Posted by PeterH on January 09, 2007 at 16:41:25 from 86.149.218.178 user Peter_H.
In Reply to: Amazons camping on WCI - was Re: Commander Walker style upbringing posted by Ed Kiser on January 09, 2007 at 15:04:35:
Pam: I don't believe that Nancy and Peggy had the freedom that the Swallows do until they got together.
Ed: The Amazons had camped on Wildcat Island previously
These two statements do not contradict each other, IMHO. They both reflect the fact that the Amazons lived in the Lake area and had grown up there. This would mean that during the school holidays, Nancy and Peggy might have had to fulfil social engagements with their mother. These are not mentioned in the books, but all the local families round the lake knew each other. It might simply have been a matter of meeting up in Rio, or some other meeting place (I hesitate to mention the word ‘church’, but there would have been christenings and weddings). Even on the days when the Amazons were out on the lake, I seem to remember that they were still supposed to observe Beckfoot mealtimes, even when the G.A. wasn’t in residence. That is because they were living at home. The Swallows were away on holiday, and therefore much more licence was allowed.
The Amazons had camped on WCI before because it was on their ‘home patch’. For them, the novelty of the place must have worn off a bit, which is why perhaps they were so determined to confront the Swallows and make either enemies or friends of them. It was a combination of defending ‘their territory’ and the impulse to liven up the holidays by meeting new child adventurers like themselves. There were only two of them to the Swallows’ four, but on the other hand they knew the territory so had an advantage. It was all beautifully balanced. The highly nuanced relationship between the different groups of children, and between the children and the adults, is one of the delights of reading Ransome.