Mary Marie

by Eleanor H. Porter

With Illustrations by Helen Mason Grose

Genres: Fiction, Classics, Historical Fiction, Childrens, Historical, Juvenile

Paperback

First published November 8, 1920

About the author

Eleanor Emily Hodgman Porter (December 19, 1868 – May 21, 1920) was an American novelist. She was born as Eleanor Emily Hodgman in Littleton, New Hampshire on December 19, 1868, the daughter of Llewella French (née Woolson) and Francis Fletcher Hodgman. She was trained as a singer, attending New England Conservatory for several years. In 1892, she married John Lyman Porter and relocated to Massachusetts, after which she began writing and publishing her short stories and later novels. She died in Cambridge, Massachusetts on May 21, 1920 and was buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery.

Reviews

[Leonie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short novel from 1920 about divorce. The narrator is an exuberant, indiscreet teenage girl who is excited by the novelty of her parents' divorce and is keen to scrutinise everything to do with it. Obviously, this "Isn't divorce fun?" stuff isn't intended to wear long. It's a think-of-the-children book, but Porter isn't too glib and issue-y and gives things an appearance of unfolding naturally. It ends with an adult Marie contemplating her own divorce, which I wasn't expecting. It's a nice fun read.

[Orinoco Womble (tidy bag and all) · Rating 1 out of 5]

Eeeecccchhh.
Bleeeaaaah.

I had already read the Pollyanna stories before I picked this up, so I knew enough to expect sentimental toshery. But this!

I also knew that in 1920 (the last year of Porter's life, as it happens), divorce was a scandal and a byword. But still! If a couple has been miserable for 10 years, I doubt they will see the error of their ways in less than one by dragging in the old trope of "the charming kiddie brings them back together" (how old is that idea, anyway?)

I think I started to read this several years back. I know I never finished it, and now I can see why. I despise women authors who put the entire onus of keeping their marriage happy on the woman--from Mary's mother moaning "It was all my fault, if only I had done differently" and being suitably rewarded by reinstatement in the marriage that made her life a misery for a decade; no matter, she's learned her lesson and it's all lovely now that she knows her place!--to that same mother sermonising her daughter on how she knows Mary Marie will never leave her husband "for the baby's sake."

Oh, lord.

Like that's a good idea.
Like kids don't know when their parents hate each other.
We do.
My parents almost separated when I was about 16, and how I wish they had! My life would have been very different--I probably wouldn't have been able to go to college--but the constant bickering and needling would have stopped. I might not have had a nervous breakdown when I was 17.

I remember when a friend told her six year old daughter, "Mummy and Daddy are going to separate."
The child looked up and said, "More than now?"

I don't know why I felt it incumbent upon me to finish this, but I did, with some judicious skimming. I don't recommend it.

At all.

[D. Dorka · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fogalmazzunk úgy, hogy nagyon szépen tükrözi az 1920-as szemléletet a válásról. Ráadásul Porter önmagához és eddigi regényeihez híven azon a rózsaszínfelhős szívmelengetős módon közelíti a témát, ahogy eddig is mindent. Őszintén szólva az a bajom vele, hogy ez túl komoly téma, hogy elbagatellizáljuk azzal, hogy „jaj, hát nincs olyan házasság, amit ne lehetne megmenteni, csak figyelj oda a másikra, és minden (is) megoldódik.” Félreértés ne essék, a jelenlegi válási ráta elkeserítő. Ettől függetlenül vannak olyan házasságok, amiknek jobb, ha véget vetünk. Ám azt nehéz eldönteni, hogy mely házasságok ilyenek. Hát a könyv üzenete szerint persze egyik sem.

Az első 9 fejezetben Mary Marie naplóját olvassuk gyakorlatilag. A kezdeti pontban megtudjuk, hogy a szülők válnak, aminek a lány végül is örül, hiszen sosem látta a szüleit rendesen működni házastársakként, még a leányzó nevében sem sikerült megegyezniük, és mennyi izgalom van abban, hogy fél évet az anyukájánál van, félévet meg az apukájánál. Egyik részről borzasztóan szemforgatós ez a bevezetés, másik részről direkt ilyen. Ezek után a fejezetek során végignézzük, hogy milyen Marie-nak az édesanyjával, és Mary-nek az édesapjával, illetve nagynénjével, Aunt Jane-nel. A kislány, aki egyébként 15 éves, úgyhogy nem is annyira kislány, szerintem túl gyerekesen viselkedik a korához képest, és tulajdonképpen közel zéró szociális érzéke van. Ami a könyvben cukinak van eladva, engem viszont rémesen idegesített. A nagy újság mindig az volt, hogy a melyik szülőjének éppen kicsoda van a láthatáron mint lehetséges új férj/feleség. Persze mindegyik csődöt mond. De legalább ugyanazt a sémát egy könyvön belül megint sikerült Porternek többször is ellőnie, micsoda kreativitás. Ez a nem szakmai szempontból kettős személyiség (Mary Marie) is olyan furcsa írói húzás szerintem. Egyik részről valid, mert a gyerek meg akar felelni a szüleinek, és láthatóan ehhez két egészen más személyiséget kell felépítenie. Nem kóros szinten, inkább csak pontosan tudja, mit kell csinálni, hogy az épp aktuális szülőjét boldoggá tegye. De ez a részleges disszociáció a végén visszatér, bár ennyire még nem szaladnék előre. Szóval az már elég egyértelműen kiderül a fejezetek előrehaladtával, hogy a szülők újra egymásra fognak találni, amit szépen meg is tesznek, némileg lányuk asszisztálásával. És a leányzó kettős személyisége gyakorlatilag fuzionál ez idő alatt.

Azt hittem, ezen a ponton lesz vége a könyvnek, és talán jobb is lett volna. De van még a történethez egy coda, bónusz fejezet. Amelyben éppen Mary Marie készül válni a férjétől (aztán persze mégse, hiszen már lelőttem a fő üzenetet). Itt az a végkonklúzió, hogy valójában ő a hibás azért, hogy a házassága romokban hever, mert ismerkedésük és házasságuk eleje alatt Marie volt, majd a baba érkeztével Mary lett, és ezzel aligha tudott mit kezdeni a férje. Én pedig csak pislogtam, hogy ez most komoly? Mármint alapvető emberi intelligencia, hogy odafigyelek magamra és a páromra is. Másrészt viszont ez nem egy realista regény. Nem tudjuk, valójában milyen Mary Marie (akit a férje Molly-nak hív, wtf?!), nem tudjuk, milyen a férje, nem tudjuk, mi nem működik a házasságukban – de azért ezt a megoldást sikerült valahogy kiókumlálni. Ám legyen.

Összességében ez a könyv most kicsit megviselt, azt hiszem, telítődtem Porter stílusával. Pedig a Pollyanna eredeti két kötetét akartam ezután meghallgatni. Az első kötet, ami magyarul Az élet játéka címen jelent meg kiskamaszkorom egyik kedvence. Őszintén, ezek után nagyon félek újra meghallgatni. Mert legjobb esetben is elmenne, de messze nem tudnám már azzal a rajongással szeretni, mint 12 évesen.

[Mela · Rating 4 out of 5]

A few points (messages) in this story are even nowadays valid (sadly), taboo topics, stigmatization, intolerance for deviating from the norm, also stages of adolescence.

But I don't agree with the main, that a divorce is always wrong because of children. The examples of marriage troubles in the book were worth solving, but sometimes it isn't so simple.

I am sure, such a novel was needed for (especially) young readers in the first half of the XX century. Today, most young readers would find it probably sentimental or boring, but I like to read from time to time such lovely (in a way simple) stories.

I have been listening to an audiobook from LibriVox. I regretted that Sunni West read only a few first chapters. She was great as a Mary/Marie. Lynne T wasn't bad, but after Sunni West, she sounded rather flat.

[3.5 stars]

[Anete Ābola · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is from the author of Pollyanna, and it has been a joy. I really enjoy the youthful diary style. Mary Marie is 13-16 years old here, and the last chapter is about when she is 28.

[Kristy Halseth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been looking for this book for over 20 years. Maybe a little longer. I read it as a child. One of my friend's parents had a box of books from their grandmother. So pretty much everything in the box had been published in the late 1800's to the early 1900's. This was one of the books. Many of those books were still using the ae combo that was written as a single, linked, character. I even got to read a copy of Rose in Bloom in which most of the nouns were capitalized much in the German style. So I guess that, at one point, this was not unknown in English publishing.

I remember that I liked the book very much. It is about a young girl who goes back and forth between her divorced parents. It is about how that divorce impacted her life. Seeing how it was written in a time when divorce was REALLY frowned upon, it is (or rather was at the time I read it) current. Now it might not be so current. But in the early 80's, it seemed so. Now days, the concept that maybe you should try to give the marriage yet another chance for the sake of the children is not the trending ideal. But in the 80's, they still weren't sure which was worse, two miserable parents or divorced parents who were better off apart. If you set aside that debate, it is still a good representation of how two parents who disagree on everything about their child effects the child herself.

I can't remember when I read it so I'm using a random date from when I lived next door to the person who owned the book. Since it is free online, I've put it on my Kindle to reread it.

[Abigail Rasmussen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written by the same author as the well known book Pollyanna, Mary Marie is the story of a 13 year girl. Not being able to agree on a name, her mother calls her Marie, and her father calls her Mary.

The story opens with the separation and divorce of Mary Marie's parents and the arrangement that she lives with mother for 6 months and then with father for 6 months.

Her young life is filled with turmoil for while living with mother this young girl is Marie, who is lively, happy, and energetic. Living with father she is Mary, a prim and proper girl who must act like a lady.

Written in the form of Mary Marie's journal, we struggle with the child of divorced parents trying to lead two lives. As she is striving to please each parent, she comes to realize they still love each other and works hard to bring about a reunion.

Simply told from a child's perspective, this book teaches many lessons about marriage and how two people must continually work at their relationship.

I listened to this book on audio read by Sunni and Lynnet: http://librivox.org/ymary-marie-by-el...

[Marisa Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cute book. It took me back in time.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating look at divorce and the effects of divorce on children - both short term and long term.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

originally published in 1920

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very interesting take on the way divorce affects children. I do enjoy Eleanor H. Porter's imaginative writings.

[Daniel Gomes · Rating 2 out of 5]

Comecei a ler o livro em inglês mesmo, já que não tem edição traduzida para o português. Embora eu quase não entenda nada de inglês, mas estou usando um tradutor. O último romance escrito por Eleanor Porter, autora de Pollyanna, antes de sua morte em 1920. Mary Marie é um romance que trata do divórcio pela visão de uma menina, os pais de Mary estão se separando, e vão se divorciar então ela começa a escrever um diário analisando o divórcio de seus pais. O pai de mary a chamava de Mary, enquanto a mãe a chamava de Marie, por isso esse título do livro, achei isso uma idiotice, bastava colocar só maria mesmo. Senti uma dificuldade paa ler o romance, a história é bem antiga e cheia de termos estranhos. Eu li esse livro porque quando acabei de ler Pollyanna e Pollyanna Moça, me deu uma vontade de conhecer as outras obras da autora, mas nenhuma delas foi traduzida para a minha língua, comecei a ler a série Miss billy, mas parei. Então peguei o último romance da autora, e já se nota que as histórias da Eleanor quase sempre seguem o mesmo modelo e nunca inovam, sempre têm órfãos, tias e tios amargurados e parentes desaparecidos. Agora entendo porque ela não fez muito sucesso, não há inovação nas suas obras, algumas cenas são repetidas em diversos livros, sempre há uma órfã que vai morar na casa dos tios. Mary marie foge um pouco a essa regra, há uma criança e seus pais que se separam, mas não há órfãos nem tias amarguradas.

[Joelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful meaningful and entertaining book about a young girl and the effect of her parents divorce set in the 1920’s (I assume it ends in that timeframe from what I can tell, beginning in 1912?) when divorces were extremely common and very worrisome to many living amongst it. I wasn’t sure how this book would be written but it was very sad and sweet and practical. Anne Hancock narrated it well as usual!

[Jean Kruft · Rating 4 out of 5]

Diary

A diary of a child whose parents divorced. Delightfully done,and an unexpected twist/ at the end. I'm glad I read this book.

[The Daydreamologist · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book.

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad, not great. We discuss it in depth on our podcast and each of us gave it a middle of the road rating.

https://redcircle.com/shows/gutenberg...

[Aleena Grosjean · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite, so far, of the Porter collection. Interesting look at divorce from a child's perspective and what she learned from her parents. GREAT ending!!!!

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A well-written, engaging book, but essentially an anti-divorce tract for women because “think of the children.”

[Patricia Koerner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first borrowed this book from my great-aunt's personal library when I was about 12 or so. I lost myself in the story of Mary/Marie, a girl about my own age shuttled between divorced parents who lived vastly different lifestyles.
Years later, when I was an adult, my aunt gifted me this book, along with some others from her collection. It wasn't until I reread Mary/Marie that I caught on to the more adult themes of the story concerning the ending of a marriage and its effect on the children involved. It was tricky territory to navigate then, as now, and Ms. Porter does an admirable job.

[Jackie H · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s always interesting to see how other people interpret or critique a book that I actually liked. I will start by saying, this wasn’t the most gripping or interesting thing I have read. I did find myself, however, getting attached to the characters and feeling the heartache of the mother and father. As the story progresses, the reader can read into the fact that Mary’s parents do still love each other. Mary-Marie is there in the moment. She can only see (what I perceive as) the masks that they wear, due to pride. It’s been over a year since I read this but I seem to recall that the father’s overbearing sister was part of the problem. Even though the mother has suitors, I don’t think she really wanted to move on from her husband. I’m sure at that time women felt they needed to remarry for stability. The author did a good job at showing, subtly, the father’s heartache when he learns his wife might be moving on. She was also able to translate how difficult it is for a child, forced to live in two very different households, to adapt. The way Mary was treated by her peers at one point really broke my heart. In the end, I felt that this was actually a love story about two parents, told through the eyes of a child. Unlike other readers, I didn’t feel like they were only doing it for their daughter. The book left me feeling happy for them.

[Mary Grace McGeehan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Her nerdy astronomer father wanted to name her Mary. Her free-spirited mother wanted to name her Marie. So each one calls her by his/her preferred name, and everyone else calls her Mary Marie. Then the parents divorce, and MM has to spend half the year being sober Mary and half the year being jolly Marie. Great concept; not so great execution. The book, which is in diary form, struck me as less funny knock-off of Mary Roberts Rinehart’s 1917 Bab: A Sub-Deb. Mary Marie goes from her early to mid-teens over the course of the book, but, except during a bout of Bab-like boy-craziness early on that’s dropped abruptly, she sounds more like a pre-teen. “When we got to Andersonville, and the train rolled into the station, I 'most forgot, for a minute, and ran down the aisle, so as to get out quick,” MM says about one of her Marie-to-Mary transitions. (Maybe the author of "Pollyanna" was stuck in eleven-year-old mode.) All the shuttling between Boston and Andersonville and being Mary and being Marie got monotonous. “Aren’t you, like, twenty-five by now?” I asked as MM got on yet another train. I could see from the beginning where it was all going, although admittedly I had an advantage over 1920 readers who hadn’t seen "The Parent Trap."