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sophia_sol) wrote2012-02-07 02:05 pm
sophia_sol) wrote2012-02-07 02:05 pm
Freckles, by Gene Stratton Porter, and A Girl of the Limberlost, by Gene Stratton Porter
The thing about being internetless for a while is that I find myself reading a lot more profic... so I have a few posts about books to make! I'll start with the two books I have the most to say about:
So the other day I read A Girl of the Limberlost, after having read Freckles the day before, and of course I have ALL OF THE THOUGHTS. I spent a lovely long time that night talking with Mara about the books, because we have somewhat different opinions on the two of them. Let's see if I can remember everything we talked about and everything I think!
So both of us really enjoy both of the books, but Mara adores A Girl of the Limberlost, whereas I adore Freckles.
Freckles just -- oh, as I was reading it I kept on being overwhelmed by ALL OF THE EMOTIONS. I would pause to, like, hug the book to my chest occasionally, because OH FRECKLES. Whereas in A Girl of the Limberlost, I found it very enjoyable and fascinating but it was all at an emotional distance.
I've been trying to articulate why, to Mara, and I'm not quite sure if I've got it, but I'll try!
Both of the books are about a young person who is lonely and love-starved who acquires love and blossoms under it. But the way they go about doing this is a bit different. Freckles has never had anyone to love him in all his life since he was put in the home as a baby, and so he is desperate for any measure of affection, and so very open about that need, and when people love him, when he gets his found family of the Duncans and MacLean, he is so very grateful for that love -- he needs it, he adores it, and he loves so freely and happily in return. The way the characters love each other in that book just gets to me so very much. MacLean thinks of him as a son! And is ridiculously proud of him! And is not afraid to say so! <33333
Whereas Elnora -- Elnora wants and longs for her mother's love, yes, but she also shows very clearly that she would do just fine without it. And she wants and longs for Philip's love too, but again she would do just fine without it. Elnora is a far more independent-minded person than Freckles is, and although I can admire her deeply for it I can't love her the same way I do Freckles. Freckles befriends the whole world because he has so much love to give. Elnora has friendships, yes, but she calculates everything about it so carefully, because her pride and her independence seem to be almost more important. She keeps a calendar of treats she owes to her friends to make sure she is never infringing on their generosity! She insists on explaining to everyone at school about her lunches and her clothes! She is going to DO THIS THING and KEEP UP APPEARANCES no matter what, and look out world, because Elnora's coming.
Elnora is a good person, yes, and she clearly does have strong feelings, but she doesn't want your love the same way Freckles does, doesn't need it the same way -- what she's after is respect and dignity. Which I will happily grant her, because she totally deserves it! But it means Freckles gets my feelings and Elnora doesn't.
Another aspect would perhaps be the difference in emphasis in the books. Freckles is a book that is at its heart all about Freckles -- he is the main character, through and through. In A Girl of the Limberlost, there is a much broader cast, and we spend a lot of time with characters who are not Elnora, and I don't always care about those other characters. The subplot about Billy, for example, I was rather uninterested in. At other times it feels like those other characters could in fact make very interesting main characters in their own rights -- in fact, the story of Mrs Comstock is in some ways a more interesting story than that of Elnora, because there's more change and growth there.
Although I did find Mrs Comstock's abrupt change kind of...well, abrupt. And unbelievable. But I think Mara has argued me down from that. The way that she suddenly becomes the perfect mother the instant she discovers the truth about her dead husband, and never backslides even once -- really? Really? But then Mara pointed out that the transformation was one that was so calculated, so determined, so complete, that it was almost like it was Mrs Comstock saying SO THERE to her dead husband. You weren't worthy of the twenty years I spent bewailing your death so out of spite I will be the BEST MOTHER POSSIBLE. OKAY GO. Because doing things out of spite, out of an "I'll show you" attitude (over top of the love that she does have, buried deep inside her), is totally in character for her -- look at the lunches she made for Elnora, look at her reaction to Billy.
I do still think it a little unbelievable that she didn't ever accidentally fall back into old patterns of thought and behaviour, because twenty years' worth of bitterness sets patterns that are hard to change in a single instant, no matter how much you want to! But I'll no longer protest the fact of her abrupt change.
Next I want to talk about Edith! And Hart! And that whole thing! I think the character of Edith is a very interesting one and I am kind of all of the fascinated to know more about the progression of her and Hart's relationship! Mara and I were talking about what Hart sees in Edith that Philip doesn't, because Philip does not ever actually really see her as anything more than a society girl, one who lives to have fun. He tells Elnora that he assumes Edith'll settle down once she has a household to run, but that she is young and this is her playtime. Philip proceeds to realize that Edith isn't anything more than a girl who exists to be a society ornament, and that what he wants is a girl who (like Elnora) is suited to being a useful and thoughtful person.
But Hart seems like a reasonable sort of guy and he knows everything about Edith that Philip knows and yet he still loves her, and has loved her for a very long time! Loves her even before her realization at the end that she's rather shallow and selfish and that she wants to learn how to be a better person!
It seems to me that Hart has perhaps recognized all along that Edith has the potential to be a wonderful person in a way that Philip never did. Edith tells Hart at one point that she loves Philip dearly but that she would never tell him so -- Edith clearly talks to Hart a lot more than she does to Philip, and is a lot more open and honest with him. Philip only ever sees her public face, because he is her lover (I use the term under the old-fashioned definition) and that's how she understands a lover ought to be treated -- she sparkles at him and dazzles him and is an empress for him. But Hart is her friend, and so she talks to him. Hart knows her better, really, than Philip does, and he knows what she's truly like and what she's truly capable of being. And he loves her because he knows her.
So basically what I am saying here is that I ship Edith/Hart like mad and want to read ALL THE FIC about Edith learning to be a better person and the difficulties she encounters in the attempts of breaking lifelong habits, and about Hart being a constant supportive presence for her because he loves her and knows her whether she gets things right or wrong, whether she's perfect or not, and where he admires the hell out of her for her determination to overcome the social conditioning she's had all her life leading her on this one path. And about them talking openly to each other about their feelings and thoughts, and Edith feeling weird about it because Hart has switched roles for her! He's her lover now, not her friend, but she CAN'T treat him the way she treated Philip, because he's HART <3.
Um. So it's entirely possible the things I got out of this book are very different than the things other people might get out of it.
Onwards! The Bird Woman! I love her SO MUCH. I love how completely at ease she is with who she is, and doesn't care what other people think of her. I love how she is able to go from role to role with comfort -- being the Bird Woman but also perfectly capable and comfortable dressing up like a normal society lady to the point where Freckles almost doesn't recognize her when she's not in her birding clothes. She's a woman and a lady and everyone recognizes her as such, but she's also a passionate naturalist and photographer and makes her own living without a man in sight and everyone basically thinks she's great, and she KNOWS she's great, because she IS. And she's just a really nice person on top of all of that! BIRD WOMAN ILU.
Also the Swamp Angel! I love her too, and I love that we never find out her official name because Freckles recognizes her as an Angel and she finds that delightful and so why does her technical name ever need to be shared? Because she is the Angel and that's that! And even in A Girl of the Limberlost when she is a mother of four and serenely expecting lots more, she's still the Angel to everyone. Because she IS. I love how she's brave and irrepressible and loves so easily and can't help taking charge in any situation she's put into, and everyone just listens to her because CLEARLY SHE'S AWESOME. And I love how she's the one to save the day at the end of Freckles! She's just like, DUDE NO FRECKLES I'M NOT LETTING YOU DIE and then she goes out and does her awesome detective work to prove to him that his mother loved him! And then FIND S HIS FAMILY and CONFRONTS THEM LIKE A BOSS and then ~SAVES THE DAY~. ANGEL ILU.
Also Freckles himself! He's a pretty swell dude. And he is so sensible! He's busy watching the beauty of...I think it was a butterfly? pretty early in the book, but he thinks to himself that it won't get any prettier the longer he watches, and he won't come any closer to knowing anything about it, so there's no use standing around to watch longer. And then when he realizes how much he wants to learn, he doesn't bewail his lack of knowledge or complain to anyone! He just goes OH HEY LET ME BUY MYSELF SOME BOOKS AND TEACH MYSELF. And he does! And he also just has so much irrepressible enthusiasm and love, so much longing to find his place in the world, so much integrity, and basically EVERYTHING ABOUT HIM IS LOVE.
Also I am pretty impressed with how the book treats Freckles' disability? Freckles is understandably frustrated with it because people see he's missing a hand and just assume that he'd be no use to them. He gets rejected by potential adoptive parents because of it, and he gets rejected from potential jobs because of it, because people have discrimination and bias, but Freckles is just like, WELP I KNOW I AM A CAPABLE DUDE REGARDLESS OF WHAT PEOPLE THINK and then when he finally gets his chance he goes and does an amazing job at everything he tries to do because he works really hard to succeed at whatever he attempts, and his missing hand is just NOT A BIG DEAL, and the only reason he's ashamed of it is because he thinks his mother was the one to cut it off, that it is a symbol of the lack of love his parents had for him. But it's not! It's just a hand that he happens to be missing because of an accident! And then in A Girl of the Limberlost I don't think it mentions his missing hand even once because it is so completely not a big deal! Freckles is an awesome person and everyone knows it and it isn't ~despite his disability~ or anything ridiculous like that it is just that he is awesome! And he'd be that way whether he had one hand or two or, for that matter, any other number! I mean correct me if I'm wrong because I haven't done extensive readings about disability and disability narratives but I am pretty sure this is doing very well, especially for a book of its era!
Moving on! The melodrama of the endings of both books is kind of ridiculous: Freckles is going to DIE, unless he can find out his parentage and feel it acceptable to offer himself to the Angel! Philip is going to DIE, unless he can find Elnora again! AHAHAHAHA. Whatever.
Actually there are a number of things about the books that are kind of ridiculous. The books are clearly of an era, in quite a number of ways. But, well, I have been reading old-fashioned children's books my whole life and am familiar with the reading protocols, have learned how to overlook the kinds of unfortunate things that run rampant in them to appreciate the good stuff. Because the good stuff is SUCH FUN!
One of the things that rather amused me about Freckles was how it was a book about people who love the forest SO MUCH that they become...loggers. Yes. Because cutting down the forest you love is clearly the best way to show that love? *sigh* But whatever, I did love how UNREPENTANT the books were about all the loving descriptions of the natural world. It is clear that the author adored the Limberlost herself, and was extremely familiar with it! (unsurprising, since she did do a lot to lobby for conservation using her money and her position) That love shone in every word, in every description. It was great. So many books feel embarrassed to have that kind of up-front nature porn, but these books? NOPE PARAGRAPH UPON PARAGRAPH ABOUT THE FERNS AND THE BIRDS AND THE MOTHS. BECAUSE THEY'RE SO AMAZING CAN'T YOU SEE THEY'RE AMAZING LET ME TALK ABOUT THEIR AMAZINGNESS SOME MORE. AND HERE HAVE ANOTHER FEW PARAGRAPHS ABOUT IT. YOU'RE NOT TIRED OF IT YET? OKAY HERE HAVE SOME MORE! Freckles was much more unrepentant about this than A Girl of the Limberlost -- the latter had so many character storylines it had to follow that it had to sacrifice some of the nature porn, but Freckles was a book full of a dude wandering the swamp/forest alone and reveling in the amazing things he found there, and it was GREAT.
Anything else? That's all I can remember wanting to talk about right now.
Okay so in conclusion both books are amazing but I love Freckles more but I want fic about two minor characters in A Girl of the Limberlost the most! The end!
So the other day I read A Girl of the Limberlost, after having read Freckles the day before, and of course I have ALL OF THE THOUGHTS. I spent a lovely long time that night talking with Mara about the books, because we have somewhat different opinions on the two of them. Let's see if I can remember everything we talked about and everything I think!
So both of us really enjoy both of the books, but Mara adores A Girl of the Limberlost, whereas I adore Freckles.
Freckles just -- oh, as I was reading it I kept on being overwhelmed by ALL OF THE EMOTIONS. I would pause to, like, hug the book to my chest occasionally, because OH FRECKLES. Whereas in A Girl of the Limberlost, I found it very enjoyable and fascinating but it was all at an emotional distance.
I've been trying to articulate why, to Mara, and I'm not quite sure if I've got it, but I'll try!
Both of the books are about a young person who is lonely and love-starved who acquires love and blossoms under it. But the way they go about doing this is a bit different. Freckles has never had anyone to love him in all his life since he was put in the home as a baby, and so he is desperate for any measure of affection, and so very open about that need, and when people love him, when he gets his found family of the Duncans and MacLean, he is so very grateful for that love -- he needs it, he adores it, and he loves so freely and happily in return. The way the characters love each other in that book just gets to me so very much. MacLean thinks of him as a son! And is ridiculously proud of him! And is not afraid to say so! <33333
Whereas Elnora -- Elnora wants and longs for her mother's love, yes, but she also shows very clearly that she would do just fine without it. And she wants and longs for Philip's love too, but again she would do just fine without it. Elnora is a far more independent-minded person than Freckles is, and although I can admire her deeply for it I can't love her the same way I do Freckles. Freckles befriends the whole world because he has so much love to give. Elnora has friendships, yes, but she calculates everything about it so carefully, because her pride and her independence seem to be almost more important. She keeps a calendar of treats she owes to her friends to make sure she is never infringing on their generosity! She insists on explaining to everyone at school about her lunches and her clothes! She is going to DO THIS THING and KEEP UP APPEARANCES no matter what, and look out world, because Elnora's coming.
Elnora is a good person, yes, and she clearly does have strong feelings, but she doesn't want your love the same way Freckles does, doesn't need it the same way -- what she's after is respect and dignity. Which I will happily grant her, because she totally deserves it! But it means Freckles gets my feelings and Elnora doesn't.
Another aspect would perhaps be the difference in emphasis in the books. Freckles is a book that is at its heart all about Freckles -- he is the main character, through and through. In A Girl of the Limberlost, there is a much broader cast, and we spend a lot of time with characters who are not Elnora, and I don't always care about those other characters. The subplot about Billy, for example, I was rather uninterested in. At other times it feels like those other characters could in fact make very interesting main characters in their own rights -- in fact, the story of Mrs Comstock is in some ways a more interesting story than that of Elnora, because there's more change and growth there.
Although I did find Mrs Comstock's abrupt change kind of...well, abrupt. And unbelievable. But I think Mara has argued me down from that. The way that she suddenly becomes the perfect mother the instant she discovers the truth about her dead husband, and never backslides even once -- really? Really? But then Mara pointed out that the transformation was one that was so calculated, so determined, so complete, that it was almost like it was Mrs Comstock saying SO THERE to her dead husband. You weren't worthy of the twenty years I spent bewailing your death so out of spite I will be the BEST MOTHER POSSIBLE. OKAY GO. Because doing things out of spite, out of an "I'll show you" attitude (over top of the love that she does have, buried deep inside her), is totally in character for her -- look at the lunches she made for Elnora, look at her reaction to Billy.
I do still think it a little unbelievable that she didn't ever accidentally fall back into old patterns of thought and behaviour, because twenty years' worth of bitterness sets patterns that are hard to change in a single instant, no matter how much you want to! But I'll no longer protest the fact of her abrupt change.
Next I want to talk about Edith! And Hart! And that whole thing! I think the character of Edith is a very interesting one and I am kind of all of the fascinated to know more about the progression of her and Hart's relationship! Mara and I were talking about what Hart sees in Edith that Philip doesn't, because Philip does not ever actually really see her as anything more than a society girl, one who lives to have fun. He tells Elnora that he assumes Edith'll settle down once she has a household to run, but that she is young and this is her playtime. Philip proceeds to realize that Edith isn't anything more than a girl who exists to be a society ornament, and that what he wants is a girl who (like Elnora) is suited to being a useful and thoughtful person.
But Hart seems like a reasonable sort of guy and he knows everything about Edith that Philip knows and yet he still loves her, and has loved her for a very long time! Loves her even before her realization at the end that she's rather shallow and selfish and that she wants to learn how to be a better person!
It seems to me that Hart has perhaps recognized all along that Edith has the potential to be a wonderful person in a way that Philip never did. Edith tells Hart at one point that she loves Philip dearly but that she would never tell him so -- Edith clearly talks to Hart a lot more than she does to Philip, and is a lot more open and honest with him. Philip only ever sees her public face, because he is her lover (I use the term under the old-fashioned definition) and that's how she understands a lover ought to be treated -- she sparkles at him and dazzles him and is an empress for him. But Hart is her friend, and so she talks to him. Hart knows her better, really, than Philip does, and he knows what she's truly like and what she's truly capable of being. And he loves her because he knows her.
So basically what I am saying here is that I ship Edith/Hart like mad and want to read ALL THE FIC about Edith learning to be a better person and the difficulties she encounters in the attempts of breaking lifelong habits, and about Hart being a constant supportive presence for her because he loves her and knows her whether she gets things right or wrong, whether she's perfect or not, and where he admires the hell out of her for her determination to overcome the social conditioning she's had all her life leading her on this one path. And about them talking openly to each other about their feelings and thoughts, and Edith feeling weird about it because Hart has switched roles for her! He's her lover now, not her friend, but she CAN'T treat him the way she treated Philip, because he's HART <3.
Um. So it's entirely possible the things I got out of this book are very different than the things other people might get out of it.
Onwards! The Bird Woman! I love her SO MUCH. I love how completely at ease she is with who she is, and doesn't care what other people think of her. I love how she is able to go from role to role with comfort -- being the Bird Woman but also perfectly capable and comfortable dressing up like a normal society lady to the point where Freckles almost doesn't recognize her when she's not in her birding clothes. She's a woman and a lady and everyone recognizes her as such, but she's also a passionate naturalist and photographer and makes her own living without a man in sight and everyone basically thinks she's great, and she KNOWS she's great, because she IS. And she's just a really nice person on top of all of that! BIRD WOMAN ILU.
Also the Swamp Angel! I love her too, and I love that we never find out her official name because Freckles recognizes her as an Angel and she finds that delightful and so why does her technical name ever need to be shared? Because she is the Angel and that's that! And even in A Girl of the Limberlost when she is a mother of four and serenely expecting lots more, she's still the Angel to everyone. Because she IS. I love how she's brave and irrepressible and loves so easily and can't help taking charge in any situation she's put into, and everyone just listens to her because CLEARLY SHE'S AWESOME. And I love how she's the one to save the day at the end of Freckles! She's just like, DUDE NO FRECKLES I'M NOT LETTING YOU DIE and then she goes out and does her awesome detective work to prove to him that his mother loved him! And then FIND S HIS FAMILY and CONFRONTS THEM LIKE A BOSS and then ~SAVES THE DAY~. ANGEL ILU.
Also Freckles himself! He's a pretty swell dude. And he is so sensible! He's busy watching the beauty of...I think it was a butterfly? pretty early in the book, but he thinks to himself that it won't get any prettier the longer he watches, and he won't come any closer to knowing anything about it, so there's no use standing around to watch longer. And then when he realizes how much he wants to learn, he doesn't bewail his lack of knowledge or complain to anyone! He just goes OH HEY LET ME BUY MYSELF SOME BOOKS AND TEACH MYSELF. And he does! And he also just has so much irrepressible enthusiasm and love, so much longing to find his place in the world, so much integrity, and basically EVERYTHING ABOUT HIM IS LOVE.
Also I am pretty impressed with how the book treats Freckles' disability? Freckles is understandably frustrated with it because people see he's missing a hand and just assume that he'd be no use to them. He gets rejected by potential adoptive parents because of it, and he gets rejected from potential jobs because of it, because people have discrimination and bias, but Freckles is just like, WELP I KNOW I AM A CAPABLE DUDE REGARDLESS OF WHAT PEOPLE THINK and then when he finally gets his chance he goes and does an amazing job at everything he tries to do because he works really hard to succeed at whatever he attempts, and his missing hand is just NOT A BIG DEAL, and the only reason he's ashamed of it is because he thinks his mother was the one to cut it off, that it is a symbol of the lack of love his parents had for him. But it's not! It's just a hand that he happens to be missing because of an accident! And then in A Girl of the Limberlost I don't think it mentions his missing hand even once because it is so completely not a big deal! Freckles is an awesome person and everyone knows it and it isn't ~despite his disability~ or anything ridiculous like that it is just that he is awesome! And he'd be that way whether he had one hand or two or, for that matter, any other number! I mean correct me if I'm wrong because I haven't done extensive readings about disability and disability narratives but I am pretty sure this is doing very well, especially for a book of its era!
Moving on! The melodrama of the endings of both books is kind of ridiculous: Freckles is going to DIE, unless he can find out his parentage and feel it acceptable to offer himself to the Angel! Philip is going to DIE, unless he can find Elnora again! AHAHAHAHA. Whatever.
Actually there are a number of things about the books that are kind of ridiculous. The books are clearly of an era, in quite a number of ways. But, well, I have been reading old-fashioned children's books my whole life and am familiar with the reading protocols, have learned how to overlook the kinds of unfortunate things that run rampant in them to appreciate the good stuff. Because the good stuff is SUCH FUN!
One of the things that rather amused me about Freckles was how it was a book about people who love the forest SO MUCH that they become...loggers. Yes. Because cutting down the forest you love is clearly the best way to show that love? *sigh* But whatever, I did love how UNREPENTANT the books were about all the loving descriptions of the natural world. It is clear that the author adored the Limberlost herself, and was extremely familiar with it! (unsurprising, since she did do a lot to lobby for conservation using her money and her position) That love shone in every word, in every description. It was great. So many books feel embarrassed to have that kind of up-front nature porn, but these books? NOPE PARAGRAPH UPON PARAGRAPH ABOUT THE FERNS AND THE BIRDS AND THE MOTHS. BECAUSE THEY'RE SO AMAZING CAN'T YOU SEE THEY'RE AMAZING LET ME TALK ABOUT THEIR AMAZINGNESS SOME MORE. AND HERE HAVE ANOTHER FEW PARAGRAPHS ABOUT IT. YOU'RE NOT TIRED OF IT YET? OKAY HERE HAVE SOME MORE! Freckles was much more unrepentant about this than A Girl of the Limberlost -- the latter had so many character storylines it had to follow that it had to sacrifice some of the nature porn, but Freckles was a book full of a dude wandering the swamp/forest alone and reveling in the amazing things he found there, and it was GREAT.
Anything else? That's all I can remember wanting to talk about right now.
Okay so in conclusion both books are amazing but I love Freckles more but I want fic about two minor characters in A Girl of the Limberlost the most! The end!
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Other person who has read my books that I love love love so much! We must be friends!
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(Also I note from your profile that you love other classic kidlit too! Like Louisa May Alcott! <3333)
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(also, belated headdesking over egregious typo. That was BECOMES, not because....)
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I really enjoyed reading your thoughts on the books in this entry. One thought, and this is probably so obvious that you didn't even feel the need to mention it: The difference between the two books is, for me, that Freckles is a particularly well-written Orphan Melodrama genre novel and A Girl Of The Limberlost belongs to the less-well-defined 'coming-of-age-novel' category.
This is in no way a slur on Freckles. Nor is it a slur on the concept of genre novels, come to that. For me, 'genre novel' does not have to equal 'formulaic'. In this case, it doesn't--Freckles is not, in execution, a formulaic novel at all--but it's like GSP thought she needed to open the door for herself by writing a novel that had some of the familiar elements of the Orphan Melodrama before she could publish something with a less defined structure. (And, you know, female novelists did not have an easy time of it in 1904, she might have been right.)
Have you read GSP's other novels? I haven't managed to get hold of all of them, but I have a few. Not sure what shocked me more, the racism in Her Father's Daughter, the violence in A Daughter Of The Land, or the explicit descriptions of child abuse in Michael O'Halloran. The lady was no stranger to dark themes in her novels.
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And you know what, I didn't mention that about the genres because I DID NOT NOTICE IT. But you are very right! Somehow I have managed to read a LOT of Orphan Melodramas and never even notice that they are a genre....
I have not read other of her novels, no, but I would certainly be interested in reading more at some point! You know, along with the other millionty things on my To Read list. :P
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But I am very fond of Hart, and of his being there for Edith. And... who is that lady, who lives across the way from Elnora and her mum, and finally snaps and calls out the mum and tells her what really happened? I like her, but I always want to call her Katherine Brooke (this is a character from a later Anne of Green Gables book), and I do not think that's her name.
And of course the Swamp Angel and the Bird Woman! They are who I was thinking of when I was like AWESOME LADIES CONTINUITY. XD
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The lady you discuss would be Elnora's aunt; I forget her name. I'm not quite sure I like her, because of her reaction to the whole Billy situation. I mean, yes, she's awesome in other ways, buuuuut....
AWESOME LADIES ARE AWESOME AND LOVE.