The Little House series is almost universally recommended for young girls, but that shouldn’t stop us from making sure that it measures up to the standards we have for our children.
Background (when I first encountered the books)
I grew up on these books—they’re the reason I begged to learn to read, and I’d read them all at least 20 times by college. They formed a lot of homeschool unit studies for my mom and me in 2/3 grade!
Memories of the books
As a child, I loved how tight-knit the family was, how Pa and Ma loved each other, and how sweet Laura and Almanzo’s courtship was. I think the portrayal of Ma was a big factor in my desire to be a homemaker.
Questions or concerns
I love these books, but some friends have two major concerns: Are the works subtly subversive towards traditional views of marriage? Isn’t it troubling that we root for naughty Laura throughout instead of the proper Mary?
Impressions upon rereading
I have to admit—I lost sleep over my friends’ critiques of this series! It turned out okay, though, as I launched into a reread of the series, paying special attention to whether there are subliminal messages that might undermine the values I want to teach my kids.
On the first concern, it’s amazing to read them as an adult and realize what a failure Pa Ingalls actually was. Every time the family moves, they grow poorer. Yet Ma always supports him and instills an absolute respect for him in her girls: “We’ll always have enough, Charles, as long as you’re here.” Conversely, Pa gives up his own desires to keep moving west so that he can keep the promise to his wife that the girls will get an education. They never complain of the other to their children, and it was only as an adult that I realized there might be something substantive to complain about. In contrast, when Laura boards with the unhappy Brewsters, she’s shocked at the insults the couple hurl at each other in front of their son and Laura–she’s never seen that behavior at home. To me, the Ingalls’ marriage is a beautiful picture of Ephesians 5 lived out in very hard circumstances. I would have a lot more problems with my daughter reading a book where marriage is always romantic and easy! I’ll admit—Laura tells Rev. Brown not to use “obey” in her own wedding vows. To me, that earned an eye roll, but if that incident is enough for parents to skip These Happy Golden Years, I hope they’ll still read the earlier books as a family. Personally, I find that the series as a whole paints a very traditional view of marriage—one that I myself share.
I love the character of tomboyish Laura, but I’m sometimes annoyed by ladylike Mary. Should this concern me? Am I celebrating naughtiness, or am I just relating to a character? From the beginning, Laura sees herself as the unruly one in the family; she certainly gets scolded more than her sisters! In The Big Woods, she’s so naughty that Pa has to spank her. What’s beautiful in the chapter, however, is how loving he is as he admits that she was provoked but reaffirms that she can’t slap her sisters! Oh, to be so wise when I discipline my kids… Laura’s misbehavior is obvious, and she admits that it’s often due to her quick temper. On the other hand, Mary displays a more insidious heart problem. She seems to be a perfect lady, but she’s really a hypocrite. Grown up, she admits, “I know why you wanted to slap me. It was because I was showing off. I wasn’t really wanting to be good. I was showing off to myself, what a good little girl I was, and being vain and proud, and I deserved to be slapped for it.” I can definitely relate to oldest daughter self righteousness–I’m sure I deserved to be slapped at times growing up! So I don’t think this is a case of rooting for bad girl over good girl–it’s a portrayal of two sinful girls.
Laura certainly is no perfect Elsie—indeed, her unforgiveness of Nellie Oleson causes trouble years later when the young women’s rivalry blows up in De Smet. We don’t need Ma to point out the pettiness that Laura has been harboring in her heart for a decade. But Laura is up-front about her failings from the beginning, and we see her work through many of them. (We also see her unselfish love for her family, working unpleasant jobs and denying herself to help send her blind sister to school!)
Does this work accurately reflect God’s creation?
As I’ve mentioned, there aren’t any unrealistic saints here. The characters are realistically flawed, they’re open about their flaws, there are consequences when they sin (sometimes several books later), and we see sanctification happening in the girls’ lives over the course of the series. Are the Ingalls and Wilder families morally perfect examples? No. Do they mainly exhibit character traits I want my children to emulate—hard work ethic, respect for parents, sibling loyalty, unselfishness? Yes.
Is this a work of literary and artistic excellence?
Yes. I find Wilder’s writing style to be a refreshing example of plain, solid American writing. Looking back at Lewis’s criteria, her descriptions of the American West are evocative without being wordy, the dialogue is realistic, and the characters are certainly real to me. Most editions include illustrations by Garth Williams, whose artwork adds to the story and evokes the world of the pioneers. The books lend themselves well to be being read aloud, and the structure of each book individually and the series as a whole satisfies the reader.
To conclude, these books “pass the test” for me as a parent. I hope they provide as many hours of delight to my kids as they did to me!
I’ve tried to be brief, but we can discuss more in the comments! To those who have expressed concern about reading these books with your kids—have I addressed your concerns? Anyone else want to chime in with their memories or impressions? Was Laura a positive or negative force in your girlhood? Did anyone else curl up in front of the AC vent in the middle of summer to read The Long Winter so that you could shiver along with Laura?
Some of my very favorite memories of being a mother of young children are of reading Little House books to you three. How sweet to know you will have the same experience as you read them to yours. May we read a chapter of The Long Winter around the fire over Christmas? Who will be the first to call out, “Just one more chapter!!”?
Remind me to bring it back, unless Peter and Cammy have gotten that far together.
It’s amazing how much characters and scenes the Little House books have stuck with me as I’ve grown. More than anything else, I think they taught me how blessed we are with all of our modern luxuries: heat, endless food supplies, living space, cleanliness, safety, etc. They also demonstrated the value of family. The Ingalls family is always together and often on their own, yet they’re never bored with each other and are rarely discontent or argumentative. I always did and still do love the Little House books!!
I have a problem with, and feel deep compassion for, people who truly would throw out a series like this for the arguments you mentioned. Like you have shown, those arguments aren’t well founded. But more importantly, I was raised that you do not throw out the baby with the bathwater, ie, you learn to be discerning.
We homeschooled with Gothard’s ATI and my parents would be the first to admit that not everything in it was Biblically sound. They approached it from an “eat the meat, spit out the bones” point of view, and I’m so thankful. I love Mr. Gothard, he is such a God-fearing, wise man, who meditates on the Word day and night, knows it well, and receives great insight from the Lord. And because my parents trained me to discern, I gleaned much from Mr. Gothard, and the other stuff was not a stumbling block.
I spent a year of my life as a leader in their EQUIP program, a program to help juvenile delinquents from the Indiana court system, and troubled kids from ATI families. SO many of the other leaders around me were crippled by the fact that they had been taught to dismiss everything that didn’t meet their standard. *cough*legalism*cough* And it was really really sad. I was immediately dismissed, as a person, Christian, and a leader because of the stupidest things (I wore more than one ring, I didn’t tuck my shirts into my skirts all the time, I had shoes with an open back, I knew sign language and would sign during my private (hymn only) worship. I unknowingly carried so many stumbling blocks for these people, and was instantly outcast. After figuring out what the stumbling blocks were, I simply removed them (tucking in your shirt is a pretty easy thing to do!) and all of a sudden people could see my heart and I was promoted to the head leader of the program. (what?! I mean, it still astounds me and makes me sad and laugh altogether).
I absolutely believe in standards of Biblical excellence, especially as a parent responsible for the molding of other human lives. But I do NOT think it is beneficial to teach our kids to cling to laws over grace. And I think that applies to dealing with people, or literature, or anything else. I do not wish to raise my children to be crippled or blind. I do not want to breed snobbery.
It’s never too early to teach kids to discern. We probably watch more PBS kids (selectively!) and movies in our house than the rest of you. This is mainly due to my chronic illness and constant pain. But I have a policy that anything Geneva watches, I watch with her first. And we talk through the entire movie. We talk about the characters, their behavior, right and wrong, We allow Disney’s Cinderella in our home. (bring on the haters :)) And I think it’s great. It shows the triumph of good over evil, moreover that goodness, grace, patience and kindness are prevailing virtues over cruelty, selfishness, jealously, and greed. We talk about why Cinderella is beautiful (b/c of her character). We don’t throw it out just because it’s Disney, or because there is magic in it. I don’t think the love-at-first-meet story is any more preposterous than in movies like Summer Magic. We also talk about how and why love at first sight is not accurate, or the best method. I could go on but suffice it to say, I do find value in it and I know Geneva has loved it and benefited.
Bottom line, I want to teach my kids to be discerning, to know Scripture and how to apply it well, to not be dismissive or puffed up with knowledge. I want them to stand alone for the things that REALLY matter and sometimes I think when we choose our battles unwisely, and over more petty thing than we realize.
Long response, but this post just pulled it out of me. 🙂