Although Madeleine Bates and Sophia Parkinson were both eighteen years old, the contrast between their two lives could not have been greater. But Madeleine was not the kind of young woman you could overlook, and when Leon Bonneau came to stay at Mount Royd he was startled into noticing the dignity and beauty of Madeleine.

Eighteen years old, Madeleine Bates spent her time either at chapel or working a 14-hour day as housemaid at Mount Royd, the aflluent Parkinson family home. But Madeleine was not the kind of young woman you could overlook, and when Leon Bonneau came to stay at Mount Royd he was, against his own inclinations, startled into noticing the dignity and beauty of the young housemaid. From that moment on the lives of everyone at Mount Royd began to change, and Madeleine stepped forward into a new and challenging future.

Rosamond Rhodes is Professor of Medical Education and Director of Bioethics Education at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, and Professor of Philosophy at The Graduate School, CUNY.

Leslie P. Francis is Professor of Philosophy and the Alfred C. Emery Professor of Law, Adjunct Professor of Political Science at the University of Utah, and Adjunct Professor in the Division of Medical Ethics, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Utah School of Medicine.

Anita Silvers is Professor of Philosophy at San Francisco State University.