As I have read the books in the Girl Scouts series by Edith Lavell, I have realized that Marjorie Wilkinson has many of the same qualities as Nancy Drew. First of all, Marjorie and Nancy have completely different primary interests; yet, their secondary interest is exactly the same. Nancy's primary interest is solving mysteries while Marjorie's is the Girl Scouts. Marjorie's secondary interest is in performing good deeds for needy people, and Nancy often does this as a result of solving mysteries.
The relationship between Marjorie and her boyfriend, John Hadley, is much like Nancy's relationship with Ned Nickerson. Both girls care about their boyfriends, yet their boyfriends are not what is the most important. Nancy likes Ned, but she is more concerned about her mysteries. Ned is important as someone who can help Nancy out of a jam. He is no more than a plot device, and Nancy is not interested in making any further commitment to him. On page 37 of the original text of
The Clue in the Old Album, Nancy cuts Ned off as he begins to say something about the future:
"Not I," laughed Ned. "My future is pretty well set and I don't want any gypsy tampering with it. I'll go into business, prosper, and marry a certain golden-haired young lady named . . ."
"Come on Ned," Nancy broke in. "I'm not so much interested in fortunes myself, but I do want to hear that violinist play. A case I'm interested in has something to do with a gypsy violinist."
Talk about the brush-off! Nancy is so intent on her mystery that she doesn't seem to hear what Ned is saying. Marjorie is the same way with her boyfriend, John Hadley. In this passage from page 39 in
The Girls Scouts on the Ranch, Marjorie is indifferent to how John feels:
John regarded her intently, wishing that he might believe that she was as keenly disappointed as he was because they were not to be able to spend the vacation together. But no; she certainly did not appear heart-broken.
"You're not sorry, though," he said, somewhat bitterly. "The whole thing suits you exactly."
"It would be a lie to say it didn't," laughed Marjorie, good-naturedly. "You know how I adore that sort of thing."
"Marjorie," he pursued, "do you think that—that—" he hesitated, as if he did not know how to put his thought—"that sports, and Girl Scouts, and things like that, will always come first with you?"
Marjorie's indifference to men is also referenced on page 147 in
The Girl Scouts on the Ranch:
"There's another point we have in common," remarked Kirk Smith, who had been riding behind Marjorie.
"Another?" repeated the girl, unaware that she had anything in common with this strange young man.
"Yes, you seem to share my desire in trying to avoid the members of the opposite sex."
Marjorie laughed.
"I don't try to avoid anybody," she said. "But I also don't run after anybody."
"A very good rule," observed the young man, approvingly.
Marjorie is not purposely aloof. She is very involved in many activities, which causes her to have little time for frivolity. She pays little attention to the opposite sex because she is kept busy with the Girl Scouts and trying to help others. Marjorie also pays little attention to other girls who might try to win her favor. In the first book in the series,
The Girl Scouts at Miss Allen's School, Marjorie receives an invitation into the exclusive sorority because of her aloofness. The sorority girls decide to choose the one girl who is not trying to gain the approval of the sorority, as though they want to conquer the one girl who is unreachable.
Marjorie is loved by all of the other girls as sort of an ideal. On page 62 of
The Girl Scouts' Rivals, Marjorie is described as follows:
The girls admired their leader tremendously; she was the most popular, the most respected girl in the troop.
Marjorie is exactly what Nancy Drew would be if she were a Girl Scout.
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