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Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 12:18 pm
Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 12:40 pmPosted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 1:12 pm .
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Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 5:22 pmPosted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 10:05 pm| Quote: |
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references refer, unless otherwise stated, to the 1980s Armada
paperbacks. Although Verity-Ann(e) became Verity as a Senior, for ease
of reading I have referred to her as ‘Verity-Ann’ throughout.
The disintegration of Verity-Ann Carey’s character from a girl chock-full of obstinate determination to a clinging ‘broken reed’ has been a long-standing disappointment to me. Verity-Ann was introduced as one of the three in Three Go to the Chalet School, and was thus a main character in the book. Her mother was dead, her father was a cartographer who had been abroad for many years, and she lived with her grandfather until his death when, at the age of ten, she is informed by her trustee that she is to go to the Chalet School. Verity-Ann is resistant to the idea, (‘“I will always talk and think as I have done. I hate this horrid school of yours…”’ (Three Go, p26)), and does everything she can while at the school to show that resistance. She criticises her peers for their ‘unladylike’ behaviour and use of slang, while her most notable rebellion is her refusal to speak or sing in German. She maintains this throughout the book, ignoring all entreaties by the other girls in her form, her mistresses, even Miss Annersley and Joey Maynard, until her father returns at the end. She is variously described as ‘self-possessed’ (p24), ‘composed’ (p65) and ‘proud’ (p156), with ‘a great deal of personal dignity’ (p25). Even though obstinacy may not be the most likeable of character traits, Verity-Ann’s refusal to back down over not speaking or singing in German must command some respect: ‘she had once vowed that she would never, never have anything to do with Germany’ (p155)… ‘Verity-Ann Carey was too patriotic to sing German’ (p157). I think, most importantly was that ‘[she] wanted very badly to please [Mary-Lou]; but having once made her stand, she was far too proud to own herself in the wrong and give in’ (p159). Verity-Ann’s thinking might have been woolly-headed and is certainly contrary to the views EBD expressed in Exile and others (though we should not forget that at this stage she is only ten years old), but she remains resolute in the face of considerable pressure from her peers and her mistresses. Even to earn Mary-Lou’s friendship, she would not give up her beliefs. How is it, then, that by Joey & Co in the Tirol Joey Maynard describes Verity-Ann as a ‘broken reed’, who needs all the support she can get from Mary-Lou? Mary-Lou herself concurs with this judgement later in the series, saying that she is glad Verity-Ann has Alan Trevor to look after her: according to Mary-Lou, Verity-Ann is a ‘clinging vine’, while she herself is ‘an oak’ (Reunion, p92 (GGBP)). This is the culmination of a gradual diminution of Verity-Ann’s character over the intervening books, in which Verity-Ann herself became ‘moonier than ever’ (Mary-Lou, p11) and more silent. Admittedly, EBD states that when Verity-Ann spoke, ‘what she had to say was generally full of common sense’ (Mary-Lou, p26), and that she sometimes acted as a stopper to some of Mary-Lou’s madder ideas, but the latter, at least, is true only of the earlier books: by the time Mary-Lou is a Senior on the way to Head Girl-ship, there are few mad schemes in the pipeline. Verity-Ann is reduced to being Mary-Lou’s example ‘sister-by-marriage’ (the mystery of why she is never merely her step-sister remains to this day!), who needs careful herding by that young lady, whose chief claim to fame is her silvery voice. By the time Mary-Lou is Head Girl, Verity-Ann seems to have disappeared from Mary-Lou’s orbit: in Trials the ‘backbone of the school’ consists of Mary-Lou herself, Hilary Bennet, Vi Lucy, Doris Hill and Lesley Malcolm. In fact, not only has Verity’s personality crumbled, so has her appearance. She has always been described as tiny, but this is taken to extremes in Trials, and her features go from being ‘exquisitely modelled’ (Three Go, p22) to ‘exceedingly pretty’ (Mary-Lou, p27) to ‘almost insipid’ (Trials, p27). By the later books, Verity-Ann’s chief renown is for her mooniness: ‘Verity-Anne (sic) was a recognised “mooner”’ (Mary-Lou, p27)… ‘Verity Carey is a born mooner’ (New Mistress, p80). By Mary-Lou, even Verity-Ann is admitting it: ‘“I have always been with Mary-Lou before and she has always helped me out”’ (p50). However, there is no sign of this in Verity-Ann’s early school career; in Three Go, Island and Peggy I did not see any references to supposed mooniness – if anything, it is Mary-Lou herself who is untidy and careless. Neither, at the beginning of Three Go, is there anything to suggest that she was brought up in a household where ‘mooniness’ would have been encouraged. So the question is, whatever happened to Verity-Ann? Did EBD merely forget the characteristics with which she had imbued the early Verity-Ann? Or can this be attributed to a genuine change in Verity-Ann’s character, brought on by the alteration in her personal circumstances? From being an only child who was the centre, presumably, of her carers’ attention, she goes to being a member of a much larger household and one in which she likely had a lot less control. The Trelawney family at that time consisted of Mary-Lou herself, her mother Doris Trelawney, and the inimitable ‘Gran’, Mary-Lou’s paternal grandmother. The household was supplemented, at times, by Clem and Tony Barras. The Carey household was Verity-Ann and her father, whom she hardly knew. Roland Carey appeared to be the typical strong male character in Three Go, but we subsequently discover he was badly affected by his experiences and his health was an increasing worry. When the two families merged on Doris and Roland’s marriage, it is not hard to imagine that Mary-Lou came out on top. She was louder, more ebullient, more ready to take charge (and, already, we can see the mantle of Joey’s ‘butting in’ falling on her shoulders). The women of the household would have likely had more control over the girls, and it is in fact explicitly stated that ‘Gran had … extended her training to … Verity-Anne (sic)’ (Mary-Lou, p7) and I feel it would have been inevitable that Verity-Ann would have been at a disadvantage. It is easy to see that Mary-Lou might well have eventually ‘taken over’ Verity-Ann, making decisions for her, doing things for her, until she became the apparently near-passive ‘broken reed’, the mooner who became dependent on Mary-Lou, and then her husband-to-be, for her needs. Perhaps Mary-Lou is not entirely to blame for this. After her father’s death is announced, Joey Maynard speaks to Mary-Lou about the lessons she can learn: ‘“you must be a good friend… it means being kind”’ (Three Go p143) Later she tells Mary-Lou, ‘“Be a good girl, and do what you can to help Verity-Ann’” (Three Go p166). By the time Mary-Lou is about fifteen, she is already being burdened with the other girls’ problems by Joey – ‘“You know as well as I do that in mind, at any rate, you’re years older than any of the rest of your crew”’ (Mary-Lou, p39). Joey actively encourages Mary-Lou’s sense of protectiveness and responsibility. In Trials, Miss Wilson states that it is not fair for Mary-Lou to be burdened with more problems in her last year; Joey returns with ‘“Mary-Lou thrives on responsibility!”’ (p13). This may be true, but Joey has helped Mary-Lou into her own mantle. With this sense of responsibility imposed on Mary-Lou, coupled with her own personality, it is not necessarily surprising that Verity-Ann eventually succumbed. From the beginning, we see Verity-Ann as being ‘like a big doll’ (Three Go, p54) in Mary-Lou’s eyes, and in a sense, this is what she became. This, I think, is a great shame, for Verity-Ann exhibited signs of strong character in her debut and it would have been interesting to see more of it in subsequent books. However, it is probably inevitable that this did not happen. Mary-Lou was the oak and there was little room for Verity-Ann to be anything other than a clinging vine. |
Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 10:40 pmPosted: Thu Jul 12, 2007 2:42 am
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