A Little Princess Critique - Essay Example

 Literature is often a good source to learn what life was really like during a particular period in history. At the very least, it can provide a snapshot of attitudes, beliefs and practices as they existed at the time the story was written. By examining the stories written during a time period such as the Victorian era, one can begin to learn more about the specific social and political issues that were experienced by the ‘normal’ people and discover how they were expected to behave. This is particularly true of works produced between roughly 1850 and 1910 because “the Victorian novel, with its emphasis on the realistic portrayal of social life, represented many Victorian issues in the stories of its characters” (Greenblatt, 2005). This was also a period in which colonization had been long-established. The edges had worn off of the idea of intercultural relations and social positions defined based upon European standards. In dealing with these kinds of issues, authors such as Francis Hodgson Burnett were able to provide a sense of entertainment to children at the same time that he was instructing them on how they should behave regardless of their position in society as modeled through the various characters in his novel A Little Princess. The details he includes in this story helps to illuminate several elements of life for the rich as opposed to life for the poor in Victorian London as well as to include commentary regarding the relationships that were held between Britain and India at this point in history all while providing children with entertainment and a model for behavior in the character of Sara Crewe. The novel tells the story of little Sara Crewe, who was born in India and lived with a doting and very rich father until she was seven. The novel opens when seven-year-old Sara is taken to an all-girls school in London by her father. Her lifestyle in India is described as being one of luxury without contrasts. “She had always lived in a beautiful bungalow, and had been used to seeing many servants who made salaams to her and called her ‘Missee Sahib,’ and gave her her own way in everything. She had had toys and pets and an ayah who worshipped her, and she had gradually learned that people who were rich had these things. That, however, was all she knew about it” (Burnett 1-2). This lavish lifestyle is intended to be duplicated at the school as instructions are given that Sara is to have a pretty bedroom, a private sitting room, a maid and even a pony, privileges the other girls at the school are not usually permitted. Prior to his departure back to India, Sara’s father takes care to take her out shopping and buys her everything either one of them feel attracted to – dresses, furs, lacey undergarments and stockings as well as a number of toys and books. All this is acquired as they search for one particular toy, a doll with intelligent eyes that Sara has already named Emily. When they find her, Emily is also taken to the dressmakers so that she will have as fancy a wardrobe as her ‘mother’. While this is seen as the accoutrements of someone of royal stature, it also proves to be a strong source of envy and resentment on the part of the other students and even of the teachers at the school. In spite of Sara’s wealth, she is not completely blind to the plight of the poor or less-abled children within Miss Minchin’s home. One of the first girls she notices is Ermengarde who is described as “a fat child who did not look as if she were in the least clever, but she had a good-naturedly pouting mouth. Her flaxen hair was braided in a tight pigtail, tied with a ribbon” (20) but she evidently can’t remember the slightest thing about French. Noticing how the other girls laugh at her all the time, one of Sara’s first independent actions is to deliberately befriend Ermengarde who becomes as loyal as a puppy to her new, clever friend even after Sara falls on hard times. Chapter 5 details the relationship Sara begins to develop with Becky at the school as the dirty child observes Sara returning to the school in her carriage and then forgets herself while cleaning to listen to the story Sara is telling the other girls. Becky’s position is indicated not only by her dirty face and ragged clothes, but also within the description of her life. “She blacked boots and grates, and carried heavy coal-scuttles up and down stairs, and scrubbed floors and cleaned windows, and was ordered about by everybody. … She was so timid that if one chanced to speak to her it appeared as if her poor, frightened eyes would jump out of her head” (Ch. 5, about halfway). The reason for this timidity is found not only in her fear for keeping her job, something evidently not in tremendous supply, but also in the strictures of British society. Miss Minchin reminds her of her place in chapter 7, when she scolds Becky, “It is not your place to look at the young ladies … You forget yourself” (near beginning). As if this weren’t clear enough, Burnett brings this idea to clearer light as Miss Minchin contemplates the astounding idea that a scullery maid might also be a little girl. “Scullery maids were machines who carried coal scuttles and made fires” (Ch. 7, near beginning). The room she occupies is nothing near the warm and comfortable, spacious quarters of Sara’s, as Sara is soon to discover. “There was a rusty grate, an old iron bedstead, and a hard bed covered with a faded coverlet. Some pieces of furniture too much worn to be used downstairs had been sent up” (Ch. 7, at the end), and Becky had already told her about the rats. Immediately upon discovering that Captain Crewe has died, however, and that his fortune was lost with him, Sara is heartlessly informed of her new status, instantly dispossessed of all her previous luxuries and relocated to a space in the attic much like Becky’s. Because she is not old enough to be able to earn her keep as a teacher, she is made into a sort of serving girl and quickly realizes the dangers of the role. Spending precious spare time in the evenings to read the old school books, Sara explains her actions to herself: “If I do not remind myself of the things I have learned, perhaps I may forget them … I am almost a scullery maid, and if I am a scullery maid who knows nothing, I shall be like poor Becky” (Ch. 8, near the middle). Her new position also had her suddenly ostracized from her friends as she was obligated to relegate herself to the working class and therefore unfit to fraternize with the wealthy middle class. This occurs to such a degree that Ermengarde, upon returning to the school, is barely able to recognize her old friend after only a few weeks change. “She knew what had happened, but, somehow, she had never imagined Sara could look like this – so odd and poor and almost like a servant. … She felt as if Sara had changed into a new kind of girl, and she had never known her before. Perhaps it was because she had suddenly grown poor and had to mend things and work like Becky” (Ch. 8, just past middle). In the depiction of Sara’s destitution, Burnett begins to more directly address questions of class structures and relative personal worth. For example, Sara’s thoughts regarding her first encounter with the rat which will become Melchisedec, “nobody asked this rat if he wanted to be a rat when he was made. Nobody said, ‘Wouldn’t you rather be a sparrow?’” (Ch. 9, just past middle). Sara’s continued understanding that social positions were really little more than an accident of birth or circumstances emphasizes the necessary break-down of such rigid structures in the colonies of places like India, where the ‘lower class’ natives nevertheless commanded a certain degree of respect in their own homeland and thus forced new definitions of human worth and class distinctions. While the two cultures remained closely linked, with the British freely traveling between the two countries, those having gained an Indian experience are seen to have a stronger grasp of human value and natural connections as compared to the British who remained rigidly fixed on maintaining social order through time-honored attributes of family, breeding and wealth. This begins to explore the differences that were found between the British culture and the prevalent culture of India as it is depicted through Sara. The close connection between Britain and India is made clear from the very beginning of Sara’s story as it is discussed how Sara had grown up with the knowledge that eventually, she would have to go to ‘the place’ where all other British-born children of India must go. “The climate of India was very bad for children, and as soon as possible they were sent away from it – generally to England and to school. She had seen other children go away, and had heard their fathers and mothers talk about the letters they received from them” (Ch. 1, near beginning). When the other girls are discussing Sara, somewhat spitefully resenting her star status, they include her father’s profession as only increasing the girl’s attributes: “as to her papa, there is nothing so grand in being an Indian officer” (Ch. 4, about halfway). In comparison with British furnishings, items of ‘Oriental’ origin were considered to be one of the highest marks of wealth, as is expressed when Mr. Carrisford moves into the house next door and some of his items are described. These suggestions indicate that India was still considered a desirable and exotic place, thus conferring distinction upon those British-born associated with it regardless of their individual profession. However, this distinction given to an Indian association did not indicate that those from India were immediately accepted into British society, held the same status or were even very well understood. This is illustrated in Becky’s news regarding the new neighbors: “"It’s a’ Nindian gentleman that’s comin’ to live next door, miss … I don’t know whether he’s a black gentleman or not, but he’s a Nindian one. He’s very rich, an’ he’s ill, an’ the gentleman of the Large Family is his lawyer. He’s had a lot of trouble, an’ it’s made him ill an’ low in his mind. He worships idols, miss. He’s an ‘eathen an’ bows down to wood an’ stone. I seen a’ idol bein’ carried in for him to worship” (Ch. 10, near the end). Ram Dass genuflects to Sara because of his deep respect for her consideration and tenderness, but also because, as Burnett points out immediately, “he had been accustomed to European children” (Ch. 11, about halfway). Ram Dass candidly admits his own loneliness in his ability to empathize with Sara’s and, while credited with having an imagination that “only an oriental” could have planned, its association with magic and mystery is at the same time associated with criminal activity and darkness as Carrisford’s secretary makes the connection with the Arabian Nights (Ch. 14, at the end). Ram Dass’ position in English society is as a servant, a lascar, to Mr. Carrisford as often as necessary and serves as entertainer for children when the Carmichael children come to visit. Although he is lonely for his home country, his entire duty is to his employer and he seems to hold no status outside the Carrisford household. Just as there is a strange difference of opinion regarding the Indian culture and its people, there is a distinct difference offered up between the attitudes of the British and of the Indians, both true natives and British-born, regarding class status. This is perhaps most evident through the character of Sara. Throughout the story, Sara’s treatment of others mark her as significantly different from what was expected in English manners, suggesting a more relaxed approach to class distinctions in India than what was found in England. For example, Sara’s maid almost immediately decides she likes Sara because of the appreciative way she has about her, always thanking her maid “as if she was thanking a lady” (Ch. 2, about halfway). In contrast to the spiteful and jealous attitude of Miss Minchin toward Sara, presumably partially as a result of her English manners, Sara is much more accommodating to her fellow creatures, presumably because of her own, more natural, nature. “She was a friendly little soul, and shared her privileges and belongings with a free hand. The little ones, who were accustomed to being disdained and ordered out of the way by mature ladies aged ten and twelve, were never made to cry by this most envied of them all. She was a motherly young person, and when people fell down and scraped their knees, she ran and helped them up and patted them, or found in her pocket a bonbon or some other article of a soothing nature. She never pushed them out of her way or alluded to their years as a humiliation and a blot upon their small characters” (Ch. 4, about halfway). Sara’s behavior continues to treat others as people in all respects, even when those people are expected to perform menial tasks for her comfort. This is quite different from class distinctions as presented and expected in England at the time and provides a model and an incentive for altered behavior. A spoiled little rich girl possessing all that a girl could possibly want might be expected to behave more like the spiteful and domineering Livinia, but Sara’s sweet ways endear her to the people around her and cause them to want to serve her out of love and respect rather than fear or necessity. Livinia makes it clear that British manners expected a complete separation between the servant class and the upper class, including the concept that servants shouldn’t ‘hear’ their betters talking unless they were being directly addressed. This occurs in chapter 5 when Sara is telling the girls a story about a mermaid and begins to speak louder so that Becky, the servant girl who hasn’t been identified as yet, can stop her work and listen to the story as well. When Sara asks why shouldn’t Becky be listening along with the other girls, Livinia answers, “I do not know whether your mamma would like you to tell stories to servant girls, but I know my mamma wouldn’t like me to do it” (Ch. 5, near beginning). Again illustrating the more natural and accepting nature of the colonies, Sara answers this saying, “My mamma! … I don’t believe she would mind in the least. She knows that stories belong to everybody” (Ch. 5, near beginning). Livinia’s behavior toward servants remains constant when applied to other characters as well, such as Miss Minchin’s treatment of Sara following the loss of both her father and her father’s fortune. The message conveyed is that in India where various different classes and cultures must mix, one is a person first and then classified according to a particular role in life while in England, one has a role in life first and is a person only if the role warrants such treatment. The concept that Sara’s approach toward others is founded upon her Indian teaching is reinforced through the characters of Ram Dass and Mr. Carrisford in their compassion toward the little girl in the right-hand attic as compared to the English reception of her. Rather than merely categorizing her as one of the many poor beggar-children to be overlooked, these two men feel a compassion for Sara based upon her character and her own compassion for others. Not limiting themselves by social sanctions or scruples, the two men conspire to provide Sara, and Becky by association, with some of the small comforts deserved by every child and that had been so severely withheld from Sara. The Carmichael children seem very sympathetic to the little beggar girl who was no beggar, but this can be attributed in part because of their father’s close work with the Indian gentleman and in part because of their recognition from Sara’s speech that she was not brought up in the streets. This at once speaks to the typical sort of educational instruction given to poor children as well as alludes to the reasons and means by which the social classes were kept distinct in England. By contrast, Miss Minchin and Miss Amelia respond to Sarah in typical English fashion, “we were both of us vulgar and mean enough to grovel on our knees for her money, and behave ill to her because it was taken from her – though she behaved herself like a little princess even when she was a beggar” (Ch. 18, near the end). In this simple statement, it is acknowledged that one is not a beggar or a princess by wealth or outward social standing but by one’s ability to feel compassion and sympathy for one’s fellow creatures and to treat them with respect and love simply because they are alive. In the end, the message Burnett seems to be attempting to get across was the message that a less rigid class structure was necessary in order to foster a tendency to treat people based upon their true human value. The culture coming back to England out of India was one in which there were definite servants and masters, rich and poor, but all people were considered to be people, with rights to humane treatment and access to appropriate food and nourishment. Whether rich or poor, Sara manages to conduct herself through her many trials with the attitude of a true princess, always watching out for her fellow creatures and attempting to bring light and happiness to those she can regardless of her own misery. In doing so, she recognizes that she is able to brighten her own life just a little in the process by taking joy in the joy she has given. The culture in England, though, had become much more focused on the bottom line, the money that could be made and the costs incurred in attracting it. As a result, status was awarded based more upon wealth and political power or positioning rather than character or compassion. By allowing Sara to live ‘happily ever after’ and bringing the likes of Miss Minchin to humiliation, Burnett effectively makes a case for the importance of character over wealth and the benefits of ‘foreign’ influences. While it might seem from this review that this is a book only suitable for a Victorian British audience, the messages it contains regarding the importance of acceptance and respect for all living beings remains an important message today. The story has been adapted into film at least twice, once starring the then popular child-star Shirley Temple in 1939 and again in 1995 with Liesel Matthews in the starring role. These remakes served to bring the story alive for countless children during times of great social upheavals when the rich became poor, sometimes the poor became rich and society was shifting to something more flexible or multi-ethnic. Because Sara is constantly telling her friends fanciful stories of India and elsewhere, it is even possible to put more timely messages into her mouth by bringing her story into a cartoon series. Environmental issues are slightly touched on in the book as it is mentioned that the climate in India is so bad for children that they are sent away as soon as possible (what makes it so bad?) and the streets of London are as dark as night even in the daytime (why?). In hinting at the ignorance of the colonizers in trying to keep their children safe from bad influences, the need for global antibodies and the suggestion of enough pollution in the air to block out the light of the sun, the book provides a great deal of material to be expanded upon. Its greatest weakness, however, is in its lack of physical action, which seems almost required in order to keep a child’s attention. It is here that presentation, special effects and exaggeration can come into play to make the story more appealing to a modern child audience. References Burnett, Frances Hodgson. (1905). A Little Princess. New York: Scholastic Books, 2000. Greenblatt, Stephen (Ed.). (2005). “Introduction: The Victorian Age.” The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Vol. 8. New York: W.W. Norton. Read More