In Response to "The Use of Force" by William Williams

The short story"The Use of Force" by William Carlos Williams provides an interesting take on authority in society.  At first, my preconceived ideas about the gentleness that pediatricians treat their child patients with were still intact.  This notion was helped along by the description the doctor gives of the child as an "unusually attractive little thing" with "magnificent blonde hair" (1590), and by the way he resents the parent's suggestion that he might be there to hurt the child (1591).  My misconceptions about his character lasted all the way until he admits that he "had grown furious" at the child (1592).  Up until this point, the so-called use of force had only been for the child's benefit, to get a diagnosis, but at this moment, the motive for the use of force becomes two-fold: for the child's benefit and for the doctor's pleasure.  The doctor is now trying to force the child's mouth open for the pleasure of overpowering the child as much as for her own good.  He takes pleasure in attacking the child, but since he is the only one who knows this, his behavior is still acceptable.  Because he holds a position of authority, he is allowed to continue his aggressive attack on the child.  Imagine if any other person but a doctor had tried to do that, and how different the reaction of the parents would have been.  However, because they trust the doctor to do his job, they are willing to let him force their daughters mouth open while is screaming and bleeding, again, only because he holds a position of authority in this situation.  There is an ironic moment when the mother asks the screaming girl "Aren't you ashamed to act like that in front of a doctor?" (1592).  However, the real shame lies in the doctor's behavior towards his patient to whom he is supposed to do no harm.  I was very surprised that the story ended with the child's feelings and not the doctor's.  Is he triumphant that he has reduced her to "tears of defeat" or does he regret his use of force (1593)?  I think the message that Williams conveys with this story is that authority allows the use of force to change from a selfless desire to help another to the selfish desire to conquer another without consequence.