Queer and Alone

[Moonraker]

I am re-reading Five on a Treasure Island and a paragraph on P113 (H&S) hit me like a bolt. I am surprised that I never had a reaction from it before now.

"You're an awfully nice person," said Julian [to George], surprisingly. "You can't help being an only child. They're always a bit queer, you know, unless they're mighty careful. You're a most interesting person, I think."

I find that passage pretty terrible. I have just had success in getting my 14 year-old niece into reading Blyton, she particularly enjoys the FF. She is an only child, and I wonder what she will think about that speech from Julian? I have a brother, but he was 12 when I was born. I guess I must be a bit queer as well, for I spent my childhood without a sibling of my own age.

"That explains it," I hear you say.

[Julie2owlsdene]

I suppose reading now as an adult, one can notice how Enid viewed certain issues which she did tend to put across in her work. Reading the journal 34, an issue was put forward from one of her books, about a mother going out to work to try and provide for their child, and yet Enid herself was a full time working mother.
Hopefully your niece won't even blink an eye regarding such a paragraph, Nigel. But I take your point.

[lizarfau]

I am re-reading Five on a Treasure Island and a paragraph on P113 (H&S) hit me like a bolt. I am surprised that I never had a reaction from it before now.

"You're an awfully nice person," said Julian [to George], surprisingly. "You can't help being an only child. They're always a bit queer, you know, unless they're mighty careful. You're a most interesting person, I think."|

I'm an "awfully nice", "interesting" "only child", but do have to smile at the "they're always a bit queer ... unless they're mighty careful" bit. To a modern day reader, Julian's words are not what Blyton intended!

[Anita Bensoussane]

I expect your niece probably will notice that, Nigel, and perhaps feel indignant but hopefully not too offended. She might well just roll her eyes and think, "Trust Julian to be so pompous and opinionated - 'a bit queer' indeed!" Children who have no siblings may wonder from time to time what it would be like to have them, just as children who have siblings may wonder from time to time what it would be like to be an only child. And perhaps Julian's remark will simply make her reflect on that for a moment and wonder how different life would have been if she had had siblings.

Anita

[Kitty]

I agree with Anita - when I read that, I always thought "typical Julian!"

I think Gwen must be the ultimate role model for the queer and alone amongst us!!

[Comerscroft]

I'm surprised they haven't altered the text in the modern editions.

'Queer' as applied to tomboy George is probably an apt description but not one that Enid intended!

[Petermax]

I am re-reading Five on a Treasure Island and a paragraph on P113 (H&S) hit me like a bolt. I am surprised that I never had a reaction from it before now.
"You're an awfully nice person," said Julian [to George], surprisingly. "You can't help being an only child. They're always a bit queer, you know, unless they're mighty careful. You're a most interesting person, I think."
I find that passage pretty terrible. I have just had success in getting my 14 year-old niece into reading Blyton, she particularly enjoys the FF. She is an only child, and I wonder what she will think about that speech from Julian?

By way of coincidence I am also re-reading Five on a Treasure Island, a 1948 fifth impression which has the original text intact. Children adapt very easily to any time period in a book and I'm sure that a teenage reader would place the word "queer" into its proper 40s/50s context along with other words and phrases that are simply not used at all nowadays or have a totally different meaning. I would say that there is no cause for concern whatsoever over Julians comments. The more modern editions of Enid Blytons books with their altered text probably cause more confusion.

By further coincidence I too have a niece (aged nine) who I am encouraging to read Blyton books. She has enjoyed Naughty Amelia Jane up to now but is probably ready for the Secret Seven or Famous Five, such is the rapid rise of her reading age. Trouble is, her mother thoroughly disapproves of Enid Blyton and spouts the old cliche's of classism, racism and sexism. My sister has just about tolerated the various FF videos that my niece enjoys but the books themselves? I may have my work cut out!

[Lucky Star]

I am often regarded as a little "queer" (Blytonian queer ) as I am a male who doesnt like football, cars etc. I prefer a good read any day. I had two brothers though so I dont think sibling status is any measure of whether or not one turns out "Queer". Single child families are on the rise in the UK so I certainly hope that is so otherwise the country will be full of weirdo's in about twenty years.

I think the passage in Five on a Treasure Island is more a case of Enid putting across what she thought constituted the ideal family back in those days. Robert Houghton touches upon this tendancy of hers in his current journal article when he talks about how, in The Four Cousins Blyton assumes that poverty means the children are hungry and unable to even go out for walks as there was nobody to see to them. He says that Enid betrays her lack of knowledge by this assumption. She is doing it again in my opinion with this staement from Treasure Island.

[Susie]

I agree with Anita, she will feel a bit indignant, and then want to get on in the story so will forget it, probably by next paragraph.

[Mollybob]

I agree with Anita, she will feel a bit indignant, and then want to get on in the story so will forget it, probably by next paragraph.

I agree. After all, Julian is always criticising girls too, which makes many of us rather indignant, but we still enjoy the stories and I must confess to being rather fond of Julian despite this. Although George is a "queer" only child, she is also portrayed as a very strong character. I'm sure your niece will realise that it's just Julian's opinion being expressed and he is by no means infallible.

[Rob Houghton]

I tend to think that an only child in the days of Enid Blyton was a different thing from an only child today. If you go back to pre-war, and even further, to the childhood Enid herself expirienced (which is, I think, subconciously where many of her books are set) then an only child might well be said to have been a bit 'queer' compared to other children who grew up surrounded by siblings. A good example of this is Colin, the sickly boy in 'The Enchanted Garden', who is decidedly 'queer' until Mary liberates him. Of course, this is an extreme example, but in Blyton's day I think an only child was considerably more 'cut off' from other children than they are nowadays, especially if they had nurses and nanny's and didnt attend a mainstream school. Nowadays children are encouraged to mix more, to communicate via computers and mobile phones etc, and I think an only child would be more 'normal' and less 'queer' than they were deemed to be in the days Enid was writing.

[Moonraker]

I was taking the meaning of queer as meaning odd or strange. I tend to agree with Robert - I know in my childhood, in the 50s and 60s, any child without a brother or sister did seem a little different somehow. I don't know why though.

[Comerscroft]

I agree that 'queer' probably means 'odd' or 'strange' in this context (never mind the later meaning of the word).

The children hadn't met Georgina before, and being well-adjusted themselves, the concept of a girl who hated being a girl, wanted to be a boy, and dressed like one, probably seemed very strange to them, especially when she didn't even like her name.

The convenience of Georgina having a name that could easily be shortened to a boy's name (just like Henrietta/Henry and Harriet/Harry) is picked up on by Dick(?) early on when he says about the name being 'more like a boy's than a girl's name' so preparing us for Georgina's eccentricity.

[Petermax]

The children hadn't met Georgina before, and being well-adjusted themselves

"Well adjusted themselves" I have always found the concept of Julian , Dick and Anne getting along in relative harmony somewhat difficult to comprehend. In my experience siblings born quite close together have a tendency to fight or at least argue constantly. This view is borne out of personal experience and also from observing the actions of friends and relations when I was growing up. However, throughout the Five series the Kirrin children actually enjoy one anothers company and there is a scene in Treasure Island for example where Anne mothered Dick after he cut himself with a large wooden splinter. I can only conclude that they got on so well as a consequence of attending boarding school and therefore only spent a few weeks out of each year together. Julian and Dick of course attended the same school but would have had their own separate circles of friends.

I am in no way critical of Enid Blyton's depiction of a happy family as I am also not adverse to the concept of the Famous Five hiking, rowing and camping totally unsupervised. Indeed this depiction of such a world is one of the great attractions of her books.

On the subject of only children, I agree with Moonraker's comment about them being slightly different. My childhood friends in this category were unintentionally over indulged by their parents and took a long time to accept a bit of give and take, I used to feel so impatient with them at times although I never let it show. Happily thirty years on they have turned into quite well rounded people.

[Pippa-Stef]

Being an only child- i have never really found that passage a problem. I do wonder what it would be like to have siblings, but there's nothing like having a good set of friends, who are just as good, but at the end of the day- I don't have to live with them!

But then I am one who can put things like this in the context of the time. I suppose in the 40/50's it was unusual for parents to have one child, because of possibilities of infant mortality or something, and of course having to "Refuel" the population after the Second World War. More childern would be the norm- although there are quite a few Only children in the FF, like Ragamuffin Jo, Richard Kent, Jock Robins, Tinker, although Tinker and Jo have good reasons for not having siblings, because they're mothers are dead.

Am I barking up the wrong tree here?

Sorry if I am

Stef