From: Nina Lindsay <nlindsay>
Date: Tue, 22 Aug 1995 07:51:00 -600

To add on to Katy's recent comments about what a good job Mahy does in letting us know just how risky Laura's changeover is: another example of this is Sorry's warning to Laura that the Carlisles have their own reasons for wanting to do this changeover as well. This ties into the "trustworthiness" of these adult characters, and into the issue of the parent-child relationship. In choosing to
"changeover", Laura makes a decision that distances herself from her own parents (a metaphorical "growing up"), and which takes the control of the situation away from the Carlisles. I think the admission that parents can have their own reasons for doing things is wonderful here. Laura's decision is one that takes into account not only an understanding of herself, but an understanding of the adults in parent-roles around her -- an understanding of them as individuals apart from her. This symbolizes the critical change in a parent-child relationship.

Nina Lindsay Student--School of Library & Info. Studies UW Madison nlindsay at mail.soemadison.wisc.edu
Received on Tue 22 Aug 1995 08:51:00 AM CDT