At its core, Darling Girls exposes the vulnerability of children within the foster care system and highlights the potential for abuse in the absence of proper oversight and accountability. The character of Miss Fairchild is therefore designed to embody the worst possible version of a foster parent, for although she is vicious and manipulative in the privacy of her own home, she is also cunning enough to conceal her true nature from the authorities. Her ability to maintain custody of the children despite her abusive behavior is further enabled by Scott’s apparent complete lack of oversight, and these elements combine to emphasize the critical failures in a system that is ostensibly designed to protect vulnerable children.

The novel showcases numerous examples of abuses that can occur within a flawed foster care system. Physical abuse is evident in Miss Fairchild’s harsh punishments, as when she forces Alicia to eat beans off the floor or locks Norah in the dark basement. However, Sally Hepworth also depicts a far more nuanced landscape of abuse for the girls to navigate, for Miss Fairchild is just as adept at inflicting emotional abuse as she is at meting out physical punishments, and her unpredictable

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