Nancy Drew and Me

When I was twelve, oddly and ironically amidst my Twilight phase (which I now regret immensely), I announced to my parents that I no longer liked the Nancy Drew book series. This expression of distaste was not because the books were below my reading level (they had already been for at least two to three years at that point), but because I said they were "anti-feminist".

I continue to think of the inherent irony in my campaign against Nancy, because during the years that I refused to read her books, I bought clothing from stores such as American Eagle and Aéropostale, stores I now refuse to enter because of the sexism that they seem to encourage. I also watched 'Hannah Montana' and read the Twilight series. I glommed onto these and other trends (though I did start Twilight before the major influx of twilighters/hards, back in 2006...) and yet I denounced Nancy, whom I had loved just a year or so before.

I put the mysteries in the back of my over-flowing bookshelves, and moved onto other things, things I now regret. I suppose it what a "phase" of mine, one that has taught me well.

However, just over a week ago, I pulled out a Nancy Drew mystery from the back of my bookshelves at my mom's house. I decided that I would read them again.

I've come to the conclusion that I was a naïve twelve-year-old. I now believe the mysteries to actually be feminist, rather than anti-feminist as I adamantly claimed six years ago. Yes, Nancy does get trapped and sometimes has to be rescued by her "special friend" Ned (the books rarely call him her "boyfriend", though he was) at points, but she's a smart and an independent eighteen-year-old living in the thirties. The fact that she's out driving her fancy convertible and solving crime is pretty impressive. Also, both her father (a semi-famous and fairly intelligent lawyer) and the Police Chief of her town always ask her for help. They never seem to be able to solve a mystery without her.

The time period in which many of the Nancy Drew books were written is very important to consider as well. In the 1930s, women did not have the same rights as they do in 2012. Things were far more male-oriented then (though with all the recent GOP stuff...), and women simply did not have the rights that they do now. Nancy was an icon, one could say. She proved that women could do more than cook and clean. Heck, they could fight crime!! They could outsmart men (many of her adversaries seem to be male) and they could drive slick cars. They could do all that while still being feminine. Nancy is often described in the books as something along the lines of "an attractive titian blonde", and the illustrations show her wearing nice dresses or skirts. Nancy manages to wear good clothing and manage to run around, climb trees/ladders, and do whatever it takes for her to solve a crime. And she will always solve it, whatever it takes.

She's also compassionate and caring. She genuinely wants to help those who are in trouble. She wants those around her to be happy and to have better lives.

So while Nancy isn't perfect, she's much more than my twelve-year-old self gave her credit for. (Plus, she's far more feminist than Bella Swan, a girl living in the twenty-first century).

Sorry Nancy.