Dear Enemy (novel)

Last updated
Dear Enemy
Dear Enemy (novel).jpg
Author Jean Webster
GenreYoung Adult
Publication date
1915
Preceded by Daddy-Long-Legs  

Dear Enemy is the 1915 sequel to Jean Webster's 1912 novel Daddy-Long-Legs . It was among the top 10 best sellers in the U.S. in 1916. [1] The story is presented in a series of letters written by Sallie McBride, Judy Abbott's classmate and best friend in Daddy-Long-Legs. Among the recipients of the letters are Judy; Jervis Pendleton, Judy's husband and the president of the orphanage where Sallie is filling in until a new superintendent can be installed; Gordon Hallock, a wealthy Congressman and Sallie's later fiancé; and the orphanage's doctor, embittered Scotsman Robin 'Sandy' MacRae (to whom Sallie addresses her letters: "Dear Enemy"). Webster employs the epistolary structure to good effect; Sallie's choices of what to recount to each of her correspondents reveal a lot about her relationships with them.

Contents

Plot introduction

As Daddy-Long-Legs traced Judy Abbott's growth from a young girl into an adult, Dear Enemy shows how Sallie McBride grows from a frivolous socialite to a mature woman and an able executive. It also follows the development of Sallie's relationships with Gordon Hallock, a wealthy politician, and Dr. Robin MacRae, the orphanage's physician. Both relationships are affected by Sallie's initial reluctance to commit herself to her job, and by her gradual realization of how happy the work makes her and how incomplete she'd feel without it. The daily calamities and triumphs of an orphanage superintendent are wittily described, often accompanied by the author's own stick-figure illustrations.

Major themes

The novel is set in rural Dutchess County, New York, early in the 20th century. It examines a number of social issues: how to care for orphans (and for children in general), divorce, and the value of women's work. (The latter is a natural extension of the theme of women's education in Daddy-Long-Legs.) While volunteer work by women is widely accepted, women working in responsible positions for pay is still viewed with some hostility by some characters, such as Gordon Hallock, Sallie's friend and later fiancé, and the Honorable Cyrus Wykoff, a trustee of the John Grier Home. The Hon. Cy (as Sallie calls him) objects to the JGH paying a salary to Betsy, Sallie's assistant: "She's a woman, and her family ought to support her."

Though the Hon. Cy makes it clear that he thinks Sallie is frivolous and unsuited to superintend an orphanage, Sallie is so devoted to the orphans' well-being that she turns even her social life—explicitly criticized by the Hon. Cy—into an opportunity to further her cause, recruiting volunteers, benefactors, and foster parents at dinner parties and afternoon teas.

Webster also deals with women's life choices in a more subtle fashion. She contrasts the miserable marriage of Sallie's friend Helen with Sallie's fruitful life as she devotes herself to the demanding and strenuous task of running an orphanage. Sallie considers Judy Abbott, who married soon after completing college, an anomaly for her remarkably successful marriage with Jervis. Divorced from her unsuitable husband, Helen ultimately finds happiness in joining Sallie's cause at the orphanage, applying herself to work for the public good.

Socialism applied to charitable causes is an underlying theme; the John Grier Home couldn't survive without the beneficence of the trustees and community. The novel also deals with the evolving ideas about how best to care for orphans at the turn of the century, with the institution-style establishments falling out of favor, in light of the modern 'cottage' approach. Care for the children's emotional and spiritual needs is considered paramount, as Sallie works with Dr. MacRae, Judy, and Jervis to enact her reforms. The reasons these are necessary at the John Grier Home is clearly outlined in the first novel, in Judy's miserable recollections of her old home.

Concerns with the hereditary origins of 'feeble-mindedness' and alcoholism are expressed by Dr. MacRae and by Sallie. The doctor's anxieties prove to have an underlying basis in his experience, which is revealed towards the end of the novel. Although the themes are intense, the author generally deals with them in an amusing and light-hearted fashion.

Other media

Dear Enemy was made into a seven-part ITV serial in 1981. [2] [3] with Vanessa Knox-Mower as Sallie McBride and Patrick Malahide as Dr. MacRae. [4]

Unlike Daddy-Long-Legs which received two anime adaptations in the 70s (Manga Sekai Mukashi Banashi) and 90s (My Daddy Long Legs) there has not been an animated adaptations in cartoons of this sequel.

Related Research Articles

<i>Annie</i> (musical) Broadway musical

Annie is a musical with music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin, and a book by Thomas Meehan. It is based on the 1924 comic strip Little Orphan Annie by Harold Gray. The original Broadway production opened in 1977 and ran for nearly six years, setting a record for the Alvin Theatre. It spawned numerous productions in many countries, as well as national tours, and won seven Tony Awards, including for Best Musical. The musical's songs "Tomorrow" and "It's the Hard Knock Life" are among its most popular musical numbers.

<i>Daddy Long Legs</i> (1955 film) 1955 film by Jean Negulesco

Daddy Long Legs (1955) is a musical comedy film set in France, New York City, and the fictional college town of Walston, Massachusetts. The film was directed by Jean Negulesco, and stars Fred Astaire, Leslie Caron, Terry Moore, Fred Clark, and Thelma Ritter, with music and lyrics by Johnny Mercer. The screenplay was written by Phoebe Ephron and Henry Ephron, loosely based on the 1912 novel Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster.

Jackie Diamond Hyman is an American writer and former Associated Press reporter and columnist. Since 1982, she has written more than ninety novels in genres including romance, horror, fantasy and mystery under the pen names Jacqueline Diamond, Jacqueline Topaz, Jacqueline Jade, Jackie Hyman, and Jackie Diamond Hyman.

<i>Daddy-Long-Legs</i> (novel) 1912 epistolary novel by Jean Webster

Daddy-Long-Legs is a 1912 epistolary novel by the American writer Jean Webster. It follows the protagonist, Jerusha "Judy" Abbott, as she leaves an orphanage and is sent to college by a benefactor whom she has never seen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean Webster</span> American novelist

Jean Webster was the pen name of Alice Jane Chandler Webster, an American author whose books include Daddy-Long-Legs and Dear Enemy. Her best-known books feature lively and likeable young female protagonists who come of age intellectually, morally, and socially, but with enough humor, snappy dialogue, and gently biting social commentary to make her books palatable and enjoyable to contemporary readers.

<i>Daddy-Long-Legs</i> (1919 film) 1919 film

Daddy-Long-Legs is a 1919 American silent comedy-drama film directed by Marshall Neilan, and based on Jean Webster's 1912 novel Daddy-Long-Legs. The film stars Mary Pickford.

Cathy Gillen Thacker is an American author of over seventy romance novels.

Megan McGinnis is an American Broadway actress, who performed in the role of Éponine, in the revival of Les Misérables. She created the role of Jerusha Abbott in the Off-Broadway production of Daddy Long Legs. She played Belle in Beauty and the Beast

Dear Enemy may refer to:

<i>My Daddy Long Legs</i> 1990 Japanese animated television series

My Daddy Long Legs is a Japanese animated television series based on the novel Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gaiety Theatre (New York City)</span> Former theatre in Manhattan, New York

The Gaiety Theatre was a Broadway theatre at 1547 Broadway in Times Square, Manhattan, New York City from 1909 until 1982, when it was torn down.

<i>Daddy Long Legs</i> (1931 film) 1931 film

Daddy Long Legs (1931) is an American pre-Code film directed by Alfred Santell and starring Janet Gaynor and Warner Baxter. The story involves an orphan who is taken under the wing of a wealthy benefactor.

<i>Daddy Long Legs</i> (1938 film) 1938 film

Daddy Long Legs or Vadertje Langbeen is a 1938 Dutch romantic comedy film directed by Frederic Zelnik, based on Jean Webster's 1912 novel of the same name - one of several adaptations of that book.

<i>Anokha Rishta</i> 1986 film by I. V. Sasi

Anokha Rishta is a 1986 Indian Hindi film, directed by prominent Malayalam director I.V. Sasi, written by Rahi Masoom Raza, and starring Rajesh Khanna in the lead, supported by Smita Patil, Sabeeha, Tanuja, Shafi Inamdar, Satish Shah and Karan Shah. A remake of the director's own 1984 Malayalam film Kanamarayathu starring Mammootty, the story revolves around three characters played by Rajesh Khanna, Smita Patil and Sabeeha. The original film was written by prominent Malayalam writer P. Padmarajan and was loosely based on Jean Webster's 1919 novel Daddy-Long-Legs. Anokha Rishta was the debut of Sabeeha, the daughter of actress Ameeta. The movie did average business on its release and recovered its costs. 20 years later same theme was seen in Nishabd and Cheeni Kum.

<i>Kanamarayathu</i> 1984 Indian film

Kanamarayathu is a 1984 Malayalam film written by Padmarajan and directed by I. V. Sasi. It stars Mammootty, Shobhana, Rahman, Lalu Alex, and Seema. The story was an adaptation of the 1912 novel Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster. This film won Kerala State Film Awards for the Best Story (Padmarajan), Best Music Director (Shyam), and Best Female Singer.

<i>Daddy Long Legs</i> (musical) 2007 musical by Paul Gordon and John Caird

Daddy Long Legs is a stage musical with a book by John Caird, and music and lyrics by Paul Gordon. It is based on the 1912 novel of the same name by Jean Webster. Set in turn-of-the-century New England, the musical tells the story of orphan Jerusha Abbott of the John Grier Home and her mysterious benefactor who agrees to send her to college, who she dubs "Daddy Long Legs" after seeing his elongated shadow. Under the conditions of her benefactor, Jerusha sends him a letter once a month, describing her new-found experiences with life outside the orphanage.

Detective Sergeant/Detective Inspector Logan "Lazarus" McRae is the protagonist of a series of detective novels by Scottish crime writer Stuart MacBride, first introduced in 2005's Cold Granite. He is an officer of the Aberdeen police force.

<i>Love from Judy</i> British musicals

Love from Judy is a musical with music by Hugh Martin, lyrics by Martin and Jack Gray, and a book by Eric Maschwitz and Jean Webster. It is based on Webster's novel and play Daddy-Long-Legs. The original production opened in Coventry in 1951 and then moved to the Saville Theatre on the West End and opened on September 25, 1952. The production was also televised in 1953.

Daddy-Long-Legs is a 1914 play by the American writer Jean Webster. Webster adapted it from her own 1912 epistolary novel Daddy-Long-Legs.

References

  1. ↑ Keely, Karen (Sep 2004). "Teaching Eugenics to Children:Heredity and Reform in Jean Webster's Daddy-Long-Legs and Dear Enemy". The Lion and the Unicorn. 28 (3): 363–389. doi:10.1353/uni.2004.0032. S2CID   143332948.
  2. ↑ Simpson, Alan; Mary Simpson; Ralph Connor (1984). Jean Webster: Storyteller. Poughkeepsie: Tymor Associate. B0006EFCTE Library of Congress Catalog Number 84-50869.
  3. ↑ "Dear Enemy (TV series) (1981)". Archived from the original on 2010-01-21. Retrieved 2013-07-04.
  4. ↑ "The Enemy (1981)". Archived from the original on 2009-05-28.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.