Potent quotables
He could doubtless see, too, that she was not going to be a pushover. And she certainly was not.
Her husband Vincent was filled with such a rage that he knew not what to do with himself. It was red hot at first, searing him with pain and grief, but as time went on it cooled into an icy, diamond-hard desire for vengeance.
It seemed wealthy consumers were much more worthy of protection than working-class girls; after all, dial-painting was still going on, even in 1933.
She is still remembered now—you are still remembering her now. As a dial-painter, she glowed gloriously from the radium powder; but as a woman, she shines through history with an even brighter glory: stronger than the bones that broke inside her body; more powerful than the radium that killed her or the company that shamelessly lied through its teeth; living longer than she ever did on earth, because she now lives on in the hearts and memories of those who know her only from her story. Grace Fryer: the girl who fought on when all hope seemed gone; the woman who stood up for what was right, even as her world fell apart. Grace Fryer, who inspired so many to stand up for themselves. She was buried in Restland Memorial Park. But even as she was laid to rest, her story was not over. For her spirit lived on, eight hundred miles away, in the women who came after her. When Grace died, no radium company had been found guilty for killing its workers. No firm had been found at fault. Now, as Grace slept peacefully, others would take up her torch. Others would follow in her footsteps. Others would battle on as they continued the fight. For recompense. For recognition. For justice.
Each declared,” said the Chicago Herald-Examiner, “that if the fates decree, she will face the next world with the realization that her sacrifice may have saved others.”
Lit review
One of my favorite books of all time. Such an important history of the abuses suffered by women who were deemed disposable due to their socioeconomic status.