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 Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2008 12:20 am Post subject: Amazing chapter on "Sara Crewe" vs. "A Little Princess" |
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I was searching for anything about the character Ermengarde St. John
and her demanding/caring father and stumbled on Claudia Nelson's book,
"Little Strangers: Portrayals of Adoption and Foster Care in America,
1850-1929."
http://books.google.com/books?id=5Po3FdgqOw4C&pg=PA77&lpg=PA77&dq=ermengarde+%22her+father%22&source=bl&ots=xGBIyBWUgF&sig=gR4Au5ztvj3-WYqJOUc7Qs4IJcw&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=8&ct=result#PPA78,M1
The relevant pages are 74-79, from the chapter "Melodrama and the
Displaced Child, 1886-1906."
It points out, among many other things, that while the Sara of "A
Little Princess" is too good to be true, early on, the Sara of "Sara
Crewe" isn't all that likeable.
However, as can be seen here -
"But Mr. St. John, who unlike Mr Legh (Lottie's father) and Captain
Crewe seems to have reached years of discretion, is also no paragon of
paternity."
- Nelson doesn't seem to notice that part of the interesting contrast
between Sara and Ermengarde is that clearly, Ermengarde needs her
father more than Sara needed her silly father, even if Ermengarde and
her father have no "love" for each other. (Even if Mr. St. John did
insult Ermengarde to her face more than once and never tried affection
as a way to persuade her to do better in school, the fact remains,
after all, that he could easily have said to himself "well, why try to
teach her anything? Girls don't go on to university in 1905 anyway, so
let her fail all her classes if she likes - and if she just loses
weight, at least she'll be pretty." So since he doesn't say that, in
that sense, at least, he clearly cared about her as a future,
dignified adult.)
She also doesn't notice that, since the Sara in "A Little Princess" IS
too good to be true, early on, that practically demands the
introduction of a character like Lavinia, with her cold,
antisentimental comments, to bring the reader down to earth, even
though Nelson makes it clear that Lavinia is also being taught to be a
future Miss Minchin by her mother. (You can tell, after all, that
she's potentially dangerous the first time she notices Becky.)
And here's the 1985 anime series (many changes, but the original
ending is there)
http://www.little-princess-sara.net/mainE.html
http://www.little-princess-sara.net/charactersE.html
http://www.little-princess-sara.net/episodesE.html
After looking at it, it suddenly hit me that there's a big hole in the
original story. That is, once the expensive clothes started arriving
for "The Little Girl in the Attic" and Miss Minchin gets alarmed for
her own reputation, wouldn't she or some servant head for the attic
ASAP to provide warmer blankets and a better mattress? Of course, it's
a good thing she didn't. (As I remember faintly, she DID do that
eventually in the Shirley Temple movie.)
BTW, does anyone remember who wrote an introduction to ALP and pointed
out that many young modern listeners will, unfortunately, be very
puzzled by the following passage from Chapter 10, since it's not the
sort of skill that adults always teach children these days? Was it
E.L. Konigsburg or someone else?
"As to answering, though," said Sara, trying to console herself, "I
don't answer very often. I never answer when I can help it. When
people are insulting you, there is nothing so good for them as not to
say a word--just to look at them and think. Miss Minchin turns pale
with rage when I do it, Miss Amelia looks frightened, and so do the
girls. When you will not fly into a passion people know you are
stronger than they are, because you are strong enough to hold in your
rage, and they are not, and they say stupid things they wish they
hadn't said afterward. There's nothing so strong as rage, except what
makes you hold it in--that's stronger. It's a good thing not to answer
your enemies. I scarcely ever do."
Lenona. |
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