Trashionista: HELEN'S HEROINES: George Kirrin

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January 15, 2008 12:21 PM

HELEN'S HEROINES: George Kirrin

I'm very excited to introduce a new series - Helen's Heroines - a weekly look at a fictional character much loved by our regular writer, Helen Redfern.

The Famous Five. Well known for lashings of ginger pop, middle class children roaming the countryside and in the eyes of modern society, for being slightly politically incorrect.

For me The Famous Five books stirred my sense of adventure and imagination. I quickly devoured them all.

The character that stood out for me, whom I aspired to be like as a young girl (and therefore was the first person I thought of for this series) was George. It is with respect to her that I won’t call her Georgina.

‘Rude’, ‘haughty’ and ‘a funny little girl’ are just some of the words used to describe George. And these by her own mother.

As an only child the first eleven years of her life were rather lonely until one summer holiday her cousins, Julian, Dick and Anne came to stay. She was rather prickly with them at first, but, due to the kindness they showed toward Timothy her dog and the way he took to them, she was convinced that they were jolly nice cousins and so began the first of many adventures for The Famous Five.

George was ahead of her time, defying the traditional gender stereotype. In this respect, the author, Enid Blyton, was also defying traditional gender roles as this is the character she once admitted was based upon herself. If George were around today she wouldn’t need to act like a boy in order to prove that she was smart, strong and self assured. Girls have these qualities without cutting their hair short or calling themselves by a boys name.

George had a huge impact on me. I’m not saying she made me an ardent feminist but I did realise I had choices. Reading about George I realised I could be strong and bright and confident too.

Even simple things like her refusal to be called Georgina. Her belief that she is better than a boy whether swimming, climbing or rowing. When Anne her cousin describes Timothy the dog she reveals something of George’s character. “He’s like George,” said Anne with a laugh. “He never gives up, whatever happens to him.”

She is headstrong, courageous and has a fiery temper. She is kind hearted and loyal. Once a friend she is always your friend. Sometimes though she can be foolish especially where Tim or her island is involved.

George Kirrin firmly believes she is ‘as good as any boy’. I have to disagree.

To me, she is far, far better and hopefully an inspiration to little girls for many more years to come.

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Posted by Keris on January 15, 2008 in Helen's Heroines | Permalink