A question of justice
The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon gets high marks on all aspects of what makes good historical fiction. The story is a fictionalized account of 6 months in the life of Martha Ballard, with forays into her past. The real Martha Ballard, a 18th century midwife who kept a daily journal, serves as a springboard for a cozy mystery set in Maine just after the American Revolution, a time when the United States was in its infancy. Using meticulous research, Lawhon skillfully weaves a compelling narrative. Martha is an accomplished midwife who has delivered hundreds of babies, and cared for the women before and after their children were born. She is a healer. When called to examine the body of a man caught in the ice at the beginning of winter, Martha works to find the truth of his death. Through the course of the novel, readers see her as a mother, a wife, a neighbor. In many ways she represents the ordinary woman, caring for family, keeping house, looking after her friends, all the things women of today do. The details of how such tasks are done, and what chores and pleasures fill our time have changed over time, but the goals of happiness, health, safety, and fulfillment are the same.
One of the strengths of this book is the way Lawhon explores what it meant to be a woman at a time when men’s and women’s rights were different, and a woman’s voice could be ignored in any court of law. Women were not allowed to testify without a husband or father present, and had little recourse against any attacker. Yet the women in this book, especially Martha, are not helpless. They have agency in their own lives, even within the strictures society puts on them. Martha makes her own decisions and acts as she sees fit.
Through Martha’s story, Lawhon addresses the theme of justice. What is justice? Is it simply revenge for a wrong? Punishment for the perpetrator so the victim feels better? An attempt to prevent further crimes? A dictionary definition looks at ideas of fairness, due process under the law, and impartiality. But in a legal system where more than half the population (women, people of color, etc) have different rights, how can any kind of fairness be achieved?
Even though in the 21st century we come closer to equal rights than Martha’s world did, these questions remain and inequities remain. Martha’s efforts to bring about justice can help readers today think about these same questions. To be civilized means to live under a system of law. But when the law does not protect the innocent and allows the guilty to freely commit more crimes, how can justice be achieved?
That’s a question just as relevant today as it was 200 years ago.
BRIC-A-BRAC 