Hali’s answer to “Does Mary fall in love with Dickon?” > Likes and Comments
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I’m pretty sure they would have fallen in love though. But to each his own. You must remember that, when this book was written, people grew up much earlier and generally married earlier. My grandmother (born in 1918) married when she was fifteen. She was widowed at forty two and never remarried.
I’m not sure what you mean by hereonormative. Did you mean heteronormative? If I were a betting person, I’d bet seven out of ten children aged twelve had already had one crush.😊
You're completely right. People at that time married very early on in their life. However, these are modern readers that I am holding to modern standards. Also, by "heteronormative," I am referring to how Mary and Colin thought and said very similar things about Dickon, but no one has ever postulated that Colin had a crush on Dickon, therefore making the only romance possible for the characters a hetero one.
Also, it's questionable to even say that because people married early one, it meant they loved earlier. While I see your point and understand that, at the time, it was quite normal, that still does not necessarily mean adolescents were in love when they married, as I find that it is highly unlikely for children to fall in love; it was simply what was expected of them at that age.
Many probably weren’t in love; I’m sure many were. To each his own. Even the 1993 movie gave overt hints of the triangle between them. (Colin tells her they could marry.) The 1993 movie is, I think, the movie closest to the book; it’s a very good version.
It’s not “creepy” that children may be “in love” with each other. When I was 10, I had a big crush on a boy and yet I’m a modern girl. Of course I didn’t marry him, but that’s not the point. The point is that children usually do have crushes. It’s not what we adult mean for “true love”, but a crush is pretty common at that age. (less)
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LuAnne
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Jun 11, 2019 12:40PM
I’m pretty sure they would have fallen in love though. But to each his own. You must remember that, when this book was written, people grew up much earlier and generally married earlier. My grandmother (born in 1918) married when she was fifteen. She was widowed at forty two and never remarried.
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I’m not sure what you mean by hereonormative. Did you mean heteronormative? If I were a betting person, I’d bet seven out of ten children aged twelve had already had one crush.😊
You're completely right. People at that time married very early on in their life. However, these are modern readers that I am holding to modern standards. Also, by "heteronormative," I am referring to how Mary and Colin thought and said very similar things about Dickon, but no one has ever postulated that Colin had a crush on Dickon, therefore making the only romance possible for the characters a hetero one.
Also, it's questionable to even say that because people married early one, it meant they loved earlier. While I see your point and understand that, at the time, it was quite normal, that still does not necessarily mean adolescents were in love when they married, as I find that it is highly unlikely for children to fall in love; it was simply what was expected of them at that age.
Many probably weren’t in love; I’m sure many were. To each his own. Even the 1993 movie gave overt hints of the triangle between them. (Colin tells her they could marry.) The 1993 movie is, I think, the movie closest to the book; it’s a very good version.
It’s not “creepy” that children may be “in love” with each other. When I was 10, I had a big crush on a boy and yet I’m a modern girl. Of course I didn’t marry him, but that’s not the point. The point is that children usually do have crushes. It’s not what we adult mean for “true love”, but a crush is pretty common at that age. (less)
