Compromise with Sin

by Leanna Englert

  “Lard and salt? Like I mixed for your bruises.”

  He grinned. “Even though you wanted me to go away.”

  She laughed and cried and then reached out and hugged him. She mouthed an inaudible plea, Oh, Yonder, please don’t go away again.

  43

  June 1912

  Marie’s birthday. She would have been seventeen. Almost seven years since the accident that took her life. Fluttering leaves on cottonwoods filtered the rays of the sunrise, causing the statue to shimmer in the dappled light. The brisk morning, the breeze carrying cotton tufts shed by the trees, and hazy light were reminiscent of several of Louise’s annual pilgrimages to Chautauqua Park.

  Louise ran a hand along the statue’s doorframe, touching each notch beginning with Marie’s first birthday, pausing to remember what was special about each year. She tried to bring back the exact moment that was the subject of the statue, the moment when Frank measured nine-year-old Marie standing tall against the ruler in his hand, the fragrance of birthday cake wafting from the oven. What silly thing had he called her? Something about growing from a little sprite to a budding neophyte?

  Louise toweled off dew and cotton wisps from Marie’s head and recalled braiding her daughter’s hair before the measuring ritual. Her hand moved over a shoulder and brow and then the eyes. They were partially closed in an expression of delight. This was where Louise willed her thoughts to linger. Ever since her first visit to the statue, when she had confessed to Marie and Frank─”It was my fault”─she had discovered the statue’s ability to inspire comfort, not self-recrimination.

  The breeze shifted, and the aroma from the new Heart of the Plains bread factory caught her attention, an aroma that hadn’t existed the last time she stood on this spot. That had been with Yonder, a year earlier. He had wanted to visit the graves and see the statue. She complied, although she ached with the memory that Frank had wanted to kill him. Anticipating that the awful subject might come up, she had met it head on. “There are some things I must explain to you. You were innocent, a victim─”

  He had interrupted her. “I know everything I need to know.”

  Now she turned toward the sound of his voice.

  “Can you smell the bread?” Yonder approached and handed her the shawl she’d asked him to retrieve from the car.

  With his help, Louise drew the shawl around her shoulders. A thought made her smile, and having Yonder to share it with heightened her amusement. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. “The smell of progress. So much for my rabble-rousing stifling Riverbend’s growth.”

  They lived in Omaha now. Yonder owned a construction business that employed Indian workers whom he groomed for success in a white man’s world. Several of them had been hired by Bernard to work for Feldman Brothers Enterprises. Louise continued to press for legislation, but progress was slow, not just in Nebraska but elsewhere, with only two more states having mandated drops in the last three years. If all went well, the Nebraska Legislature should approve the printing and distribution of informational pamphlets in its next session. Meanwhile, Bernard influenced other philanthropists to provide drops for more and more hospitals. Louise kept up a full speaking schedule and remained active with the National Society to Save Babies’ Sight.

  She had become passionate about serving blind people, especially the children at Smithville Asylum. Jerrylynn had retired, and together they advocated for educational reform and career placement. Vinny was learning to tune pianos and spent his vacations with Aunt Bonita.

  Riverbend was mostly a memory, save for the annual visit to the cemetery and statue. Madge and Mrs. Henkleman, Marie’s piano teacher, had passed. Doc worked tirelessly with a Nebraska Medical Society committee he’d established to promote drops. Dovie was Dolores Henkleman now, the state senator’s wife. She had passed the reins of the Riverbend Ladies Lending Library to Alice who declared the demands on her time prohibited continued involvement with Louise’s campaign. Gertrude had surprised everyone by running off with Rev. Garnet Horton to live in a Utopian community in Texas. Irina’s whereabouts were unknown, but it was rumored that she was the inspiration for a scandalous novel penned by her twin sister. Henryetta had expanded her kolache business to include distribution in Omaha and Lincoln. Tom’s Whirlwind Maid factory was thriving.

  As for those people who didn’t live in Riverbend, Louise and Helen kept up a lively correspondence, and Daisy and Dr. Weil continued to promote legislation and were among Louise and Yonder’s closest friends, along with Bernard and Miriam Feldman.

  There was much Yonder never said. Never asked why Frank had wanted to kill him. Never asked how she got gonorrhea, simply trusting that she no longer had it. Never needed to know who Marie’s father was. Never talked about Giovanna.

  “You were running in your sleep again last night,” Yonder said, “and pleading with someone to stop.”

  That was another thing he’d never asked about, until now. If she cried out during the night and awoke out of breath from trying to escape Pa’s groping hands, Yonder simply held her until it was safe enough to close her eyes and rest her head on the pillow.

  Yonder adjusted Louise’s shawl, turned to face her, and held her hand. “Would it help to talk about it?”

  His eyes beseeched her to share her burden. She looked at the ground and her voice was weak as she began to tell him about Pa’s advances, about hitting him with a rake, and running away while Ma watched. “He used to call me ‘daughter of the devil.’“

  “He blamed you for his lust?”

  She nodded and looked toward the statue, almost fully lit by the rising sun.

  “And you believed you were responsible?”

  She looked at him with disbelief. “That’s what I was taught, what every girl was taught.”

  Yonder shook his head. “You told me once about beating up a boy at school because he played mean pranks on a girl.”

  She nodded. “They called her Dumb Sandy.”

  “Do you think Sandy was in any way responsible for the bullying she got?”

  “Of course not.”

  “Then why do you think you caused your father to molest you?”

  “That lesson was engrained. As long as I can remember I’ve known that girls and women were the source of men’s lust.””Jezebel,” Doc had called me. She adjusted her shawl over her bosom.

  He looked stricken. “When you cry out in your sleep . . . I’m helpless. All I can do is hold you and try to comfort you. If I could, I would banish your demons forever.” He gripped her arms just below her shoulders and looked determined to make her understand his words. “I can’t help you, Louise. Only you can. You must rid yourself of this false, and I daresay ignorant, assumption. Yes, men─and women─lust. But you are not responsible for the vile actions of your father.” His voice rose, and his eyes flashed. “He forced himself on you, the child he was supposed to protect.”

  Louise tried to choke back tears, but when he pulled her to him she buried her head in his shoulder and wept. His words were meant to absolve her of guilt she’d held for most of her life, guilt that she could not readily let go of. But safe in his arms, nurtured by his acceptance, she felt lighter, her spirits lifted. The tears stopped flowing with a series of sighs. Finally calm again, she stepped back. “Thank you.”

  Picking up the peonies she had cut at home earlier, she unwrapped them and arranged them on the pedestal. “One time the Garden Society tried to plant flowers here, but the children trampled them. So then they posted ‘Keep Off’ signs to no avail. I think that was a victory for Marie.”

  The rumble of a passing train set Louise to thinking. “I just realized that had the Burlington not eliminated Riverbend’s passenger service, I might still be the respected proprietor of Riverview Inn instead of the woman who spoke out about venereal disease and brought ignominy to Riverbend.”

  “That would have been a shame,” Yonder said. “On the other hand, I saw you growing restless long before the accident. Your spi
rit is such that you’d have found an important calling.”

  Yonder took the towel and wiped the parts of the statue she couldn’t reach. As he toweled off Frank’s shoulders, he said, “Frank was a good father, a protective father. It was the drink that made him crazy.”

  “Yes.”

  He wiped off the ruler. “The statue is a fine tribute to their bond. I always envied him.” He turned toward Louise and touched her cheek. “In more ways than one.”

  Married close to a year now, and I’m blushing. Louise stepped around the statue and stood past its open door. “Remember our visit here last year? I was standing in this very spot.”

  Yonder dropped the towel and joined her. “I got down on one knee, and when I stood up, my pant leg was wet from dew.”

  Louise smiled. “Until that moment, I was afraid you might never propose.”

  “I was terrified you wouldn’t accept.”

  “Remember our kiss?”

  “Refresh my memory.”

  Her eyes beckoned while his gaze shuddered through her body. Then his lips met hers, and his tongue played around her mouth, teasing it open. His hands on the small of her back pulled her into him, against his manhood.

  They parted, and she asked, “Did we get it right?”

  “I believe more practice is called for. What are your plans for the afternoon?”

  “I’m ready for the Feldmans’ visit tonight except for making corn pudding. Other than that, I’m all yours.”

  Yonder smiled, the wrinkling at the corner of his eyes reminding Louise of what had first endeared him to her so long ago. “Let’s go home.”

  Acknowledgments

  If I wanted to wrap myself in mystique, I’d tell you how I toiled alone in a drafty garret, sometimes forgetting to eat and sleep, a slave to a master that commanded me to forsake all else in pursuit of the writing. It didn’t happen that way. This novel came about in fits and starts and with help all along the way, notably from the following:

  My husband, Timothy, who only thought he knew what he was signing up for when he married me six years ago.

  My children, Steve and Cindy, who would have been conscripted to read my work-in-progress if they hadn’t volunteered.

  Ramon Carver, who adapted scenes from my novel for the Salado (Texas) Living Room Theatre; my granddaughter, Quinn, who played the part of Marie; and Tim, who played Doc.

  My writing critique group in Austin, Novel in Progress, where I proudly hold a self-appointed position as Name Sheriff.

  Many friends and family members who read and critiqued my work and offered encouragement.

  Professional sources, namely American Academy of Ophthalmology, Sherwin Isenberg, M.D., Jane Kivlin, M.D., Ivan Schwab, M.D., and Prevent Blindness America.

  Discussion Questions

  Louise can be cunning and manipulative. To what extent is she a product of her time and circumstances? To what extent is she simply self-serving?

  What is the significance of Louise’s fluttering eyelids?

  Louise blames herself and Doc for Marie’s blindness. Who or what else might be at fault?

  What did Louise learn about herself from the night spent caring for victims of The Twister? How did it influence her later on?

  Why does Louise risk her hard-earned reputation to champion the babies’ sore eyes cause? What price does she pay for her role? What does she gain from her role?

  Louise and Dovie’s friendship seems rock solid. What drives them apart?

  Louise’s childhood nemesis, Daisy, greets Louise like a long lost friend. Why does Louise so quickly trust that Daisy has changed?

  What do you think of Louise’s approach vs. Frank’s when it comes to preparing Marie to succeed in a sighted world?

  At the Chautauqua supper party, what was it about Giovanna’s presence and guests’ praise of Louise’s peach melba, that awakened Louise to a lost part of herself?

  Doc says it was because he was a doctor that he didn’t think Louise would become infected. What does he mean?

  What were the prejudices that impeded the babies’ sore eyes movement and subsequent legislation? What else stood in the way?

  What makes Frank ill-suited to innkeeping? Did he find his calling with the Whirlwind Maid & Marie’s Chautauqua career?

  Often what Louise fears doesn’t materialize. When she fears that the child who leaves for the Chautauqua won’t be the one who comes home, what is she anticipating?

  What do you think Marie’s prospects were had she lived?

  Was Frank capable of killing Yonder?

  Helen Keller’s romance was sabotaged in large part because of a bias against people with handicaps marrying. Does this bias exist today?

  How does Louise’s understanding of her “compromise with sin” change over time? Does she ever come to grips with it? Can she forgive herself?

  What are some erroneous beliefs Louise and others have regarding sex? What is the impact of these beliefs on her?

  Betrayal is one of the themes of the novel. Which characters betray or are betrayed?

  What enables Louise to forgive her mother’s betrayal?

  Although Helen Keller is presented in a fictionalized friendship with Louise, the representation is true to her character. What surprises you most about her abilities and views?

  When Bernard accuses Frank of giving Louise the “clap,” Frank immediately suspects Yonder is Marie’s father. What are the clues throughout the novel that cause him to jump to that conclusion?

  How do you think Yonder feels about the assimilation movement and his role in it?

  Why does Louise consider abandoning the campaign for drops?

  Discuss any of these themes explored in the novel: shame and redemption, artifice vs. authenticity, friendship, and false pride.

  Afterword: What’s Real and What’s Not

  “Babies’ sore eyes” is real. Minutes after you were born, it’s almost certain that, by state law, a prophylactic agent was instilled in your eyes. The practice was, and still is, mandated by state law.

  The purpose is to prevent ophthalmia neonatorum, or “babies’ sore eyes,” an infection caused by gonococcus bacteria transmitted when the baby passes through the birth canal of a mother who has gonorrhea. Infection can also occur when the highly contagious germ is picked up from a towel, blanket, or hands.

  Gonorrhea raged unchecked in the early twentieth century. A man could be treated for symptoms yet remain a carrier and infect his wife, who might not know she had the disease until serious complications developed.

  The grassroots movement to get states to mandate drops in babies’ eyes stands as one of the great public health triumphs of the twentieth century. An unsung triumph, to be sure. It took many years, from about 1910 until 1940, for all states to adopt this legislation. Today’s preferred prophylactic is erythromycin ointment.

  Sadly it is true that some healthy babies were accidentally blinded when they were given silver nitrate drops that hadn’t been sufficiently diluted. Eventually it became the practice to package dilute silver nitrate in individual doses in wax ampoules.

  As the public became aware that blindness could be caused by gonorrhea, some blind people and their families were stigmatized. To my knowledge, however, there was never a “clapping” incident.

  With the exception of Helen Keller, the real heroes in the eradication of “babies’ sore eyes” do not show up in the pages of Compromise With Sin. They’re worth noting:

  Karl Sigmund Franz Credé, Director of the Lying-in Hospital in Leipzig, Germany, in 1882 published results of his experiments showing that instilling dilute silver nitrate drops into newborn babies’ eyes would prevent blinding from ophthalmia neonatorum.

  Dr. Lucien Howe, an American who led the movement for state laws, has been called “the father of ophthalmia neonatorum legislation.”

  Dr. Prince Morrow and Dr. Park Lewis were prominent figures on the Commission to Investigate the Conditions of the Blind in New York State, whi
ch published a report that influenced establishment of the National Society for the Prevention of Blindness.

  Louisa Lee Schuyler, a prominent philanthropist and civic leader, read the report of the New York Commission and was struck by a photo of blind children captioned “Needlessly blind.” She instigated a movement that became the National Society for the Prevention of Blindness. Schuyler, the granddaughter of General Philip Schuyler and Alexander Hamilton, was seventy-one years old at the time. I named my protagonist “Louise” as an homage, but the only resemblance to Schuyler is her courage in tackling the taboo subject of venereal disease in order to save babies’ sight.

  Ignorance and injustice flourished in this time of strict taboos regarding sex. Some examples:

  The wedding night came as a shock to many an unsuspecting bride.

  Topics considered improper included sex, pregnancy, and venereal disease.

  Many people believed women were responsible for a man’s lust and/or impotence.

  A proper woman went into her “confinement” once her pregnant condition showed.

  An unmarried woman who got pregnant could expect that she and her “bastard” child would be shunned by the community and even her own family.

  Helen Keller, Anne Sullivan Macy, Peter Fagan, Edward Bok, Rev. Russell Conwell, and Andrew Carnegie are actual historical figures. I have fictionalized them but with a keen sense that I wanted to remain true to who they were.

  Yes, Helen Keller did write an opinion piece (actually two) in The Ladies’ Home Journal warning mothers about babies’ sore eyes. I changed the date of the article I quoted. It actually appeared in January 1909. She also served on the National Committee for the Prevention of Blindness, which became the National Society for the Prevention of Blindness, today known as Prevent Blindness America.