'Call the Midwife' Recap: Series 5 Episode 6

I’m getting the feeling this series of Call the Midwife is very much about making us aware that the sixties, though modern in many of our minds, was not an enlightened time for women. In this episode we encounter a girl whose life is compromised by concerns for her reputation as “damaged goods.” Two women are afraid to report acts of violence against them for fear of being judged or punished as well. Here’s my summary of this eye-opening installment.

The Hills’ Family Secret – At the Poplar pensioners’ tea, we meet Thora Hills (Sarah Durham), mother of four with one on the way. Trixie asks why they haven’t seen her yet and she reveals she’s jumped ship for the clinic at St. Cuthbert’s. They want her to have the baby in hospital due to her age.

Soon afterwards, we meet Thora’s daughter Diane (Jill McAusland) who works at the fish stall with her mother. While Thora is scrubbing the pavement in her delicate condition, a younger, fitter Diane is working the till. Thora explains to a customer that Diane is much stronger at math so she’s needed to handle the money, rather than doing the “donkey’s work.”