The Unadjusted Girl, With Cases and Standpoint for Behavior Analysis

by William Isaac Thomas

Found a place for Marie with Mrs. R. M. Harriman, Winnetka. Marie will care for two children, under three years of age, will receive $3.00 a week, room and board. She will have her own bathroom and very pleasant surroundings. Mrs. Harriman is a woman of quality who will be able to give Marie personal and home standards.

Mr. Harriman ’phoned. Wants to know a little about Marie, as they already like her but she seems so lonesome; wanted to go to movie and they told her that there were none out there. Marie asked to let her “beau”, a chauffeur, know where she is and Mr. Harriman told her that his daughter of seventeen is not yet old enough to entertain, so he surely would not let Marie have men call on her. Marie said she was a Roman Catholic, and as the Catholic Church is but three blocks from the house, he told Marie he expected her to go every Sunday. There is a splendid girl working next door and he had Marie meet her, as he knows she will not let Marie do anything she should not do. Mrs. Harriman will be very glad to see visitor if she will ’phone first. Mrs. Harriman took Marie out on Monday and bought her some good sensible clothes.

Marie goes to church with Julia, the Catholic maid next door. They often spend the evenings in one another’s yards. This is Marie’s only friend and Mrs. Harriman states that she is often quite lonesome. They are interesting her in books and she has nearly finished one. They felt this would keep her mind off her old friends. Mrs. Harriman states that she often keeps her busy unnecessarily “rubbing up the silver or dusting books” just so she won’t become so lonesome and sit looking off into space as she did do much during her first week there.

Mrs. Harriman states that her duties are not heavy. All the washing, including Marie’s, is sent to the laundry and Mrs. Harriman uses the vacuum cleaner herself on the rugs once a week. When Marie was told to put her laundry in, it was found that she had none—wore no underwear but skirt and corset cover. They were too large, so Mrs. Harriman showed Marie how to fix them and let her do this evenings. Mrs. Harriman told how Marie’s eyes beamed when she heard Mr. Harriman talk of a drive they had to Great Lakes, and later in the evening she asked Mrs. Harriman about it.

Marie wanted to bring a chauffeur friend up to the house, but they forbade it telling her she was too young to have company. Mrs. Harriman feels that when her daughter returns from her summer visit with relatives and Marie sees how she is expected to do, Marie will be better satisfied with the program they have mapped out for her....

Mrs. Harriman took visitor in the house to talk with Marie. The girl certainly looks well. She is somewhat stouter and tanned and her cheeks are rosy. She has improved immensely—looks well kept, neat, clean and happy. She showed visitor her room and bath, which are very nice, bright and sunny, well ventilated, clean, and the furniture and carpet were good pieces and in good condition. She stated that Mrs. Harriman was going to put nice curtains and pictures up for her. Marie said that Julia, the girl next door, did not have nearly so nice or large a room and no bath at all. She showed visitor the dresses she was given and said the yellow one which she wears on Sunday “looks fine when it is fresh.” Marie expects to finish reading “Pollyanna” tonight, and Mr. Harriman already has another book for her. She liked “Pollyanna” very much. Mr. Harriman also told her there were books of travel there which would teach her as much as if she went three years longer to school, and Marie seems anxious to begin reading them....

August 12, went to Winnetka. Mrs. Harriman says they sent Marie to the Kings’ to ride to Lake Geneva. Mrs. Harriman explained that there are times when friends go on trips with them and when they cannot therefore take Marie as they do not have room enough.

Started out with Marie. We walked down to the bank. On the way Marie stated that she had now worked three weeks and that she had no money except the $1.25 balance paid by Mrs. Johnson this morning and 30 cents. Expressed surprise that she had not at least $5.00 saved. Told her we would deposit this $1.00 in the bank, that hereafter she would deposit $2.00 each week and buy one thrift stamp, and the remaining 75 cents was more than enough to spend. Visitor signed bank slip so that Marie cannot draw without visitor’s signature. Marie was going to buy thrift stamp and visitor explained that she could wait for that until next week as we were going to the doctor down in Chicago and she would need lunch money. Explained also that she should not expect the Harrimans to continue to give her carfare and R. R. fare, etc., that while they did so through kindness, they were under no obligation to do so.... Told her she was no longer a child now and must mold her own character and plan for her future, to support herself, to buy her own clothing, to save something for times of illness or possible accident.

Reached Chicago. Went to Childs for luncheon. Gave Marie bill of fare and advised her to choose good, plain, nutritious food according to what she could afford to spend. She chose well, her luncheon costing her 30 cents. When visitor ordered her own dessert, she ordered ice cream for Marie and paid for same. Marie while on the street passed two Catholic Sisters and remarked to visitor that they were from St. Patrick’s, where she went to school when living with her mother....

At County Building and explained case. After examination, Dr. Stanton stated that it is not possible to know if Marie has had improper relations recently on account of [seduction seven years ago]. She questioned Marie very closely and Marie stated that all the sailors and soldiers had asked her to have intercourse with them, but that she positively had not done it.