The Cider House Rules (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
At a glance:
- Author: John Irving
- First Published: 1985
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Social realism
- Time of Work: The 1880’s to 1900; the 1920’s to the 1950’s
- Setting: Maine
- Genres: Long fiction, Social realism
- Subjects: 1950’s, Nineteenth century, 1940’s, Doctors, 1920’s, 1930’s, New England, Adoption or adopted children, Abortion, Medicine, Orphans or orphanages, Medical ethics
- Locales: Maine
Characters Discussed
Wilbur Larch, an obstetrician and abortionist. As a young doctor, he decides to forge a medical career helping desperate, helpless, and usually poor young women terminate their pregnancies in supportive surroundings or, if they choose, deliver children whom he will try to place in proper foster homes. He has accepted as the burden and blessing of his life the administration of St. Cloud’s orphanage, which he operates as a kind of home to an extended family of life’s victims. He is completely and unselfishly committed to his chosen task as a healer in...
[The entire page is 1081 words long]
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