On Thu, 29 May 1997 15:46:00 CST Gabrielle Bate wrote:
>
> Someone a while ago commented that Meg in a Wrinkle in
Time is a
> really cool character because she is a sympathetically portrayed
nerd.
> I agree completely. However, I have major problems with the way
L'Engle
> portrays her as an adult.
> In _A Swiftly Tilting Planet_, she is still sufficiently human to
> be the POV character, though she has somehow grown up to be
beautiful and
> has gotten rid of her glasses, the ultimate symbol of geekiness. (I
say as
> I adjust my glasses.) In the later books (those that I have read, far
from
> all) she is completely reduced to a generic mom character who
gives out
> hugs and brownies. Calvin, on the other hand, gets to stay
somewhat
> interesting. The message seems to me to be that it's okay to be a
nerdy girl,
> but you damn well better conform when you grow up.
> Gabby Bate
> bate@macc.wisc.edu
THis was why I expressed some doubts about these books as role
models for girls. Even in the first book, Meg's sense of self comes
from her brother and her (later) boyfriend.
Farah
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