Summary

In Chapter 9, “Learning the Rules,” Adah woke up in the hospital in the maternity ward with other women who had just given birth. One of the women had been trying to have a child for 17 years. Adah admired a “sleek” (114) woman with a handsome, doting husband who visited her regularly. Francis rarely came and did not send flowers or cards like the other husbands. All the other women also had nice nightdresses and Adah decided she would tell Francis he must go buy her one. She was then told by one of the nurses that she actually needed a nightdress because women were not meant to wear hospital gowns in the maternity ward. All of this made Adah feel ashamed and angry at Francis. When Francis came, he had a letter from the library informing Adah they would be paying her for her...