This week we\u2019re still with Gwen, who last week contemplated kidnapping her four-year-old daughter, Casey, out of her temporary foster home\u2014a foster home that we have heard almost nothing about. We know next to nothing about how Casey is faring, though we do know that Farris presented the foster parents in a fairly positive light when Casey was handed over. Today we get to see Gwen hand over\u00a0the account of the social worker visits that lawyer Peter asked her to write up for him.<\/p>\n
Gwen started and sat straight up in bed when the alarm sounded at 7:00 a.m. She felt as if she hadn\u2019t slept at all. After showering and dressing quickly she headed down the South Hill to Peter\u2019s office downtown. She arrived early but was not surprised Peter was already there. Nor was she surprised when she was ushered into his office immediately. For whatever reason, Peter was obviously going out of his way to place her case as the highest priority on his schedule. She both appreciated and was puzzled by this fact.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I\u2019ve been trying to figure out how I would respond if I were in Gwen\u2019s shoes. I feel like appreciation and puzzlement would be accompanied by suspicion, especially if I had already been sexually harassed by my previous lawyer. After all, why would this lawyer be dropping everything\u2014and I do mean everything\u2014to work her case practically for free if he wasn\u2019t looking for something in return?<\/p>\n
Here, as with elsewhere, I feel like Farris has to struggle to put himself in his characters\u2019 shoes. He can\u2019t put together believable motives for social worker Donna because he honestly doesn\u2019t know what makes social workers tick. He can\u2019t get into Gwen\u2019s head either, and in trying what he actually does is insert what he thinks<\/em> she should be thinking. And so we have a Gwen who is puzzled and grateful, but not at all suspicious or concerned.<\/p>\nPeter starts by introducing Gwen to Sally.<\/p>\n
\u201cSally, this is Gwen Landis, our newest client, and Gwen, this is Sally Finley, the best legal secretary in Spokane.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sally blushed modestly. She had heard the line before but was glad of Peter\u2019s praise. She wasn\u2019t sure she was the best in Spokane, but she was very content to have a boss who made her feel that way on a regular basis.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Oh awesome, Farris finds a way to make Peter\u2019s attempt to praise Sally all about Peter and how awesome he is. Everyone adores him! Peter the great! Peter the magnificent! Teenage girls\u00a0giggle as he passes and flower petals cover the ground behind him. Oh wait, Farris only said one of those two things. My bad.<\/p>\n
I also want to point, again, to the head hopping going on here. Rather than picking a character and sticking with that character\u2019s point of view, Farris hops from head to head to head in essentially every passage.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m happy to meet you, Gwen,\u201d Sally replied. \u201cPlease feel free to call me any time. I can usually locate Peter anywhere in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThanks, that\u2019s reassuring,\u201d Gwen said, a bit uncomfortable with all the attention.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I\u2019m trying to figure out what Farris is trying to say about Gwen\u2019s character here. Is it that she\u2019s demure? Shy? Unassuming? Look, Gwen is a nurse. She spends her day interacting with a large array of people. I am a bit at a loss as to why her lawyer introducing her to his secretary would make her feel \u201cuncomfortable with all the attention.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anyway, Gwen hands over \u201ca nine-page handwritten document,\u201d her account of what happened during the two social worker visits, and Peter responds by telling her that \u201cif the microfiche ever goes on the blink at the law library, you could get a job.\u201d Farris mentions Gwen\u2019s \u201ctiny, precise penmanship,\u201d and Gwen laughs at Peter\u2019s quip. I feel like Gwen\u2019s ability to laugh at Peter\u2019s joke is meant to say something about her character as well\u2014she\u2019s able to laugh at men\u2019s\u00a0jokes, unlike someone like Donna (presumably).<\/p>\n
Anyway, Peter tells Gwen\u00a0that he\u2019ll read her account\u00a0once she\u2019s gone, which surprises Gwen as she expected him to ask her questions about it on the spot.<\/p>\n
Next comes this exchange:<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, today I\u2019m going to get Gordon\u2019s affidavit signed, pick up the tape of yesterday\u2019s hearing, and see if I can get Judge Romer to sign an order allowing us to take Casey to Dr. Schram for our own examination.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWont\u2019 that be a lot of exams for a four-year-old? Two psychologists and a physician in one week,\u201d Gwen said with real concern in her voice.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re right,\u201d Peter said shaking his head. \u201cBut I\u2019m afraid it can\u2019t be avoided. You never know how their exam is going to come out and we must be prepared.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut the psychological tests they give are so routine. Couldn\u2019t we just have our doctor review the test results and not give a whole separate battery?\u201d Gwen asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, I\u2019ll talk with Dr. Schram. We\u2019ll do whatever we can to limit the examination time and yet still do a thorough job,\u201d Peter replied. It was obvious that Gwen had a mind of her own and he would have to be ready to explain decisions in clear terms and not simply to to blow past her with a stuffy \u201cit\u2019s-my-professional-opinion\u201d kind of answer.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
And that\u2019s it. Gwen leaves, giving Peter a \u201cgenuine and warm\u201d smile. Peter is \u201csurprised at her suddenness\u201d and notes that \u201cnormally clients like to chat all day.\u201d<\/p>\n
I am quite honestly really horrified by this section. Could Peter be<\/em> more condescending? He supposedly realizes that he has to actually explain his decisions to Gwen, but then he does not explain anything<\/em>. Would it be so hard for him to explain why they need an independent evaluation, and why they can\u2019t just have their psychologist\u00a0look at the other psychologist\u2019s\u00a0report? There are reasons for these things, after all! Is explaining these reasons so hard?<\/p>\nAnd frankly, Peter\u2019s use of\u00a0\u201cin clear terms\u201d sounds like code for \u201cin ways lady brains can understand,\u201d though I could be wrong given that he contrasts this to giving a stuffy \u201cit\u2019s-my-professional-opinion\u201d answer. At the very least \u201cin clear terms\u201d appears to mean \u201callay the client\u2019s fears without actually telling them anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
And so, according to Farris,\u00a0Peter now recognizes that Gwen wants to know why<\/em> he\u2019s doing things\u00a0and making the decisions he is, and yet he does nothing to actually meet this desire<\/em>. Instead he pats her on the head. This makes me really upset. Peter has an opportunity here to actually explain things to Gwen, to bring her on board in a way, and he recognizes<\/em> this opportunity but then drops the ball entirely.<\/p>\nI\u2019m not sure whether I\u2019m more frustrated by Peter\u2019s condescension toward Gwen\u00a0or by Farris\u2019s inability to get inside his characters\u2019 heads. Or perhaps the two are related. Perhaps Farris is able to get inside Peter\u2019s head and Peter\u2019s only.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
According to Farris, Peter now recognizes that Gwen wants to know why he’s doing things and making the decisions he is, and yet he does nothing to actually meet this desire. Instead he pats her on the head. This makes me really upset. Peter has an opportunity here to actually explain things to Gwen, to bring her on board in a way, and he recognizes this opportunity but then drops the ball entirely. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":845,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[469],"class_list":["post-26050","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-anonymous-tip"],"yoast_head":"\n
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