(no subject)

[lady_schrapnell]

Still mentally hopping around over the conversation with Wendy of Blog from the Windowsill, and it got me thinking about those great not-so-likable-but-you-still-love-them characters (especially female ones), and wondering if Mary of The Secret Garden is the first in children's lit or if I'm missing someone obvious. She'd a grown-up counterpart in Emma, of course, but can't think of any other children earlier. I'm not talking about horrible kid who gets slapped around by life, and learns lessons aplenty, becoming saintly (despite the sarcastic tone, I do love What Katy Did in all its sappy goodness - surely one of the quintessential Slap 'em up and Make Them Good books). And I'm also not talking about Underdog who's got to be forgiven for being a bit dim at times because of the Underdoggery...

Mary learns, and gets less selfish, of course, but she doesn't become a little princess, either, does she? And in not doing so, did she do anything pave the way for favourite not very nice girls like Harriet the Spy? (Okay, nobody is quite like Harriet!)

Started thinking about this because of Christina in the Flambards books, and her possible likeness to Mary (even if I'm the sole believer in this theory), and then I came up with Dicey, in Cynthia Voigt's Tillerman books. She's a wonderful character - tough and prickly and driven and has to be all those things to survive and take care of her family - and then comes Seventeen Against the Dealer and it's just so horribly painful as a reader to see all the less-than-nice aspects of her character take over and cause so much pain to the people she (and we) really care about. But not at all out of character.

Rose, of Permanent Rose fame... Just thought of her.

Melting down with exhaustion, but if anyone would like to contribute characters while I try to sleep - feel free.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

Okay! I thought of another - Turtle from _the Westing Game_. -- Wendy

[lady-schrapnell.livejournal.com]

Oh, and whassername in The Painted Garden, of course! Who really is 'after Mary', isn't she?... Streatfeild has a few altogether, doesn't she? Will do this properly in the morning, and post on BftW right. (Time-difference strikes again.)