Necessary Lies

Charlotte undergoes surgery because of her injury, and her hospitalization cuts Jane’s orientation short. Some of Charlotte’s cases are transferred to Jane, including the Jordans and the Harts. As Jane familiarizes herself with the documents inside each folder, another social worker, Paula, offers to help her with the documents for Ivy’s sterilization petition.

Ivy tries to sleep late on the morning after the fire, but Nonnie wakes her by beating her and then orders her to go to work at the barn. William is fussy, and Ivy discovers his rash has spread and his skin is hot. She asks Mary Ella whether she applied the cream Nurse Ann prescribed and discovers Mary Ella mistakenly applied Nonnie’s arthritis cream to William’s rash.

Ivy goes to the Gardiner farmhouse to use the phone to call Nurse Ann. Then, she heads to the barn, passing Henry Allen and feeling shame.

Jane meets with Davison Gardiner at his home to discuss the Harts. Mr. Gardiner is frank in his opinions on the Harts and the trouble they face. He feels Ivy should receive sterilization surgery immediately. Jane is cautious, unsure such a permanent action is best for Ivy’s long-term future. Mr. Gardiner asks Jane to meet with Ivy one-on-one, and Jane agrees.

Jane meets with Lita Jordan next. When Jane arrives with shoes for Lita’s boys, she is shocked by how old they look. She chats with Lita alone, who reveals how happy she is not to have to worry anymore about becoming pregnant. She speaks of her 19-year-old daughter, Sheena, who is now living in the north with some of Lita’s relatives. Lita notes that Sheena is thriving and even has hopes of earning a college scholarship. Jane offers Lita some small frames for the photographs of her sons, and Lita happily accepts them.

Jane approaches Ivy while she works in the barn. Ivy is reluctant to leave but finally agrees. They sit in the shade, and Jane asks Ivy to share memories of her parents. She has many positive memories of her father but can only remember the incident when her mother harmed Mrs. Gardiner with a knife. Ivy admits she is afraid of her mother and does not want to see her. They discuss Mary Ella, and Jane attempts to learn whether Ivy is sexually active. Ivy denies having a boyfriend, insisting Jane need not worry about her becoming pregnant.

Jane leaves the Hart’s home but gets lost. She makes it to a dinner date with Robert just barely on time. He is dismayed to find her still in her work clothes and suggests a casual restaurant instead of the country club.

Over dinner, Robert brings up the country club ball, now two weeks away. He asks about Jane’s work, and the conversation turns to Jane’s concern about Ivy’s forced sterilization. Robert becomes angry that Jane is sympathetic toward the Hart family, insisting she has nothing in common with them and urging her not to attempt to relate to them.

Ivy and Henry Allen meet in secret while his family is away at a church event. Ivy wants to know everything that transpired after the barn fire, but first, Henry Allen gifts her a radio. He is saddened that she was beaten by Nonnie and agrees that his parents will likely no longer take Ivy to church with them. Ivy explains she has applied spermicide, a contraceptive, but Henry Allen is reluctant, insisting sex is not the sole reason for his interest in Ivy.

While Jane drives a client, Avery Jordan, to his Braille lesson, she enjoys listening to him talk about his family. Later, she returns to her office and tackles the paperwork for Ivy’s sterilization, though she remains dubious about it. She finds some old pamphlets on the eugenics program in an office cupboard and is surprised by the rhetoric’s similarity to Adolf Hitler’s rhetoric. Paula warns her to remain objective and not to become attached to her clients.

Jane arrives with a fan while Ivy and Nonnie can tomatoes. Though Nonnie is initially unfriendly, everyone’s mood brightens once Jane installs the fan in the window. Ivy shows Jane the radio Henry Allen gave her, and Jane surprises them by dancing, inviting the family to join in. Ivy realizes she is having fun, which she finds unexpected.

The evening of the country club ball arrives. As Jane and Robert chat with other couples at their table, Robert tries to dismiss her job as charity work. The other women are appalled by the idea of social work, especially bothered to learn that Jane enters the homes of people of color.

Jane is able, however, to speak privately with one of the men, who works as a psychologist. He concedes that Ivy’s environment may have produced an inaccurate IQ score, noting that the test also has inherent biases against some groups. Unlike Jane, he sees the utility in going ahead with the surgery.

Later, Jane follows some of the women to the ladies’ room. Sensing the tension, she apologizes for monopolizing the conversation by speaking about her work. Two of the women respond hostilely, accusing Jane of believing herself to be above them. They leave in a huff, but another woman, Lois, consoles Jane, insisting that the other women are simply not brave enough to do what she is doing. Lois explains she was a teacher before having a child of her own and found the work fulfilling.

On the drive home, Robert expresses his anger that Jane did not try harder to get along with the other women. They fight about Jane’s interest in her clients; after the fight, Jane feels guilty.