Reply To: Honesty vs popularity
I think it is always better to be honest than to be well-liked. Martha is respected because she is capable and has gained the trust of the women she serves. When Martha catches Clarissa Stone, Peggy Bridge and Rachel Blossom gossiping about Sarah White, she reminded them that none of them had the right to speak and tells them they should apologize to Sarah. That brutal honesty caused Rachel to do the right thing and eventually saved her baby. Unfortunately, the other two lost their babies to Page’s incompetence. After Lidia North’s racist rant in which she demands more tonic for her headaches, Ephraim tells Lidia that his wife knows her mind and he will “only tell her to follow her conscience. As she leaves, Lidia tells Martha that she thought better of her. But when Martha refused to make more tonic, Ephraim says with sadness in his voice, “I did not take you for the kind of woman who would punish the innocent for the sins of the guilty.” This eventually forced Martha to be honest with herself and provide more tonic to Lidia.
