International Incident at the Chalet School

[RueDeWakening]

Hear ye, hear ye! Gather ye hence, all angels (be-costumed with slightly tacky silver halos and suchlike) with your lark-like notes and prepare to dazzle us all with your charm.

No, not you Joan. Shop bought cake and cheap looks for you, my dear. See Matron for some milk on your way out.

Bubbles is fron the Millais painting of a boy with curly hair. It was used in the Pears' soap advertisement
Not exactly a crop though!
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EBD only believes in that kind of compulsive attraction when it's an attraction to naughtiness

Isn't Joey the most compulsively attractive character of the series, though? In the earlier years we see Simone and Eustacia completely falling for her, and there are hints that Grizel does too. I've not really thought about this before, but I wonder what EBD was trying to accomplish (if anything beyond an interesting plot) with her characters who felt attracted to a schoolmate but didn't realise it themselves, and/or didn't know what to do with the feelings.

Now I think of it, Grizel's attraction to Joey is a hugely interesting one, and must at the time have been something quite fresh for school stories - two strong characters with the younger one having the upper hand and the elder one struggling with an adoration she doesn't know how to express. The Joey/Simone plotline follows a much more conventional sequence for the time - (slightly) younger and much weaker character falls for Our Heroine, is healthily rebuffed and learns that grand passions Simply Won't Do. The Joey/Eustacia take is interesting too, in that Eustacia's a strong character who doesn't admit to her feelings and who keeps them so well hidden that they have to be voiced by another character (was it Hilda? I don't remember) for the benefit both of Joey and the reader.

Ah, see I think with Joey it's a different kettle of fish because Joey is her central anchor (and justifiably so, IMO, during her school days).
As you say, Simone's "violent affection" for Joey is supposedly cured (though if this is really true, I'm not sure why she humours Jo's chateau decor insults...)
Eustacia's I've only ever seen as a plot point - Nell (alas) says that and it jars for me as it's so stupid: no, of course Eustacia isn't desperately upset because she's recently lost both of her parents and been sent away to a school where she knows nobody and nobody likes her - she's upset because she wishes Joey would be her friend and she doesn't even know it! Wtf, Bill.
Grizel is more interesting, and as you say it's an interesting reversal with Joey being the younger of the two. I think Grizel is mainly conceived of as a foil to Joey, though, and Jo is much more in her comfort zone (experienced traveller, fluent in languages, great with new people, has a sister in proximity and authority). I think it's a hugely under-explored relationship - as schoolmates they naturally drift as the school grows, since they're of different ages, but at home Grizel never quite gets appointed to surrogate sister as Robin and Juliet (temporarily!) do, although it's clear she wants to be. They both wind each other up disproportionately too at times, don't they?
I suppose what I think is unique there is that Grizel wants Joey to accept her, but doesn't ever actually think Joey is perfect - that seems to me different to the other 'no of course this isn't a GP!'s of the series. But I'm feeling quite distant from those halcyon early days ATM so am happy to be corrected on any of this!

Urgh, missed out my main point re: Eustacia. I think it's only supposed to indicate and shore up Joey's centrality - problem new girl can be healed by Joey's acceptance alone. If they were even in the same class, it would make more sense - Evadne (I think) is initially quite welcoming to Eustacia and I can imagine the withdrawal of that kindness being a big thing to her, but not so much Joey who is never anything more than a harsh prefect towards her.

It's interesting it really is.

I wonder if it's a boarding school thing in so much that friendships must, by their nature,be far more intense and supportive than those at day schools.

Obviously I am guessing as never been to boarding school but if you think so many of these girls live so closely and as it's set abroad most don't go home except for the summer/Christmas hols.

I am never sure if EDB is an absolute innocent or she is hinting at lesbian relationships. She describes Jocyline Marvell as being the 'same type of girl' as Jack lambert.

There are definite 'male' characters like Tom Gay and Bill too.

I thought about letting my Sloc shave my head to get curls but decided to do a Joan instead and have a rough perm.

I think Grizels character is very interesting. She's so floored and so human.

Love the human that actually doesn't adore the Robin.

Quite possibly, wrt the added intensity of boarding school - and then schoolday friendships are impossibly intense anyway sometimes, aren't they? I remember falling out with friends being The End Of The World, in a way the same thing could never be now.

I don't think EBD could have been entirely innocent of such knowledge: even if she didn't have the slightest interest in the sexologists (and I bet she did - she strikes me as someone who would take at least a superficial interest in pop psychology - aren't Eustacia's parents behaviourists? And all that stuff about warping of the character) she wouldn't have been able to escape the publicity surrounding the Well of Loneliness trial in 1928 (brilliant move by the Daily Express - in a bid to prevent people from hearing about lesbianism, they got it onto every front page...) Possibly also the Children's Hour, which was on Broadway in 1934 and in London a few years later, would have served a similar function. I don't think the historic faith in romantic friendships as always innocent still existed by the time she was writing the CS, apart from possibly the first two or three books. But that doesn't necessarily mean she ever bore that in mind when she was writing, and mostly I think of her writing as very inattentive - randomly throwing in people from her real life, from other books she'd read etc. I think Mr Denny is super-queer and must be based on someone she knew.

That said, I don't imagine she'd have implied any kind of sexuality at all to teenage girls - even a sort of pre-sexuality which I think most people would acknowledge today, and which obvs the sexologists would have perceived. That would have been Just Not Naice, and she likes the preservation of innocence. Tom is bloody fascinating in a way that other tomboys (George of the Famous Five etc) aren't, but I think that's more because EBD was confused about her and trying to make important feminist-ish points rather than creating a consistent character.

I totally, totally don't perceive Bill as remarkably masculine! Am v interested in this point.

Oh yes agree with you but do see Bill as masculine. She's a strong character mentally. She is an early riser and late to bed. I know that's not a sign of manliness as my own Sloc would happily lie in bed but I always take that as a sign of her physical strength.

She goes white in half an hour but it doesn't devestate her as it surely would most women.

She is described as having a manly stance, as does Tom, and keeping herself fit.

Probably overthinking this now but I see Hilda as the frail one and Bill as a tough old bird.

Of course that could just make her am incredibly strong woman too.

Coming to think of it I remember a few 'Bills' from my girls grammar school days 74/82.

They had been in the war, one had been a wren and I remember,to this day,one of the girls swearing at her and she just looked at her and said 'oh my dear is that really the best you can do'

Maybe just a tougher generation from necessity.

EDB ran a school for a while didn't she. I would love to know what it was like to be a pupil there.

Oh, all of these things are true. (And also remind me of possibly my favourite Bill line - in Exile, when Gottfried's aunt is commiserating about her hair: "I may yet take a violent interest in my appearance."

"Oh my dear is that really the best you can do?" - My midwife said that to me!

I think the girl/s from EBD's school quoted in the Helen McClelland book say she was quite nice but not a great disciplinarian! I imagine she saw herself much more in the Hilda model, and sadly lacked a Bill. (Remember that EBD seems to not know what it is that Hilda says to them in her study to make them cry and reform...) And she kept leaving her mother to teach them instead so she could get on with her writing. There was definitely something about strawberries and plays out on the lawn in the summer, though, which sounds v Chaletian!

There's a quote in the Helen McClelland book, something along the lines of "poor BD! We did rather run rings round her!" from one of EBD's former pupils.

It is probably v unintentional on EBD's part, but I always have a slight giggle at that bit in Camp where Bill leaps neatly into the car, while pulling her skirt over her head. I have this image of her wearing something v utilitarian underneath like khaki bloomers.

I find this whole concept of a broader range of possible femininities v interesting, especially at the moment. One of my best friends, who I've known since we were 11, has recently told me that she's questioning her gender and is considering going down the gender reassignment route. I haven't yet made the jump to referring to her as 'he', mainly because she has said it still feels strange to hear that. However, she was always someone I had in mind as being an example of a different sort of woman - one who wasn't interested in her appearance, identifies as bisexual, walks and dresses in a very masculine way, has broad shoulders etc etc. She also had very long ginger chestnut hair up until very recently when she had it cut into a boyish crop (to borrow a phrase). So when you're reading these things about Bill/Miss Everett/Nancy Wilmot, I kind of had my friend as a RL version in my head. Now, however, I'm wondering what people in the 40s who were a bit unsure about their gender actually did about it!

I see Bill as a bit "jolly hockey sticks" not masculine.

I'll probably get shouted down for this, but I find Tom a little irritating. All the "be a gentleman" things I find quite demeaning of all the girls. I love aspects of her character-her friendship group with Bride are fantastic, and I longed for one of her dolls' houses when I was little, but I don't like the "daddy wanted me to be a boy so I'm going to pretend I am". At least for George (FF), Jack Lambert etc it's their choice.

I find Tom incredibly interesting for exactly that reason, though I think it's entirely accidental on EBD's part. I actually find it hard not to read her as basically trans, though I suppose that's me putting a v modern slant on it. The thing is, she's not like eg George from the Famous Five, or Jo in Little Women, who are tomboyish because they look at what their society offers them as girls/women-to-be and think 'sod that for a game of soldiers, I wish I was a boy'. That's a rational response.
But Tom goes to the Chalet School, learns that girls can do anything boys can do, that boys have all the same flaws as girls, and is largely cured of her internalised misogyny (and what a shit her father is! What contempt to hold his daughter, and presumably also his wife, in) - and yet retains this aspiration to 'be a gentleman', this semi-identification as a male. And we never get an authorial comment condemning the damage her father may have done in this regard (as we do for other parental failings - Eustacia, Emerence, Yseult) - so are we supposed to believe that the maleness is somehow inherent to Tom, almost as a coincidence to her father's vile indoctrination? Even as an adult, the impression is that she remains more male than female - and her mission work is exclusively with boys.

Cheddar I believe there is a long and glorious history of at least women managing to live as men at various points in time. I only know bits of it quite tangentially, as I'm more directly interested in lesbian issues/history than trans ones, so I've mostly come across it as being a way women have managed to build a home and a recognised relationship with their female partners, and naturally in most cases very, very little remains to indicate whether passing as a man was primarily about enabling them to conduct lesbian relationships, or achieve other goals in a hugely sexist society, or whether it was really more about feeling themselves to truly be male. I have to also say the examples which spring to mind all rather significantly predate the 1940s - but that's as likely to be because of a growing possibility for women to live together as female couples, rather than because early transfolk stopped existing, if that makes sense.

I am so excited by this conversation I almost wish I didn't have to go out now. They would have been utilitarian navy blue bloomers, btw, I think. Didn't Guides (and Guiders) wear blue?

Sorry, Nell, you're quite right! Guides definitely wore blue (not sure if it was navy, gentian, cornflower or what).

Yes, Tom Gay's father is such a shit! And yet he's also a very 'good' man, a vicar and a pillar of society/the church who ends up as a Canon (whatever that is). Tom herself is also v interesting with her GP for Daisy, where she realises that actually, she is hurt by her idea that Daisy has done something 'not straight'. (As it were! The language is v interesting, isn't it?) Then you have Rosalie having a pash for Tom, which is even more ingenious. You get Rosalie fainting in prep, and Tom being v contemptuous of girls who faint, while failing to recall that when she thinks Daisy is a sneak, she (Tom) gets pale, heavy-eyed and headachey and is thus sent to bed by Matey! Very different standards. She does behave in a very 'girly' fashion there.

Jack Lambert, also trans? Masculine pursuits such as automobile mechanics, cropped black hair, has a v strange reaction to Jane Carew and her very exaggerated language, plus is v possessive over Len.

Maybe more on the lesbian/bi thing, but there's also Emerence being described as taking one look at Verity-Anne, with her speedwell blue eyes and general prettiness, and going down before her like a ninepin. That reads very much like a sexual attraction to me. Emerence subsequently falls for Margot in much the same way - as does Francie, as someone pointed out upthread.

Btw, totally off-topic, but why do the triplets wind up boarding year-round after Does It Again? It's a bit daft, what with them living next door. I know it's explained as to do with the awful weather, but come on, they live next door! They could even have built one of those covered wooden walkways that link the school buildings - bet Jo would have adored that! She could have dashed over without throwing on a massive shawl. Perhaps Miss Annersley steadfastly resisted that notion - "no, Jo, you are not still part of the School! Even if you are the spirit of all Chaletians are and want to be! You are a grown woman with a very full life (allegedly) of your own!" Anyway, I would have been v pissed off, were I a Triplet, to have been farmed out to live in the school when I just had to cross the garden to be at home.

Maybe the Triplets wanted to be at school? I have known day pupils who have asked to board (not admittedly living next door) because they want to take part in all the after hours fun. Also if they were at home it might have been hard to get their work done, as they'd be used as extra nursemaids. Hilda could have used the excuse of Margot's health etc. too.

Yeah, I'd have been bloody relieved. Also Len has to be a dormy pree, of course.

I love Emerence's weakness for a pretty girl. I'm fairly certain there are a couple more she has that response to, including Peggy Burnett. I think this is supposed to be a bit of Emmy's poorly-shaped character though, alas.

I'm not yet familiar enough with Jack to comment. There's an odd bit in Wins the Trick where the prees (Josette and co) assure each other that Jack doesn't have a crush on Len, almost suggesting it would reflect poorly on Len if she did... Which is odd.

I kinda love Rosalie's crush on Tom. It is so charmingly butch/femme. I think it's interesting that EBD, who isn't much interested in GPs at all, seems to often link them to her most boyish girls - wonder whether that was an observation from real life?

Too so so funny thinking of a covered passage way from freudeshime to the school. Bloody classic.

praise to the face is open disgrace

Yes personal appearance is intensely important in the books with pansy eyes and elusive prettiness. Personal remarks abound actually and are seen as fine.

I think in any group of women without men you do get a certain gravitation to roles.

I have a group of 5 friends and we go away regularly. Guaranteed while 3 of us are happily amusing myself sipping wine one friend is booking the taxi or sorting out the route while another is liazing with hotel staff and sorting out the room keys.

Hangs head in shame but the sort of things my Sloc does and I just don't.

Nell that midwife sounds like a poor Claire who Madge went to with the twins!!!

Agree Tom gays dad was a grade A

Pig.

I'm a Guider, we still wear blue (on formal occasions) :o and we're now called Leaders, not Guiders - I'm a LiC aka Leader in Charge.

There's a great site about the history of guiding, here: Leslie's Guiding History, it includes all sorts about what Guides did during & after WW2 - they were among the first into Belsen after it was liberated, and were working across Europe till 1950 providing food, first aid, helping with repatriation and all sorts.

"By the 1920s, the Guider's uniform suit was firmly established, and a full system of shoulder cords and hat cockades had been established to distinguish between the different posts and ranks. County badges appeared in England, along with Country badges for Scotland, Wales and Ireland (they weren't allowed to have separate badges for their Counties, and still aren't). Cotton overalls became available for camp wear, which were more practical, especially in summer, as women's fashion rules generally became more relaxed over the decade - it was no longer considered necessary for younger Guiders to wear their thick stockings on the campsite during warm weather (provided the site was suitably secluded), although it was made quite clear that they were definitely to be worn on any visit offsite, however minor the visit or of whatever duration, and no matter what the temperature! "

Oh and Cheddar, it was navy blue (to start with) and changed to "headquarters blue"?! in the 50s :o

Ah, does that mean that Jack and (??? Who the bloody hell was the second visitor? I'm fairly certain it wasn't Jem or Gottfried?) only caught a glimpse of navy big knickers and thick stockings, then? Pity.

It was Jem, it was. It was Dr Jem's car with some patent lock gadget on the steering wheel that he had to hurriedly disable.

Oh, of course it was! Because then there's that hideous bit where Jem commands Joey to "say something pretty" to Jack.

Lols at Jem's 'patent lock gadget'. I remember being quite confused by that passage as a child, because I didn't understand why they had to drive off so quickly - after all, they were inside the car, weren't they?

Rue fascinating about the guides during the war. I belive they were used by the secret services and navy to deliver notes and messages too.

There was a fascinating programme on the history channel.

Had no idea about Belsen though so off to google.

On another point I tried to run lightly as a girlearlier and have hurt my ankle. I am no Joey or Hilda.