Yes, I'd guess Forest herself was a bit conflicted and that reflects in the books. One thing I notice is that she's generally quite hostile to upper class non-working women (with the partial exception of Mrs M) and I would guess she has her reasons for that. At the same time she's obviously not exactly a feminist by any definition either. In a way the Marlow sisters do have that acting like boys because boys are better thing, just like Enid Blyton's George.
One character I do find interesting in these earlier books is Peter. He's got a lot more fears and insecurities early on than the later books, and it seems to me that he's in some ways as much a victim of the Marlow way of doing things as Rowan - signed up to the navy at such an early age, which would have suited Nicola perfectly, but perhaps not Peter. I think though that the implication is that he'll overcome these doubts and end up just as successful a navy type as Giles and Capt Marlow. But it makes him a much more sympathetic character.
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2014-07-27 05:34 pm (UTC)One character I do find interesting in these earlier books is Peter. He's got a lot more fears and insecurities early on than the later books, and it seems to me that he's in some ways as much a victim of the Marlow way of doing things as Rowan - signed up to the navy at such an early age, which would have suited Nicola perfectly, but perhaps not Peter. I think though that the implication is that he'll overcome these doubts and end up just as successful a navy type as Giles and Capt Marlow. But it makes him a much more sympathetic character.