Mel Campbell answers “Why does Mr. Carpenter call Emily "Jade"?”

Jennifer asked this question about Emily Climbs (Emily, #2):

Why does Mr. Carpenter call Emily "Jade"?

Mel Campbell 'Jade' isn't used here as a first name. It's an old-fashioned insult. A 'jade' is a horse that's been worn out or made vicious and disobedient through…more'Jade' isn't used here as a first name. It's an old-fashioned insult. A 'jade' is a horse that's been worn out or made vicious and disobedient through being ridden or used too hard. The meaning survives in the word 'jaded' (to be bored by something that's stopped being new and exciting to you).

But in a sexist way, a 'jade' was a 19th-century term for a bad-tempered or disreputable woman (readers would understand that, like the horse, the woman has been 'ridden' too often to be calm and biddable). It can have a very negative connotation of adultery or promiscuity.

Mr Carpenter is using it in a more affectionate way, calling Emily at first "a little jade" and only in 'Emily Climbs' does it become his nickname for her, "Jade". Its meaning here is something closer to 'hussy' or 'minx'. And his use of the word is meant to show that Mr Carpenter himself is a little risqué for Prince Edward Island.

In 'Emily of New Moon', he's described as having been a brilliant student in his youth. "But at college he had got in with a 'fast set'--Blair Water people nodded heads slowly and whispered the dreadful phrase portentously--and the fast set had ruined him. He 'took to drink' and went to the dogs generally."

So for Mr Carpenter, who has known a more adventurous way of life than the prim citizens of Blair Waters, calling Emily a 'jade' isn't really an insult at all. A girl who can think for herself, who argues rather than being meek, and who chafes against social expectations, is someone Mr Carpenter admires – even if he has to hide it behind a façade of disapproval.(less)

flag

View 1 comment

About Goodreads Q&A

Ask and answer questions about books!

You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.

See Featured Authors Answering Questions

Learn more