Nurse Ratched, George “Pornstache” Mendez, Sister Bridget. Institutional fiction relies on a specific archetype—the tyrannical gatekeeper—that can make or break the latest remix of the genre. In the case of Women of a Promiscuous Nature, Mrs. Maynard simply isn’t strong enough to enter that hall of villains. As a fictionalized account of the mass quarantine carried out against women during WWII, the novel focuses on a smaller ensemble than is typical for the genre. Our way in is through Ruth, who feels slightly anachronistic […]