I don't know if this has been done before (or if this is the right forum
) but I was just re-reading the first Malory Towers book, and it made me think about which school was 'better'.I think one of the major differences would be in the way characters are treated - would darling Gwendoline have been allowed to be such a bully at the CS? And would so many of her nasty tricks have gone relatively unnoticed by the staff - for example when she plays all the tricks on Mary-Lou? And how would Matey deal with a fluttering heart? Similarly, would Mary-Lou be allowed to be so sh yand frightened over everything, or would OOAO have lent a hand? Do you think Sally would have been so jealous of her baby sister if she had met Joey and her brood?
On the other side, how would characters such as Eustacia and Thekla von Stift have fared at Malory Towers? Would Prudence Dawbarn and Alicia have been too much for one teacher to cope with at once? Would OOAO have been able to get away with so much butting in had Joey not have been there first? And could any of the CS girls survive without their daily vat of milk?
I wondered about the staff, too: There is the scene where Alicia pretends to be deaf, and Miss Potts is more than happy to steamroll in and take on Madmoiselle Dupont's role of authority. I couldn't help contrasting it to the scene where Rosalie Dene walks in on complete chaos and is very angry, but then very embarrassed when she realises that the teacher was already there! I also thought of the Madmoiselle's fight over the play - again couldn't help contrasting it to when Miss Bubb is in charge, and even though the staff disagree they try to uphold her in front of the girls.
The role of the prefects struck me as being very different too - in Malory Towers they are seen as being very distant and grown up, but at the Chalet School they are encouraged to take a very active role with the girls - OOAO helping Jessica Wayne, for example.
I just wondered what other people thought of this, and which school you think was better? Which would you have preferred to have gone to?
. When reading the MT books, we're undoubtedly meant to side with Darryl and her friends, and aren't meant to find some of her worst exploits disgusting. EBD's narrative, on the other hand, allows us to sympathise with both protagonists and antagonists - even with a Nazi girl, during WWII!
, not to mention having to do lessons in French, which she is terrible at! Although, could someone please explain to me why most Chalet School girls seem to actually LIKE having cold baths in the morning?! 