Chapter 1 Summary and Analysis

Chapter 1. The chapter introduces the St. Cloud's orphanage in St. Cloud's, Maine. The founder and doctor of the hospital who runs the orphanage is Dr. Wilbur Latch. Set in the late 1920s and early 1930s, the women who come to the orphanage arrive pregnant, leave their unwanted children for adoption, and leave the orphanage after giving birth. The chapter introduces four of the main characters, which include Dr. Larch, his two nurses, Edna and Angela, and Homer Wells, an orphan adopted by four families that always returns to the orphanage.

Analysis Chapter 1. The orphanage stands as a symbol for safety and hope to the women who come pregnant and give up their babies for adoption and to Homer Wells, who becomes the mascot of the orphanage. While Dr. Larch believes the children at the orphanage should be safe and cared for...