Character Strengths And Weaknesses Of Mary Babcock Atwater

965 Words2 Pages

Character Strengths:
Devoted and determined, two words that describe physician and surgeon, Mary Babcock Atwater. From the very beginning, Mary appeared very dedicated to her work, showing her skills even from the age of sixteen, when she became a schoolteacher. She never became pregnant, due to the fact that she loved her work. Her desire to remain childless, did not stem
Mance 5
from a dislike for children. She merely just did not want anything to interfere with her profession. During World War I, the war appeared short of doctors and nurses. Mary convinced herself that her duty included serving as a doctor in the war; this sacrifice exemplifies her passion for her job. Determined, another very appropriate adjective to describe …show more content…

Every action of Mary’s life has to have a purpose, she can never do something because of feelings or out of enjoyment. Furthermore, she needs to acquire control over Dorothy’s life, her daughter. Dorothy met a man named Hugh and, at first, Mary did not accept their relationship because he lived in the South during the Civil War. She feared for her daughter that Hugh’s family would not accept her because she had lived in the North. Dorothy’s profession, another situation Mary tried to control, by stating that she must attend the …show more content…

Mary broke so many boundaries with her work as a physician, and this passage exemplifies one of those boundaries. J. Henry, the owner of a mining company, would not believe that a woman could work as a doctor. Mary remained fearless as she entered J. Henry’s office, awaiting his disapproval, but that did not stop her. She had to lie to J. Henry in order to receive a job, not because of her qualifications, but because of her sex. Then when arriving in Bannack, at the mining camp, the miners did not accept Mary as their doctor. Yet she remained brave, she did not give up, she kept fighting until she gained the respect from the miners. Mary not only became a physician, but she overcame the discrimination due to something she could not change, her gender. Most women in the early 1900s faced discrimination, their “jobs” included caring for the children and cleaning the house, but Mary did not believe in this. Mary knew when she became a physician that she would face much hatred and would have a difficult time getting a job , but she stayed strong. Throughout her life, she remained hopeful through every situation that sprung upon

Open Document