The Use of “The Use of Force”

Abstract “The Use of Force,” a vignette by William Carlos Williams, frequently appears in medical humanities syllabi. The story Williams tells in the vignette, about a physician’s violent encounter with a child he has been called to examine for possible diphtheria, is disturbing. The physician-narrator has murderous thoughts about his young patient and his “use of force” in roughly prying open her mouth suggests child abuse and even rape. Why, given the ugly content of this piece, is it so frequently used to train doctors and future doctors? An exploration of Williams’s career as a writer and as a physician as well as a close reading of the text may provide some answers.