tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7157530669780468545.post3927988914396313987..comments2024-03-21T21:37:03.772-05:00Comments on Series Books for Girls: Gender Inequality in the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys BooksJennifer Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10405593758228423001noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7157530669780468545.post-90158725932436559062020-11-19T22:29:34.934-06:002020-11-19T22:29:34.934-06:00This post is several years old, and I'll admit...This post is several years old, and I'll admit I haven't read the Nancy Drew Diaries or whatever they're called, but I do have my own suspicions as to what Simon & Schuster has been doing wrong with Nancy since the beginning of the century (at least).<br /><br />The problem, I think, is that Simon & Schuster seems determined to make sure that Nancy is "relatable," i.e., a normal girl, which is exactly opposite what Nancy's appeal should be. Nancy Drew is not relatable; she's not a normal girl. I would argue that Nancy's original appeal, way back in the 30's and 40's, was that readers were supposed to want her to be her friend, or more specifically, have her as their friend. Nancy had the independence, the car, the money, that readers of the time didn't have. Later on, in the 50's, 60's, and 70's, readers began to self-insert themselves into the stories as Nancy. I argue that Harriett Adams was attempting to write Nancy as a role model of female perfection, a perfect paragon of proper young ladyship, but the actual effect on the readers was for them to see themselves as Nancy. She's an avatar, a heroine, someone who can do literally anything at any time.<br /><br />Starting in the 80's, Nancy became a character, someone with clearly defined character traits and a sharply drawn personality. She became much more interested in boys. The latchkey generation of the 80's and 90's was in a hurry to grow up fast, so both Nancy and the Hardys acted much more like young adults than teenagers in these decades. Around 2000 or shortly thereafter our culture put the brakes on wanting our kids to grow up fast, and we've since entered a state of extended childhood. I believe the juvenile nature of Nancy Drew today reflects that.<br /><br />Nancy's editors today seem to think that writing the character as she had been in the 30's through the 80's--i.e., an avatar, a role model, a heroine--would make her unpopular with readers, so they feel compelled to heap up flaws on her in order to make her relatable. The switch to first-person narration goes along with this. I believe the thought is that girls don't want to read a first-person narrator who's seen as "perfect," so it's important to make sure Nancy is humbled. The avatar nature of Nancy has been transferred to the video games, where she is an actual avatar for the player. Book-Nancy has been made someone that the readers aren't supposed to be jealous of.<br /><br />That's my take on the situation. Again, though, I'll admit I haven't read much of the 21st century Nancy Drew output.ADFhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06337583912789164893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7157530669780468545.post-90460560127115249892017-03-30T01:26:36.907-05:002017-03-30T01:26:36.907-05:00There are a lot of things wrong about the current ...There are a lot of things wrong about the current Nancy Drew Diaries and Hardy Boys Adventures series including, as you mentioned, the extraordinary number of stories that involve sabotage of some sort. A friend and I talk about each new book as it comes out and we've had a chance to read it. We both enjoyed the latest Hardy adventure, "Attack of the Bayport Beast," but have to wonder why the story was so short -- a novella totaling 106 pages -- when there were so many things in the book that could have been elaborated upon for a more interesting reading experience. I have to wonder also if Simon & Schuster believes they're fooling anyone with the difference in font size in the Hardy and Drew books. "Riverboat Roulette" is listed as being 176 pages (but that includes any front and back matter); however, based on the font size, which is probably 50% larger than the font used in the Hardy Boys Adventures, there is approximately 120 pages of story.<br /><br />Know what else I wonder? Why people consider the first 56 Drews and 58 Hardys as the official canon, and the "classic" series, when the Stratemeyer Syndicate was responsible for volumes published under the Wanderer imprint of Pocket Books/Simon & Schuster? (An answer I've heard places the "blame" on the new ghostwriters hired to write the additional output, but regardless of her own press, Harriet Stratemeyer Adams did NOT write every Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys adventure.) I wonder about the tonal shift in the Nancy Drew books after the original text of "Crumbling Wall." Was it just post-war optimism, or did Grosset & Dunlap ask for a gentler Nancy? There was, of course another tonal shift -- and an even more genteel Nancy -- with the change from 25-chapter to 20-chapter volumes after "The Hidden Window Mystery," but that was when HSA began writing the Nancy Drew series exclusively and Nancy became practically perfect in every way. I wonder why Frank and Joe's good friends, Chet, Biff, Tony, and the rest, haven't appeared much (if any) after the ending of the original Hardy Boys series, and why Burt and Dave disappeared from the Nancy Drew series in the '80s prior to the launch of the Nancy Drew Files and the continuation of the Nancy Drew digests. (A Dave Evans appeared in a couple of the Files but he wasn't a former boyfriend of Bess's.) I also wonder why I wonder about so much. :-)<br /><br />Interesting blog, by the way.Kevinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12137701960852470073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7157530669780468545.post-30314759875897304462016-11-21T09:42:07.031-06:002016-11-21T09:42:07.031-06:00Fascinating observations!Fascinating observations!Claudia MBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16129174274991976727noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7157530669780468545.post-12989342554286953592016-11-21T08:34:39.497-06:002016-11-21T08:34:39.497-06:00Once again, great observations. Nancy is no longer...Once again, great observations. Nancy is no longer a strong role model. This would not be tolerated if Marvel or DC comics decided Batman or Superman is too perfect, and dumbed them down. I wish you could communicate your findings to the current editors at Simon and Schuster (their contact information is found at the Library of Congress site, search under author then the MARC information will give email and phone). I don't think they realize the cultural significance and the history of these "properties". There is a way to bring them up-to-date while maintaining the core characteristics and principles of Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys. I too am enjoying the new Hardy Boys series. I've also given up on Nancy Drew and am hoping the replacement series is better (ND Diaries can't have a very long shelf life). CvilleTedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17833165348884891833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7157530669780468545.post-61591820882945270622016-11-20T21:51:06.334-06:002016-11-20T21:51:06.334-06:00You'd think it would be been the exact opposit...You'd think it would be been the exact opposite with all girls/women being the heroes saving themselves and not waiting for guys (even saving THEM on occasion!) - both in TV and in books! This is a shame! Think it started with Harriett Adams and went downhill from there! Girls who read these 'new' adventures will definitely get disgusted at what this weak, absent minded Nancy and that will be the end! Too bad!!! Listen up publishers!!!!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06774258975726573675noreply@blogger.com