AIBU To Think That The Chalet School Matron Would Be In Prison Nowadays

[TheShellBeach]

..........................for giving unprescribed sedatives to the girls so frequently.

(lighthearted) (in case a million people tell me that IABU)

The Chalet School Matron was forever doling out sedatives to the girls, without even asking Jack Maynard to prescribe them first.
Shocking stuff. Nowadays, she would be jailed and struck off the NMC Register.

I believe Anna was allowed to take 2 boxes of dried eggs from the store cupboard (which was the equivalent of 24 eggs). Also they were eaten in moments, and there was rhubard from the garden with custard for pudding.

GGBP do not edit out the racist language in their reprints. I think they aim to replicate exactly the original unabridged text?

I had a look at my GGBP copy of the Oberland book the other night (when Jo getting stuck in the packing case, and Charles and Mike painting themselves was mentioned on this thread) and there’s several mentions of Charles and Mike looking like 'two little ni*r boys' in the first chapter or two.

There’s other GGBP reprints where I’ve come across similar offensive racist language, but I can’t recall which particular books offhand.

I've just remembered something that annoyed me even as a child. In an early book (Eustacia?), Joey has an argument with another girl who objects to her going to a Catholic service when she's C of E. Joey says it doesn't matter and it's just one of the ways to God. Then, when the triplets are born (by which time Joey's become a Catholic), she tells her sister she's can't be a godmother because Madge isn't a Catholic. Pick a lane, Joey.

That one at least isn’t Joey being Joey. You have to be Catholic to be a godparent in Catholicism. It’s different to just attending a different church service.

Well I hate to row in for Joey 🤪 but there is a difference between going to a service and being godmother.

The whole Catholic influence on EBD is interesting, i wonder what the motivation was?

By the by, but the Lydia Maynard story was a real low point for me. She was Jack's sister in law (I think) and much hated by all. She had a child who drowned and that's firmly pinned on her for not teaching him 'unquestioning obedience'. Lots of smug pontificating from Joey (whose children are angels, lest we forget). Really horrible, judgemental stuff.

I think it was Joey's vehement insistence that there was no real difference between C of E and RC that annoyed me when followed by the godmother thing. I get that there's quite a difference between going to a service and being a godparent.

I've always found the Protestant/Catholic stuff in the books really interesting, I believe EBD converted to Catholicism (hence Joey doing the same!) and so the reason why she's so pro?
I think at the time (pre Vatican II) you couldn't be a Godparent in the Catholic church unless you were a Catholic, now you can be a Christian of any denomination but you have to have at least one Catholic godparent. Pre Vatican II Catholics couldn't attend services of other denominations, they would be guilty of the sin of 'indifferentism' for doing this, so in the early books the separation of prayers etc would have been very important to the Catholic pupils. I think even now although you can attend, you're not supposed to take part in a service in a 'substantial' way, e.g. going to communion. So the closeness of the Catholic/protestants in the school, even though religious observance is separate, is really interesting and unusual.

Was there ever anyone who didn't turn out to be either Catholic or C of E?

What about Lilimani (Lavendar)? She was clearly a different ethnicity even if it wasn't specified what religion she was.

Thats all I can come up with tho!

I always found it interesting that there was no mention of her religion, although she could conceivably have been Christian it all seemed a bit convenient that it never needed mentioning

There was also Naomi the atheist. Not sure what she did.

Sorry, didn’t mean that to sound pompous!

And I do take your point - why convert if you are comfortable with a more ecumenical approach?

There were one or two aethists/agnostic/non practicing (Ruey and Naiomi) but they are converted to practicing Christianity by Joey/Len/Mary Lou

I think there was also talk of one or so who might have been less mainstream who got lumped in with CofE (I'm thinking chapel/Methodists etc although I can't remember precisely)

I imagine others who were agnostic or aethist would have just shut up and got through the services without making a particular fuss as it was the done thing (still is in the UK tbf)

Sorry I crossposted with you

I'm pretty sure she was converted by Mary Lou with a swift 'I lift my eyes upto the hills'

Oh the stuff about Lydia Maynard and the death of the child (Rolfe I think?) really upset me. It was so nasty!! Who would sit there bitching about a mum who had lost her child.

‘Oooh’ said Naomi, as she listened to the curly-haired older girl’s devout tones as the mist rolled back from the mountain they were facing. Suddenly she saw what faith could mean, and she envied Mary-Lou.

The head girl noticed a shadow on her companion’s face, as this thought flitted through her mind, and knew immediately what it was. She linked her arm through Naomi’s and said kindly ‘it’s never too late to make friends with God, you know’.

Mary Lou the missionary was my least favourite Mary Lou persona. And that's saying something, the competition is fierce

Yes, what a bitch Joey was about other people's names.

"Your name is Claire, did you say? Or well - let's call you Harry instead.
Here you - Angela? I think you should be called Cyril."

I am surprised that there wasn't a Roberta (to be renamed Bob).

EBD was really, really strange about children's names. There would be great rejoicing in the CS when some old girl gave birth to her 14th child, then the conversation would go like this:

• I bet they're glad to have had a girl this time - thirteen boys is enough for anyone.
• What are they calling her?
• Juliana Christiana Marianna Louisa Sophonisba (after his dead grandmother)
• Golly what a mouthful! What will she actually be called?
• Roderick
• Oh - so Roddy for short, then?
• No! Just Rod, of course. Because that's what Joey says.

There was also Naomi the atheist. Not sure what she did

Had a terrible car accident after one of the Christmas plays (I think having to watch the play would have been worse, personally).

This is what happens to Bad People (non-believers) in EBD's world.
Then Naomi had to be in hospital for about a year before she had an operation which straightened out her spine, so it all came good in the end.

There's a lot of that is the CS books. People having terrible accidents because they do not follow societal norms as set down by EBD, then (eventually) becoming Really Nice Girls after ages in hospital. That happens to Eustacia. And Grizel (twice, to Grizel).

Mind you, Grizel gets her own back by setting Len Maynard on fire. LOLOLOL.

She had a child who drowned and that's firmly pinned on her for not teaching him 'unquestioning obedience'

We are told (often) that Jem and Jack "insist on unquestioning obedience" from babyhood upwards.

Somehow, that doesn't happen with Margot, but she doesn't die during the war, as Lydia Maynard's son does.

Very cruel, and I thought this was a low blow from EBD (via Joey).

Redemption through suffering is a very Victorian trope. See What Katy Did for example. Interestingly (spoiler for those who haven’t read it) Jacqueline Wilson’s updating of the story does not have Katy rising from her sick bed - instead she learns to live with her new disability.

All the cream cakes in the world wouldn't tempt me if I had to put up with Jo. I'd rather eat my own eyeballs.

Yes, it doesn't seem to have worked on Mike either.

"Our children are unquestioningly obedient. Except for those two."

Anyone else used to wonder about the conversation between the exiled poor boys from all the various branches of this family who must have made up about a third of the population at their public school?

Even if it were true that Rolf’s death was a direct result of his disobedience, it’s so, so cruel to be smugly blaming his grieving mother for that.

Maybe I don't need to read the books and can just read this thread 😂