Question K

[Jonetta]

Rose decides to do some investigating on her own to identify the voice of her attacker and gets abducted by Craig Rafferty, the killer. Your thoughts about what happened to her? What do you think of her decision to keep her baby if she is pregnant?

[Robin]

Rose put herself in danger by going to the neighbor's to "listen" for the killer so she could identify him. She didn't find him because he had made himself scarce. I don't know how Rafferty would know that she could identify them by his voice after this many years. I had a hard time believing that he would think that was a possibility after fifteen years.

As far as the baby, I don't think it is a good idea to keep the baby if she is pregnant. Maybe she's thinking this is the only way she'll ever have a baby? I believe the community that she lived in would look down on her and the baby. That community includes her father.

[Charlene]

I sensed Rose's naive and trusting nature and cringed about that; it's not that she wasn't aware of the dangers otherwise, but she seemed to want to solve the problem and didn't go about it properly. What would she think that recognizing his voice would accomplish all by herself?

She is such a forgiving soul -- perhaps she would be a great mother to a baby born from the repeated rape.

[Jonetta]

Rose has led a completely sheltered life and I don’t think she fully understood what could happen to her if she found out the identity of her attacker. Craig stayed away from her purely because of self preservation...he didn’t know what he didn’t know.

As far as keeping her child, Rose was raised with traditional values about the role of women. I don’t think she has any ability to think of giving away her child or taking the morning after pill as a preventative measure. To her it’s her child and since she couldn’t see her rapist, she won’t have any reminder of the father. I wasn’t surprised at all of her decision as it’s in keeping with how the character was developed. Me? No way could I do this.

[Lisa - (Aussie Girl)]

It was a bit silly... And as for keeping the baby, that's a very personal decision that only the woman involved can make.

[Sandra]

Rose had an air of innocence about her - even after she had been assaulted the first time. In some ways, I thought she was presented as a bit too naïve given what she'd already been through with that attack. In some ways, this plot line of her going alone & of course being kidnapped and assaulted was a little too convenient or expected or whatever. Like the author had to bring things to a head & this is the route she chose. I feel like I've seen this part of the plot too many times before - just slightly varied. Maybe just me.

[Ellen]

Rose seemed to have an inner strength which outweighed her sheltered lifestyle. She learned to grow and adapt to her blindness and I agree that with her upbringing she would choose to keep the baby whatever anyone thought about it.