“One of the most unpleasant experiments conducted on Anne was having pins…stuck into her arms to demonstrate lack of feeling.” pg 10
I realize that we already discussed in class a bit about whether Anne was willingly part of the deception or not, but I can’t help but be confused by her. Her testimony certainly gives the impression that she did not want to be a willing counterpart in this scheme. Maybe I’m not ‘in tune’ with the times enough, but certainly there’s no way that she would endure this much without telling anyone if there wasn’t a part of her that was in on the scheme as well. All she had to do was react a bit when the needles were stuck and it would’ve been enough. She was drugged while this was going on, but I’m under the impression it dulled her senses while she was still in full control of her mind.
I think the relationship between Anne and her father is a textbook abusive relationship, where her father is exerting power over her in an attempt to get what he wants. Brian Gunter was a scary man, and I think that Anne was very afraid to speak out unless she knew she would be able to escape him. They also talked about how the green water made Anne ‘insensible’, so maybe she really didn’t comprehend anything going on at the time.