Libby audiobooks for A Little Princess
Libby 1. Read by Rebecca Burns - listened to this one last night
Libby 2. Read by Johanna Ward - listening to this one right now
Libby 3. Read by Virginia Leishman - this recording is actually really bad
The one by read by Johanna Ward pronounces "St. John" as "SinJin." That is the british way. I remember from Jane Eyre. I need to see how Libby #3 does it. Rebecca Burns pronounces it "Saint John." I've always wanted to know why they do that, in British audiobook recordings.
As you know, A Little Princess is my novel study project for the year. Reading this book three times so far with various audiobooks, you start to realize things.
A Little Princess is at a grade 5 reading level, but the book is actually a lot more complex than one would think.
Reasons why A Little Princess is so special (without page references right now)
1. This is the only book I've ever read where I've seen so closely, how a little girl can have a relationship with a doll. In Little Women, Beth plays with and cares for Jo's broken dolls, but in a more general sense; she has a "doll hospital", where she treats the injured.
Sara Crewe has an intimate friendship with Emily. I haven't really ever seen this in a book.
Capt. Crewe: You know, dolls make the very best friends. Just because they can't speak doesn’t mean they don't listen. And did you know that when we leave them alone in our room, they come to life?
Sara Crewe: They do?
Capt. Crewe: Yes! But before we walk in and catch them, they return to their place as quick as lightning!
Sara Crewe: Why don't they come to life in front of us so we can see them?
Capt. Crewe: Because it's magic. Magic has to be believed. It's the only way it's real. [Captain Crewe has just presented his young daughter with a doll named Emily] Whenever you're afraid, or miss me terribly, just tell Emily. And she'll get the message to me, wherever I am. And I'll send one back right away so that when you hug her, you'll really be getting a hug from me.
Sara Crewe: ...It's alright, Papa. I'm going to be fine.
This dialogue was from the 1995 film, but it was based on a passage from the book. That dolls move when we are gone, but they have special magic that allows them to go back to their places as "quick as lightning".
Even the dresses and outfits Sara receives for The Last Doll, how Sara buys Emily separately, and then her wardrobe, saying that she wants Emily to look like a child well cared for.
Incidentally, all of this reminds me of American Girl. You can buy doll outfits, you can by outfits that you can wear to "match" your doll.
It's interesting how historically we start out with baby girl dolls, we gravitated to Barbie, and it seems we're coming back to girl dolls again.
Anyhow, to sum up, this is the only book I've read where the author shows how dolls can become intimate friends.
2. The animals in the book. The pigeons, the rat Melchisadec, the monkey owned by Ram Dass. Boris the dog at the end.
Sara has empathy for Melchisadec, and imagines life from his point of view. She thinks about his family.
Sara asks if a monkey "has a mind", which is a metaphysical question. I've often wondered if my cat thinks in cat language or human language, or if her neural network is her reaction to olfactory stimuli.
3.Sarah's princess code. I have a tag. Sara has a lot of maxims about how a princess should behave. I feel that a lot of her ideas informs how we think about princesses today. This is partly why a lot of people think that the 1995 movie is a Disney creation, when it is not. Because we associate Disney with princesses, and the 1995 movie feels like an "authentic princess movie". It feels very Disney-like. It also came out during the Disney Renaissance. Around the same time as The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and Beauty and the Beast. It feels very appropriate to group the 1995 movie with the Disney films, just as it seems appropriate to call Charlotte la Boeuff a princess. Just look at her bedroom.
4. The fact that Sarah can make Miss Minchin feel "uncomfortable" in the book, and in the 1995 movie it is beautifully shown how she can even intimidate Miss Minchin. I'm thinking of this post. There are several parts in the book where Sarah gives Miss Minchin a "look" that makes herself feel uneasy. The only quibble I have with the 1995 movie is that Miss Minchin looks very Jewish. Having a very Jewish-looking person play a villain, and having the villain being punished at the end (she looses ownership of the school and becomes a chimney sweep) is very anti-Semitic. Other than that, this movie is pefect.
5. Sarah - a bibliophile, voracious reader, and storyteller. And the power of imagination. Sarah knows French fluently, she knows the classics - Shakespeare, Wordworth - and she has already had an extensive education. This is really inspiring, knowing that girls who play with dolls aren't limited.
6. Also body positivity. Emangarde can still be a princess although she is "fat". I will expand on that point in a moment.
Things I don't like about this book
1. I do like that Emangarde's physical appearance doesn't exclude her fro being a princess, but it is implied that she is "stupid" because she is "fat". Which is why Lavinia bullies her in the 1995 movie. In the movie she is kind of chubby. I do want to watch the Shirley Temple movie again.
2. The racist stereotypes about Chinese people are unfortunate, but kind of expected. This book was written at the beginning of the 20th Century. The Secret Garden is a lot more aggressively racist. We can't really judge a very old book with today's standards, but it still doesn't feel nice to read? I haven't read The Secret Garden again. In A Little Princess it happened once, but it is throughout The Secret Garden.
I feel like that's about it. The racism and the idea that fat=stupid. It would have been nice if in the 1995 version, they had Emengarde know all the answers and have been bullied because of how clever she was, rather than her stupidity. That would have weakened the stereotype that fat people are stupid.
Also I do find it hard to believe that Captain Crewe didn't make any provisions for his daughter, in the event of his death. He was very wealthy, spent money lavishly, his wife died, but didn't write a will? I guess if he did, there wouldn't be a story.
I do want to make some literary posts - posts with quotes and icons and graphics, but I just wanted to list the audiobooks on the Libby app here.
by noako