Anne's Reviews > Les Petites Filles Modèles

Les Petites Filles Modèles. Another of my childhood favourites that I revisited by way of reading aloud to my nine year old brother, who surprisingly loved it. I say "surprisingly" because it's a) not as fun as Les Malheurs de Sophie, the first book of the trilogy that featured hilarious antics of disobedience as opposed to goodness and sweetness, and b) a girly-girl book. Like, really girly, with tea parties and dolls and effusions of emotion every two pages. Really girly as in all the characters are female, which struck me as quite odd for the time period upon this re-read. But not to worry, because if a nine year old boy who is all about manly things and disliking all the girls at school found something to like here, I think it's safe to say that this book isn't just for girls.

Once again I noticed a bunch of things that had escaped me as a young girl, the importance accorded to women ^^ being the biggest one. The titles characters, Camille and Madeleine de Fleurville, are naturally our protagonists; two sweet, very gentle, very kind, very obedient sisters, who are the delight of their mother and all their friends. They are well-known for their perfect manners and endless virtues, and everybody loves them. Admittedly, they are loveable, if slightly too implausible. My soft spot was always for their feistier friend Marguerite, who stays on at Fleurville with her mother after being rescued from a carriage accident. Marguerite is also a very good little girl, but she's spunky and not afraid to speak her mind, which sometimes gets her into trouble. She's not as perfect as Camille or Madeleine, but she's more fun, and impossibly cute. And with the reappearance on the scene of Sophie (now Sophie Fichini and not Sophie de Réan, as will be explained in more details in the third book, Les vacances) who naturally stirs things up when she comes for a visit, sparks fly between her and Marguerite and arguments and quarrels (and hilarity, let's be honest) ensue.

Then, we have two other very strong female characters who, without cross-dressing, fighting for women's rights or anything else extreme, still come across as very independent, authoritative and even pretty kick-ass, which is all very unusual for women of their time and position. The book isn't trying to be feminist or anything, but still manages to present very forceful characters in a completely realistic way. The first is the widowed Mme de Fleurville, mother of Camille and Madeleine, who has decided to live a more retired life in the country since the death of her husband. Throughout the book she remains the primary figure of authority, and represents the "good" way to educate children. Firm, but always just and kind, Mme de Fleurville knows that harsh corporal punishments are less likely to help a child learn than prayer and time to reflect. We especially see the effects of this with Sophie, whose mistreatments inflicted her by her stepmother only render less virtuous, but who greatly benefits from a little Mme de Fleurville discipline when she has done something reproachable.

The second is Mme de Rosbourg, Marguerite's mother, who comes to live early on with Mme de Fleurville after she and Marguerite are found in a carriage accident. Both women were loath to part after the former's recovery, and since they are both without husbands or other influential male relatives, they decide to keep house together at Fleurville. Mme de Rosbourg's husband, a sea captain, has been absent for five years and presumed dead after a shipwreck. The anxiety and anguish caused from this circumstance have been hard on Mme de Rosbourg, yet she bears it with the patience of a saint (as mostly seen in the next book), and like Mme de Fleurville she is very gentle, kind, and upright in her Christian principles. Throughout the story she mostly plays the role of guardian angel, her generous soul leading her to help the poor left and right, surprise the girls with unexpected gifts, and come to aid of a poor young girl and her mother who were half-dying in a poor little cottage. She finds them a new house, furnishes it, clothe them, give them food and visits often with the children and Mme de Fleurville. Together, they all live a very simple yet happy life at Fleurville, and although nothing overly exciting happens in this one, it is a very good book, full of little girls' antics, little adventures with animals, and getting lost in the woods.

My brother said he'd give it a 4.5 and not a full five, only because "it was a little too emotional", which I completely agree with (it's a book full of females, after all!). The Comtesse loves to have her characters express their deep gratitude and such in overly dramatic sentences, and although I have never really noticed in all my years of quietly reading this book by myself, it quite struck me when reading it aloud!

Never failing to make me smile, Les Petites Filles Modèles still holds a very special place in my heart, and will always be one of my top favourite books. I'm so glad my parents got me hooked on reading with the Comtesse's books! :)

Book 2 of the Fleurville trilogy, but not necessary to have read the first installment. A few things/circumstances don't make perfect sense anyways, as Sophie's and the Rosbourg's situations are all explained in the last book, Les Vacances.