The Wonder

Content Warning: This chapter contains depictions of an eating disorder.

On Thursday morning, Wright returns to the cottage for her next shift. She privately reaffirms her suspicion: Although Anna truly believes that she is living off of manna from heaven, someone must have been feeding her before the nurses’ watch began. When Anna wakes, she asks Wright again for her first name. Wright tells her that her name is Elizabeth. Anna asks what Wright’s family calls her, and Wright explains that she has no family left. Wright takes Anna out of the cottage to take a walk. As they walk, Wright teaches Anna more riddles. On their way home, Wright and Anna run into Dr. McBrearty. Wright tells him that she is concerned Anna is developing scurvy, and that she seems anemic. Dr. McBrearty gently but condescendingly warns Wright not to overstep her boundaries as a nurse. As they walk toward the O’Donnell family’s cottage, a group of visitors seeking Anna’s blessing approach, and Wright rushes the girl inside.

Inside the cabin, Wright has her first real conversation with Rosaleen, Malachy, and the maid, Kitty. Wright believes that the O’Donnells’ son Pat has emigrated, and asks how long it’s been since the family has heard from him. It is revealed that Pat died less than a year previously, at the age of 14. Wright is horrified at her mistake and explains that she thought he was alive based on the recent daguerreotype hanging in the family’s home. Rosaleen is delighted by the confusion: The daguerreotype was taken after Pat’s death, with eyes painted in to make him look alive. Wright learns that Pat died very quickly of a stomach illness, with no time to perform last rites. Rosaleen and Malachy tell the story eagerly, visibly upsetting Anna. When Wright takes Anna back into the bedroom, Anna reveals a distressing fear that her brother Pat is burning in purgatory. Unfamiliar with the concepts of purgatory and the absolution of sins, Wright feels unqualified to respond.

At the spirit grocery, Wright and Byrne discuss the situation over lunch. Wright believes that Anna’s grief is causing her not to eat, and that Anna believes she’s truly living without food. Byrne says that the entire country is in mourning after seven years of famine, and offers a new theory: Father Thaddeus, the village priest, is encouraging Anna not to eat in order to turn their small town into a tourist site for religious pilgrims. Wright leaves with new appreciation for the significance of food and hunger in the lives of the O’Donnells and other rural Irish people.

When Wright returns to the cabin for her next shift, she shares her concerns about Anna’s mental health with Sister Michael. Sister Michael refuses to discuss Anna’s concerns about Pat’s death or anything except her physical health. When Anna wakes, she asks Wright about her nicknames. Wright rejects each guess, remembering privately how her family had called her Lib when her parents were alive, and before her sister cut her out of her life. Wright asks Anna if she’s glad to have someone with her at night. Anna responds that she is never alone at night because “he comes in to me as soon as I’m asleep” (141). Wright initially assumes that she means Jesus, then wonders if Anna is admitting that Malachy or Father Thaddeus have been secretly feeding her at night. As Anna sleeps, Wright studies the saints’ life cards stuffed in her prayer book in increasing frustration. Wright attributes Anna’s belief in the saints’ stories to the fact that she was pulled out of school.

The next morning, Wright takes a long walk through the countryside before her shift. She observes a number of birds and flowers, and thinks about Anna’s knowledge of the natural world. Wright quickly loses her path, and accidentally falls headfirst into a marsh. As a result, she is 20 minutes late to the cabin. When she arrives, Father Thaddeus is taking tea with the family and answering Anna’s questions about purgatory. He explains to Anna that purgatory is not a physical place but an allotted time for the soul to be cleansed. Anna asks how long souls stay in purgatory: She knows that it’s seven years for each sin, but because she doesn’t know how many times Pat sinned, she’s not sure how long he’ll be in purgatory. Wright is disturbed by these calculations and by Anna’s visible distress. Father Thaddeus assures Anna that the prayers she’s said for Pat are sufficient, and he asks her to eat.

In the afternoon, a committee member named Mr. Flynn visits the cabin, calling Anna a beacon of hope for the Irish people. He brings a copy of the Irish Times containing William Byrne’s first article about Anna. Wright is infuriated to find that the piece is mostly satirical. Before leaving, Wright tells Sister Michael that she believes their watch is interfering with Anna’s health, and that they are no longer neutral observers. The next morning, Saturday, Wright is shocked when Anna refuses to hug her mother, pushing her away. Wright notes that this is Anna’s sixth day under her supervision without eating.

On her way back to town, Wright stops at the cemetery to visit Pat O’Donnell’s grave. She notices that there are no other O’Donnells buried in the cemetery. She then meets William Byrne, who seems pleased to see her. As they walk, the two talk about their respective careers. Byrne reveals that he became a journalist during the famine, and quickly lost the job for criticizing the English. Wright shares her experiences during the war. Byrne asks to see Anna personally, and expresses frustration that he’s wasted his time in Athlone. Wright, hurt by the implication that he doesn’t value time with her, runs off.