Peyton Place

While Part 1 sets the stage for conflict, particularly by depicting Constance’s secret about her daughter and the abuse Lucas is inflicting, the tensions and stakes increase significantly in Part 2. As Selena, Allison, and their peers grow older, the consequences of their experiences are more significant. In particular, as young women, Selena and Allison are now subject to the rigid policing of sexual propriety, which reflects the theme of Shame and Ambivalence Towards Female Sexuality. Selena’s pregnancy jeopardizes the future she has carefully been planning for herself; it also forces her to seek help. As a physician, Dr. Swain has the skill to help her, and, as he is a trusted pillar of the community, Selena can feel some confidence in relying on his kindness. Even when he is initially not sure about whether he will perform the abortion, Dr. Swain does not judge Selena: He promises her, “[J]ust tell me who it is, Selena, and I’ll do everything I can to help you” (142).

Dr. Swain faces a complex decision: Prior to the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court ruling (almost 20 years after Peyton Place was published), access to abortion was limited or non-existent in many American states. Dr. Swain cites the legal aspect as a source of his refusal, explaining to Selena, “I’ve done a lot of things in my time, Selena, but I have never broken the law” (142). Especially since his work as a physician is so central to his identity, Dr. Swain is terrified of losing his medical license. He also feels ambivalence about the status of the fetus Selena is carrying: “[W]hat is this thing you are thinking of doing if it isn’t the destruction of what you have always termed so dear?” (143). Ultimately, however, especially in light of the pregnancy being a result of sexual abuse, Dr. Swain chooses to prioritize Selena’s well-being.

Dr. Swain’s decision to perform the abortion reflects his ability to navigate complex decisions guided by his integrity and principles and is also an admission that reality often complicates the application of those principles. Notably, while Dr. Swain makes the decision alone, and has the agency to consent to perform the procedure, or refuse, other individuals are impacted by the decision without having a say. The nurse who assists with the procedure is left conflicted about the role she played in an act that she objects to on moral and religious grounds. Nellie also inadvertently finds out about her daughter’s pregnancy after Dr. Swain confronts Lucas: This accident is depicted as motivating her subsequent suicide. Because Peyton Place is such a close-knit community, actions never stay secret, and they never fail to reverberate and have consequences for others.

The act of the abortion is initially framed as a secret Dr. Swain will carry alone for the rest of his life, and therefore it parallels Constance’s secret about her illegitimate child. In both cases, shame and social stigma about premarital or extramarital sex drive the need for secrecy when pregnancy results; both Constance and Selena also face much starker consequences, whereas Lucas and Allison’s father are the ones who exploit, to varying degrees, vulnerable young women.

Constance’s relationship with Tom Makris liberates her; however, it begins with a sexual encounter in which Constance’s consent is unclear. On the night that she and Tom first have sex, she tells him, “I’ll have you arrested and put in jail for breaking and entering and rape—” (150). The narrative is not clear about whether Constance desires Tom but is unable to name that desire, or whether he rapes her and then she subsequently discovers pleasure and even love for him. Even though Constance falls in love with Tom, she is unable (two years into their relationship) to be fully honest with him and disclose the truth about her past. Because Constance judges herself so harshly, she assumes that Tom will judge her, too.

The minor plot around Reverend Fitzgerald highlights the concepts of choice and moral agency in this section, as well as shame and secrecy. Although he has been ordained as a Protestant minister, Reverend Fitzgerald is drawn to Catholicism (a different sect of Christianity); he perceives this longing as a shameful secret because adherence to Catholicism could be conflated with class and ethnic identity and be perceived as lower-status. For example, his wife is disgusted by his past of “being an Irishman, a black Irish Catholic from a Boston slum” (176). In this quotation “black” refers to the term “black Irish” (referencing individuals with dark hair), not a racial connotation. Fitzgerald, like many characters in the novel, is torn between his own values and desires (which align with the faith he grew up practicing) and the benefits that conforming to social expectations will offer him.