At Miss Minchin's Select Seminary for Young Ladies, young
Sara Crewe enjoys the friendship of her classmates and the staff--much to stern
Miss Minchin's disdain. When Sara is unexpectedly impoverished, she is forced
to become a servant under Miss Minchin's control. To escape her dreary life,
Sara imagines herself a princess, and her experiences soon teach her that being
a princess on the inside counts more than any outward expression of royalty.
This is one of my favorite books and has been since I was
eight years old. I love seeing her overcome the obstacles in her life, usually
by sheer grit and determination, and do so without losing her humanity.
As the daughter of an Englishman in India during Victorian
times, it is expected that at some point, she would be sent home to England for
schooling. This is partly because of the prejudices of the time and because
they felt that the Indian climate was not healthy for children. The book opens
when Sara is seven years old and taken to the London boarding school where she
is expected to live for the next decade. She is heartbroken at being separated
from her beloved father but puts a brave face on it for him. Having spent all
her life around adults, she is rather serious and unusually observant. Her
initial take on Miss Minchin is spot-on and proves so throughout the book.
During the first part of the book, we see Sara settling into
school life and making friends. As something of a misfit herself, Sara leans
towards other outcasts like herself. One of her first friends is Ermengarde, a
little girl who is overweight and a slow learner. She is bullied unmercifully
by other girls and Miss Minchin. I loved seeing Sara take Ermengarde under her
wing and find a faithful and loyal friend. Next is Lottie, a very young child
who is far too young to have been sent away to school. Lottie has been spoiled
by her family and has learned to use her motherless state to get what she
wants. I liked the first scene between Sara and Lottie, with Sara's quiet
empathy and kindness saving the day. Finally comes Sara's friendship with
Becky, the school's scullery maid. Once again, Sara's innate compassion and
empathy lead her to befriend a young girl very different from herself but with
whom she can also see their similarities.
The first four years of Sara's life at Miss Minchin's
pass quickly with brief vignettes of her life during that time. Then comes her
eleventh birthday and the day her life changed. As Sara and her schoolmates
enjoy an elaborate birthday party, Miss Minchin receives a visit from Captain
Crewe's lawyer. The man brings the unwelcome news that Captain Crewe is dead of
fever and that he died broke and in debt due to a bad investment. Miss Minchin
is furious that she is out the money she has spent, adding to her resentment
and dislike of Sara. Thinking better of just throwing the girl out on the street,
she turns Sara into an unpaid servant.
I ached for Sara, whose life was completely upended. She
wasn't even allowed time to grieve her father's death before facing the drastic
changes in her life. It breaks my heart every time to see her try to hang on to
her upbeat attitude while enduring the abuse of others. During this time,
Sara's ability to lose herself in the worlds her imagination creates makes her
life a little more bearable. It was infinitely satisfying to see Sara's inner strength
as she survived the appalling treatment. There were a few bright spots in her
life - occasional surreptitious visits from Ermengarde or Lottie, the rat she
befriends, and unexpected kindnesses from outsiders.
Another bright spot in her life occurs when a new
neighbor moves in next door—an Englishman who has been ill and has an Indian
servant with a mischievous pet monkey. Sara spotting several items from India
through his windows brings back good memories of her life there. An unexpected
visit to her attic room by the monkey also introduces her to Ram Dass, the
Indian servant, an event that will profoundly affect her life. We get a glimpse
into the neighbor's life, Mr. Carrisford, and discover an unexpected connection
to Sara. I always love the events of these final chapters. Sara's life goes
from immeasurably hard and very close to breaking her spirit to returning her
to her previously privileged life. But this time, her experiences give her an
added depth of understanding of the world around her and a desire to help
others.
I've seen others comment that Sara is "too
perfect" or Miss Minchin "too awful." When I read it, I consider
that this book was written in 1905. At that time, books for children were deliberately
written as moral tales, designed to show children the difference between right
and wrong. So, while the characters' attitudes may be somewhat exaggerated,
there is enough realism to make them believable. I especially enjoyed seeing
that Sara knows how to get under Miss Minchin's skin with a simple look and
that she isn't too good to lose her temper now and then.
I also must add that it's hard to talk about this story
without mentioning the films that have been made from it. There are three that
I am aware of: the 1939 version with Shirley Temple, the 1986 version with
Maureen Lipman (a British TV mini-series), and the 1995 version starring Liesel
Matthews. In my opinion, only one of them is worth watching. The Shirley Temple
version vaguely resembles the book, with an added romance between two characters
who don't exist in the story, an odd dream sequence, and a wholly made-up
ending resulting in Sara's father still being alive. The 1995 version changes
the time and location from Victorian London to World War One New York and again
changes the ending to reuniting with her father. The 1987 version, on the other
hand, is a faithful adaptation of the book. I loved seeing some of my favorite
scenes come alive, from the French lesson to the bun shop scene to the
revelation of Sara and "the Indian Gentleman's" connection. I highly
recommend this film to anyone who loves the book. (It can be found on YouTube
in its original six episodes)
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