What accounts for the perennial popularity of Nancy Drew? What makes her stories so enticing? Why would anyone want to read about this unfettered rich girl?
- Nancy is from a different era
- She’s out of high school
- She doesn’t go to college, nor is that expected by her or anyone else in the stories
- She doesn’t have a job
- She has her own car and plenty of money
- She has no mother, but a housekeeper named Hannah
- She runs errands for her lawyer dad
- Romance factor is close to zero
- She is content with her life.
I’ve heard parents complain about Nancy Drew. They wish their children, daughters usually, would move on to better literature. I’m not sure there is a better character model for a young girl than Nancy Drew.
Good character
- Nancy always puts the needs of other people first
- She is always kind and considerate
- She stops whatever she planned on doing to help other people
- She finds helpless people and intervenes for them regardless of their age or status
- She consults her father for guidance and wisdom
- Nancy trusts her father’s judgement
- She is courageous
- She notices details and engages in creative wondering
- She follows through and does what she said she would do
- She is a loyal friend
- Her self-confidence allows her to follow her intuition
- She notices and follows clues others miss
- She makes friends with everyone she meets
- She thinks for herself and is not swayed by pressure from others
- She stays focused and ignores personal danger
- She even hopes the bad guys will learn their lesson and become kind and gentle people
Character Matters
I fell in love with Nancy Drew in the sixth grade. The plots are page turners, but the enduring popularity of these books is Nancy, from the moment the reader meets her in the first book, The Secret of the Old Clock.
You may need to discuss boundary issues with your children if they choose to emulate Nancy. But they will understand self-sacrifice, courage, and kindness if they live for a while in Nancy’s world. They might even learn to think for themselves.
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