Took a bit of a mind break and picked up this classic literature, Daddy Long Legs, by Jean Webster, published in1912, over a century ago.

The protagonist in the story is an orphan girl with potentials, who was sponsored to further her studies by a mysterious man on the condition that she writes to him once a month.

Initially he was intrigued by her intelligence but as he read her writings , it was candid and heartfelt, and he begin to develop feelings for her. I don’t want to spoil the ending but it leaves the readers with some sense of satisfaction.

I’ve read this book several times since I was a kid and each time it felt diff. Perhaps my perspective evolved over time.

When I was child, it was a story of a hopeless dream coming true. When I was teen, it was all sweet romance. Several years back as I read it it was about the evolving roles of women, the potentials and living life to the fullest.

This time around I was contemplating on Judy's rejection of Jervie - was it due to her complex relationship with Daddy Long Legs and her own sense of independence?

I don’t know if there are still book club readers here who were around a year back but if you have read it, curious to know your exploration and takes on it.

(Keep in mind this book came out over 112 years ago where culture, maturity, age of marriage, opportunity for women was very diff)

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Based off your summary. I got Jeffery epstein vibes from the book 😅

it's written in 1912, where women typically got married at the age of 13/14. In the book, she was way pass that age around 17 taking on caretakers role of kids, and graduated college at 22 i reckon. if it were written now, then i am guessing the age reference would be much older to suit today's culture and appropriation. Many classic literature defines marrying age in what would be incredibly inappropriate in today's world not because its shallow but because it was written at a time where culture was different and women were not independent yet.