because she is clever and there is a bright spark of desire in her eyes to work hard and earn money. Grace Marks shows all the other servants of the house that she is capable of anything. Grace has her stubbornness that helps her work.
“In this world you have to take your bits and ends of kindness where you can find them, as they do not grow on trees.”
Almost all her life, Grace lives without love and care. She always needs the parental support, but the illness and death of her mother make her feel like an adult woman at the young age. Nobody gives her kindness and nobody teaches her that to be merciful is very useful for society. Even her father constantly beats her and calls her a thankless daughter. Where is here a place for kindness? When Grace Marks decides to leave the house to earn money, Mrs. Burt kisses her goodbye and wishes Grace all the best. Grace is very happy, because she first feels kindness for a long time. We need to appreciate every good deed, even if it is a simple goodbye kiss.
“To heal humanity one must know it, and one cannot know it from a distance; one must rub elbows with it, so to speak.”
Being a doctor is a very important job. Dr. Simon Jordan does not consider himself a professional in this field, but he would change his profession if he did not take advantage of the opportunities offered by Europe, as in New England such services were practically inaccessible and not so diverse. He considers it his professional duty to investigate the wrong side of people's lives, and although he has not yet achieved much success in it, the beginning, in any case, is due. Of course, he takes proper precautions not to pick up a bad disease. Nevertheless, the only thing that a doctor should have is trust. The patient should trust the doctor as Grace trusts Dr. Jordan, because he does not just treat her, but learns her life, fears, interests and Grace likes it.
“A prison does not only lock its inmates inside, it keeps all others out. Her strongest prison is of her own construction.”
Grace’s will is one of the negative female varieties – she can deny and reject much more easily than she can affirm or accept. Dr. Jordan sees it, if only for a moment, this conscious, even cunning gaze in the corner of her eyes – she knows she is concealing something from him. As Grace Marks stitches away at her sewing, outwardly resembling a marble Madonna, all the while she is exerting her passive stubborn strength against Dr. Jordan. The fact is that the prison has greatly changed Grace. She has retired into her shell and cannot always trust other people. Prison has taught her to be strong and independent. The prison has built a strong wall out of grace, which is difficult to destroy.
