The Golden Goblet

First published in 1961, The Golden Goblet called attention to the problem of child abuse even before the issue became a mainstream societal concern. At the novel’s publication, child abuse and neglect were not widely acknowledged crimes. However, McGraw’s depiction of abuse does not hold back: The maltreatment Ranofer experiences is graphic and, at times, difficult for the reader to stomach. McGraw uses the theme of abuse in The Golden Goblet to help raise awareness of the issue and create an opening for discussion and change.

In “A Short History of Child Protection in America,” an article published in Family Law Quarterly, author John Myers writes that the 1960s saw “an explosion of interest in child abuse” (Myers, John. “A Short History of Child Protection in America.” Family Law Quarterly, vol. 42, no. 3, Sep. 2008, pp. 449-463). Before this time, medical students received almost no training about child abuse in medical school, and practicing pediatricians had little information about the issue. The 1962 groundbreaking paper, “The Battered-Child Syndrome,” by pediatrician Henry Kempe and colleagues, brought child abuse to the attention of both the media and the medical community. The same year, Congress passed new amendments to the Social Security Act, officially identifying Child Protective Services “as a part of all public child welfare” (Ibid, 455). Progress was also made in advancing child abuse reporting laws. McGraw’s early, forthright portrayal of abuse places her in the vanguard of those working to bring child abuse to public attention and to promote societal change.

Although the motivation behind Gebu’s abuse is never specified, McGraw makes it clear that Gebu is immoral and evil. Gebu subjects Ranofer to physical and emotional abuse and neglect. He beats Ranofer with closed fists, often raising welts on the young boy’s back. Gebu belittles and humiliates him, mocking him and calling him insulting names. He neglects Ranofer by withholding food and starving him. Gebu creates an atmosphere of fear and intimidation, jeopardizing Ranofer’s security—such as it is—by threatening to sell him. Ranofer is rightfully terrified of Gebu and fears that he is Gebu’s “tool” and that when Gebu is done using him, he will, like any worthless tool, “break it in anger, then get another” (70).

Gebu’s abuse affects Ranofer socially and emotionally. Ranofer is defensive and closed off from others. He has few friends; he rarely smiles until he meets Heqet. He is ashamed of the marks of abuse on his body and shies away from others’ concerns, but at the same time, Ranofer is lonely and scared. He internalizes much of Gebu’s criticism and is highly self-critical. Ranofer is self-conscious of how others perceive him, dreading their pity but recognizing his helplessness; he is a “waif” living at Gebu’s whim.

Ranofer struggles to hold onto his hopes and dreams, keeping them private from Gebu, even though it means a beating because “even a beating was preferable to turning his heart and hopes inside out for Gebu’s scornful inspection, seeing them withered with ridicule and blown away like dust before his eyes” (135). Although Gebu actively works to crush Ranofer’s self-esteem, Ranofer clings to remnants of who he was before coming to live with Gebu: his pride in his father and his natural goldsmithing skill. However, his feelings of inadequacy, fear, and despair increasingly threaten these two positive elements.

Ranofer’s story has a happy ending. Thanks to his solid moral compass, the desire to control his destiny, his bravery, and the help of two good friends, he escapes his abusive situation and has a golden future. The same is not the case for many child abuse victims. Through her fictional depiction of Ranofer’s plight, McGraw empowers readers to identify and learn about a subject that was just being publicly acknowledged in 1961.