Rhoda Penmark is a

fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...

William March William March (September 18, 1893 – May 15, 1954) was an American writer of psychological fiction and a highly decorated United States Marine Corps, U.S. Marine. The author of six novels and four short-story collections, March was praised by ...

's 1954 novel ''

The Bad Seed ''The Bad Seed'' is a 1954 novel by American writer William March, the last of his major works published before his death. Nominated for the 1955 National Book Award for Fiction, ''The Bad Seed'' tells the story of a mother's realization that h ...

'' and the stage play of the same name adapted from it by

Maxwell Anderson James Maxwell Anderson (December 15, 1888 – February 28, 1959) was an American playwright, author, poet, journalist, and lyricist. Background Anderson was born on December 15, 1888, in Atlantic, Pennsylvania, the second of eight children to ...

. She is both the

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

and

antagonist An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the chief foe of the protagonist. Etymology The English word antagonist comes from the Greek ἀνταγωνιστής – ''antagonistēs'', "opponent, competitor, villain, enemy, riv ...

of the story. Penmark is a

child A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger ...

serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

and

psychopath Psychopathy, sometimes considered synonymous with sociopathy, is characterized by persistent Anti-social behaviour, antisocial behavior, impaired empathy and remorse, and Boldness, bold, Disinhibition, disinhibited, and Egotism, egotistical B ...

who manipulates those around her. She was portrayed by

Patty McCormack Patricia McCormack (born Patricia Ellen Russo in 1945) is an American actress with a career in theater, films, and television. McCormack began her career as a child actress. She is perhaps best known for her performance as Rhoda Penmark in Maxw ...

in the original rendition of the play and later in the 1956 film adaptation. She was also portrayed by Carrie Wells in the 1985 made-for-television adaptation. In the 2018 adaptation and its sequel, she is known as Emma Grossman and portrayed by Mckenna Grace.

Overview

Rhoda Penmark is an eight-year-old girl who is charming, polite, and intelligent beyond her years. Beneath her lovable facade, however, she is a

sociopath Psychopathy, sometimes considered synonymous with sociopathy, is characterized by persistent antisocial behavior, impaired empathy and remorse, and bold, disinhibited, and egotistical traits. Different conceptions of psychopathy have been u ...

(or psychopath) who is willing to harm and even kill anyone to get whatever she wants, whenever she wants it. She is also a precociously talented

con artist A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust. Confidence tricks exploit victims using their credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, confidence, irresponsibility, and greed. Researchers have def ...

, adept at manipulating adults. Other children, who can sense her true nature, avoid her. In the beginning of the novel, she brutally murders a classmate and a groundskeeper who suspects her. It is also revealed that she murdered an elderly neighbor and her pet dog a few years before. March writes that Rhoda's

evil Evil, in a general sense, is defined as the opposite or absence of good. It can be an extremely broad concept, although in everyday usage it is often more narrowly used to talk about profound wickedness and against common good. It is general ...

gene In biology, the word gene (from , ; "...Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a ba ...

tic: her maternal grandmother, "the incomparable Bessie Denker", was an infamous

who also began killing at Rhoda's age. Rhoda's mother, Christine, was adopted at a very young age and does not remember her biological parents.

Novel

While at a school picnic, Rhoda murders her classmate, Claude Daigle, who won a special

penmanship Penmanship is the technique of writing with the hand using a writing instrument. Today, this is most commonly done with a pen, or pencil, but throughout history has included many different implements. The various generic and formal hist ...

award that she feels she deserved. After killing Claude, she retrieves the medal and leaves the dead boy's body in a local lake. While no one suspects Rhoda at first, Christine notices that her daughter seems startlingly indifferent to the other child's tragic death. Christine, who has always vaguely sensed something wrong with her daughter, is troubled, but dismisses any possibility that Rhoda was actually involved in the boy's death. Only two adults see through Rhoda's charm — Leroy, the mean-spirited janitor at the Penmarks' apartment building; and, to a lesser extent, her teacher Miss Fern, who observes that she is a poor loser and rather selfish. Once, Rhoda was even expelled from a school for repeatedly being caught lying to teachers and staff, who described her as a "cold, self-sufficient child who plays by her own rules". Leroy sees Rhoda as a kindred spirit and enjoys teasing her. One day, he spies on Rhoda and repeatedly threatens to "tell on her". Rhoda says no one would believe him, but begins to make plans to get rid of him, just in case. Christine tries to relieve her fears by talking abstractly about the murder with her adopted father and Mrs. Breedlove, a neighbor who dabbles in psychiatric theories about

personality Personality is the characteristic sets of behaviors, cognitions, and emotional patterns that are formed from biological and environmental factors, and which change over time. While there is no generally agreed-upon definition of personality, mos ...

. During the conversation, she recovers a long-repressed memory of her real mother, "the incomparable Bessie Denker", a serial

poison Poison is a chemical substance that has a detrimental effect to life. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figuratively, with a broa ...

er who died in the

electric chair An electric chair is a device used to execute an individual by electrocution. When used, the condemned person is strapped to a specially built wooden chair and electrocuted through electrodes fastened on the head and leg. This execution method, ...

. That night, Claude's mother arrives, distraught and drunk, at Christine's home stating that there is "something funny about this whole thing" and asks Christine to ask Rhoda about her last few moments with the boy. While Christine is locating Rhoda's necklace, which Mrs. Breedlove is having engraved for the child, Christine finds the penmanship medal in Rhoda's treasure chest. She confronts Rhoda, who initially denies having done anything wrong, but confesses after Christine finds the bloodied shoes with which Rhoda had beaten Claude before drowning him. Christine is horrified, but Rhoda cannot understand what all the fuss is about; after all, she says, "It was Claude Daigle who drowned, not me". While Christine grapples with what to do, Rhoda silences Leroy by setting his mattress on fire while he is sleeping. When she learns what her daughter has done, Christine makes a gut-wrenching decision: She must kill Rhoda to keep her from killing again. She gives her a lethal dose of sleeping pills, hoping she will die without pain, and then commits

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

by shooting herself in the head. Rhoda survives when a neighbor hears the shot and takes her to the hospital. Nobody is the wiser as to what Rhoda has done, and she is free to kill again.

Film adaptations

portrayed Rhoda in the 1956 film adaptation. The ending was revised to fit the

Hays Code The Motion Picture Production Code was a set of industry guidelines for the self-censorship of content that was applied to most motion pictures released by major studios in the United States from 1934 to 1968. It is also popularly known as the ...

, which did not permit characters to get away with their crimes. In this version, Rhoda is killed by a bolt of

lightning Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electric charge, electrically charged regions, both in the atmosphere or with one on the land, ground, temporarily neutralize themselves, causing the instantaneous ...

, while Christine survives her suicide attempt. The character was played by Carrie Wells in the 1985

made for TV A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

remake A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same ...

in which her name was changed from Rhoda to Rachel. In the 2018

starring and directed by

Rob Lowe Robert Hepler Lowe (born March 17, 1964) is an American actor, filmmaker, and podcast host. He made his acting debut at the age of 15 with ABC's short-lived sitcom ''A New Kind of Family'' (1979–1980). Following numerous television roles in ...

, the character Emma Grossman, portrayed by Mckenna Grace, is based on Rhoda Penmark.

Reception

She is ranked 12th on

Bloody Disgusting Bloody Disgusting is an American multi-media company, which began as a horror genre-focused news site/website specializing in information services that covered various horror medias, including: film, television, video games, comics, and music. ...

's list of "The Top 16 Creepiest Kids in Horror Movie History". Brian Solomon writes, "The grand-mammy of all messed-up horror movie kids, Rhoda Penmark is a pint-sized terror of biblical proportions. If you think the

ADHD Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by excessive amounts of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that are pervasive, impairing in multiple contexts, and otherwise age-inapp ...

-addled rugrats you see roaming shopping malls nowadays are bad, you ain't seen nothin' yet". Kristian Wilson of ''

Bustle A bustle is a padded undergarment used to add fullness, or support the drapery, at the back of women's dresses in the mid-to-late 19th century. Bustles are worn under the skirt in the back, just below the waist, to keep the skirt from dragging. ...

'' listed her among the "19 Creepiest Kids In Fiction" and stated that she was "the bad little girl to end all bad little girls". Rhoda Penmark was the main inspiration for the appearance of

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

character Baby-Doll in ''

The New Batman Adventures ''The New Batman Adventures'' (often shortened as ''TNBA'') is an American superhero animated television series based on the DC Comics superhero Batman, which aired on Kids' WB from September 13, 1997 to January 16, 1999. Produced by Warner Bro ...

'' and associated comics, during which the character was revamped with a pink dress and blonde pigtails, as well as a facial structure and dark eyes similar to Rhoda's. This has since become the most iconic portrayal of the Baby-Doll character and was the variation chosen for toys, follow-up comics and other media.

Notes

References