THE HIDDEN HAND

After reading The Hidden Hand I noticed reoccurring theme that was also in the other texts we have read. Growing up in New York alone, Capitola, a young poor girl, has to learn to take care of herself and teach herself all the lessons a parent would usually do. At such a young age, Capitola has seen a great deal and has had to endure certain situations no girl her age should. In both The Wide Wide World and The Lamplighter I noticed that both Ellen and Gerty had to grow up faster then normal also. The theme of being independent and learning how to take care of yourself at such a young age was apparent in all these texts.
Capitola had no parent like figure to guide her in life or teach her certain things that she would need while growing up. She was completely on her own, which lead her to do some uncommon things in order to survive. For example in order to get a decent job she dressed up in boys clothing. Capitola also lived on the streets. She experienced and saw things that a normal girl her age should not be seeing. The author recalls, " She had indeed the innocence of youth, but not its simplicity" (187). Capitola still was a child, helpless and wandering, but her lifestyle was not simple in that she had seen horrible lifestyles and dangerous ways for her age.
Even though Ellen did have parents and it was very apparent that her mother loved her deeply, we see early on that her mother is ill and dying. Because her mother is so ill Ellen had to take the responsibility of taking care of her by doing everything and anything her mother wanted her to do. After the doctor visits her mother on her deathbed, he warns Ellen, " You mustn't let her talk much, or laugh much, or cry at all, on any account; she mustn't be worried in the least-will you remember? Now, you know what I must expect of you; you must be very careful" (31). The doctor gives her all this responsibility and commands at such a young age, which was a lot of pressure for a child this young. Even though she had a father he was completely out of the picture and she had to deal with her dying mother and the responsibilities that came with it all on her own. In comparison to Capitola, we see that Ellen has to act like an adult even though she is just a child.
Gerty, however grew up with a horrible parental figure, Nan Grant, who treated her poorly and could care less about her. Nan Grant pretty much robs Gerty from her childhood innocence and turns her into this little monster. Gerty never really had the chance to be a child because she had to take care of herself until Trueman Flint comes into the picture. True Flint in a way restores her of some of her childhood she had lost, but it was hard to reverse what Gerty had already been though. Especially after dealing with the horrible ways Nan Grant put her through, which caused her to be so angry. Gerty never learned anything a normal girl her age would have, not even basic things like cleaning, as Mrs. Sullivan states, " You never have been taught to do anything, my child; but a girl eight years old can do a great many things, if she is patient and tries hard to learn" (108).
Capitola, Ellen, and Gerty’s youth was all taken from them. They all had to learn to start being their own caretaker and missed out on normal things a child should be experiencing. This seems like a popular theme among 19th century writers, maybe in order to teach children to learn to be independent. These three girls had completely different experiences during their childhood, but still shared the similarity of having to become independent at a young age.