Was Rosie's mother asking too much of Rosie when she made her promise not to tell anyone about her ability? How would her ability be viewed today?

Was Rosie's mother asking too much of Rosie when she made her promise not to tell anyone about her ability? How would her ability be viewed today?

I don't think so. The promise kept her safe for many years. Rosie needed to learn about trust, before revealing her ability. Today, she would not be in danger and would likely be viewed as having a unique "superpower" which is all the rage these days - having a superpower.

I think Rosie’s mother did the right thing to protect her daughter and shield her from those that couldn’t or wouldn’t accept her unique ability.

Rosie’s mother understood how most people would view her daughter’s synesthesia and hoped to protect her from the possible negative consequences. It was a lot to ask but certainly understandable. Today this condition would certainly elicit curiosity and wonder. Thanks to Google, anyone to find the definition and characteristics of synesthesia and marvel in the individual’s ability to see color in this wonderful way.

The intention behind the request to Rosie not to tell anyone about her gifts was understandable, but at the same time, a bit unrealistic in terms of asking a young child to refrain from sharing something of that magnitude. I couldn’t help but wonder whether things might have been a little bit different if Rosie’s mom had a discussion (or series of discussions over time) about what to say should Rosie slip and tell someone about her synesthesia to maybe help her manage the message.

Though I completely agree with Linda Monaco’s post on the benefit of how Google would elicit curiosity and wonder with understanding synesthesia today, I still wonder whether many people would actually use Google to understand synesthesia and if they did, whether they would obtain their information from reliable sites versus sites where someone shares inaccurate information. I am frequently amazed by some of my neighbors who repeat inaccurate information because the information came from less than reliable websites with nonpolitical topics such as medical issues, dog behavior, etc.

I think Rosie's mother was trying to protect her. I think it was a wise approach, although also difficult. Today, I am not sure how accepting people would be - I think there would be a mix of some people trying to understand and others being skeptical.

Rosie's mother reacted as most mothers would - protect your child. It was certainly difficult considering Rosie's young age. Today I believe this condition would be viewed with curiosity and awe.

I agree with LindaMonaco and Freyah. I think she was trying to protect Rosie.

Her reaction was just a sign of the times, as evidenced by the doctor. She didn't think she was asking too much. A woman on her death bed would probably do whatever she could to protect her child.

I don't think that Rosie's mother was asking too much...she was only trying to protect her child.

As for how her ability would be viewed today -- well, as someone reading this book with a modern day sensibility, I admit that as I was reading, I honestly couldn't wrap my head around what all the fuss was about with Rosie's ability to see colors. I kept thinking, what's the big deal about this? Why does Rosie need to keep it a secret or need to be protected from it? I didn't see anything wrong with it and did not even realize it was a "condition" (and certainly didn't see why someone would be institutionalized for it) until near the end of part 1 when the synesthesia term came up. I think perhaps in our current day and age, we've seen so many unusual things already that something like Rosie's ability wouldn't even register as being out of the ordinary.

Though it is easy to think that Rosie’s condition would be accepted in today’s world, I think there are two aspects to this question that need to be kept in mind. One facet is the propensity to bullying by teenagers when someone acts out of the ordinary/mainstream which happens in some school systems related to LGBTQ+. The other facet to consider is the use and impact of social to shame/bully those who are different. If Rosie were alive today, I think both of these things might have negatively impacted her life were her synesthesia diagnosis made public.