Laura Ingalls and Whipping (spin off)

[Sparrow]

I can't remember where it was said but ma does feel "the only good Indian was a dead Indian." In don't think pa agreed. I think he knew why there were troubles and did his best to be diplomatic. I remember when he had a pipe with one and they were just quiet, but it was pleasant.

[Soliloquy]

Originally Posted by Zooey

I agree. When Rose wrote her own stories about the same period, they were completely different in style from Laura's books.

Any how.....I actually wanted to say that Laura gave many interviews to magazines, & on radio, and one of the things she told about, was the fact that she only was spanked once & that was the time in the book. She also said that her mother didn't believe in spanking, & never, not even once did she hit any of the children.
She had never intended to put that one incident in the book, but both her editors & Rose told her that no one would ever believe that she had never been spanked, so she reluctantly put it in. After that, she refused to make up more whippings because she wasn't going to lie about it.

Yet Carrie suggested she have Mr Brewster whip Clarence as he deserved. . Maybe because he was a teenager.

[Joyanne]

Originally Posted by Sparrow

I can't remember where it was said but ma does feel "the only good Indian was a dead Indian." In don't think pa agreed. I think he knew why there were troubles and did his best to be diplomatic. I remember when he had a pipe with one and they were just quiet, but it was pleasant.

That was the neighbor, mr. Scott that said that in the little house on the Prairie book and Pa disagreed.

In Christ,
joy

[FlyingBlueKiwi]

Originally Posted by Zooey

I actually wanted to say that Laura gave many interviews to magazines, & on radio, and one of the things she told about, was the fact that she only was spanked once & that was the time in the book. She also said that her mother didn't believe in spanking, & never, not even once did she hit any of the children.
She had never intended to put that one incident in the book, but both her editors & Rose told her that no one would ever believe that she had never been spanked, so she reluctantly put it in. After that, she refused to make up more whippings because she wasn't going to lie about it.

That's very interesting, as it's on direct opposition to her original draft "Pioneer Girl." This was the original, shorter version, before the editors other than Rose got their hands on it. I just today finished a story of where Caroline and Aunt Martha were annoyed with the kids making too much noise. Aunt Martha told Caroline to go up and spank all the kids, then if they would not quiet down, she (Martha) would go up and spank them again. Caroline went up and spanked all of them, including Mary and one other girl cousin who hadn't really been doing anything.

Anyway, here is the Amazon listing for the book. I would suggest the library, though, as this book is a HUGE hardcover. About 90% of it is notes and annotations from the research that was done separately from the manuscript. I would strongly recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more about Laura's *real* background. Apparently even most of the true stories were edited/fictionalized/moved around in time for better dramatic effect.

[Elibellamiah]

I wonder if she's making a distinction between being whipped with an object and a spanking. She had to have been spanked more than just once because she wouldn't have known she "deserved a spanking" for throwing a fit about sitting quietly on Sunday if spanking wasn't a normal thing for her. But it could be that the time when she hit her sister was the only time she was whipped.

[ECingMama]

Originally Posted by Elibellamiah

I wonder if she's making a distinction between being whipped with an object and a spanking. She had to have been spanked more than just once because she wouldn't have known she "deserved a spanking" for throwing a fit about sitting quietly on Sunday if spanking wasn't a normal thing for her. But it could be that the time when she hit her sister was the only time she was whipped.

I was only spanked about five times, never whipped. I still knew when I *deserved* a spanking. I wish my parents hadn't spanked at all or ever threatened to. It has made it harder for me to parent. I wish I'd had better modeling.

This thread has been fascinating.

[rjy9343]

Originally Posted by Elibellamiah

I wonder if she's making a distinction between being whipped with an object and a spanking. She had to have been spanked more than just once because she wouldn't have known she "deserved a spanking" for throwing a fit about sitting quietly on Sunday if spanking wasn't a normal thing for her. But it could be that the time when she hit her sister was the only time she was whipped.

That makes a lot of sense given the time and what was expected in that time. As a child, there is not much difference, but for an adult, there is a big difference.