Previous
Chapter 3
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Women, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Trauma, Healing, and the Vietnam War
Women’s Experiences and Solidarity
Heroism, Honor, and Sacrifice
Propaganda vs. Truth
Shame, Pride, and Moral Ambiguity
Summary
Analysis
Frankie performs well in Basic Training and learns many things, including how to debride a wound and start an IV. In March, she is the only woman on her flight to Vietnam—the majority are young, rowdy soldiers. Required to wear a skirted uniform and girdle, Frankie envies their comfortable fatigues. Captain Norm Bronson sits beside her. Haggard, he thanks her for volunteering but instructs her to keep her head down before falling asleep. Frankie rereads her information packet, feeling comforted by the military’s strict rules and focus on conformity. Believing she will be saving men’s lives far from the fighting, Frankie hopes to make her parents proud. She falls asleep thinking of Finley. Beside her, Captain Bronson mutters “Sending goddamn babies.”
Frankie is comfortable with structure and discipline, as evidenced by her performance in Basic Training. That she is the only woman on her flight highlights the rarity of nurses volunteering for the war, even as they’re an essential part of the war effort. Even in light of Finley’s death, Frankie imagines she will become a hero in Vietnam and work in relative safety. Captain Bronson’s demeanor hints at the rougher parts of war and his commentary suggests the young, inexperienced soldiers don’t know what they’re in for. It also subtly implicates the government, suggesting it’s sending children to their deaths.
Themes
When Frankie wakes, the cabin is strangely quiet. Suddenly, the plane nose-dives. Captain Bronson steadies her, but Frankie hears gunfire. Bronson is unconcerned—apparently the enemy often shoots at incoming planes. The pilot circles back and finally lands. Frankie exits to overwhelming heat and a stench of excrement. A soldier leads her to a school bus painted black, whose driver warns her away from the windows in case anyone throws grenades at the bus. Frankie rides into the American base, where another nurse directs her to report to admin tomorrow morning. She stops Frankie from saluting because “Charlie loves to kill officers.” The base is chaotic, full of armed guards and noise.
Frankie’s arrival in Vietnam is already more chaotic and frightening than anything she expected. Captain Bronson’s lack of concern indicates that this level of violence, though alarming to Frankie, is normal. The base is far from the orderly, regulated space Frankie has come to expect from the military—even saluting is considered unwise because the Viet Cong (colloquially nicknamed Charlie) target high ranking officers. In all, this scene emphasizes the discrepancy between the American public’s perception of the war and its reality.
Themes
A Jeep ferries Frankie to her temporary housing. The building looks like an old prison. Vietnamese children play in the front yard. Inside, a woman leads Frankie to a small room but makes no conversation. Alone, Frankie finds the bathroom, where she washes her face and has a drink. Seeing this, another woman tells Frankie she’ll be sorry and to never drink the water. She is unsurprised that Frankie is new. Sure enough, Frankie wakes in the night with terrible diarrhea. The next morning, she struggles into her uniform and searches the base for the administration building. There, a woman colonel directs her to a helipad. Declining to answer Frankie’s questions, the colonel pushes Frankie aboard a helicopter.
Frankie’s experience continues to overturn her expectations of service. Her lodging is bleak and she seems surprised to be in such close proximity to actual Vietnamese civilians. In drinking the water, Frankie exposes her own naivete about Vietnam (though, to be fair, no one has warned her against this). While the colonel is a woman, she is too busy to provide Frankie with any comfort or solidarity. In general, the other officers’ unwillingness to ease Frankie into her new job suggests there is no time for polite coddling when the war is raging around them.
Themes
Upgrade to unlock the analysis and theme tracking for all of The WomenThe Women!
Get LitCharts A+
After a terrifying flight marked by explosions and gunfire, the helicopter lands. The surgical nurse who greets Frankie, Patty Perkins, asks her not to salute. She welcomes Frankie to the 36th Evac Hospital, which is one of the safer posts. They provide care for the VSI—very seriously injured—who are evacuated from the front. Patty leads Frankie through the compound, pointing out buildings and describing the work. After giving her pills for malaria and diarrhea, Patty abandons Frankie at her hooch (a makeshift shelter) to attend to the latest emergency. Inside are three cots, two of which already contain someone’s personal effects. Frankie pins up her own family photographs and cries for Finley, feeling she’s made a terrible mistake.
Before she even arrives at her workplace, Frankie is traumatized by the omnipresent violence. Patty’s assertion that the 36th Evac Hospital is safer than other posts, then, is little comfort. That the medical staff abbreviates the phrase “very seriously injured” implies they tend to such wounds often. Patty’s efficient introduction and abrupt abandonment demonstrate that constant vigilance is necessary in this world, as casualties happen quickly and help is always needed. In other words, providing medical care is prioritized over everything else, including social niceties. Frankie’s regret suggests she feels out of place and overwhelmed despite her prior enthusiasm.
Themes
Get the entire The Women LitChart as a printable PDF.
