The Sword In The Tree

[kamariden]

I just finished reading The Sword In The Tree (I try to read all my son's books before he does). Is it just me or was anyone else bothered by the portrayal of Lady Marian as being rather weak, selfish, and helpless? It really bothered me that in the very first chapter she turned to her son for answers and comfort instead of the other way around.

"Shan, I'm glad to find you here," she said. "I was afraid you had gone with your father."..... "I heard them speak of a wounded knight." ....."Shan, what does it mean? Is someone making war on us? Are there enemy soldiers outside?"

"Don't be afraid, Mother," said Shan.

Also, the way Shan spoke to his mother shows that he sees her as just that (weak and helpless). He argues with her and does not look to her for advice nor appear to respect her opinion. He clearly thinks he knows better than she. (And in all honesty, I think he does know better than her.) In the first chapter he doesn't ask her permission to go to the courtyard, but instead simply declares his plan. When she states that she does not think his plan is wise, he argues with her, then doesn't even wait for her to change her mind and agree with him. He just simply argues and then acts on his own decision.

"Mother, I'm going down there," he said.
"I don't think you should go," said Lady Marian.
"No one is fighting," he said. "There's nothing to be afraid of."
He put on his clothes. He ran down the stairs and into the courtyard.

When she tells him he cannot go to Camelot (at first) he technically obeys her, yes. Yet not because he respects her, but because he believes he is obligated to obey her. This is obvious in the way he asks her the same question every day until she says yes. On the other hand, I'm not sure the mother had good reason for saying no in the first place and, in the end, she does not say yes because she has been persuaded to agree that it is a good idea, but because she "can see that [he] will never be happy until [he goes]." Which is just another way in which the mother is poorly portrayed.

So although I think the root problem lies in the way the mother is written, it then forces the boy to role model an attitude which is inappropriate for most children (those with competent mothers). I appreciate that this was the attitude toward women during the era in which the story takes place, but that doesn't mean strong female characters didn't exist and/or couldn't have been written. Especially considering this is a fictional children's book.

The reason I chose to read this book first of all the ones we'd selected for my son is because I was most excited by it. I felt the topic would be the most appealing to my son. Yet we're already dealing with issues of my son believing he knows better than his parents. The last thing I need is to hand him a book that reinforces the idea that he's smarter than me or his dad. Obviously I don't act the way the mother in this story does, but I'm not sure I trust a 6 year old to discern the difference. I'm afraid all he'll see is a boy who acts like he knows better than his mother and is successful because of it. I know that the task of selecting books for these reader sets is a monumental one. And I certainly appreciate the effort that must have gone into putting them together. I am just so saddened and confused that a book which portrays mothers in such a poor light is included.

[netpea]

We loved that book, but I didn't see it that way. I'll have to take another look at it.

[Kims]

We are on the next to the last chapter and I have not seen it that way. I did see her as kind of weak but I thought it was reasonable after all she had been through.
We love King Arthur and all do do with him and there is no way my 6yo could discern that attitude from the story. He just doesn't comprehend on that level.
We are liking the book.

[acts29stl]

I have not read this book but the wonderful thing about HOD is that you can easily substitute this book with another of your choice if you feel it won't work for your family.

Another option would be to use it as a great tool to point out to your son another boy who thinks he is wiser than his authority and talk through options this boy could have done instead. I know there is so much discussion and follow-up questions with the storytime box that a child isn't just listening to a story for enjoyment only. They are encouraged to think about the character's actions and how that lines up with Scripture.

But you know your son best, and if this is an area he is already struggling with, just skip the book and choose another one of the same genre The program is so flexible that it won't make a difference at all!!

[kamariden]

Yeah. I am glad that HOD is so flexible in this regard. I guess it's the surprise of it all that got to me. I just didn't expect it. I think we're all a little more alert to different issues depending on our backgrounds and situation. I guess this is one that just jumped out and grabbed my attention, but went unnoticed by others. I suppose if my son weren't already at that stage of trying to figure out the balance of appropriate 6 year old independence and crossing the line into disrespect, I wouldn't see reading this book as quite such an issue for him (although as a woman & a mother the character would still irk me personally).

I've thought long and hard about whether to go ahead with reading it anyway and just trying to talk to him about it. I'm still on the fence about it. It's just such a complicated thing to try to explain to a 6 year old. I think it may be easier to go with something like My Father's Dragon where I can more easily deal with the issue of "kids should not run away from home." That issue is just a little more straight-forward, so seems like it would be easier.

[Carrie]

While you can easily choose another book to read if desired, I'll just share a few things about this particular book that may shed some light on the way that it is written. First of all, the historical time period that the book is steeped within is the medieval times. In medieval times, ladies were viewed as less important than men (whether we like that or not) and had less weight in decisions than their male counterparts. Land was passed from father to son and while women were very involved in the running of the manor or estate, men had the final say-so about just about everything. Women were often powerless in many situations if there was no man to fend for them or to fight for their honor. This is why mothers were so thrilled to have a son, and also listened to their son's counsel even from a son's very early age. It was a different world then, and showing a son respect and treating him like a man from the time he was young was expected.

Another aspect to consider is the required dress of women, the roles women were allowed to have, and the view that women were potentially meant to marry and bear children as their only goal in life. These societal requirements definitely impacted women's behavior and their dress impeded many activities. This sometimes played itself out in women feeling and acting helpless. I personally felt in the Sword in the Tree that Lady Marion and her son had a normal "medieval times" relationship, one in which Shan was raised to protect his mother and protect his father's land at any personal cost. When Shan's father disappears unexpectedly, the mother turns to the next heir in line for the title (Shan) and looks for him to protect his inheritance, which he does.

One more thing to bear in mind is that in our guides this book is scheduled to be a read-aloud. It is not scheduled as a DITHR book. We are not expecting a 6 year old to read this book on his/her own or expecting a 6 year old to be doing DITHR. Rather, we are expecting that this book is being read aloud and discussed as part of the Storytime part of our plans. We choose and place each book in a specific slot in each of our programs, keeping in mind whether the book will need some discussion or whether it is suitable for the child to read on his/her own. We expect Storytime selections to be read aloud and discussed. Through the discussions that come out in the Storytime part of the plans and in DITHR, there will be much Godly character discussion and much comparison to Biblical virtues. That is the beauty of the activities that go with the books! It is a much different experience than handing your child a book to read on his/her own.

My boys loved The Sword in the Tree and enjoyed being steeped in the medieval time period. I thoroughly enjoyed our discussions with it about another time and place. It is a great way to show the changing roles that men, women, and children have had throughout history, but the real story is Shan and his fight to save his family's home and ineheritance. The more historical fiction books I read, the more I have learned about the past. To portray the mother as a very strong female character wouldn't have been true to the time period, but rather would have modernized the book to reflect the roles of today.

Unless your son is almost 7, I would definitely lean toward a child of his age doing the Emerging Reader's Set. If he is beyond the first half of the set, I would begin with the last half of the Emerging Reader's Set. Even though all of my oldest sons were reading very young, my first two reading easily at age 4, I still had them go through the Emerging Reader's Set at that age, and we enjoyed it very much. The follow-ups strengthened their comprehension and narration skills and having them read aloud to me each day was excellent practice for them in oral reading. In their free time, they read higher level books if they desired, but for school we did the Emerging Readers. It did not hold them back in any way, and it allowed their minds to mature to the point where they were ready for the higher level discussions that accompany DITHR.

You are so right that a child of 6 is not ready to handle a thorough discussion of whatever we as parents see as potential concerns in a book. Instead the child is still just trying to read the words, comprehend, and pull the storyline together. This is why it is important to let a child mature and age a bit before heading into the deep character based discussions that take place as part of DITHR. It is also very helpful to use the books in the areas we have selected for them to be used in, so the Sword in the Tree would be used within Storytime along with the gentler discussions that are scheduled in that box of the plans as a lead-in into DITHR.

Blessings,
Carrie

[Mercy]

As I read stories with my children I find myself often saying outloud my comments to the children about certain actions they may take, etc. "Well, that boy sure doesn't seem to obey very well.." or "You know that I expect you to obey better than this child has. You should always make sure I have approved of what you are doing before you do it." Or something to that nature. I might even point out the error of the mother. I havent read this book, so Im not sure. Just thought I would share how we deal with topics and situations as we read aloud and many times the Holy Spirit will be allowed to work as the issue the child is dealing with comes to light.