Wednesday, June 15, 2016

Stranger than fiction - Daddy-Long-Legs!

Daddy-Long-Legs

The trustee who decided to support Jerusha Abbott went by the pseudonym "John Smith," and only at the story's end did she learn that his real name was "Jervis Pendleton."

Even before then, she recognizes the 'weirdness' of the conditions and lashes out at him in a letter after he has forbidden her to accept a scholarship from the college (apparently because the money would have to have been offered by some stranger), and sensing his desire for control, she - as I said - lashes out at him:
You prefer that I should not be accepting favours from strangers.

Strangers! - And what are you, pray?

Is there anyone in the world that I know less? I shouldn't recognize you if I met you in the street. Now, you see, if you had been a sane, sensible person and had written nice, cheering fatherly letters to your little Judy, and had come occasionally and patted her on the head, and had said you were glad she was such a good girl - Then, perhaps, she wouldn't have flouted you in your old age, but would have obeyed your slightest wish like the dutiful daughter she was meant to be.

Strangers indeed! You live in a glass house, Mr. Smith.
Exactly! And we see he is indeed very strange!

Labels:

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home