Elsie Dinsmore—An Enigma

We receive many calls and questions concerning the Elsie Dinsmore series of books written by Martha Finley. Many people feel confused about these books. The first book is confusing because it mixes some fine examples of selflessness on one hand with some conflicting concepts on the other, but the good deceptively appears to overbalance the bad. We hope that the following comments will be worthwhile food for thought, and provide enough information to decide whether these books will have the appropriate values and effects on our children to have a place in our home libraries.

The first two Elsie books were originally written as one book, but because of the size, the publisher divided it into two books. Due to the tremendous sales, Miss Finley was encouraged to continue the series. This review is based primarily upon the first four books.

In the first book, Elsie captures the reader’s heart, because, although Elsie is beautiful, wealthy, and waited on hand and foot by her black Mamie (servant/slave), she has an evil stepmother and the stepmother’s mean-spirited children to harass and plague her. She wins the reader’s love and loyalty as she sweetly turns to her heavenly Father for support and love.

The most disturbing flaw in the first two books is over the conflict of whom to obey, God or man. Of course, we know that the Bible teaches us to obey God. However, this issue becomes very confusing for the reader because Miss Finley, instead of choosing to place this conflict between two adults, places the eight-year-old child at variance with her father. She further complicates the matter by choosing a very grey area for the battlefield of obeying God or her father, instead of a clear cut area such as lying or stealing. The grey area she has chosen is what one may read on the Sabbath Day.

The conflict throughout the first two books is quite simple. Her father, although not a Christian, is a moral and honorable man who watches over every detail of Elsie’s life including her diet, schoolwork, and reading material. When quite ill, he asks Elsie to read a book to him on the Sabbath day. Elsie’s convictions will only allow her to read the Bible, Pilgrim’s Progress, or a book about God on the Sabbath. Therefore, she refuses her father. Naturally, he is determined that his daughter should obey him. He orders her out from his presence, not to return until she asks forgiveness for her disobedience. Due to his severe illness, he nearly dies, and yet she refuses to repent. She, herself, later becomes sick, and yet, though she may die, she refuses to even consider her disobedience. She lapses into delirium. Through this trial of Elsie’s near death, her father accepts Christ (of course, we must remember this is fiction). Now all is well because her father asks for her forgiveness for being such a brute as to require her to obey her parent in a matter in which, with the prowess of an eight-year-old intellect, she knew better.

So, what is the outcome of this teaching, or what possible effect could it have on our children? Few of us would want our children to overthrow our biblical convictions for their own biblical convictions at the tender age of eight. Elsie is a fictional character who is nearly perfect. Ninety-nine percent, or shall we say one-hundred percent, of all eight-year-old children would not have the discernment to school their parents on what is proper and fit to read on the Sabbath Day. Even in Miss Finley’s day, opinions were sharply divided among godly Christians. Miss Finley has laid out a list of externals. The Pharisees had the same problem. The Pharisees always laid out the letter of the law, but Jesus continually taught them the spirit of the law—a great difference in God's eyes. Miss Finley only quotes Old Testament Scriptures concerning the Sabbath Day, and none from the New Testament, to support a case for behavior on the first day of the week. And this is all to support breaking one commandment to obey another. One would likely guess from reading both testaments that, especially in this situation, obedience to God here would require obedience to one's parent.

Setting the Sabbath question aside, we must ask ourselves if children should obey their parents, or decide right and wrong for themselves. Miss Finley bolsters the thought in the reader’s mind that the child should decide. Now, if an unbelieving parent is commanding a child to commit adultery, murder, incest, or some other serious ill, a child might know to do right. However, in laying down the fine points of Christian practice, young children are not likely to be doctrinal experts. In these matters, if the Bible teaches women to listen and be under the authority of their husbands, certainly children should follow suit. If women are easily deceived, how much more easily would children be deceived?

There is a danger for children to have such an independent spirit, even concerning spiritual matters. For instance, suppose the parents are against Christian rock music, but the children see nothing wrong with it, and therefore, according to Elsie, can follow their own spiritual convictions concerning music. This would be wrong in any case.  However, it is presumable that eight-year-old children are nowhere near likely to be wise enough to make decisions in these matters.

Elsie also seems to struggle with the "cover-up" philosophy. Instead of telling the truth when needed, she desires to protect the wrongdoer as if this is a spiritual thing to do. The truth must be forced out of her on numbers of occasions. This teaches children to be silent about wrongdoers. The Bible teaches us that we should not be talebearers, but it never supports hiding the truth during direct inquiry by legitimate authorities, such as parents.

There is also a terrible reference to the "rod" on page 94 of book two. It is considered an ignominious and revolting punishment. This is direct contrast to the Bible. "He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes," —Proverbs 13:24. Upon this precept Elsie is certainly spoiled. Also, as we can see, if Elsie had been biblically reprimanded for her disobedience, an eight-year-old’s continuing battle of wills with her father would not have developed into a melodrama spanning two entire books, and which the author Christianizes by culminating it with a confession of faith on the father’s part. Oh, what we can’t blame on God in fiction! To create Elsie as such a perfect-appearing little girl, and then use that image to purposefully and directly undermine the Word of God is difficult to see as anything short of blasphemous.

Book Three - Elsie’s Girlhood has Elsie growing up into a beautiful and loved young woman. However, she continues the trend toward concealing things from her now Christian father. In particular on page 54, after a unplanned meeting with her step-uncle Arthur who is demanding a loan from her, we find, "For a moment she questioned with herself whether she was quite right to have this concealment from her father, but quickly decided that she was." So we see that this "godly" Elsie whom her readers love, is now teaching these young readers to decide what their parents need to know and what youngsters deem should be concealed from them.

This concealment teaching becomes more dangerous in the next chapter as Arthur gets angry with her for her refusal to loan him money and handles her roughly. Mr. Travilla, a friend of her father’s, happens upon the scene and sends Arthur packing. It is very sad to say, that this loyal friend of her father’s, now switches his loyalty to the child and promises to conceal the matter from her father. An adult supporting her concealment only confirms in the minds of the readers that this is a proper thing to do. After all, Elsie seemed to be right to disobey her father on the Sabbath observance, and now, with adult consent, she must be right about this too!

The rest of the book reads like a soap opera. Arthur seeks revenge by sending a young man of ill repute to disguise himself as a gentleman and court Elsie to win her heart. Elsie is conveniently spending time with a great aunt and so is out from the eye of her watchful father. Elsie is fooled and falls in love with this young man, who is a thief and liar. Her father finds out and breaks off the relationship. Elsie struggles with obedience to her father and her lost love—an unnecessary struggle, only due to more of her besetting sin of self-will. There is much melodrama about the whole affair, which lasts basically until the end of the book, when her father takes her to Europe for an extended trip to erase the bad memories from her mind. At the close of the book, Mr. Travilla, her father’s boyhood friend, proposes to her and she accepts.

In Book Four, Elsie’s Womanhood, the book details a visit to her southern plantation. Her Mamie happens to see her husband that she has not seen for twenty years on a river boat. Of course, kind Elsie buys him for her Mamie. On the plantation, the young reader is left with many unnecessary and confusing images, including the whipping of a female slave stripped to the waist by the white overseer. Though Elsie is horrified and orders it stopped, later another black slave said the beaten woman was lazy and deserved it, and the white overseer was justified in doing it. What is our young reader to think about all this? This whole sordid mess is wrapped up by dear Elsie giving the slaves the story of salvation. Again, we find unnecessary graphic details and violence with a cloak of Christianity and a mention of the gospel thrown over it.

The melodrama continues with Elsie’s marriage to her father’s friend, Mr. Travilla. The spurned young man from the previous book seeks revenge by stalking Elsie and eventually makes an attempt to kill Elsie and her husband while they are sleeping. Of course, her husband has a pistol loaded and ready to go under his pillow and shoots the fellow.

Oh, and by the way, Mr. Travilla had wanted the obedience vow removed from their marriage ceremony because he never intended that dear Elsie should ever be required to obey him, but should only do those things she wanted to do. So we see that Miss Finley’s outspoken adherence to the Word of God extends only into areas of her own preference. Though Elsie is adamant about Sabbath issues and her own perceived code of Christianity, her readers seem to be continually learning confusing ideas about obeying parents, and now husbands also. Authors like Miss Finley and Mrs. Wilder of the Little House on the Prairie series were sowing the seeds of feminism even in their day by introducing the minds of young girls to fictional male characters who "loved their wives so much" that they did not want them to behave according to God’s Word.

The story continues with Elsie and her new husband, and her father and his wife and child taking off for an extended trip to Europe. During this time Elsie becomes a mother. Here she is an adult, a mother, and still her black Mamie waits on her, combs her hair, and takes care of her children. Elsie is pampered day and night, never lifting a finger to help herself. In fact, she is not even allowed to lift or carry her baby until six week after giving birth. What does this teach young ladies about developing character? And how will it tempt nearly all of them who do not, and never will, have it so good or so easy.

During this stay in Europe, the Civil War breaks out. They wait out the war in Europe, but oh, they care about those poor folks back home. They, with their millions (literally) decide to knit a few socks and make bandages, and send them to the soldiers. It seems that all that money could have afforded more than a few pair of knitted stockings. So they continue to knit while their little girl plays at Elsie’s side using a diamond necklace for her plaything. Eventually, the war ends and they return to their mansions. She uses her money, not to help the many suffering complete loss from the war, but to rebuild her family’s mansions, and calls this being a good steward of God. On page 342 Elsie says, ". . . You (her grandfather) will take it (the money to rebuild the mansions) as help sent by Him whose steward I am?"

Even though the author tried to portray Elsie to be a godly little girl of sorts, how can we say she is a godly adult? Jesus was our example. He was a servant. Elsie is served. Jesus helped the poor, sick, and needy. Elsie helped herself and family. Miss Finley justifies this wealthy, selfish way of life by, once again, of all things, blaming it on Elsie’s Christianity. When Enna (her step-aunt), after surveying all Elsie’s new purchases (page 305 of book three) states, "Several times repeating her remark that it must be delightful to have so much money, and that Elsie was exceedingly fortunate in being so enormously wealthy. ‘Yes; it is something to be thankful for,’ Elsie said at length, ‘but, Enna, it is also a great responsibility. We are only stewards, you know, and sometimes I fear it is hardly right for me to spend so much in personal adornment.’ Enna responds, ‘That wouldn’t trouble me in the least; but why do you do it, if you are afraid it’s wrong?’ ‘Papa does not think so; he says the manufacturers of these rich goods must live as well as others, and that for one with my income, it is no more extravagant to wear them than for one with half the means to wear goods only half as expensive.’" It might do us well to compare Elsie’s Christian philosophies with what Jesus taught. One cannot help noticing how convenient it was that Elsie feels compelled to obey her father concerning the selfish use of riches as an adult, but not concerning what to read on the Sabbath Day as a child, or in other matters which she concealed from him altogether. The author reveals herself here once again. And what about our children? Will they learn to use the same types of convenient rationalizations for their actions, never thinking from what they read of Elsie, that an almighty God is always watching, and will never be fooled by such nonsense?

This series of books presents to the reader a continuing example of Elsie living primarily for herself and her personal gain vindicated by the addition of a few compassionate deeds sprinkled here and there. Yes, Elsie is an enigma. You will have to decide if you want your children to conceal matters from you, hold their own beliefs independent of yours, and seek to live a self-indulgent life.

Hi,

I just finished going over your new section on book reviews. Although I, nor my children have read any of the Elsie Dinsmore series, after reading your review in it, I don’t want to. Also, I always had a problem with C. S. Lewis’ books, the Chronicles of Narnia, being touted as a Christian allegory and Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables books, and now I know why. Thank you for exposing these for what they really are.

Sincerely,
Jill

Hello!

Thank you for your book review on the Elsie Dinsmore series. I purchased the series this summer for my daughters after a friend had recommended them; they have also come highly recommended by many book catalogs. Needless to say, I was disappointed as I read the first book (I didn’t even finish it.) and told my daughters that they could not read them either. I found the character of Elsie confusing and could not agree with her behavior in many instances. It was very reassuring to read your review and know that I was not the only one that had problems with this much recommended series. Thank you for your efforts.

Sincerely,
Cindy

Re: Elsie Dinsmore Series

I agree with what you are saying as the problem in the Elsie Dinsmore Series. When I read through the first 4 books, the conflicts of character struck me as you describe, but what also really offended me was the constant humiliating, vulgar, and ungodly references to black people. I would not want my daughters to read these descriptions, and I am surprised that there is no mention of this extremely ungodly principle in your book review as a major problem. I realize that Finley wrote her books in the 1800's so we are reading what the "Anglo - Christian World View" was of people with other than "white" skin color during that period. But it is not biblical.

Thank you for your time.
(An anonymous pastor)

Hello

I read your commentary on the Elsie Dinsmore series of books, and for the most part I agree with your assessment. I think, perhaps, it is best to relegate them to literature of another era since so much of how they are written can be attributed to the feminization of Christianity during the 19th century. Be that as it may, I was surprised that in your critique you did not say more about this supposed Christian role model's ownership of slaves! On that point alone, these books are inappropriate for young girls. It seems that certain "Christian" bookselling companies are particularly interested in espousing ante bellum values. A quick look at their websites will show you that. Christianity does not necessarily equate with Victorian lifestyles; that myth is a legacy from books like those of Elsie Dinsmore.

Susan G.