It is common to see an Enid Blyton books in school libraries
and in a children’s bookcases. Enid Bltyon was the author of several successful
children’s books such as Noddy, The Enchanted Wood, The Secret Seven and The
Famous Five. I think her appeal was that she wrote for children by writing in
simple vocabulary and her books have an idyllic quality about them. I only read one or two Enid Blyton books but
I am familiar with Noddy. I use to watch the Noddy cartoon when I was little.
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| source |
To be honest, I don’t even like Enid Blyton’s books but I
was intrigued when I heard that the BBC had created a movie about Enid Blyton.
I wanted to find out what was the inspiration of her writing and the life she
lead. I pictured that she was a sweet old lady with a white perm who was
charming and beloved. I found out that Enid Blyton was outwardly a delightful
woman and in private she was selfish and cruel. It goes to show that sometimes
you shouldn't meet your heroes because they will disappoint you.
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| Helena Bonham Carter as Enid Blyton |
The film starts off by revealing that Enid Blyton had a
troubled upbringing. Her father was a womanizer who abandoned her family and
her mother was cold woman who preferred her brothers. It was Enid’s upbringing
which helped her develop her imagination and passion to be a writer. While her
parents fought, Enid told her brothers stories about magical faraway places
where no one is ever sad.
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| The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton |
Helena Bonham Carter played Enid Blyton showcasing her from
her time as a writer, her marriages and motherhood. Enid is portrayed as an
energetic and playful person who escapes anything unpleasant by fantasizing and
refusing to listen to anything serious.
Her aversion to unpleasant things
causes strain between her first husband, Hugh Pollock (played by Mattew
McFadyen). McFadyen portrays Hugh as a long suffering man who drinks to numb
his pain. While I had sympathy for Hugh Pollock, I was frustrated by his lack
of persistence to reason with his wife. He always gave up every time Enid
refused to talk about anything important.
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| Mathew Macfadyen and Helena Bonham Carter |
Enid is also seen as having a strained relationship with her
daughters. Enid loved children but hated being a parent. The movie shows the
neglect of Enid’s daughters and her preference for her fans. To the public,
Enid is seen as a caring mother who balances her time between writing and
motherhood. However, in reality she spent most of her time writing and allotted
an hour a day to interacting with her children.
I particularly liked the scenes
where Enid pretends to interact with her daughters when the press comes over
but stops as soon as the cameras are off. My favourite scene would have to be
when her children are listening to a radio interview where Enid says being a
mother is the most important thing to her and her children give incredulous
looks at the news.
The film also focuses on Enid Blyton’s prolific writing as
she wrote a large quantity of books as well as articles and essays for various
publications. Enid seemed to have an active mind which never stopped and was the
cause of her strained relationships. She always put writing ahead of anything
else.
I can see how this
film must have caused some disillusion among Enid Blyton fans. Enid Blyton’s
true character has been debated for quite some time as not everyone believes
that she was a difficult person. Enid’s
daughter Imogen wrote an autobiography describing her mother as "arrogant,
insecure, pretentious, very skilled at putting difficult or unpleasant things
out of her mind, and without a trace of maternal instinct. As a child, I viewed
her as a rather strict authority. As an adult I pitied her” (Blyton, 1989).
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| Imogen Smallwood -autobiography of Enid Blyton's daughter |
In contrast, her
eldest daughter Gillian remembered her as a loving mother in her own way.
Although some speculate that the reason why Gillian had fonder memories of her
mother is that Gillian was four years older than her sister and spent much of
her time in boarding school so she did not have much interaction with her
mother.
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| the real Enid Blyton |
Regardless of what
the real Enid Blyton was like, I think the film shows her to be a brilliant
writer. Enid Bylton’s works continue to be enjoyed by children all over the
world.
I feel as if I've heard of Enid Blyton somewhere before and perhaps I even had a book or two of hers read to me when I was little, but I can't quite place it in my memory. I enjoyed reading your movie review Carlyn. It seems as if Enid Blyton used her fantasy world and writing as an escape from the things she either had trouble dealing with in life or did not find important. It's hard to make that distinction without knowing more about her.
ReplyDeleteI know I like to use reading and fantasy as an escape in my own mind sometimes, but once we put the book down or wake from our dream we have to appreciate the very real world we live in and not look at it with dread.
It seems unusual or counter intuitive that someone who would write for children would have difficulty in finding a maternal instinct. And yet, maybe it's not all that unusual? Many authors create wonderful worlds despite the trails and tribulations they face in life. Perhaps the FIRST target audience for any writer though is the author them self. It's just too bad that on a personal level much of her joy was between the binding of two covers. =(