The Queen's Gambit

The green pills that Beth and the other orphans receive are tranquilizers meant to keep them docile and easy to control. Many children, particularly Beth, develop a dependence on the pills. These pills are present throughout the novel, as Beth continues to seek them out and use them after she is adopted. They function as a motif representing the theme of the pull of addiction. Throughout The Queen’s Gambit, Beth finds a way to access these pills and depends on them frequently to sleep and chase away anxiety. Beth’s dependence on these pills begins the first day she receives them: “Beth was given a tranquilizer twice a day...she was glad to get the little pill. It loosened something deep in her stomach and helped her doze away the tense hours in the orphanage” (3). After the traumatic death of her mother and her introduction to Methuen, the green pills provide an answer to her conflicted feelings. She finds that they make life bearable by taking away the stressors of the world around her. Beth’s relationship with the pills remains largely the same throughout the novel, though at times of intense determination, she can stop using them at least briefly. During stressful times, she uses many pills, even though they dull her mind and occasionally make it difficult for her to play chess. Her need for them is sometimes so great that she steals them from Alma and even hoards them after a trip to Mexico.