Fictional Favorites, Couples Edition: Polly Milton and Tom Shaw

Maybe I shouldn't have used my favorite fictional couple to begin a Couples Edition of my Fictional Favorites posts. But too bad.

For those of you who haven't read An Old-Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott, I would encourage you to not read this post until you have read the novel. I will be going through spoilers.

Are you still reading?

You're still reading?! Why would you spoil it for yourself?!

Oh, well, if you must read...

I read An Old-Fashioned Girl for the first time, (oh, this is going to be strange,) almost ten years ago. (I can't believe I'm old enough to say: 'I did something ten years ago'.) It was a pen pal's recommendation actually. I had read a few Alcott's but somehow I had missed this one. This book became a favorite at such a terrific speed that if such things were measured, I'm sure I would have broken some kind of record.

I love An Old-Fashioned Girl because it's well, old-fashioned. For a few examples:

• There are two parents in the homes mentioned. No, there is not one that abandoned the family or one that struggles with an addiction, but really truly, two parents presiding in a home. You can't find this kind of thing in books these days. Give it a try sometime.
• There is the loving grandma with stories to tell of her childhood. You don't read about good grandparents these days either it seems. They are either dead or grumpy old cranks. :(
• The characters are real to me in a sweet innocent sense. This is REALLY hard to explain. :) But, Miss March, a blogging friend of mine, recently wrote a post on realism found in books which is similar to what I am trying to say. You have the girls, Fanny and Maud, that want to grow up faster so they try to dress and act older than they really are. You have Polly, the girl that the other girls look down on because of her simple ways and upbringing. There are some circumstances that are dramatized for the book but at the same time, I think there are some true to life characters that I would love to befriend. ...I'm still not satisfied with what I'm trying to say...the characters progress and grow, sometimes better and sometimes worse depending on the person. (I don't know if I will ever be able to explain what I mean.) *shrug and move on*
• The young Tom has a good heart but a bigger nose for trouble. It's wonderful to watch him change under Polly's care when they are children. Tom will get into all kinds of scrapes but will then feel remorseful and irritated at himself for doing it. Basically, I think he's not your average boy written as a brat.
• Father goes to work and mother stays at home. Again, you probably won't find this in the books of today.

I've only just noticed how this is turning into more a plug for the book rather than a highlight of Polly and Tom. I can't bring myself to erase what I have already written so I will only try and adjust my focus. :)

Off the top of my head, I can't think of another example (Anne of Green Gables is close), where you get to watch the 'couple' grow-up together. Because of this unique style, you get to enjoy and watch the pair grow and see the influence they have on each other.

I would like to focus on Tom. I like Polly of course, she is kind, sweet, caring, a homemaker but also I believe a little on the cliché side. She is definitely in Alcott's style of a gentlewoman which sometimes makes her seem too good, literally, to be true. (You can see the influence that Tom has over Polly of course because he knows how to show her a good time and not be so hard on herself.) But Tom, I like Tom. You get to watch him go through the stages, he's a tease, selfish, then a dandy, gets taken in by the snobbish girl, gets humbled because of his choices, gains responsibility for himself and eventually you see that he has matured into a man. I love Tom's progression! And you watch Polly's influence, that sometimes she doesn't even know she has, over Tom as he grows up. He tries to improve himself just to prove himself to her. It's a wonderful story. All members of the Shaw family undergo some transformation because of Polly's example but Tom's is my favorite transformation. (Obviously.)

But now I know that I am rambling. This post was just supposed to be about Polly and Tom but now I see it is far beyond. :) If you haven't already, I encourage you to look up An Old-Fashioned Girl.

Yours truly,
Cordy

P.S. Even though I seemed to have covered everything, I haven't. I know you will see more from An Old-Fashioned Girl again here on my blog!