Poor Things by Alasdair Gray is a novel that follows the life of a Victorian doctor, McDermont, as he attempts to create a female cyborg as a social experiment. McDermont name the cyborg Bella Baxter and her story is told throughout the narrative as she learns the ways of the world and the harsh realities of the society she is born into.
Chapter One: The novel begins with McDermont, who is living in a small fishing village in 1811. He is an eccentric but well respected doctor, who has an interest in the possibility of creating a creature with living organs but possessed with a machine's brain. This idea of creating a cyborg will become Bella Baxter.
Chapter Two: In this chapter, McDermont visits Glasgow, an industrial city which is very different from the rural area in which he is accustomed. Here, he meets two medical researchers, Lawson Gorrie and Edward Baxter, who share his interest in creating synthetic life. Baxter, in particular, is enamoured with the idea of Bella Baxter and the trio become friends.
Chapter Three: This chapter focuses on McDermont's work in creating Bella Baxter. He creates the perfect body for her, makes her organs, and gives her a machine mind in the form of a series of mathematical equations.
Chapter Four: Bella Baxter is awoken in this chapter and McDermont begins the process of teaching her about the world. Both Gorrie and Baxter take part in this endeavor, introducing her to their respective fields of medicine and engineering. She is even able to attend university lectures where she is taught history and science.
Chapter Five: In this chapter, McDermont begins to part with Bella as she finds more independence. She starts to make her own trips to Glasgow and becomes much more assertive in her conversations. She is, however, completely unaware of her artificial nature and the trio hopes to keep her ignorance safe.
Chapter Six: In this chapter, Bella meets a young man named Douglas who quickly becomes her romantic partner despite her status as a machine. Together, they escape McDermont and travel to Edinburgh, a city known for its scientific advancements. Here, Bella goes through a process called “memory rebooting” which allows her to have a richer and more complex understanding of the world.
Chapter Seven: Bella and Douglas's affair has a tragic end when Bella is almost destroyed by a mob of angry citizens in Edinburgh. This incident reveals her true nature to the public and McDermont is forced to go into hiding.
Chapter Eight: With the revelation of Bella's origin, her reputation is ruined. Desperate to restore her name, she accepts a job at a respected hospital in London but meets a negative reaction from other doctors when they learn of her artificial nature. It is here that she meets a patient that will change her life.
Chapter Nine: Bella meets a patient named Elizabeth Mary Gascoigne who is terminally ill. When Elizabeth is cured through Bella's treatment, it is revealed that Bella has the power to heal. This newfound ability leads to her returning to Glasgow and becoming a respected doctor of anatomy and physiology.
Chapter Ten: In the final chapter, Bella continues her work in Glasgow and marries Douglas. By the end of the novel she is seen as a respected doctor and admired by her peers for her talents and skills. Through her journey, Bella has been able to regain her confidence and prove that she can achieve greatness even in the face of adversity. In the end, Bella has shown that anyone can rise above their circumstance to become something greater.
