American poet and author William Carlos Williams is one of the torchbearers of the modernist literary movement, particularly associated with imagism alongside the likes of Ezra Pound and Hilda Doolittle. Primarily known for his poetry, Williams has also published numerous collections of short stories and plays in his lifetime. “The Use of Force” was first published in 1938 in a collection called Life Along the Passaic River. Narrated in the first-person narrative voice, the story depicts a violent medical encounter between a country doctor and a young girl who is suspected to have diphtheria.
The Use of Force | Summary
The story begins in medias res, or in the middle of action when the narrator who is a doctor is summoned on a house call to the country house of the Olsons, as their daughter is reported to be very sick. Upon reaching the house, he meets the girl’s mother who appears timid and apologetic, explaining that they have kept their daughter in the kitchen to keep her warm. Entering the kitchen, he finds the child seated on her father’s lap while the entire family eyes the doctor nervously, their eyes betraying their mistrust, indicating that this may be the first time that they are using the narrator’s services. The parents are brief with their descriptions of the patient, betraying no more information than that which is absolutely necessary.
The child, who the doctor describes as ‘an unusually attractive little thing’, sits motionlessly in her father’s lap, eyeing the doctor with curiosity and apprehension. Looking at her flushed face, the doctor realises that she has a high fever, which she has reportedly had for the last three days, and no home remedy has been able to bring it down. The doctor enquires whether she has a sore throat, and both her parents confirm that she has not, admitting however, that they have only relied on her answer and haven’t been able to examine it physically. Knowing that a number of children who study in her school have been infected with diphtheria recently, he suspects it, deciding to examine her throat first. Coaxing the child, he politely asks her to open her mouth, but the child sits there motionlessly, not obeying. Seeing this, the doctor and the parents try to persuade her to open her mouth, the mother adding ‘he won’t hurt you’ which infuriates the doctor, who knows that now the child will be even more difficult to deal with, having learnt the possibility of being hurt. As he tries to move his chair closer to Mathilda, she suddenly attacks him, knocking his glasses off his eyes.
This begins a string of violent efforts between the doctor and the child, with the former trying to make her submit to his will, and the latter showing undeniable strength of character and willpower, doing her best to resist the intrusion inside her mouth. The girl’s mother is thoroughly embarrassed by her daughter’s aggression and apologises profusely, calling the doctor ‘a nice man’ enraging the doctor again with her lack of tact and understanding of child psychology. He tries to persuade her verbally again, even threatening her with force if she doesn’t comply. Mathilda, however, remains as stubborn as ever and refuses to open her mouth. Stating that a throat culture is necessary for obtaining a diagnosis, the doctor acquires consent from the parents before proceeding with the battle of strength and willpower, a battle in which the parents keep growing weaker while the patient and her doctor keep heightening the intensity of their fury and aggression at each other. The father tries his best to restrain his daughter, but embarrassment and fear get the best of him at crucial moments, prompting him to loosen his hold, resulting in the doctor having to renew his efforts all over again. He orders him to put her on the front of his lap and hold her wrists, at which, the child starts screaming of pain, terrified enough to shriek that ‘You’re killing me’. This evokes the audience’s pity for the child, but the need for treatment is greater than pity at the moment, and the battle goes on. As the mother is increasingly scared for her daughter’s safety, she is barked at by her husband, who orders her to get out of the kitchen before she ruins their efforts with her sentimentality. As the doctor tries to hold the child’s head while inserting a wooden tongue depressor in her mouth, she furiously bites on the instrument, breaking it into two, her mouth bleeding in the process. As the doctor asks for a ‘smooth-handled spoon’, he briefly rethinks his decision to continue instead of coming back a while later, giving the child a chance to calm down. He remembers then that numerous children have died due to the wastage of such critical moments of time, and with renewed vigour he goes on with his task, admitting that the child’s irrational resistance has also pushed him pashed rational, professional and ethical boundaries, enjoying the violence as a hunter enjoys the struggle with his prey. In the final assault upon the child, the doctor successfully forces her mouth open, examining the membrane-coated tonsils that signify diphtheria, confirming his suspicions. The child had been unwilling to let this secret out and now, defeated, she tries to attack the doctor in a feat of furious rage.
The Use of Force | Analysis
The use of the first-person narrator in the story signifies the subjectivity of the narrator’s position and perspective, which is central to the story. As a doctor, it is his duty to ensure the well-being of his patients, but what is witnessed in the story is a blurring of all professional and rational boundaries on the part of the doctor. From her very first appearance, the girl, Mathilda, is described in adult language, with a strong sexual undertone. Instead of using words like ‘pretty’, ‘beautiful’, or ‘lovely’ , words that are commonly used to describe physical beauty in children, the narrator chooses ‘unusually attractive’, using his adult attraction to measure the beauty of a child. This undertone of borderline predatory sexuality is heightened in the ensuing struggle between the narrator and his patient, who oversteps all limits of sanity and rationality much like the child does. But his thorough enjoyment at ‘taming’ or subduing the child carries an undeniable sexual tension, the doctor almost viewing the child as an object that can be made to submit to his desires. The description of the struggle, as well as the imagery used to depict Mathilda biting the spoon in two despite the blood dripping from her mouth is not only violent, but also have animalistic parallels, with the doctor’s gaze making the terrified girl almost appear like an animal that is trying to evade a predator. The story also presents an example of what the French Philosopher Michel Foucault calls ‘the medical gaze’ in his book The Birth of the Clinic, where the doctor’s examining gaze is not only a diagnostic tool but also an exercise of power and medical authority bestowed upon the medical institution by the state itself, although the story is retain around thirty years before Foucault’s conception of the idea. The function of power between the doctor-patient relationship in this story is very evident, as it is obvious that the only reason his violent physical struggle with the child is exempted as understandable is his profession; his behaviour reproduced by anyone else would have been deemed unacceptable and even criminal, qualifying as an assault. The attempted diagnosis thus becomes a mere pretence to hide the irrational battle of wills, a war that, waged by an adult professional, seems completely unprofessional and inacceptable in its aggression and violence, despite the correctness of the diagnosis. The story also uses foreshadowing and anticipation to build up to the climactic struggle, the initial apprehension of the parents’ providing a hint to the violence that is about to unfold.
Significance of the Title
The title of the story, “The Use of Force”, also justifies the themes of animalistic violence and aggression that the doctor uses under the pretence of medical examination, also bearing a subtle hint to the inappropriate sexual undertones contained in the doctor’s gaze towards his young patient.