Posted by Mountaineer on September 29, 2008 at 07:30:22 user Mountaineer.
In Reply to: The Amazons POV (or lack thereof) posted by Leah Mickens on September 29, 2008 at 03:01:35:
It has been discussed before and also been noted that its not exactly true. The opening chapters of P&M and some other section there take their perspective. Even more so, several short sections in WH, PD and ML.
One may also note that there are very few or none sections written from Susan's POV (only a bit in WDMTGS if I remember correctly) and not much from Roger's either (Wigwam Night, discovery of the Gulch and the Pict's house in GN?). It's either the Swallows together, as mostly in the first book, or John or Titty.
One may speculate about the reasons. I can think of several, connected ones. Dramaturgy, character and identification possibilities for the readers. One of the fascinating thing about most of the novels, especially about the first ones, is the sense of discovery. It's all new for the Swallows (and even more so for the D's later on), but the Amazons know the Lake and its surroundings too well to be surprised and enthralled by it in the same way. So it's natural that the reader perceives and shares these discoveries with the Swallows or Ds.
In a way the Amazons belong to the Lake as another Force of Nature that propels the other children into adventures. This is a perception shared by the Swallows and Ds in the first three Lake books, when it is mentioned several times how Nancy speeds things up and leaves everyone else a little breathless.
(I also have the slight impression that the Amazons become a little pale in SW and the two "Peter Duck" Stories, although I admittedly do not know these books as thoroughly as the Lake stories)
It has also been mentioned here before, that the Amazons, especially Nancy usually speak their minds. We don't need to look into their heads, because they are extrovert and deliberate loudly in discussion with the others. (Exception: e.g. Peggy's struggle to emulate Nancy in WH) Whereas it is fascinating (and again close to the perspective of the reader) to witness the fanciful Robinson etc. games Titty plays all the time. So are the tough decisions John faces in WDMTGS etc.
I admit that I like the Amazons a lot and it seems like a pity that they have to be "tied to the GA" in two books, but it was probably the right decision as far as plot development and dramaturgy is concerned.
Johannes