Johnny Belinda is a 1940 play by Elmer Blaney Harris, dealing with the then shocking subjects of rape, murder, bastardy, abuse of a deaf-mute, bigotry and gossip in a small community.
It ran for 321 performances on Broadway from September 18, 1940 to June 21, 1941, and has been repeatedly adapted for film, radio, television, and as a musical.
[1] Set in Souris East, Prince Edward Island, and Charlottetown at the end of the 19th century, the isolated deaf-mute Belinda lives with her father and aunt in the remote farming and fishing community northwest of Nova Scotia.
Belinda is universally referred to as 'the Dummy' until the newly arrived doctor sees her potential and begins teaching her sign language.
At the ensuing trial all but the doctor are prepared to condemn Belinda for murder until the truth unexpectedly emerges: that she was acting in self-defense.