Carpentry

"Carpentry" in Within the Wires is commonly used as a euphemism to refer to the invasive procedures of the Extensive Studies Lab in the Institute. It is also used occasionally to thematically link characters to the Institute.

## Notable Mentions

### Season 1

In her fifth tape to Oleta, Hester described a bit of the history of the Institute, mentioning procedures designed to physically examine the brain that sounded like "carpentry" due to the nature of the equipment (and the fact that screaming was suppressed with anesthetic or vocal restraints). She heavily implied that "carpentry" still went on in the Institute, particularly to patients who questioned and resisted the regular testing, and suggested that Oleta take note of when she could hear carpentry but not smell sawdust.

When Oleta was taken to the Extensive Studies Lab, Hester warned her that the third exercise would involve carpentry without sawdust. There would be anesthetic, but she would still hear the sounds, and likely still experience pain. At least one of the "carpentry" procedures involved inserting equipment into the patient's mouth, which needed to be dry for the duration. Hester initiated her exit strategy right before Oleta was about to be subjected to carpentry, because it was impossible to heal from carpentry. She said, "Carpentry is forever."

### Season 3

On August 13, 1953, Michael Witten recalled that his secretary, Amy Castillo, mentioned she was learning pottery, woodworking, or "something crafty" though he couldn't quite remember what. Given that Amy is later revealed to be the creator of the Institute, this seems like a deliberate allusion to carpentry. In his letter to Amy in 1961, Michael also expressed his continued revulsion towards her project, saying, "A child is not a carpentry project you can keep carving and sanding."

### You Feel It Just Below the Ribs

The fourth and final main section of Miriam Gregory's autobiographical manuscript is titled "Carpentry." When Miriam began to heavily suspect that Rosemary was conducting unethical experiments on their patients, she collected all the hard data she could and hid it in a box labelled "Carpentry" because of the type of industrial equipment being used in the Extensive Studies Lab (known to the patients as simply "below"). Rosemary later found the box in her study and asked her about it.

Hilda Brownstead agreed to be admitted "below" and report to Miriam what she found. Over the next several days, Hilda experienced several physical exams. On the ninth day, she sent only one tape to Dr. Gregory, and it was mostly silent, ending with only heavy sob-like breathing. That was the last tape Dr. Gregory received.

Some time after the tapes stopped returning, Dr. Gregory encountered Hilda in the corridor, but she did not notice her even after she attempted to catch her attention. Miriam had to grab her arm and speak her name looking directly into her eyes before she acknowledged her. She did not answer any of her questions, and seemed pained when her brother was mentioned. Hilda said she had to go to her assessment, because she was going to get to go home. Later, while looking for the final tapes in her bedroom, Dr. Gregory found Hilda lying in bed with her eyes open, vacantly staring at the ceiling and unresponsive. When Dr. Gregory recovered the tapes, she found that the final one had nothing but static on both sides.

## References

1. ↑ Season 1, Cassette #1: Focus, Nose
2. ↑ Season 1, Cassette #9: Loss, Hands
3. ↑ Season 1, Cassette #10: Horopito
4. ↑ Season 3, Reel #2: August 13, 1953
5. ↑ Season 3, Reel #10: June 21, 1961
6. ↑ You Feel It Just Below the Ribs, p.312
7. ↑ You Feel It Just Below the Ribs, p.319
8. ↑ You Feel It Just Below the Ribs, p.335-37
9. ↑ You Feel It Just Below the Ribs, p.340-41
10. ↑ You Feel It Just Below the Ribs, p.345
11. ↑ You Feel It Just Below the Ribs, p.346-49