"I think the emphasis on not showing emotions and the depiction of bullying are linked. Exposing your feelings does make you vulnerable to others who want to attack you in your 'weak spots' and Pomona does make things much worse for herself by stamping and crying. Pomona would have been bullied in any school, and it was entirely believable to me as a child, and now as an adult (and teacher). As adults we are horrified by how unfeeling the characters are towards Pomona but that's exactly what children are like. I think AF explores this later in the book with Marie after the guide expedition, and in End of Term when Nicola realises Tim doesn't like her, but those discussions are in the future!"
Upon first reading this, I found it interesting that Pomona is the subject of ongoing bullying rather than Marie. As I reread now, it strikes me that at the beginning of term when everyone is new to each other. Tim sees Pomona as a threat to her own social status in the class and quashes that quickly by starting the APL. I expect upon meeting Tim the first time, the other students sized her up, much as Nicola did, and thought it best not to have her as an enemy. So they joined the APL to save their own status.
It strikes me as very odd during this year in Third Remove that Marie is not bullied, but ignored--as though she doesn't exist. (and that's mentioned again at the end of EOT and in CT) It's a human need to be acknowledged. Whether she ever tried the more socially acceptable ways of getting attention and belonging to the group we don't know, but by the age of 12, we see that she whines, cries, tattles, butts in, laughs inappropriately, and so on. All of these breaking the cardinal rule of not showing emotions. Only Pomona puts up with her, but I never sensed that Pomona liked her.
![[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: 2014-06-01 01:18 pm (UTC)Upon first reading this, I found it interesting that Pomona is the subject of ongoing bullying rather than Marie. As I reread now, it strikes me that at the beginning of term when everyone is new to each other. Tim sees Pomona as a threat to her own social status in the class and quashes that quickly by starting the APL. I expect upon meeting Tim the first time, the other students sized her up, much as Nicola did, and thought it best not to have her as an enemy. So they joined the APL to save their own status.
It strikes me as very odd during this year in Third Remove that Marie is not bullied, but ignored--as though she doesn't exist. (and that's mentioned again at the end of EOT and in CT) It's a human need to be acknowledged. Whether she ever tried the more socially acceptable ways of getting attention and belonging to the group we don't know, but by the age of 12, we see that she whines, cries, tattles, butts in, laughs inappropriately, and so on. All of these breaking the cardinal rule of not showing emotions. Only Pomona puts up with her, but I never sensed that Pomona liked her.