The Thing in the Forest

Penny is one of two girls who befriend each other while evacuating the blitzkrieg of England during World War II. One of the two protagonists, Penny is a girl of slim, even “gaunt,” build with pale skin and dark hair. She is taller and (it is implied) older than her friend Primrose. Like the other children, she is afraid but finds some solace in her new companion. Together they explore a forest by their temporary housing and find a creature they later learn is called The Loathly Worm. Neither girl has been in a forest, but it is Penny’s idea to capitalize on seeing this part of the countryside. Although both girls are traumatized, Penny is most deeply affected. A student who thrives academically, Penny pursues a university education, choosing the field of developmental psychology. She later becomes a child psychologist and never marries. She chooses to work with similarly traumatized and “troubled” children—the “abused, the displaced, the disturbed” (10)—and specializes in treating children who have severe autism or are otherwise nonverbal. Her experience glimpsing the “other world'' makes her equipped to empathize and connect with these children; she describes them as the “hopeless” and feels she can identify as one who is similarly without hope (19).