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September: Little Sisters
Maureen says, "Marlene, Scarlett's younger sister who once had cancer, gets away with a lot of bad behavior. Do you think she's entitled?"
11 comments:
No, she really isn't entitled. I was so happy when her parents started treating her like the rest of the kids at the end. She HAD cancer...she doesn't have it anymore. Like Scarlet said, "no one is going to care when she is older."
She is a healthy, happy kid and they should be celebrating that, but they should also be treated her like all the other kids because she has to get used to that in life.
I found Marlene to be a great foil for Scarlett, and I love how her character provided a look into the soft stepping we do around people who've been ill... and where to draw the line with the special treatment. Marlene was no pushover, though. She's a schemer. I like that.
By treating Marlene differently and letting her get away with her bad behavior, the Martins were doing such a disservice to her. Children who aren't given limits or taught to behave better grow up to be people that nobody else wants to be around.
I think MJ handled Marlene brilliantly. She is a great foil for Scarlett, but at the same time you have to feel for her because she did have cancer, but now that is being treated like a normal kid it's OK to like her.
-Lindsay
No. While she was sick, she had rights to get away with stuff. But now that she's in remission? No.
I don't like Marlene and it sort of makes me feel a bit mean. But the kid is annoying and manipulative and just plain mean.
the time I had liked Scarlett the most was when she told Marlene that she should stop her behavior 'cause other people won't care for it when she's older.
In high school we wrote stories about our favorite Christmas memory and my friend wrote about her experience being the sister of a cancer patient when they were both young. Everyone was so caught up in what was happening to her sister that my friend felt ignored. That year her sister received all these presents and almost as an afterthought someone had wrapped up a package of socks for my friend. She said it was a hugely meaningful gift the her because someone had thought of her.
Marlene reminds me of that and how sad it was to hear about this memorable Christmas gift from my friend who even years later only really had a so-so relationship with her sister.
It is interesting to consider what we'll let people do (and "get away with") in certain circumstances, but would never tolerate under quote "ordinary" circumstances.
I liked the fact that the siblings weren't all close, that S&S were buddies with each other more than with their other sisters, while those two were thick as thieves. Not every sibling has the same relationship with every other sibling.
Interesting, LW.
Definitely, no special treatment. Nope.
Marlene is a master manipulator who is also a troubled child. I felt compassion for her and wished I could help her so she wouldn't feel such a need for attention.
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