The story of Genie, who spent almost all of her childhood being abused in a dark room, has also been the subject of research in many disciplines such as psychology and linguistics.
The little girl could not even learn a language, since the parents of Genie, who was imprisoned in the room when she was a baby, on the grounds that she was mentally disabled by her family, did not communicate with her in any way during this process.
13 years spent in a cradle inside dark walls…
Genie was born in California in 1957 and was locked in a room by his father before he was 2 years old, claiming he was mentally handicapped. The room had neither light nor anything other than the cradle and the potty.
The poor girl was tied to this chair for hours. The same was true for his crib, he had to be tied up even when he went to bed. Although Genie wanted to make a noise at first, he found his father with a gun or a stick in front of him. Thus she is accustomed to not making a sound and not speaking, she.
Genie has been exposed to a total of 15-20 words over the years.
This girl, who has no communication with her family and the outside world, has learned only 15-20 words for 13 years. Imagine how such an abnormal situation would affect the human brain…
It’s not just language skills. Dressed in a straitjacket, the girl’s muscles did not develop either, as she was constantly tied up with her arms and legs tied and was fed only milk porridge. She even lacked motor movements.
Where was the mother while all this was going on?
The mother, who had almost no eyesight, was also exposed to the violence of the cruel father. There were such strict rules at home that Genie’s mother could not keep her husband’s word. She finally got a promise from her husband that she would release Genie when she was 13.
When Genie turned 13, of course, her father didn’t let her go. When we came to November 4, 1970, when her mother went to apply to the state for her own visual disability, she took Genie with her and the girl was seen by other people for the first time.
Thanks to the questions asked by the civil servant to the mother, the truth came to light.
When the civil servant who took care of the mother started asking questions about Genie, it was understood that something was wrong with the girl. The officer thought he was a 6-7 year old boy with autism at first, but was shocked when he learned that he was 13 years old. Police officers were called immediately for this girl, who could not say a single word and sounded like a baby.
The girl, who was immediately sent to the children’s hospital, did not speak, so they could not obtain information about the incident. Of course, the arrested parents didn’t give enough testimony either. The cruel father, on the morning of the court day, said, “The world will never understand.” He committed suicide leaving a note that said. The mother, on the other hand, was not punished because of her physical and psychological violence, as well as her visual disability.
So what happened to Genie Wiley?
After Genie was rescued, she never fully learned to speak. Thus, it became an example that paved the way for the discussions of “nativism (where language is coded in our brain from birth and develops over time)” and “critical period (language is acquired in the critical period age range)” in linguistics.
Even a few words that Genie, now 66, can only describe the traumas, is enough to understand some of what she went through:
“spit, dad is angry, big wood, dad hit arm, hit face, Genie cry, hit with big wood, dad is dead…”
Sources: Verywell Mind, The Guardian, All That’s Interesting
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