Summary

In the Garden of the North American Martyrs begins by introducing its protagonist, Mary, a professor of History at Brandon College. Mary is a fearful woman who keeps her opinions to herself. At the beginning of her teaching career, she witnessed a brilliant professor lose his job after presenting an idea to the trustees of the college that they found offensive. Since this day Mary has been overly cautious. In the classroom, she carefully prepares lesson plans before she gives lectures. Instead of offering her point of view, she used the arguments and opinions of approved authors. Mary views herself as being on trial as a teacher and as a woman. More than anything, she is afraid of saying something that would be deemed scandalous. Years of keeping quiet make her fear silence. Mary feels she can no longer find the...