 An example of Addams’ application of feminist standpoint theory (or at least a forerunner of it) can be seen in the “Devil Baby,” which recounts what transpired after three Italian women came to Hull House to see a possessed infant. One can form a whimsical image from Addams’ account, “No amount of denial convinced them that he was not there, for they knew exactly what he was like with his cloven hoofs, his pointed ears, and diminutive tail; the Devil Baby had, moreover, been able to speak as soon as he was born and was shockingly profane” (LRW 7–8). This would be an amusing anecdote if it stopped there, but Addams described a six-week period when Hull House was inundated with stories about the alleged Devil Baby. Visitors even offered Hull House residents money to see the creature despite adamant responses that there was no such baby. Multiple versions of how the Devil Baby arose in the neighborhood, and eventually the hysteria made the newspapers. One version of the story claimed that the Devil Baby was the offspring of an atheist and a devoted Italian girl. When the husband tore a holy picture from the wall claiming that he would rather have a devil in the house, his wish was granted in the form of his coming child (LRW 8). Although a fascinating social phenomenon, the Devil Baby story has little apparent philosophical importance. It would be easy to dismiss those who perpetuated the story as simpletons caught up in the hysteria. Not for Jane Addams. She applied a familiar approach by refusing to pass judgment, listening carefully, and developing a sympathetic understanding. Addams actively worked to grasp their subject position.