Ann's Family Liking List

[smellingbottle.livejournal.com]

We hear quite a bit about what the other Marlows, especially Nicola,  think of Ann, but what does Ann, probably the most mysterious Marlow, really think of her siblings?

In Attic Term that she we're told she feels she should be with her sisters to offer sympathy and advice on all occasions, her over-helpfulness and willingness to sacrifice herself for her siblings is legendary (and largely unappreciated), but in what spirit? Duty? Christian charity? Genuine familial love, despite the lack of any signs of reciprocal affection? Why does she keep unpacking their trunks and taking their turns at washing up, even though it only seems to provoke irritation or be taken advantage of?

Would she have called the home if she had been in on the secret in Run Away Home, even if it was likely to land the others in trouble? Will she forgive them for not telling her? 

It sometimes strikes me she behaves in classic Eldest Daughter ways, although she isn't. (That thing she says about wondering about Charlotte Bronte suddenly finding herself the eldest after her elder sisters die always struck me as significant.)

Also, if Ann had a Family Liking List like Nicola does, how would she rank her siblings? Would the events of Run Away Home be likely to change anything? ETA assuming that Ann would allow herself do anything of the kind, of course...

Comments

[rosathome.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure she would never let herself have a Family Liking List but if she did, I think Nicola would be fairly much at the bottom of it, Giles and Karen quite high up, Peter and Ginty in the middle. Not sure what she makes of Lawrie.

[smellingbottle.livejournal.com]

It's Rowan's placement I wonder about, given that she's somtimes the one pleading Ann's cause, or at least explaining her to the others. But the Edward Oeschli plan wouldn't have happened without her, and I wonder whether Ann mightn't feel more betrayed by Rowan and Giles than the younger ones.

[rosathome.livejournal.com]

I'm not convinced Ann actually likes Rowan, even though Rowan does, as you say, make more of an effort to understand Ann than the others. So I think Rowan is probably near the bottom of the list anyway and definitely Edward Oeschli wouldn't have improved her position.

[nineveh-uk.livejournal.com]

I'd agree that Ann may not like Rowan, but I can imagine her having more respect for her than for Karen (sort or "Rowan has principles even if I don't agree"). On the other hand, unlike Nicola her Family Like List might not conflate like with respect.

[smellingbottle.livejournal.com]

Hmm, that could be true, given that she's apparently happy to allow her good nature to continue to be taken advantage of re chores, when surely she can see what's going on etc. I suppose that might translate into a list where the siblings who allow her to do things for them (Lawrie, mostly), rather than twitching with irritation (Nicola), or simply never displaying any kind of need or vulnerability (Rowan) would come to the top.