db105 wrote: ↑14 Jan 2017, 20:25
I hope you'll excuse me for rescuing an old topic with my first post, but reading it I felt moved to speak on Julian's defence.
I rather like all the famous five, including Julian. When I read the books as a boy, he seemed to me the big brother I would have liked to have: strong, brave and confident, but at the same time kind, protective and willing to play with me and include me in every activity. This is a good trait of Julian's that he is not given enough credit for: kids often like to play with friends their own age, and don't like having younger relatives hanging around. It's true that the age difference here is not that big, but the level of maturity Julian displays is different than Anne's, or even Dick's and George's. However, he likes spending his time with them and being part of the group, and is never tempted to ditch them for friends his own age.
I understand the critics' point of view: it's true he sometimes comes across as bossy. However, let's consider the situation. We have a group of high-spirited children who regularly spend their holidays traveling on their own on isolated locations for weeks at a time, without adult supervision, and often find themselves in adventures involving criminals and danger. They are allowed to go on their own because the older kid is quite mature and responsible and their parents trust him to be in charge and keep the others out of trouble and safe. Even though he is not much older, his siblings and cousins look up to him. Now, such a setup can only work if all the kids are ready to behave like little adults or if this eldest boy is willing to step up and take a leading role, and the others are willing to follow his lead.
All the children have a good relationship and it's not necessary for Julian to act like the boss regularly, but in a crisis he needs to take charge. Why? Because like it or not in a way he is responsible for the group. If something bad happens to Anne, fairly or not, the adults are going to be asking "how did you let your sister get in this situation?" If George or Dick do something dangerous and are seriously hurt, Julian will also be blamed, and he will blame himself. Bearing this responsibility becomes impossible if the others are not willing to follow his lead when they are on their own and there are no adults in charge of them.
Looking at it from a modern point of view, Julian seems too bossy, because elder siblings nowadays are not expected to look after and be responsible for their younger brothers and sisters. But if we look at it in context, his behavior seems right to me. Children nowadays would never be allowed to go away on their own for their holidays without adult supervision. That's the thing that fascinated me most as a child: how these kids were allowed to go on their own and have these wonderful adventures without adults in charge of them. The Famous Five were able to do that because it was a different time, because Tim was there to defend them and because Julian was trusted to be responsible.
From my point of view, the only times when I did not like how he behaved were a couple of isolated incidents when he was too bossy and protective with George, treating her differently than Dick. No one is bothered that he was so protective of Anne, because Anne clearly needed it and wanted it that way. Also, I don't think there's anything to criticize in the way he treats Dick. However, with George he shouldn't be so protective. He should treat her exactly the way he treats Dick. The few times he doesn't do so are his most unsympathetic moments. George certainly is as strong and brave as any boy her age, so why should he treat her as a damsel in distress in need of special protection, particularly knowing that she hates not being treated as a boy? What a jerk, right?
Of course, I think it's unfair to judge Julian for that without once more taking the social context into account. George, even if she liked being treated like a boy, was still a girl. Julian was expected to protect her more than he was expected to protect Dick. Every social experience had conditioned him to believe that girls needed more protection. Can we really condemn him for acting like an elder boy from the 40s or 50s was expected to act? Particularly when we know from the rest of his behavior that he is a kind boy, who doesn't get a kick out of bossing the others around just to show he can? He is just doing the best he knows, and doing quite well by that standard.
George herself clearly likes him and looks up to him, even if she sometimes disagrees with him, and we all know she is not one to shut up and lower her chin if she is not treated fairly. That fact also indicates that Julian is not an overly bossy bully.
Nowadays, of course, this wouldn't be a problem. A strong-willed girl like George would be treated exactly the same as a strong-willed boy. But the Famous Five is not set in the present. The series could not work in the present. George would not be so set on being treated like a boy, since as a girl she would be treated the same as a boy without needing to rebel against social conventions. And, of course, no child would be expected to be responsible for younger relatives. The Famous Five would never be allowed to go on holidays without adult supervision.
So Julian, even if you are sometimes bossy, I still appreciate your good qualities and I like you a lot. I'm proud to have you as a big brother in my imagination and have adventures with you and the others. And when we are in danger, I feel safer having you with us.