Daddy-Long-Legs, by Jean Webster

[sophia_sol]

The power dynamics in the romantic relationship in this book continue to be awfully uncomfortable for me, but I continue to reread it on a semi-regular basis anyways because I am just so endlessly charmed by Judy's narrative voice. I love Judy so much! But Jervis Pendleton can go jump in a lake.

Like, I could see looking past the uncomfortable dynamics in this book if Jervis never did anything to take advantage of his position, but he DOES DOES DOES. The most egregious, of course, being that time Judy intends to spend the summer with her friend Sallie McBride's family in the Adirondacks, and Jervis in his role as anonymous benefactor forbids her, because he's jealous of Jimmie McBride and wants to keep Judy from spending a whole summer around Jimmie. So she goes instead to Lock Willow Farm by herself as ordered by her anonymous benefactor, and then in his role as Jervis he can just ~happen~ to come pay a long visit to her at Lock Willow and spend lots of one-on-one time with her himself. Ughgghghgh.

AT ANY RATE this still is largely an extremely charming book. It's a story from 1912 about a girl who was raised in an orphanage and then gets the opportunity to go to a girls' college, and has to very quickly teach herself all about popular culture and how to interact with people who had normal family lives, while also learning the usual subjects in her classes. She makes friends and has fun experiences and learns things and is enthusiastic about just about everything, and all of this is a total delight to read about. You just have to, like, mentally edit Jervis Pendleton out of the story as you read. (Or be more okay with shipping characters who take advantage of large power differentials than I am.)

Comments

[the_rck]

I'm more okay with the whole taking advantage if the narrative acknowledges it as skeevy and unhealthy. I haven't wanted to reread this because I enjoyed it so very much before I realized how terrible Jervis is (I think that, at 13, I was just in favor of what he was doing because he was clearly the destined love interest).

[sophia_sol]

Yeah I absolutely agree that it makes a difference if the narrative is aware of the unhealthy dynamics and I'm much more likely to enjoy reading about the relationship.

At 13 my opinion was the same as yours on this book!

[the_rck]

I remember reading it in study hall and giggling over it. The teacher came over and told me that I had to stop or she'd take the book away.