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felicitykingAttention: SPOILERS!
Every few years, I reread this book and everytime I read it, I always come away with a different outlook on it. The last time I read it, I was focussed on the descriptions of the wealth and Sara's personality, neither of which I look at favorably. This time, I've noticed more complexity to the book and why Burnett did what she did. (But I also think her message gets nearly lost.)
ALP is the story of Sara Crewe. In a span of 5 years, she goes from having a loving father and great wealth to obscene orphaned poverty to being reclaimed, not only as a wealthy heiress but also having a new family.
What fascinated me most about this reread is knowing how princesses are treated fictionally in culture nowadays: generally as a mean girl. If a girl is rich, she is usually portrayed a rich snobby bitch (in contrast to a begger who is completely flawless of course....). Sara isn't like that. She's reserved, aloof, judgmental but she's fair-minded, socially conscious, and she reserved her judgment for those who are mean, petty, and to those who hurt the weak.
But I have to wonder if Sara's personality gets lost in the descriptions of her fabulous wealth. ALP is a carefully moralistic story (not in a didactic or preachy way, but it's there) about being kind to others, helping those less fortunate than you are. Indeed, one could argue Burnett made Sara go through what Sara did (over work, near starvation, and abject poverty) in order to make Sara understand much Sara took her wealth for granted before being poor. After all, Sara is always kind to those beneath her before she gets poor, but it isn't until she is poor herself that she realizes how stark and desparate it is to be poor. When Sara is rich again, she makes it a point that she wants to give out food to the needy because she knows what is like.
I dismissed Sara's personality the last time, because she is basically the perfect child. The most clever in her class, the most enchanting, the most awe-striking despite her oddity. She isn't described as beautiful but due to her personality and her fabulous clothes, she becomes thought of as such. She is dangerously near a Mary Sue.
But...this time I noticed that Sara struggled. She is often too proud to admit to friends when she is hungry. When she falls into poverty, she nearly ends her friendship with Ermengarde: it is Erma who reaches out.
Speaking of Ermengarde, I do believe she is the original Neville Longbottom. She is constantly described as being slow, dull and unmemorable. However, she always stands up for what is right even if it means getting punished or ignored by the rest of the school. Sara herself best describes Erma: "Perhaps to be able to learn things too quickly isn't everything. To be kind is worth a great deal to other people. ....Lots of clever people have done harm and have been wicked...."
As usual, the chapter that stood out most to me was the chapter where Sara shares her buns with a begger girl on the street. It always reduces me to tears. It is also the key moment that is referenced at the end of the book. Yet, I wonder how many readers miss it given that when it happens, Sara's life is once again festooned in grand and lush descriptions of her newfound wealth? The book isn't about Sara's fairy story. Well, it is. But the second half is also filled with bits on Sara figuring out who she wants to be regardless of her wealth or lack thereof (a kind, generous person) and also about her belief that she must be socially conscious because she knows what is is to be poor and hungry.
I also think the book should have emphasized that the "Magic" that happens to Sara could only happen to her because she was educated and refined before being kicked into poverty. True, Burnett does point out that the Carrisfords (friends of the man will eventually find her and become her legal guardian after her father dies) wouldn't have noticed Sara if had been the typical begger but they also seek her out and give her a leg up due to Sara's properness. It makes them rather....snobby. I think it's why I prefer Sara finding the begger girl (who is described as being no different than other beggars Sara passes by, but that Sara notices the girl is neglected and wild with hunger) and sharing her buns. That one act shows far more of Sara's character--and the depth to it--than the Carrisfords and their romanticizition of Sara because she speaks good English. (If Sara had been ill-educated, we all know the family would not have helped make her life better before discovering she was the orphan they seeked.)
I like the book, but it is flawed. But also don't think Burnett could have been successful if she had made it about an ordinary wealthy girl having all this happen to her. But I think, at the end, Burnett should have emphasized more strongly Sara's profound need to help those starving, rather than focus so much on Sara's new found wealth and family. The moral gets lost. Which is sad, because I think this book is as powerful as "A Christmas Carol" in its message about helping those less fortunate.
Every few years, I reread this book and everytime I read it, I always come away with a different outlook on it. The last time I read it, I was focussed on the descriptions of the wealth and Sara's personality, neither of which I look at favorably. This time, I've noticed more complexity to the book and why Burnett did what she did. (But I also think her message gets nearly lost.)
ALP is the story of Sara Crewe. In a span of 5 years, she goes from having a loving father and great wealth to obscene orphaned poverty to being reclaimed, not only as a wealthy heiress but also having a new family.
What fascinated me most about this reread is knowing how princesses are treated fictionally in culture nowadays: generally as a mean girl. If a girl is rich, she is usually portrayed a rich snobby bitch (in contrast to a begger who is completely flawless of course....). Sara isn't like that. She's reserved, aloof, judgmental but she's fair-minded, socially conscious, and she reserved her judgment for those who are mean, petty, and to those who hurt the weak.
But I have to wonder if Sara's personality gets lost in the descriptions of her fabulous wealth. ALP is a carefully moralistic story (not in a didactic or preachy way, but it's there) about being kind to others, helping those less fortunate than you are. Indeed, one could argue Burnett made Sara go through what Sara did (over work, near starvation, and abject poverty) in order to make Sara understand much Sara took her wealth for granted before being poor. After all, Sara is always kind to those beneath her before she gets poor, but it isn't until she is poor herself that she realizes how stark and desparate it is to be poor. When Sara is rich again, she makes it a point that she wants to give out food to the needy because she knows what is like.
I dismissed Sara's personality the last time, because she is basically the perfect child. The most clever in her class, the most enchanting, the most awe-striking despite her oddity. She isn't described as beautiful but due to her personality and her fabulous clothes, she becomes thought of as such. She is dangerously near a Mary Sue.
But...this time I noticed that Sara struggled. She is often too proud to admit to friends when she is hungry. When she falls into poverty, she nearly ends her friendship with Ermengarde: it is Erma who reaches out.
Speaking of Ermengarde, I do believe she is the original Neville Longbottom. She is constantly described as being slow, dull and unmemorable. However, she always stands up for what is right even if it means getting punished or ignored by the rest of the school. Sara herself best describes Erma: "Perhaps to be able to learn things too quickly isn't everything. To be kind is worth a great deal to other people. ....Lots of clever people have done harm and have been wicked...."
As usual, the chapter that stood out most to me was the chapter where Sara shares her buns with a begger girl on the street. It always reduces me to tears. It is also the key moment that is referenced at the end of the book. Yet, I wonder how many readers miss it given that when it happens, Sara's life is once again festooned in grand and lush descriptions of her newfound wealth? The book isn't about Sara's fairy story. Well, it is. But the second half is also filled with bits on Sara figuring out who she wants to be regardless of her wealth or lack thereof (a kind, generous person) and also about her belief that she must be socially conscious because she knows what is is to be poor and hungry.
I also think the book should have emphasized that the "Magic" that happens to Sara could only happen to her because she was educated and refined before being kicked into poverty. True, Burnett does point out that the Carrisfords (friends of the man will eventually find her and become her legal guardian after her father dies) wouldn't have noticed Sara if had been the typical begger but they also seek her out and give her a leg up due to Sara's properness. It makes them rather....snobby. I think it's why I prefer Sara finding the begger girl (who is described as being no different than other beggars Sara passes by, but that Sara notices the girl is neglected and wild with hunger) and sharing her buns. That one act shows far more of Sara's character--and the depth to it--than the Carrisfords and their romanticizition of Sara because she speaks good English. (If Sara had been ill-educated, we all know the family would not have helped make her life better before discovering she was the orphan they seeked.)
I like the book, but it is flawed. But also don't think Burnett could have been successful if she had made it about an ordinary wealthy girl having all this happen to her. But I think, at the end, Burnett should have emphasized more strongly Sara's profound need to help those starving, rather than focus so much on Sara's new found wealth and family. The moral gets lost. Which is sad, because I think this book is as powerful as "A Christmas Carol" in its message about helping those less fortunate.
