OK, as far as I can tell, the message of Elsie Dinsmore is that it's your Christian duty to respect and obey your father, even if he's a sadistic abusive asshole.

I haven't read the book, but I'd bet it's paralleling the relationship you're supposed to have with your "Heavenly Father," as a Christian.

The message I'm taking, just from your comments so far, is "Down with the patriarchy! Boys are stupid, throw rocks at them!"

Every single other character in the book, child and adult, says that her father is a tyrant and cruel. Like, in one scene, at a party, a friend of her father's asks her to play the piano and sing something. Elsie says she's too shy, she can't play and sing in front of this many people. The friend says that he withdraws his request, she doesn't have to sing if it'll upset her that much, but then her father says that no, he orders her to play and sing as requested. She's crying so much that she can't see the music or get her voice out, and totally makes a mess of the playing and singing, and her father says that she's humiliated him by performing so badly in front of his guests and sends her to bed without dinner.

Oh, and her father is not a Christian and thinks that Christians are hypocrites, which is one of the reasons that he doesn't particularly like Elsie, because she is a Christian.

Calling Perkins: there are a few pictures of my obviously pregnant self up on Facebook. Not great ones -- for some reason my niece concentrated her efforts last weekend on the birthday girl and her cousins and not her old auntie.

YAY

OK, Elsie's "logic" is that, since the Bible says to obey your parents, disobeying her father is the same as disobeying God.

One of Elsie's friends tells Elsie that her father is horrible for not allowing her to come visit. Elsie says no, she can't let her friend say that, her father knows best. Her father overhears this and tells Elsie that he doesn't want her seeing this friend anymore, because the friend puts "bad notions" in Elsie's head.

You know, I used to think burning books was bad. I think I'm revising my stance on that with Elsie Dinsmore, though.

...really, it sounds like bad Snape fanfic.

Why is anyone supposed to like this character?

Because she's good. Her idiotic life as a drippy doormat inspires others to be good. I like to think her books served as camouflage for the dime novels the children were really reading.

If Jesus had behaved the way Elsie Dinsmore did, the Apostles would have all been standing around after his arrest saying, "Oh, thank god we won't have to deal with that spineless whiner anymore. Is there any more wine?"

FYI...for those who don't read LJ, I'm essentially going dark until after classes are done. I'm only allowing myself an hour of online time a day, so I doubt I will be able to check in here. Please send good calming and focusing thoughts. I have a lot on my plate.