Comments on Mildly Amusing Musings: Against Elsie

"One of the things that bothers me is how she...

2011-10-04T03:34:35.878-04:00

"One of the things that bothers me is how she never, ever gets away from her father's authority. Not even after she's married and has seven kids and numerous grandchildren."

Eew. It's been a long time since I've read any of the books and don't remember anything but that I personally did not like Elsie.

Your book review was quite interesting. I'm wi...

2009-11-09T16:39:48.701-05:00

Your book review was quite interesting. I'm with you on Elsie. There are so many reasons those books are not favorites with me.

One of the things that bothers me is how she never, ever gets away from her father's authority. Not even after she's married and has seven kids and numerous grandchildren. The first story promoting patriarchal authority. :P lol.

I think Elisabeth hit the nail on the head there. ...

2008-10-17T14:12:00.000-04:00

I think Elisabeth hit the nail on the head there. Of course Elsie isn't perfect, but why does the authoress then try to put a positive spin on unbiblical behavior? I have only read the first book, as a read-aloud to the children when they were much younger. I enjoyed it and admired Elsie for her convictions. That was before I understood her folly, which the authoress could have pointed out, but didn't. I think she even uses the word "perfect" in describing Elsie. Sad. A wasted teaching moment. And yes, I do believe the authoress is preaching character in the books and is not just telling a story, so when she is so obviously moralizing, but fails to point out character flaws, it's a problem in my mind.

On the opposite extreme, there can be no doubt that she (the authoress) intends to portray Elsie's father as a mean, pagan ogre who has no right to make demands on his pious daughter. She would fit right in with today's modern TV writers who never write about a father/husband unless he's a buffoon or an abuser.

In reply to candlebynight and Autumn:

You a...

2008-10-16T23:56:00.000-04:00

In reply to candlebynight and Autumn:

You are both missing the point, though. It's not that she isn't perfect. It's that the author portrays her as perfect. And when her father tries to correct these faults in her he is painted as an overbearing, insensitive, bad guy.

I Have to agree with candlebynight,
you should ...

2008-10-16T22:46:00.000-04:00

I Have to agree with candlebynight,
you should cut Elsie some slack about being a cry baby, she was only 8!When I that age I was almost as bad as she was!
And, that book helped me see how bad it was to be a cry baby!

O, and one more, you said you were going to "primarily focus" on the first book but you talked more about the second book then the first book;)

I guess we will never agree on this subject and like many others we will have to agree to disagree no matter how much I wish you had enjoyed the Elsie books as much as I did when I was reading them.

(I hope I don't sound too mean!:)

I would seem to me you could cut Elsie a little bi...

2008-10-16T20:31:00.000-04:00

I would seem to me you could cut Elsie a little bit of a break. I mean she is only 8 years old and unable to control her emotions. Its not like she had the best examples in her life. AND! when her father did return and their relationship was restored to a proper father daughter relationship she matured quite successfully in controlling her emotions.

I have read the first 6 books in the series and un...

2008-10-15T20:25:00.000-04:00

I have read the first 6 books in the series and understand where you are coming from.
Just as Laura Ingalls hated Mary for being a showoff, I always disliked how Elsie was always doing whatever she felt was right. I was also disappointed at how she disregarded her father. She always seemed perfect even though she wasn't, and I agree that she was quite the crybaby.
I have in past times, recommended Elsie Dinsmore books to my friends, but at this point I would not really want my little sister reading them.

Thank you for explaining your opinions and helping me understand the content of the books.

Lynae

Dear Lizzie,

As you have already guessed I ...

2008-10-15T17:42:00.000-04:00

Dear Lizzie,

As you have already guessed I am sure, this has not changed my view on Elsie in the lest. And if you like, I would be more then happy to email you my reasons why. For several reasons I will not be posting about this on my person blog anymore (more on that to come later).

On thing that donned on me while reading this, is that I can see how you might have interpreted things differently then I did, as we both come from completely different family back rounds. That wasn’t meant as a knock on you dearie!:)