Wilder Girls by Rory Power Book Analysis

In most settings in society, there is some sort of hierarchy established. There is a divide between those that are in power and those that aren’t. Even in survival settings like the one in “Wilder Girls,” there is still a set leader, Welch, and followers, Hetty and the rest of the girls. The relationship between Hetty and Welch shifts rather dramatically throughout the story to highlight the theme that in life, leaders cannot always be trusted. In the novel “Wilder Girls,” by Rory Power, the idea that in society, those in power cannot always be trusted is explored through the manipulative nature of Welch’s relationship with Hetty.

From the beginning of, “Wilder Girls,” by Rory Power, the author establishes the powerful authority of Welch as the law of the land and the girls are shown to trust that authority. This reflects the natural trust that is placed in authority figures in the real world. Whether it is blindly trusting government leaders to make decisions for their population or allowing social communities to persuade their members to think a certain way, people are constantly putting trust in others to make important decisions just because they are higher up in the hierarchy of authority or respect. The girls are assured that they can trust Welch through the manipulatively comforting but authoritative way that she speaks like when they are discussing things altogether and she says, "We have to be ready... To protect ourselves, each other" (Power 18). Manipulative people in the real world often use this tactic of gently speaking to make their victims feel like they are trustworthy and that there is a mutual sense of respect in the relationship. The girls further assume that Welch is trustworthy in her position due to the sheer fact that she is both older and an authority figure in their school. The girls left in the school leave very important tasks up to Welch and trust that she will do them well which, in one example, is shown through Hetty casually mentioning one day that they "got our rations from Welch and then split" (Power 22). The girls assume that because Welch has taken the role of caring for their food that they must keep her in that position when in reality they have the numbers to change that if they want to. They assume that because she is in her position of power, whatever decisions she makes will be the decisions best for them. This naivete is apparent in many people in reality as well. People oftentimes will let those in power positions walk all over them simply because they assume that those people can make more well-informed decisions just because of their higher placement in the hierarchy. These powerful people are established as decision-makers and those below them as followers and one side ends up becoming this all-powerful entity and the others slaves to it. These kinds of manipulation can happen in different scenarios in the real world between different kinds of people like employers and their employees, the government and its people, even parents and their children, etc.

Throughout “Wilder Girls,” the relationship between Welch and Hetty shifts from Hetty blindly trusting Welch into Hetty actually being suspicious of Welch and then towards the end having her suspicions confirmed. At a certain point in the story, after Byatt is taken and Hetty is desperately searching for her, she becomes really determined to find out who took Byatt in the first place and this is essentially the first time in the story that we see Hetty allow herself to question the authority of Welch and the authenticity of her words. While she is in the forest with Welch close behind, Hetty finds a vial of blood that is “labeled ‘Potential RAX009’ in handwriting I almost know” and then soon after, Welch catches up to her and calls out, “Hetty? Welch’s voice drifts through the trees, urgent and clipped” (Power 77). This inclines the reader to become suspicious of Welch because of the way that the author brought her in almost to catch Hetty ‘red-handed’ and the familiarity of the handwriting. This point in the plot also marks the shift where Hetty begins to distrust Welch. After this time, Hetty is more willing to take her responsibilities into her own hands and do what she needs to do, even if it means questioning her authority. By pushing this idea of breaking free from oppressive authority, I think the author is saying that in society sometimes people need to do the same. They must stand up for themselves and be well-read well-informed people that can hold their own and question those in power if they have to without relying so wholly on them. Furthering the point, Hetty’s suspicions of Welch are confirmed when towards the end of the book, Welch reveals all her lies and deception before killing herself by saying:

She laughs, hitching and broken. 'Blood's already on my hands, isn't it?' They wanted to experiment with that fucking food and I wouldn't let them, and they wanted to test all of you but I wouldn't let them, and I paid for it. I paid; I made choices and I sent you to die (Power 263).

? Welch puts it all out there that she was going against the girls’ trust and then lying to their faces which solidifies the idea that authority figures cannot always be trusted. The plot of the book at this point implies that in the real world people should not be so quick to trust their authority figures blindly because they can very easily turn against them. Often those that get put into powerful positions are there for a reason like being charismatic or something which makes it easy to assume that they’re trustworthy, but the easy route cannot be taken if people don’t want to be blindsided. 

The novel, “Wilder Girls,” provides an insightful commentary on how society views those in power and the trust that is placed in them to reveal that that authority cannot always be trusted. This theme relates to the novel as the story progresses from Hetty and the rest of the girls relying on Welch as a leader, to them breaking away from that and taking their lives into their own hands after beginning to question her authority. This questioning of authority can be applied to many different relationships in the real world where hierarchies are set such as between government and citizens, employees and their employers, parents and their children, and community leaders and their members. By questioning those people in power, manipulation tactics can be revealed and people can more actively be a part of the decision-making processes in their lives instead of trusting that things will be handled for them and getting disappointed.