Posted by Jock on June 24, 2007 at 22:01:41 from 87.105.81.146 user Jock.
In Reply to: Re: What would Susan's story be? posted by davidm on June 24, 2007 at 12:07:24:
Susan being a necessary pseudo-adult presence to allow a set of children (ages 7 to 12?) to camp alone
AR didn't want an adult around every day to restrain the imagination of his young protagonists. At the same time, he did want the stories and settings to seem convincingly realistic. Susan's competence and authority with respect to the rest of the Swallows make it easy for us to suspend our disbelief that Mrs Walker would really allow her four eldest to camp by themselves on island. Having got rid of the adults, AR proceeds to tease us by using Susan's adult-like lack of imagination to threaten the happy endings that we all want. Susan finds it difficult to believe Titty in SA, SD and PD. Her role as a substitute adult is played to perfection.
AR tries hard to make his stories believable. Only sometimes does his imagination run away with him. A schooner voyage with Captain Flint is signposted in SA, showing that he was already thinking ahead to PD. But it would be stretching our credibility to far to believe that, at this stage of the Swallows-Captain Flint relationship and with Roger being only eight the following summer, Commander and Mrs Walker would allow their children to go to sea in a small sailing schooner. (The sailing with Jim Brading in WD is supposed to be confined to inland waters.) So PD becomes an imaginary voyage and sets the precedent for ML. (We have to wait for GN before the Swallows are seen as old enough and competent enough for the planned voyage to take place.)
As for writing from inside the head of each character, even William the pug gets more billing than poor Susan.