The Real Story Behind the Florence Pugh Movie
Florence Pugh is without a doubt, one of Hollywood’s most in-demand actresses. She gained the affection of the public thanks to critically acclaimed movies such as Midsommar, Little Women, and Black Widow, and she will soon star in the highly anticipated Dune: Part 2. 2022 has been a busy year for Pugh, with the highly-publicized release of Don't Worry Darling, which was not a critical darling but most praised Pugh's lead performance. Her latest film, The Wonder, is out now on Netflix. Based on Emma Donoghue's novel of the same name and directed by Sebastián Lelio (Disobedience), this period drama is set in the 19th century and tells the true story of a social phenomenon called the "fasting girls," where young girls claimed to be able to go without eating for months. Many cases have been described and reported, the most famous one being a young Welsh girl named Sarah Jacob, who died of starvation in 1869.
Emma Donoghue didn’t base her novel on one case in particular, but rather on the many tales of these unexplained events. The writer set her story in Ireland during the Great Famine that took place between 1845 and 1851. In the film, Pugh portrays Lib Wright, an English nurse who tries to uncover the mystery surrounding the claims of Anna O'Donelle, an 11-year-old girl, who professes that she only lives on "manna from heaven." Is it a fraud? A miracle? Or is something much more sinister hiding behind Anna’s declarations?
Lelio declared in a statement that bringing The Wonder to the screen offered him the chance to portray the collision between reason and faith, individual and community, but also to explore his own interpretation of what a "period" film can be.
In a 2016 NPR interview, Emma Donoghue declared that she drew inspiration from many of these cases for The Wonder, however, her story is "entirely invented." She explained:
That allowed me to set it in the context that I found richest for this kind of story. I set in my homeland of Ireland but in the decade after our Great Famine because I wanted to set the idea of voluntary starving against the appalling context of involuntary starving. And I also wanted to draw on the cultural background that I know best, which is Irish Catholicism.
For the character of the Nurse Wright, Donoghue explained:
I knew that this nurse would be in the very peculiar position of being hired as kind of a jailer. And this part of the novel was inspired by several real cases where a staff of hired watchers were brought in to make sure that the faster wasn't eating. And I thought this put a trained nurse in a very peculiar position where she really wasn't nursing. She was guarding.
Indeed, the true phenomenon of the "fasting girls," such as Sarah Jacob’s case, resulted in a terrible situation where young girls were guarded by nurses and doctors, to make sure they weren't eating, which ultimately led to the death of many of them. While numerous "fasting girls" have been reported, even across the Atlantic, Jacob’s story is the most famous one.
In 1867, Evan and Hannah Jacob’s daughter, Sarah, fell very sick, lost consciousness and suffered convulsive fits. When she woke up a few weeks later, Sarah asked for some milk, which was meant to be a sign of recovery. However, the young girl was to remain in bed, and soon lost her appetite. Some historians believe that she occupied her time reading the Bible and writing poems, and stopped eating in order to remain weak and to avoid her daily chores. Others believe this phenomenon to be the first reported case of anorexia. Whatever this condition actually was, or whatever Sarah had in mind when she stopped eating, her behavior and her claims that she had completely stopped drinking and eating soon drew the attention of hundreds of people. Her own parents joined the "fraud" and publicly announced that their daughter hadn’t eaten in two years. Obviously, this was impossible, but it was too late to convince the most religious people of the contrary, as Sarah had already become a celebrity.
People from all over the country were rushing to see this "miracle." The newspapers were writing about the Welsh Fasting Girl, and pilgrims started coming to the Jacobs' house to touch Sarah’s hand, while she was reciting her poems and the Bible. The visitors, delighted by their encounter with Sarah, would also leave a coin for the family (which would also have been a good reason for the family to keep the mystery alive). It is said that even Queen Victoria had planned to visit the young girl.
Doubts occurred when, even though Sarah said she had stopped eating, she still looked in great shape, with a fresh complexion, healthy hair, and adult teeth that were in good condition. Doctors soon suspected a fraud and argued against the absurd religious beliefs that someone could survive for so long, with nothing but air to eat. We still don’t know how Sarah got access to food. Some theories say that she would sneak into the kitchen when the family was asleep, or that her sister was the one who was feeding her.
A first investigation was held by local men who stayed at the Jacob’s house for two weeks. At the end of these two weeks, they said the fast was genuine, since they had not seen the girl eat. However, the men had been forbidden to examine Sarah’s bed, and her sister was allowed to sleep with her, which is probably the only way she had access to food. A more strict and tragic investigation took place a bit later, led by medical professors from Guy’s Hospital in London. Nurses were to sit by Sarah’s bed and had to watch her at all times. They were specifically asked to not treat or help the girl, unless she was asking for food or water. But Sarah never asked, and she died within a week. An autopsy was performed and revealed that marks on her feet proved that she desperately tried to open the hot water bottle placed in her bed, which was the only way she had to get something to drink. Evan and Hannah Jacob, who had agreed to this watch, were convicted of manslaughter, but the medical professionals were not.
We might never understand why Sarah never asked to eat, or why she tried to prove herself. Why did her own parents agreed to this severe investigation and let their daughter die? Did they actually believe Sarah to be a miracle? Were Sarah and the other "fasting girls" the first undiagnosed victims of anorexia and eating disorders?
The Wonder is out now on Netflix later and it might be time for historians and doctors to really dig up some archives and find an explanation for the disturbing and fascinating tale of the "fasting girls."
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