A Little Princess: Chapter 8

Summary

Storytime for Grownups – “A Little Princess: Chapter 8”

Host: Faith Moore
Episode Date: November 24, 2025

---

Episode Overview

In this episode of Storytime for Grownups, Faith Moore reads and discusses Chapter 8 of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s A Little Princess. As with each installment, Faith pauses at key moments to illuminate themes and provide context. This episode follows Sara’s fall from grace after her father’s death and explores the shifting nature of true “princessness,” offering a rich examination of the chapter’s parallels with the Cinderella fairy tale. Faith also engages with listener comments and shares ways to connect with the podcast community.

---

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The “Lock-In” Moment in Classic Literature (00:54–02:40)

• Faith discusses a recurring pattern in the novels covered on the podcast: a pivotal chapter (“the lock-in”) where the story’s tone and themes crystallize.
• Faith reflects: “It's in this chapter…that we kind of suddenly go, ‘Oh, okay, this is the book we’re in. This is what is going on here.’” (01:28)
• She draws parallels with key chapters from “Jane Eyre,” “Woman in White,” “Frankenstein,” and “Pride and Prejudice,” explaining how such moments clarify the deeper nature of the narrative.

2. Announcements and Community Building (02:48–09:30)

• Faith shares upcoming events and ways for listeners to connect:
  • Thanksgiving Family Livestream on Nov 28th with her father, Andrew Klavan, and brother, Spencer Klavan. Listeners can submit questions via a Google form. (03:57)
  • Victorian Christmas events: including a Christmas card exchange for members of the online Drawing Room community; details and deadlines provided. (05:39)
  • Book Promotion: Faith’s novel “Christmas Carol” (a Dickens retelling). Purchasing enters listeners into a prize drawing and entitles them to a personalized signed bookplate. (06:25)
  • Tea Time Discussion: December 2nd, an online group call for enhanced interaction with the community. (07:33)
  • Announcement: “Christmas Carol” ebook now available on platforms other than Amazon. (08:16)
• Tone: Warm, engaging, inclusive; Faith repeatedly invites listeners to participate and share in the sense of community.

3. Chapter 7 Recap and Listener Reactions (09:30–11:40)

• Faith recaps Sara’s devastating birthday: She learns from Mr. Barrow of her father’s death and financial ruin.
  • “Sara is now an orphan and as poor as a beggar. Ms. Minchin is enraged and she puts a stop to the birthday party…” (09:45)
• Listener Comment – Pam Shroud:
  • “‘What a heartbreaking and sudden change for Sara. And yet she is such a strong and kind person...her father would be proud of her.’” (11:01)
• Listener Comment – Christopher Mortensen:
  • “‘Her father is dead and he didn’t leave her a penny? Okay, I didn’t see that coming.’” (11:06)
  • Faith highlights the emotional whiplash and foreshadows the story’s moral direction.

4. Reframing A Little Princess as a Fairy Tale (11:40–16:19)

• Faith proposes reading the novel as a Cinderella story rather than strictly a “moral story,” drawing direct textual parallels with the Brothers Grimm’s “Ashputtel” (Cinderella).
  • Reads: “‘They took her beautiful clothes away from her, dressed her in an old gray smock and gave her wooden shoes…’” (13:42)
  • Faith: “But it could just as easily be a description of what just happened to Sara…” (14:05)
• Ms. Minchin is positioned as the “wicked stepmother”:
  • “The minute Sara proves to not be the asset that Ms. Minchin thought she was, Ms. Minchin becomes the wicked stepmother.” (16:34)
• The episode deepens the analysis:
  • “Princessness, fairy tale princessness anyway, exists regardless of what you have. That’s what Sara has been saying all along.” (15:10)
• Faith encourages listeners to observe and trace fairy-tale elements as the story progresses.

5. The Test of “Princessness” and Character (16:57–19:00)

• Faith zooms in on the heart of the test: Can Sara maintain her kindness, dignity, and fairy-tale “princessness” when all has been stripped away?
  • Key quote:
    • “A princess, a fairy tale princess, is still a princess…even when you're reduced to the lowest of the low socially.” (20:05)
• Sara and Becky’s dialogue underlines this:
  • Sara: “‘Just two little girls. You see how true it is. There’s no difference now. I’m not a princess anymore.’”
  • Becky: “‘Yes, Miss, you are. Whatsoever happens to you, whatsoever, you’d be a princess all the same.’” (21:35–21:48)

---

Chapter 8: “In the Attic” – Key Moments and Timestamps

a. Sara’s First Night in the Attic (23:08–24:25)

• “The first night she spent in her attic was a thing Sara never forgot…her mind was forcibly distracted…otherwise the anguish might have been too great.” (23:08–24:25)
• Sara’s overwhelming grief over her father’s death is powerfully described.
• The harshness of the attic, with rats and cold, further compounds her suffering.

b. The Transformation of Sara’s Status (24:28–30:42)

• Everything in Sara’s life changes overnight:
  • Her luxurious room is stripped and reassigned; her seat at Ms. Minchin’s table is given away.
  • New responsibilities: teaching younger students, errands, chores—treated poorly by staff and students alike.
  • Quote: “She worked like a drudge…was told she had better take her meals downstairs...her heart grew proud and sore. But she never told anyone what she felt.” (30:52–31:02)

c. Sara’s Relationships in Her New Life (31:02–38:10)

• Becky: Remains a quiet comfort, helping Sara with daily routines despite limited time and opportunity for conversation.
  • “Throughout all that first night…she had felt a vague comfort in knowing that on the other side of the wall…there was another young human creature.” (32:12)
• Ermengarde: Their friendship suffers—misunderstandings and social barriers arise as Ermengarde awkwardly encounters the changed Sara.
  • Their mutual hurt illustrated:
    • Ermengarde: “‘Why don’t you like me anymore?’”
    • Sara: “‘What do you think? Do you think I am very happy?’” (39:22–36:10, with flashback to earlier encounters)

d. Reconciliation and Imagination as Salvation (39:20–44:33)

• Ermengarde climbs to Sara’s attic to repair their friendship in a deeply emotional scene.
  • “‘I couldn’t bear it anymore…tonight when I was crying under the bedclothes, I thought all at once of creeping up here and just begging you to let us be friends again.’” (41:37–41:54)
• Sara’s resilience rekindles: she draws strength from imagination, proposing to “pretend” her suffering is like being in the Bastille.
  • “If I pretend it’s quite different, I can…Or if I pretend it is a place in a story...Other people have lived in worse places. Think of the Count of Monte Cristo…Think of the people in the Bastille.” (42:27–43:27)
• Ermengarde is captivated, and they forge a plan to meet in secret, with Sara promising to share new stories to brighten their difficult days.

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Cinderella Parallel

  • Faith: “I would like to put forward…the idea that it is, in fact, a fairy tale…A Little Princess is a Cinderella story.” (13:22–15:55)

• On Princessness Despite Hardship

  • Sara: “You are not kind. You are not kind and it is not a home, okay?” (21:11)
  • Becky: “‘Whatsoever happens to you, whatsoever, you’d be a princess all the same.’” (21:48)

• On Imagination as Escape

  • Sara: “If I pretend it’s quite different, I can…Or if I pretend it is a place in a story…Yes, I am a prisoner in the Bastille…Ms. Minchin is the jailer and Becky…Becky is the prisoner in the next cell.” (42:27–43:32)

• On Adversity

  • Sara: “Adversity tries people, and mine has tried you and proved how nice you are.” (44:33)

---

Important Segment Timestamps

• [00:54] – Discussion of pivotal “lock-in” chapters in classic literature
• [09:30] – Recap of Chapter 7 and listener letters
• [13:42] – Dramatic reading of the Cinderella (Ashputtel) parallel
• [21:11] – Sara’s assertion of self-worth and princessness
• [23:08] – Start of Chapter 8 reading (“In the Attic”)
• [32:12] – Becky’s small but meaningful acts of friendship
• [39:20] – Ermengarde and Sara’s reconciliation scene
• [42:27] – Sara’s imaginative reframing of her suffering
• [44:33] – Episode conclusion and affirmation of the importance of friendship through adversity

---

Tone & Style

• Faith’s tone is thoughtful, nurturing, and quietly passionate, guiding listeners with literary analysis that illuminates the psychological depth of the novel while also emphasizing warmth, kindness, and community.
• The language retains a narrative, intimate feel, inviting the audience to actively read between the lines and connect emotionally with Sara’s plight.

---

Summary Takeaways

This episode is a thoughtful, emotionally intelligent exploration of how A Little Princess transforms from a story of privilege into one about resilience, dignity, and self-definition in adversity. Faith Moore’s insights on fairy-tale motifs add rich interpretive layers, while her reading spotlights the nuanced relationships that sustain Sara through darkness. Listeners are left with an invitation—both to note Cinderella allusions in coming chapters and to engage in the podcast’s welcoming and supportive community.

Transcript

[A]

Hello and welcome to the Storytime for Grown Ups Christmas Spectacular. I'm Faith Moore and for the months of November and December, we'll be reading A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Each episode I'll read one chapter from the book, pausing from time to time to give brief explanations so it's easier to follow along. It's like an audiobook with built in notes. So gather your family together, brew a pot of tea or a mug of hot chocolate, find a cozy chair and settle in. It's story time.

[B]

Hi, everyone. Welcome back. Oh, that last chapter, it's so heartbreaking, isn't it?

[A]

You know, I was realizing, I was.

[B]

Thinking about this before and I was realizing that in every book that we've done, there is one chapter that I'm kind of always waiting to get to, this one chapter where I feel like suddenly the book kind of like locks in. Like you sort of realize, like, oh, that's what book we're in. Oh, that's what's going on. I mean, I'm not going to spoil it if you haven't listened to all of the books that we've read so far. But if you have, just think about it. Like, which one was it in? Jane Eyre.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Yes. Which one was it in? Woman in White. Yes. Which one was it in? Frankenstein. Yes. Right.

[A]

There's something. Pride and Prejudice. There's a.

[B]

There's a chapter in each book, at least each of the books we've done so far, that I feel a kind of sense of excitement. I mean, I know this was a really horrible chapter in the sense that horrible things happened to Sara. And we're going to talk about that. But I'm also kind of just excited because it's, it's in this chapter, it's in this moment that we kind of suddenly go, oh, okay, this is the book that we're in. This is what is going on here. And so we're here. We've made it to this chapter. We are about halfway through. Almost a little less than halfway, I think, but just about halfway through. And we're almost into the Christmas season. And I think pretty soon I'm going to start talking about why I think this book is a Christmas book. Even though it doesn't take place at Christmas, it's not about Christmas. And we're sort of getting there.

[A]

But this is the moment, I think.

[B]

Where we figure out that this is not just a lovely book about, you know, people taking dancing lessons and being nice to the servants, it's something else. And we're going to talk about in a bit what else it is. What is the something else? So I'm happy to be here with you, even though I know that we are all so sad for Sara.

[A]

So, so welcome.

[B]

Welcome back. Thank you for being here. Thank you for joining me for this Victorian Christmas. I hope that you're listening with friends and family. Hi kids. I'm so glad you're still here as well. And if you're not, please remember and please know that we are your friends and family. Please adopt us, please borrow us, and we would love to be your friends and family. Speaking of family, the first reminder that I have for you today is that I am going to be hanging out with my family over the Thanksgiving week weekend and you are invited to hang out with me and at least part of my family. On Friday, November 28th. That's the day after Thanksgiving. At 4pm Eastern, we're going to be doing a live stream. It'll be me, it'll be my dad, Andrew Clavin, and my brother, Spencer Clavin. And we will be just kind of hanging out, chatting and taking your questions. So if you're interested in joining us for that, there is a link in the show notes to to the live stream itself. There's already a link that's up. Nothing's happening in that link yet, but you can bookmark it or whatever you do with links. And that's where we will go live at 4pm on the 28th.

[A]

And there's also a link to a.

[B]

Google form where you can submit your questions. These are not questions for this show. So don't put your questions about a little princess in there. Unless you want us to talk about a little princess on that live stream and in which case please do put questions there about it. But if you want to ask questions about this book to talk about on this show, please continue to do that in the usual way by emailing me at faith k.moore.com and clicking on Contact. But if you would like to ask questions to me or my dad or my brother or all three of us for the live stream, please put them in that Google form. That's where we're going to be going to when we start taking questions. And you can ask us anything. You can ask us about family lore, family traditions, holiday traditions, or if you listen to all three of us or one or two of us and you've got a burning question for us, this is the time. So please put those in the Google form. And I hope that you will join us on the 28th for that live stream. Other than that, we just are continuing with a bunch of our Victorian Christmas events. Our Christmas card exchange is ongoing. You have to be a member of the Drawing room to participate. If you are a member of the Drawing Room, which is our online community, you just click on the announcements channel and you'll find a link there to the directions for how to get your cards to to me so that I can distribute them to storytime listeners. So that's the idea is we're sending each other Christmas cards. I'm just the sort of go between so that I don't share your addresses with everyone in the whole world. So you mail cards to me, I mail them out to storytime listeners. And that way we are spreading cheer amongst this community because it's such a wonderful community and I want us to be able to connect in all the ways that we possibly can. So if you'd like to send cards and get cards, please head on over to the drawing room. If you're not a member yet, there's a link link in the show Notes. You can become a member if you'd like to or just learn more about what's going on over there. So Christmas card exchange is ongoing. The deadline for that is November 30th. You need to get your cards in the mail by November 30th. That way I can send them out in December. Also, lots of stuff going on. If you buy my book, Christmas Carol, it's a novel, It's a retelling of Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol, and I hope that you'll buy it and enjoy it. If you do buy it, you can be entered into a drawing to win a prize. And the prize right now is a Storytime for Grown Ups mug.

[A]

So if you buy a book and.

[B]

Then you follow the link in the show Notes to the Storytime for Grown Ups page and follow the directions that are there, you will be entered into that drawing. Also, you can have a book plate. It's like a little sticker that I sign. I make it out to whoever you want to give the book to or to yourself. I write a little message, I sign it. And then you stick the sticker in the front of the book and you turn it into a signed copy. You can have that.

[A]

If you buy the book, you don't.

[B]

Have to like win it, you just get it. Buy a book, get a book plate. But again, you have to follow the directions on the Storytime for Grown Ups page to get those various things. So please do that. Thank you so much to all of you that have bought the book already. So many books are selling, it's amazing. I'm so, so thrilled. So thank you for doing that. Please keep doing it. Buy it for your friends. Buy it as Christmas presents. You know, it's time for Christmas shopping almost. So I hope you'll pick up some copies for gifts and and I would really love to give you things in return. I would love to enter you into the drawing. I would love to give you a book plate. So please do get in touch about that. Two other very, very quick things. One a reminder. The other announcement. The reminder is that Tea Time is.

[A]

Coming up on December 2nd. That's a Tuesday.

[B]

It's at 8pm Eastern over in our online community, the drawing room. You have to be Landed Gentry to participate. It's like a group phone call where we talk all together for about an hour. We'll talk about this book, A Little Princess. We can talk a little bit about Christmas Carol too if you want. And you can ask me anything. So that's another time when we can chat as opposed to the live stream. You can actually talk back to me. So it's a conversation and I would love, love, love to chat with you there. So December 2, 8pm Eastern. If you're not a member of the.

[A]

Drawing room or you're not yet Landed.

[B]

Gentry and you'd like to participate in Tea Time, please click on the link in the show notes to sign up. So that's that. And then the very, very last thing.

[A]

The announcement is is some of you.

[B]

Have been asking if there is going to be an ebook version of Christmas Carol and the answer to that is yes, there is and it is now available. It wasn't available before, but it is now. Except that it isn't available on Amazon for reasons that I'm still trying to figure out. So I'm working on that part still. But if you have like a Nook, it's available on Barnes and Noble, it's in Google Books, it's in a variety of ebook places. So if you prefer an ebook you can sort of search around and you should be able to find a copy though it's not on Amazon for Kindle. So I'm sorry about that. I'm not exactly sure why, but I will try to figure that out and I will announce to you if I can get it up there and you can be entered into the drawing for the prizes by buying an ebook version as well. Same rules apply. Follow the same directions on the Storytime for Grown Ups page. Obviously I can't send you a book plate for your ebook, because where would you stick it? But if you buy an ebook and you want to be entered in the drawing, that's completely fine. So I wanted to let you know that that is an option that is now available. Okay, so let's get into the episode now. We've got a lot to talk about and we of course want to get back to the chapters and find out what's going to happen now to Sara.

[A]

So last time we read chapter seven.

[B]

Today we're going to be reading chapter eight. So let's just remind ourselves what happened in chapter seven. Here is the recap.

[A]

So where we left off as Sara.

[B]

Is celebrating her birthday with the schoolgirls.

[A]

In a lavish party, Ms. Minchin has a visit from a man named Mr. Barrow. Mr. Barrow is Sara's father's lawyer and he's come to tell Ms. Minchin that Sara's father is dead and not only that, he's lost all his money by investing it in the diamond mines which turned out to be a bust. So Sara is now an orphan and as poor as a beggar. Ms. Minchin is enraged and she puts a stop to the birthday party. Sara is told to put on her only black dress which is too small for her, and she's told about her father's death. Sara is devastated, but she holds herself.

[B]

Together and she goes to see Ms.

[A]

Minchin who tells her that she will now have to work to earn her keep. And Sarah agrees that she will do this. She is told that she must now.

[B]

Sleep in the attic and she goes up there and finds a dreary room with only a skylight and a few pieces of old broken furniture. But Becky comes in and finds her.

[A]

And she tells Sara that she is.

[B]

Still a princess in her eyes.

[A]

Alright, I'm going to read two comments today. The first one comes from Pam Shroud. She writes wow, Faith. I was completely not expecting that. What a heartbreaking and sudden change for Sara. And yet she is such a strong and kind person that I think she will do well even with this terrible twist. I think her father would be quite proud of her. And this next one comes from Christopher Mortensen.

[B]

He says what? Her father is dead and he didn't leave her a penny? Okay, I didn't see that coming.

[A]

I'm shocked and saddened by this twist.

[B]

A real 11 year old girl could.

[A]

Easily be shattered by these events, especially.

[B]

Finding out on her birthday.

[A]

I must remind myself that this book.

[B]

Isn'T a factual account or somehow biographical. It seems to be more Of a moral story about how good and kind people behave as well as awful people. Not unlike A Christmas Carol.

[A]

It is an extreme plot twist that.

[B]

I admit has me curious about what will happen next.

[A]

Okay, so, yes, this chapter, chapter seven, it's a pivotal chapter. Right up until now, we've been sort.

[B]

Of going happily along, meeting these various girls and other people that Sara has been interacting with. We've been learning about Sara and what a strong person she is. We've been sort of exploring this idea of what it means to be a fairy tale person, Princess versus a literal princess. And my guess is, if we had any ideas that something was going to go wrong, and many of you did, by the way. I got lots of letters saying, oh, it can't go on like this. This isn't real life. It's a story. So some sort of horrible thing is about to go down, right? But my guess is up until chapter seven, we were probably guessing that the.

[A]

Plot was somehow going to revolve around Becky, right?

[B]

That this relationship that's developing between Sara and Becky and this idea that we've been tracing of how Becky and Sarah are really just the same, except for the accident of their birth, we probably thought that that was the sort of central idea of the story. And then suddenly, like Pam and Christopher both said in their letters, this other thing happens kind of out of nowhere, right? Captain Crew is dead, all his money.

[A]

Is lost, and Sarah is completely destitute. Which means that everything that Sara has been saying about how you can be.

[B]

A princess even if you're a beggar, and how she and Becky are exactly the same, same in all of this. It's about to all be put to the test, right? Christopher is correct, I think, when he says that this is a story similar to A Christmas Carol and that it's not like a gritty sort of realistic look at poor children in London or something like that, it is something else. Christopher calls it a moral story. And I think that's right.

[A]

But I would like to put forward.

[B]

The idea that it is, in fact a fairy tale. Or at least that it's a sort of retelling, right? A more realistic retelling of a fairy tale. I want to read you something. Okay, I'm going to just read this very short quote, and then I'll tell you where it comes from. Here it is. It says they took her beautiful clothes away from her, Dressed her in an.

[A]

Old gray smock and gave her wooden shoes.

[B]

Just look at the proud princess, how.

[A]

Decked out she is.

[B]

They shouted and laughed as they led.

[A]

Her into the kitchen.

[B]

Okay, so that, as you may have guessed, that is from Ashputtel, which is the German version of the Cinderella story.

[A]

As set down by the Brothers Grimm. But it could just as easily be.

[B]

A description of what just happened to.

[A]

Sara in chapter seven, right?

[B]

They took her beautiful clothes away from her and dressed her in an old gray smock, right?

[A]

Sara was in the middle of this.

[B]

Absolutely sumptuous, kind of over the top birthday party. And she goes from that to putting on her oldest, most ill fitting black dress and told that she has nothing and is essentially no one.

[A]

Just look at the proud princess, right? That's what the wicked stepmother and the.

[B]

Sisters say to Cinderella in this version of the story. In Ashputtle, she is not a princess. In this version, she's just like. She's not like a literal princess.

[A]

She's just the daughter of a rich man.

[B]

So just like Sarah, she's the daughter.

[A]

Of a rich man. But the stepmother and the stepsisters are.

[B]

Essentially saying what Lavinia has been saying, that a princess is simply a rich person in fancy clothes. And now that Cinderella or Sara has been brought low, her princessness is null and void.

[A]

But of course, that's not true at all.

[B]

Princessness, fairy tale princessness anyway, exists regardless of what you have.

[A]

That's what Sara has been saying all along. That's the distinction that we have been making for a while now. And this situation, this truly awful situation.

[B]

That Sora finds herself in now is.

[A]

Is going to be the test of that, right?

[B]

If Sara is a true fairy tale.

[A]

Princess, then she will be able to.

[B]

Maintain her kindness and her courage and her politeness and all of this, even.

[A]

In the face of this utter disaster, just like a princess in a fairy tale. And what I would like to put.

[B]

Forward, and I've been waiting for this episode to say this because it would have been a spoiler before, but what I would like to put forward is that this book, A Little Princess, is a Cinderella story. It's not like a direct retelling. There are lots of differences in the plot.

[A]

But I think that at its heart.

[B]

This story is a Cinderella story. And I think that now Sara is our Cinderella. This princess who, because of the unkindness.

[A]

Of people who ought to be her benefactors, people who ought to love her and care for her, because of them.

[B]

She is now forced to live in an attic, dress in rags, and work.

[A]

To earn her keep.

[B]

Okay, so in the role of Cinderella.

[A]

We have Sara, and in the role.

[B]

Of wicked stepmother, we have Ms. Minchin, right?

[A]

This person who is supposed to be her maternal figure, the woman who's supposed to care for her in place of a mother.

[B]

Not a mother. She's the headmistress of the school, but.

[A]

A mother stand in because she is the woman in charge of these girls and their welfare and their education. And the minute Sara proves to not be the ass that Ms. Minchin thought she was, Ms. Minchin becomes the wicked stepmother. So I wanted to put that out.

[B]

There at this point because I think.

[A]

It'S something that will be helpful to keep in mind as we go along, because I think we will see more.

[B]

And more parallels between the Cinderella narrative and Sara's story. And looking at this book through the lens of Cinderella and the tropes and themes that come along with fairy tales, I think that will kind of enrich our understanding and experience that of this book. You know, I keep saying, if you were with us over the summer, you'll remember, blah, blah, all the stuff about fairy tales.

[A]

And that's true.

[B]

But I wanted to say, for those of you who weren't with us over the summer, that is okay. But also, all those episodes are still there. We spent the whole summer talking about fairy tales. And if you're interested, I do encourage you to go back and listen to those episodes, maybe on the days when these episodes aren't currently dropping, if you want. And you can just sort of brush up, if you'd like to, on what we're talking about, about the various symbolic elements of fairy tales, because I think they're incredibly relevant to this story. And we will keep coming back to them as we go along, I think. But I want to zoom in a.

[A]

Little bit on this idea of Sara.

[B]

Being a Cinderella character or this book being a Cinderella story. And then we'll get back to the book because obviously we have to figure out what Sara is going to do now and how this is all going.

[A]

To play out for her.

[B]

We've got a lot of book left. We're just about halfway, like I was saying before, so there's a lot left and we have to see where it's all going.

[A]

But I want to just stay with this idea for a little bit longer. And specifically, I want to look at this change that has happened to Sara because it's the change that happens to.

[B]

Cinderella, too, at the beginning of the story.

[A]

So I want to look at it.

[B]

As the sort of catalyst that is going to set whatever happens next in motion.

[A]

And. And this change that I'm talking about.

[B]

Is the change from Rich Pampered, loved little girl to unloved, uncared for Drudge dressed in rags, essentially.

[A]

And at the center of all this is the idea that regardless of whether.

[B]

You'Re dressed in the fanciest party dress or the ugliest old rags, that a princess, a fairy tale princess, is still a princess. And I think all of that is really clearly on display in chapter 7.

[A]

The chapter starts with Sara, still a literal princess, right? Still a wealthy, pampered little girl. But it also starts with this interaction between Sara and Ms. Minchin about Becky. So Sara wants to let Becky stay.

[B]

And see the presents. And she says, here's a quote.

[A]

I want her because I know she will like to see the presents. She is a little girl too, you know, right?

[B]

And then we've got Ms. Minchin sort of startled by this.

[A]

And she replies, my dear Sara, Becky is the sweet scullery maids.

[B]

Scullery maids are not little girls.

[A]

So here again is this distinction. Sara is saying that Becky is a person of value and worth regardless of her station in life.

[B]

And Ms. Minchin is saying, no, she isn't. She's totally worthless because she's just a poor scullery maid.

[A]

And then we get it again in.

[B]

A slightly different way.

[A]

We get Lavinia saying to Sara, here's another quote. It's all very well to suppose things.

[B]

If you have everything.

[A]

Could you suppose and pretend if you were a beggar and lived in a garret?

[B]

And Sarah says, I believe I could.

[A]

If one was a beggar, one would.

[B]

Have to suppose and pretend all the.

[A]

Time, but it mightn't be easy. So that's basically the same idea, right? Can you maintain your self ness, your princess ness, your worth, even when you're reduced to the lowest of the low socially?

[B]

So it's all set up for us right there at the beginning of the chapter.

[A]

And then Sara actually becomes a beggar. She actually gets thrust into.

[B]

Into this what if that Lavinia was posing for her and has to see if she's right, if she can be a fairy tale princess, even in rags and living in a garret.

[A]

And I think the first indication that.

[B]

She actually can maintain her princessness comes in this interaction between Sara and Ms. Minchin, our Cinderella and our wicked stepmother. So this interaction is where Ms. Minchin tries to sort of lay down the law and the rules of this new situation for Sara.

[A]

And Sara kind of holds her own with this incredible fortitude and strength, right? Ms. Minchin is telling her that she.

[B]

Has nothing and will have to work and do whatever Ms. Minchin says and live in the attic and wear old clothes and all of this. And she's saying that Sara should be grateful because Ms. Minchin could have just thrown her out on the street.

[A]

And Sara, she doesn't cry or scream or rage. She just tells Ms. Minchin, Here's a quote. You are not kind. You are not kind and it is not a home, okay? And the whole chapter ends with the.

[B]

Exact same idea it started with.

[A]

Sarah says to Becky, right?

[B]

Becky's come up to find her in the garret.

[A]

She says, oh, Becky, I told you.

[B]

We were just the same.

[A]

Only two little girls. Just two little girls.

[B]

You see how true it is.

[A]

There's no difference now. I'm not a princess anymore. And Becky replies, yes, Miss, you are. Whatsoever happens to you, whatsoever, you'd be a princess all the same.

[B]

And nothing could make you nothing different.

[A]

Okay?

[B]

So there it is again.

[A]

Sara and Becky are the same. They've always been the same.

[B]

They were the same when Sara was in fancy dresses and Becky was in her scullery maid's uniform.

[A]

And they're the same when they're both.

[B]

In rags or both in lower class clothes.

[A]

And if that's true, it means that Sara is a princess in all the ways that matter now.

[B]

In exactly the way she was a princess in all the ways that mattered then.

[A]

Just like Cinderella is a princess when she's rich and also a princess when she's poor. So I think it could be a.

[B]

Kind of fun thing, especially in light of our fairy tale summer last summer. It could be fun to just keep in mind this idea of the Cinderella narrative and see if we can trace some of the themes and symbols and.

[A]

Plot points from Cinderella in this story.

[B]

As we go along. Okay, so now let's get back into it. Let's find out what Sara is going to do now that she is living.

[A]

In in the attic with Becky. Of course.

[B]

Don't forget to write to me.

[A]

It's faithkmoore.com click on contact or scroll.

[B]

Into the show notes and click the link that's there. While you're there, check out all the other links. I hope you'll join us for the various live streams and calls and things that we're doing coming up. And I hope you'll check out my book as well.

[A]

Alright, let's get started with chapter eight of A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett. It's story time. Chapter eight, in the Attic. The first night she spent in her attic was a thing Sarah never forgot. During its passing, she lived through a wild, unchildlike woe of which she never spoke to anyone about her. There was no one who would have understood. It was indeed well for her that as she lay awake in the darkness, her mind was forcibly distracted now and then by the strangeness of her surroundings. It was perhaps well for her that she was reminded by her small body of material things. If this had not been so, the anguish of her young mind might have been too great for a child to bear. But really, while the night was passing she scarcely knew that she had a body at all or remembered any other thing than one. My papa is dead, she kept whispering to herself.

[B]

My papa is dead.

[A]

It was not until long afterward that she realized that her bed had been so hard that she turned over and over it, in it to find a place to rest, that the darkness seemed more intense than any she had ever known, and that the wind howled over the roof among the chimneys like something which wailed aloud. Then there was something worse. This was a certain scufflings and scratchings and squeakings in the walls and behind the skirting boards. She knew what they meant because Becky had described them. They meant rats and mice who were either fighting with each other or playing together. Once or twice she even heard sharp toed feet scurrying across the floor. And she remembered in those after days when she recalled things that when first she heard them she started up in bed and sat trembling and when she lay down again, covered her head with the bedclothes. The change in her life did not come about gradually, but was made all at once. She must begin as she is to go on, miss Minchin said to Miss Amelia. She must be taught at once what to expect. Mariette had left the house the next morning. The glimpse Sara caught of her sitting room as she passed its open door showed her that everything had been changed. Her ornaments and luxuries had been removed and a bed had been placed in a corner to transform it into a new pupil's bedroom. When she went down to breakfast she saw that her seat at Miss Minchin's side was occupied by Lavinia, and Miss Minchin spoke to her coldly. You will begin your new duties, Sara, she said, by taking your seat with the younger children at a smaller table. You must keep them quiet and see that they behave well and do not waste their food. You ought to have been down earlier. Lottie has already upset her tea. That was the beginning, and from day to day the duties given to her were added to. She taught the younger children French and heard their other Lessons, and these were the least of her labors. It was found that she could be made use of in numberless directions. She could be sent on errands at any time and in all weathers. She could be told to do things other people neglected. The cook and the housemaids took their tone from Miss Minchin and rather enjoyed ordering about the young one who had been made so much fuss over for so long. They were not servants of the best class and had neither good manners nor good tempers, and it was frequently convenient to have at hand someone on whom blame could be laid. During the first month or two, Sarah thought that her willingness to do things as well as she could and her silence under reproof might soften those who drove her so hard. In her proud little heart, she wanted them to see that she was trying to earn her living and not accepting charity. But the time came when she saw that no one was softened at all. And the more willing she was to do as she was told, the more domineering and exacting careless housemaids became, and the more ready a scolding cook was to blame her. If she had been older, Miss Minchin would have given her the bigger girls to teach and saved money by dismissing an instructress. But while she remained and looked like a child, she could be made more useful as a sort of little superior errand girl and made of all work. An ordinary errand boy would not have been so clever and reliable. Sara could be trusted with difficult commissions and complicated messages. She could even go and pay bills. And she combined with this the ability to dust a room well and to set things in order. Her own lessons became things of the past. She was taught nothing. And only after long and busy days spent in running here and there at everybody's orders, was she grudgingly allowed to go into the deserted schoolroom with a pile of old books and study alone at night. If I do not remind myself of the things I have learned, perhaps I may forget them, she said to herself. I am almost a scullery maid. And if I am a scullery maid who knows nothing, I shall be like poor Becky. I wonder if I could quite forget and begin to drop my H's and not remember that Henry VIII had six wives. One of the most curious things in her new existence was her changed position among the pupils. Instead of being a sort of small royal personage among them, she no longer seemed to be one of their number at all. She was kept so constantly at work that she scarcely ever had an opportunity of speaking to any of them and she could not avoid seeing that Ms. Minchin preferred that she should live a life apart from that of the occupants of the schoolroom. I will not have her forming intimacies and talking to the other children, that lady said. Girls like a grievance and if she begins to tell romantic stories about herself she will become an ill used heroine and parents will be given a wrong impression. It is better that she should live a separate life, one suited to her circumstances. I am giving her a home and that is more than she has any right to expect from me. Sarah did not expect much and was far too proud to try to continue to be intimate with girls who evidently felt rather awkward and uncertain about her. The fact was that Ms. Minchin's pupils were a set of dull matter of fact young people. They were accustomed to being rich and comfortable and as Sara's frocks grew shorter and shabbier and queerer looking and it became an established fact that she wore shoes with holes in them and was sent out to buy groceries and carry them through the streets in a basket on her arm when the cook wanted them in a hurry, they felt rather as if if when they spoke to her they were addressing an underservant.

[B]

To think that she was the girl.

[A]

With the diamond mines, Lavinia commented.

[B]

She does look an object and she's queerer than ever.

[A]

I never liked her much, but I.

[B]

Can'T bear that way she has now of looking at people without speaking just as if she was finding them out.

[A]

I am, said Sarah promptly when she heard of this. That's what I look at some people for. I like to know about them. I think them over afterward. The truth was that she had saved herself annoyance several times by keeping her eye on Lavinia, who was quite ready to make mischief and would have been rather pleased to have made it for the ex show pupil. Sara never made any mischief herself or interfered with anyone. She worked like a drudge. She tramped through the wet streets carrying parcels and baskets. She labored with the childish inattention of the little one's French lessons. As she became shabbier and more forlorn looking, she was told that she had better take her meals downstairs. She was treated as if she was nobody's concern and her heart grew proud and sore. But she never told anyone what she felt. Soldiers don't complain, she would say between her small shut teeth. I am not going to do it. I will pretend this is part of a war. But there were hours when her child heart might almost have broken with loneliness but for three people. The first it must be owned was Becky. Just Becky. Throughout all that first night spent in the garret, she had felt a vague comfort in knowing that on the other side of the wall in which the rat scuffled and squeaked, there was another young human creature, and during the nights that followed, the sense of comfort grew. They had little chance to speak to each other during the day. Each had her own tasks to perform, and any attempt at conversation would have been regarded as a tendency to loiter and lose time. Don't mind me, Miss, Becky whispered during the first morning. If I don't say nothing polite, some'd be down on us if I did. I mean to please and thank you and beg pardon, but I dassent to take time to say it. But before daybreak she used to slip into Sarah's attic and button her dress and give her such help as she required before she went downstairs to light the kitchen fire. And when night came, Sarah always heard the humble knock at her door, which meant that her handmaid was ready to help her again if she was needed. During the first weeks of her grief, Sara felt as if she were too stupefied to talk. So it happened that some time passed before they saw each other much or exchanged visits. Becky's heart told her that it was best, that people in trouble should be left alone. The second of the trio of comforters was Ermengarde, but odd things happened before Ermengarde found her place. When Sara's mind seemed to awaken again to the life about her, she realized that she had forgotten that an Ermengarde lived in the world. The two had always been friends, but Sara had felt as if she were years the older. It could not be contested that Ermengarde was as dull as she was affectionate. She clung to Sara in a simple, helpless way. She brought her lessons to her that she might be helped. She listened to her every word and besieged her with requests for stories, but she had nothing interesting to say herself, and she loathed books of every description. She was, in fact, not a person one would remember when one was caught in the storm of a great trouble and Sarah forgot her. It had been all the easier to forget her because she had been suddenly called home for a few weeks. When she came back, she did not see Sarah for a day or two, and when she met her for the first time, she encountered her coming down a corridor with her arms full of garments which were to be taken downstairs to be mended. Sara herself had already been taught to mend them. She looked pale and unlike herself, and she was attired in the queer outgrown frock whose shortness showed so much thin black leg. Ermengarde was too slow a girl to be equal to such a situation. She could not think of anything to say. She knew what had happened, but somehow she had never imagined Sara could look like this, so odd and poor and almost like a servant. It made her quite miserable, and she could do nothing but break into a short, hysterical laugh and exclaim aimlessly and as if without any meaning. Oh, Sara, is that you? Yes, answered Sara, and suddenly a strange thought passed through her mind and made her face flush. She held the pile of garments in her arms and her chin rested upon the top of it to keep it steady. Something in the look of her straight, gazing eyes made Ermengarde lose her wits still more. She felt as if Sara had changed into a new kind of girl and she had never known her before. Perhaps it was because she had suddenly grown poor and had to mend things and work like Becky. Oh, she stammered. How.

[B]

How are you?

[A]

I don't know, sorrow replied. How are you?

[B]

I'm.

[A]

I'm quite well, said Ermengarde, overwhelmed with shyness. Then, spasmodically, she thought of something to say which seemed more intimate. Are you. Are you very unhappy? She said in a rush. Then Sarah was guilty of an injustice. Just at that moment her torn heart swelled within her, and she felt that if anyone was as stupid as that, one had better get away from her. What do you think? She said. Do you think I am very happy? And she marched past her without another word. In course of time she realized that if her wretchedness had not made her forget things, she would have known that poor, dull Ermengarde was not to be blamed for her unready, awkward ways. She was always awkward, and the more she felt, the more stupid she was given to being. But the sudden thought which had flashed upon her had made her oversensitive. She is like the others, she had thought. She does not really want to talk to me. She knows no one does. So for several weeks a barrier stood between them. When they met by chance, Sara looked the other way, and Ermengarde felt too stiff and embarrassed to speak. Sometimes they nodded to each other in passing, but there were times when they did not even exchange a greeting. If she would rather not talk to me, Sara thought, I will keep out of her way. Miss Minchin makes that easy enough. Miss Minchin made it so easy that at last they scarcely saw each other at all. At that time it was noticed that Ermengarde was more stupid than ever and that she looked listless and unhappy. She used to sit in the window seat, huddled in a heap and stare out of the window without speaking. Once Jessie, who was passing, stopped to look at her curiously. What are you crying for, Ermengarde? She asked.

[B]

I'm not crying, answered Ermengarde in a muffled, unsteady voice.

[A]

You are, said Jessie. A great big tear just rolled down.

[B]

The bridge of your nose and dropped off at the end of it, and there goes another.

[A]

Well, said Ermengarde, I'm miserable and no one need interfere. And she turned her plump back and took out her handkerchief and boldly hid her face in it. That night when Sara went to her attic, she was later than usual. She had been kept at work until after the hour at which the pupils went to bed, and after that she had gone to her lessons in the lonely schoolroom. When she reached the top of the stairs, she was surprised to see a glimmer of light coming from under the attic door. Nobody goes there but myself, she thought quickly, but someone has lighted a candle. Someone had indeed lighted a candle, and it was not burning in the kitchen candlestick she was expected to use, but in one of those belonging to the pupils bedrooms. The someone was sitting upon the battered footstool and was dressed in her nightgown and wrapped up in a red shawl. It was Ermengarde. Ermengarde.

[B]

Cried Sara.

[A]

She was so startled that she was almost frightened. You will get into trouble. Ermengarde stumbled up from her footstool. She shuffled across the attic in her bedroom slippers which were too large for her. Her eyes and nose were pink with crying.

[B]

I know I shall if I'm found out, she said.

[A]

But I don't care. I don't care a bit. Oh Sara, please tell me what is the matter? Why don't you like me anymore? Something in her voice made the familiar lump rise in Sara's throat. It was so affectionate and simple, so like the old Ermengarde who had asked her to be best friends. It sounded as if she had not meant what she had seemed to mean during these past weeks. I do like you, sara answered. I thought. You see, everything is different now. I thought you were different. Ermengarde opened her wet eyes wide. Why, it was you who were different.

[B]

She cried.

[A]

You didn't want to talk to me. I didn't know what to do. It was you who were different after I came back. Sara thought a moment. She saw she had made a mistake. I am different, she explained, though not in the way you think. Ms. Minchin does not want me to talk to the girls. Most of them don't want to talk to me. I thought perhaps you didn't, so I tried to keep out of your way. Oh, Sarah. Ermengarde almost wailed in her reproachful dismay. And then, after one more look, they rushed into each other's arms. It must be confessed that Sara's small black head lay for some minutes on the shoulder, covered by the red shawl. When Ermengarde had seemed to desert her, she had felt horribly lonely. Afterward they sat down upon the floor together, Sarah clasping her knees with her arms and Ermengarde rolled up in her shawl. Ermengarde looked at the odd big eyed little face adoringly.

[B]

I couldn't bear it anymore, she said.

[A]

I dare say you could live without me, Sara, but I couldn't live without you. I was nearly dead. So tonight when I was crying under the bedclothes, I thought all at once.

[B]

Of creeping up here and just begging.

[A]

You to let us be friends again. You are nicer than I am, said Sarah. I was too proud to try and make friends. You see, now that trials have come, they have shown that I am not a nice child. I was afraid they would perhaps wrinkling her forehead wisely, that is what they were sent for. I don't see any good in them, said Ermengarde stoutly.

[B]

Neither do I, to speak the truth, admitted Sara frankly.

[A]

But I suppose there might be good in things, even if we don't see it there. Mind doubtfully. Be good in Miss Minchin. Ermengarde looked round the attic with a rather fearsome curiosity. Sara, she said, do you think you can bear living here? Sara looked around also. If I pretend it's quite different, I can, she answered. Or if I pretend it is a place in a story. She spoke slowly. Her imagination was beginning to work for her. It had not worked for her at all. Since her troubles had come upon her. She had felt as if it had been stunned. Other people have lived in worse places. Think of the Count of Monte Cristo in the dungeons of the Chateau d'. If. And think of the people in the Bastille. The Bastille? Half whispered Ermengarde, watching her and beginning to be fascinated. She remembered stories of the French Revolution, which Sara had been able to fix in her mind by her dramatic relation of them. No one but Sara could have done it. A well known glow came into Sara's eyes. Yes, she said, hugging her knees. That will be a good place to pretend about. I am a prisoner in the Bastille. I have been here for years and years and years and everybody has forgotten about me. Ms. Minchin is the jailer and Becky. A sudden light adding itself to the glow in her eyes. Becky is the prisoner in the next cell. She turned to Ermengarde, looking quite like the old Sarah. I shall pretend that, she said, and it will be a great comfort. Ermengarde was at once enraptured and awed. And will you tell me about it? She said. May I creep up here at night whenever it is safe and hear the things you have made up in the day?

[B]

It will seem as if we were.

[A]

More best friends than ever. Yes, answered Sara, nodding. Adversity tries people, and mine has tried you and proved how nice you are. Thank you so much for listening. Don't forget to check out my novel Christmas Carol. That's Carol with a K. Using the link in the Show Notes I would be so grateful if you would consider buying a copy or a few copies.

[B]

For yourself or as a gift.

[A]

If you buy a copy of the book and email me a screenshot of your receipt, you'll be entered into a drawing to receive your choice of either your money back or an additional signed copy. The email to send the receipt to is in the Show Notes. If you buy multiple copies, you can enter the drawing multiple times. The winner will be notified by email. Also, everyone who buys a copy of the book is entitled to a free signed book plate which you can stick into the book to make it a signed copy. If you'd like one. Just email the screenshot of your receipt to the email address listed in the Show Notes and let me know whom you'd like the book plate made out to and what address to mail it to. Thank you so much for supporting me me and the work I do by buying my book this Christmas time. And of course, don't forget to get in touch with comments or questions about this episode. Please go to my website, faithkmoore.com click on contact and send me your questions and thoughts. Or you can click on the link in the Show Notes to contact me. I'll feature one or two of your entries at the start of the next episode. Alright everyone, story time time is over. To be continued.