Suicide

High School

LINLEY
I went to visit Georgina Turner, the best friend of Mary Ann Ellis.

WOODS
Did she notice any unusual behavior in Mary Ann before she took her life?

LINLEY
Georgina became recently a mother. She was preoccupied with her pregnancy. Georgina said:
- It was all messed up. Since I didn't expect to become a mother. Jim and I had met only recently. I wasn't clear about my feelings.

WOODS
What was Mary Ann like in school?

LINLEY
I asked a lot of questions about Mary Ann's past. Georgina told me:
- Mary Ann was the darling in the school. She was known as the girlfriend of Chad Stevens. Chad was an athlete and everyone thought that he would get far. People assumed that Mary Ann is supporting him and would stand one day next to him when he becomes a famous athlete. Chad and Mary Ann were a famous love couple. I was shocked when Mary Ann told me that her relationship with Chad is over.

WOODS
And the relationship with Chad ended because Chad became a drug addict?

LINLEY
I asked Georgina about Chad's drug issues and she responded:
- Back then no one knew that Chad was doing drugs. Probably a lot of pressure rested on his shoulders. He couldn't deal with it. We hear a lot of these stories on the TV.

WOODS
These are tragedies and people don't know anything about it. That's bad.

LINLEY
Georgina explained to me the system of the high school and how pupils and students were brought up:
- In this state girls and boys are separated from an early age. Girls attend knitting lessons while boys attend handicraft lessons. Girls are brought up to be good cooks, mothers, and everything that comes with staying at home and taking care of children. I heard a lot of stories from teachers about how pleasing it is to be a mother.

WOODS
This means that girls are brought up to be mothers and raise children.

LINLEY
Yes, Georgina told me that when one of her classmates became pregnant when she was 14, teachers were supportive and even emphasized that being a mother at such a young age is a blessing.
- I remember when Susan became pregnant and we all saw how her stomach grew. She was encouraged to have the child. The biology teacher kept talking about the hideous procedure of abortion and even showed us a movie. I felt uncomfortable. I didn't like what they were doing to us. I wanted to become a journalist. I wanted to get out of this town, attend college, and get around.

WOODS
So, they were encouraging young girls to wave higher education for the life of a housewife.

LINLEY
Yes, Georgina explained:
- I always felt that teachers didn't support girls going to college. They thought it would be in vain since the purpose of a girl would be to get pregnant and raise children. I didn't like how they treated us. I didn't like that our futures had already been drawn out to them.

WOODS
I see, this puts a lot of pressure on women to become mothers.

LINLEY
It put pressure on some. Georgina said:
- Being a housewife was the most feasible outcome we could hope for. We knew that our parents were struggling. Some classmates had been abandoned by their parents. Going to college was beyond our comprehension, but we still believed in it. Our mothers were the role models we feared. A high school dropout with five kids dangling around her legs. Some of the girls gave up or just thought that being a housewife would be the best that could happen to them. In a town where many men are drunks, drug addicts, and crooks, a husband with an ordinary job from 9 to 5, who brings home his monthly salary, is the best a woman can hope for.

WOODS
Did Georgina attend college?

LINLEY
No, Georgina's parents didn't think that she had the wits to go to college.

WOODS
But from what you told me, Georgina wasn't sure whether she wants to be a mother.

LINLEY
Yes, Georgina told me:
- I didn't like this role model of women. We were told that a wife has to be obedient to her husband. She has to please him. She lives through him and his children. It felt like our lives didn't have any purpose. It didn't matter anymore whether we attend school or not.
I had promised myself that I would never end up like one of these women, like my mother. I didn't want to bring a child into this world. When I realized that I was pregnant I didn't know what to do.

WOODS
Did Mary Ann say that she does not want children?

LINLEY
Georgina told me a different story! She said that Mary Ann wanted children. Georgina reported:
- Mary Ann didn't think much about life after high school. She talked a lot about Chad. It sounded like she was obsessed with him. Whenever we met she would always start talking about Chad. I once had to stop her: "Stop talking about this guy, God's sake!" I thought she didn't have a life. She was living for Chad. I thought it wouldn't last long and Chad would knock her up. The girls in school took bets that Mary Ann would end up as a crack whore or something with a lot of children. But it came all differently. Later she didn't talk much about her boyfriends anymore. She talked more about herself. She was secretive. I thought that she had finally grown-up or something. She had to get away from Chad, that's for sure. He was bad influence. Later we knew it for sure. Chad was a drug addict.

WOODS
But does this make sense? Chad's drug addiction shocked Mary Ann to the core so she abandoned her wish to become a mother?

LINLEY
We don't know whether Mary Ann for a fact wanted to be a mother!

WOODS
We don't, but if someone has been brought up and prepared to be a mother and even approves of the role of a housewife, how can someone change at once?

LINLEY
It is true that Georgina lost sight of Mary Ann during her pregnancy but this does not mean that Mary Ann changed at once. It is possible that it took Mary Ann a while to grow up and overcome her adolescent self. This transformation happens with a lot of women who had be attached to an unhealthy partner. Many women cling on to toxic relationships which drain them completely. These women do not perceive themselves as independent, they breathe through their partners. And once they free themselves they reflect on their lives and who they are. The mental transformation of Mary Ann is common among young girls.

WOODS
We have to talk to Chad Stevens!

LINLEY
I'll ask Delia. She is a reporter and she knows her way to find people.

WOODS
Let's do it!