The Medicine Woman of Galveston

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of mental illness, illness, death, substance use, sexual content, sexual violence, rape, ableism, and racism.

In The Medicine Woman of Galveston, Dr. Tucia Hatherley, a licensed doctor and single mother, joins a medicine show out of desperation to provide for herself and her young son. The book revolves around the context of this medicine show, an inherently unethical enterprise that dupes people into buying a so-called patent medicine with fraudulent claims about its efficacy. Thus, the central premise of the book lends itself to the exploration of the ethics of survival.

The first aspect of ethicality that Skenandore examines is the role of circumstance. While the medicine show is a fraudulent enterprise, none of the performers in the show are there voluntarily—each of them has been coerced into it by means of blackmail. Fanny, Cal, Lawrence, Darl, and Tucia each have secrets in their past that Huey, their boss, uses to keep them tied to the show. Additionally, their secrets are also misfortunes of circumstance: Fanny did not mean to kill Bruno, but her act of self-defense accidentally led to his death. Lawrence’s imprisonment and punishment for contributing to an “uprising” was for a just and understandable cause of protecting his community. Thus, the role of circumstance becomes an important consideration in the bending of ethics for survival,

In contrast, Huey is a character with openly ill intentions, irrespective of circumstance. Unlike the other characters, Skenandore reveals little about Huey’s past, and the few details that do emerge are murky at best. However, the lack of background detail doesn’t lend Huey the benefit of doubt, since his behavior remains consistently manipulative, exploitative, and deceitful. Huey approaches Tucia with a job offer with full knowledge of her circumstances, and a conscious intention to exploit her desperation for his own gain. From refusing to uphold his end of the bargain at the fair to actively attempting sex trafficking with Tucia, Huey’s ill-intent is reiterated time and again. He even loots the dead after the storm in Galveston, and tries to shoot Tucia when she intervenes. Therefore, intent becomes another important factor in the ethics of survival, as while the others strive to maintain their integrity as best as they can, Huey openly scorns principles.

Tucia emerges as the text’s barometer for determining the ethics of survival. Circumstance pushes her toward fraudulent work in the medicine show; however, her intent remains above reproach throughout her journey. Tucia’s motivation is the safety of her child, and her inherent integrity as a doctor and human being shine through even in difficult situations. Her initial attempts to convince Huey to sell soap; the palmistry tent she sets up to secretly dispense medical advice; even the selfless medical care she gives to those hurt in the aftermath of the storm, Huey included, highlights how she is an inherently ethical person. For such a character, the bending of ethics for the sake of survival in extenuating circumstances is more than understandable—it is excusable. Thus, Skenandore brings together intent and circumstance to help define and clarify the ethics of survival.