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| We're ready to learn, Professor. |
What are the Ratios in the Canon: RDD+Nurse, RBD+Nurse, RDD+Non-Nurse,
RBD+Non-Nurse?
RBD+Non-Nurse?
Over on our Facebook page, Betty Sutapa said it seemed to her "that the RDDs mostly encounter
heroines from the nursing profession whereas RBDs mostly encounter heroines from non-nursing
professions/stay-at-home heroines". And she wanted to know if her perception was correct.
heroines from the nursing profession whereas RBDs mostly encounter heroines from non-nursing
professions/stay-at-home heroines". And she wanted to know if her perception was correct.
Taking a leaf out of Betty van den Betsy’s book, I’ve made my business to find out the exact numbers,
which I couldn’t have done without her awesome spreadsheet:
which I couldn’t have done without her awesome spreadsheet:
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| This spreadsheet will leave you breathless. It really will. |
RESULTS:
Nurse/RDD — 70 couples
Nurse/RBD — 5 couples
Heidelberg Wedding
Never Say Goodbye
Once for All Time
Romantic Encounter
Summer Idyll
Nurse/Non-Medical Hero — 2 couples
Heaven around the Corner
Judith
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| Judith willed herself to find competency in a man who didn't know how to suture. |
Non-Nurse/RDD — 22 couples
Non-Nurse/RBD — 32 couples
Non-Nurse/ Non-Medical Hero — 4 couples
All Else Confusion
A Girl to Love
Roses and Champagne
Year’s Happy Ending
135 STORIES, in total:
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| She totted up the sums on the underside of her crisp apron. |
Of the heroines 77 are nurses, 58 are not.
On the heroes‘ side, we have 92 RDDs, 37 RBDs, and 6 Non-Medical men.
NURSES
In 70 novels, or ~52% of the Canon, Nurses are paired with RDDs.
That means 76% of the RDDs marry Nurses.
Nurses paired with RBDs are to be found in 5 novels only, or ~4%.
That’s only 13.5% of the RBDs.
NON-NURSES
22 of the couples, or ~16%, are pairings of RDDs and Non-Nurses.
That’s 24% of the RDDs.
In 32 stories, or ~24% of The Great Betty’s oeuvre, RBDs end up marrying Non-Nurses.
That’s 86.5% of the RBDs!
NON-MEDICAL HEROES
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| Not every man is a doctor. |
In 2 stories only, or ~1.5%, do we have Nurses marrying Non-Medical Heroes.
And in 4 stories, almost 3% of the Canon, Non-Nurses marry Non-Medical Heroes.
That means exactly ⅓ of the Non-Medical Heroes marry nurses, ⅔ of the Non-Medical Heroes end up married to Non-Nurses.
I counted student nurses as nurses.
Nanny by Chance: non-nurse/short stint as student nurse/non-nurse — I counted her as a non-nurse.
Among the non-nurses, we have a physiotherapist, a heroine who spent part of the novel working as
an orderly at a hospital, one who jobbed on a geriatric ward, and a couple of nurse’s aids.
an orderly at a hospital, one who jobbed on a geriatric ward, and a couple of nurse’s aids.
