Bewildering Stories introduces and welcomes...

Ginger Strivelli

Ginger Strivelli is an artist and writer from North Carolina. She has written for many other literary journals and several anthologies. She loves to travel the world and make arts and crafts. She considers herself a storyteller entertaining and educating through her writing.

“Just a Nurse” is set at the Battle of Verdun, which lasted from February to December, 1916. The total casualties on both sides — killed, wounded, etc. — has proved too large even to estimate closely, but it probably exceeds a million.

The main characters in the story are Marie and her baby girl, who are French. Pearl, a nurse, is British; her French name would have been “Perle.” The only male characters are three somewhat cranky magical spirits whose home is in a broken mirror that Pearl owns and operates. They, too, appear to be British.

The chief among the spirits guides and assists Pearl in removing a bullet lodged in the spine of Marie’s baby. Pearl’s overriding concern is that no male physician discover that a female nurse might have been able to remove the bullet and repair the injury to the extent possible.

The story’s setting in place and time raises many questions. However, a large historical trend looms in the background. After Sweden’s “Age of Liberty” in the 18th century, women were gradually being allowed voting rights around the world in the 19th and early 20th centuries, with Britain following with partial suffrage in 1918 and full suffrage in 1928.

A century later, the political struggle for and against equality continues apace. It can even be seen in popular literature. Star Trek defined science fiction in televison in the mid-20th century. Its Dr. McCoy is a starring role although somewhat cliché. In its successor, Star Trek: the Next Generation, starring-role physicians and therapists are always female and much less clichés.

“Just a Nurse” thus echoes a time long gone but, in the first quarter of the 21st century, it reminds us that equality is a virtue for some and a threat to others. To paraphrase a line from the 1960’s: “The times, they are still a-changing.”

Ginger Strivelli’s bio sketch can be found here.

Welcome to Bewildering Stories, Ginger. We’re glad to have you with us.