The prodigy: the eternal debate between science and religion

Whoever believes that the Netflix movie The Prodigy Its sole objective is to limit itself to telling us a story that occurred in 1862, it is wrong. There are stories, messages and concepts that are cyclical, that repeat and that are embedded in the essence of our humanity. We are referring to that eternal confrontation between fanaticism and science, between faith and reason.

This production directed by Sebastián Lelio and starring an effective Florence Pugh ntells the story of nurse Lib Wright, whose task is to go to a small town in Ireland to observe a girl who, supposedly, has not eaten for four months. Despite this permanent fast, the preteen seems to be in good health.

The Prodigy It is based on the novel by the writer Emma Donoghue (The Wonder, 2016). Thus, although it is true that neither the story nor the characters of Lib Wright and Anna O’Donnell really existed, the phenomenon of girls who “lived without food” was an authentic fact and is well documented.

This film brings us a story, a metaphor of fervent relevance in which an important message is printed. We live in a world where, sometimes, the truth is not relevant or taken into account. It matters what each person wants to believe, even if it results in conspiracy, fanaticism and lies.

Anna O’Donnell is a girl who, trapped in the fanaticism of religion and the weight of trauma, stops feeding herself.

The Prodigy and the history of the fasters

The Prodigy It starts as an invitation. The viewer is guided from our present day to a past scenario, indicating that “without stories, we are nothing.” That small brushstroke is key to capturing the essence of this production which, as we have pointed out, does not only seek to bring us a singular experience that occurred in 19th century Ireland.

The purpose of every story is to invite us to reflect, and therefore it is necessary to see this film from a broader, more sensitive and critical perspective. To that end, it is necessary to walk hand in hand with nurse Lib Wright, who, together with a nun, It is their responsibility to understand how a girl is managing to survive without food.

It is also important to highlight the psychosocial scenario that surrounds the young Anna O’Donnell. Both the family, the town’s neighbors, the church and even the doctors themselves view this phenomenon with admiration and devotion. The girl is holy, the girl feeds on manna from heaven and there is no other explanation other than divine. In the midst of this situation, Nurse Wright witnesses the little girl’s slow, but inevitable physical decline.

The story of the girls who didn’t want to eat

The fasters (fasting girls) existed and it was in this context in which some girls refused to eat that the term anorexia first appeared.. It was between 1810 and 1870 that names such as Ann Moore and Sarah Jacob emerged. Girls who, driven by religious fanaticism, said they did not need food because they had been chosen by God.

These girls acquired quite a bit of notoriety, to the point that it was common to go visit them and leave gifts (sometimes important financial donations). It was obvious that families were fed when there were no witnesses around. However, there were truly dramatic cases. Little Sarah Jacob ended up dying of starvation while a nurse watched her and studied her case.

The last cases were described at the end of the 19th century, when the scientific perspective began to prevail over religion and faith. Although in certain regions of the more rural United Kingdom, the fasters continued to attract acolytes and blind devotees who reaffirmed their truth. The one in which to give truth to holy girls capable of going years without eating thanks to the power of the divine. To the “manna”.

Religion sometimes acts as a tool for torment and punishment for the supposed sins committed by each person, even if they are just a child.

Fraud, fanaticism and the fragility of the truth

We do not want to reveal the interesting final intricacies with which the film ends. The Prodigy. Now, we can point out that This production tells us about psychological trauma and how religion acts as punishment to purge what is understood as a sin.. Nurse Lib Wright becomes that figure in charge of challenging dogmas, of bringing light to unreason.

However, When the protagonist finally brings the truth, no one wants to hear it.. Because the story of faith weighs more, because fanaticism prevails and no one wants to break that fabric of the magical and the miraculous that has been established for years in these places. Also in those minds that call anyone who defends science a heretic, clinging to their dogma to the point of letting an innocent girl die.

In 19th century Ireland, social networks did not exist as they do today, but misinformation also spread like a virus, like the blanket of fog that obscures everything through absurd and conspiratorial arguments.

The truth, regardless of the time or circumstance, is usually eternally violated and is questioned under the most varied bonfires. Sometimes because of religion, others because of subtle interests and almost always because of ignorance.

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