Daddy-Long-Legs is a beloved work for its unique story in the form of a letter and its heartwarming coming-of-age narrative. Judy’s candid letter is full of excitement and emotion, and has a timeless appeal.
Introduction to the life and works of Jean Webster
Jean Webster was born on July 24, 1876, in Fredonia, New York. His father was a publisher, and his mother was the niece of Mark Twain (1835-1910), a novelist famous for The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Jean Webster was the eldest daughter and was named after Twain’s mother.
Jean Webster graduated from Vassar College in 1901, majoring in English literature and economics, and was already immersed in creative writing while still a student. “When Patty Went to College” was serialized while she was in school, but it was later published as a single volume in 1903. Along with “Dadde-Long-Legs,” it has become Webster’s representative work. The models for these two works are said to be the poet Adeleida Kraffsky, a classmate from college.
While attending Vassar College, Webster had the opportunity to visit the detention facilities for the poor and criminals from time to time, and he was greatly interested in social work in this area. His conviction was that no matter how unfortunate a start a child may have, there is no reason why he or she cannot achieve happiness and success in life. The novelization of this belief is Daddy-Long-Legs.
The story is about a girl named Judy, who grew up only in an orphanage until she entered college, and who lives a happy and cheerful life at an academy with children who grew up in a happy family, thanks to the sponsorship of a philanthropist. Judy reports on her studies and college life in letters as a way of repaying the philanthropist for his help. However, she does not even know the philanthropist’s name. The only thing he knows is that he has long legs, so he is nicknamed ‘Daddy-Long-Legs’ and continues to write letters to ‘Daddy-Long-Legs’ throughout his four years at university. One of the attractions of this work is that it keeps the identity of ‘Daddy-Long-Legs’ a secret until the end.
The ending of the novel is romantic and has a strong ‘Cinderella’ element, but at the same time, it has something wonderful that cannot be dismissed as a simple girl’s novel. It is romantic, but it also depicts a life attitude of standing on the ground with strength. Judy is not affected by her unfortunate upbringing, and is endlessly cheerful, innocent, full of goodness, independent, full of motivation, and diligent. She has the flexibility and humor to bounce back even when faced with sadness, loneliness, and pain. This was probably the temperament of the author, Webster himself, at least, but the temperament and the lively letter style that can be seen in the main character, Judy’s letter, are perhaps the greatest charm of this work. Its freshness remains unchanged over the years. It is so fresh that it makes you forget that it is a novel written more than half a century ago. When I come across phrases such as “women have no suffrage” or “women are not citizens,” I am reminded of the passage of time and wonder if it was written in the old days.
Jean Webster later adapted the novel into a play, which was also a success. It was again made into a movie in the silent movie era, starring the great actress Mary Pickford, and then again in 1955, as a musical movie starring Leslie Caron and Fred Astaire.
Jean Webster married late. At the age of nearly 40, she married Glenn Ford McKinney and lived in an apartment near Central Park in New York City. She also had a farm in the Berkshire Hills of Massachusetts, where the couple raised ducks and pheasants. But unfortunately, she gave birth to a baby girl in 1916, the year after her marriage, and died soon after.
Introduction of Characters
Jerusha (Judy)
Abbott Jerusha Abbott, a bright, intelligent, and cheerful girl, spent 18 years of her life at the John Grier Orphanage. One day, the director of the orphanage hears that a wealthy benefactor has decided to send her to college.
John Smith (Daddy-Long-Legs)
An anonymous benefactor who sponsors Judy’s college education so that she can become a writer. He provides Judy with education expenses and generous pocket money on the condition that she write him a letter once a month to let him know that she is doing well in her education. However, he says he will never reveal his identity and will not reply to the letter. Judy, who caught a glimpse of the shadow of this unidentified benefactor from behind, knows that he is a tall, leggy man. So I jokingly call him “Daddy-Long-Legs.”
Sallie McBride
Judy’s best friend at university and roommate. Sallie is a kind and shy friend, and Judy spends Christmas vacation with the large family of Sallie, who is very fun.
Julia Pendleton
Another college friend of Judy’s, she is very wealthy and acts somewhat high-and-mighty. At first, he doesn’t get along well with Judy, but he keeps trying to find out her hidden background.
Jimmie McBride
Sallie’s handsome older brother. Jimmy has a great crush on Judy and Judy also enjoys being with Jimmy, but when Judy is invited to spend the summer vacation with the McBrides, including Jimmy, Daddy-Long-Legs does not allow it.
Jervis Pendleton (Uncle Jervis)
Julia Pendleton’s handsome, young, wealthy uncle. It is eventually revealed that he had been secretly in love with Judy, who had always been kind to him.
Leonora Fenton
Judy’s classmate from Texas.
Mrs. Lippett
The strict director of John Grier Orphanage, where Judy spent the first 18 years of her life.
Miss Pritchard
School board member, John Grier Orphanage inspection committee member. Judy takes care of her so that she can have a good school life.
Mrs. Semple
Judy, the former housekeeper and current owner of Rock Willow Farm, where she goes to stay every vacation. It turns out that the farm was originally owned by Jervis Pendleton, but now it belongs to Mrs. Semple, his childhood nanny, the nanny who took care of Master Jervis.
The most charming love letter in the world
Letters are a form of writing that has been loved by people for a long time. Letter writing, which was especially popular among the aristocrats of 18th-century Europe, even developed into a literary style called epistolary literature. The biggest feature of the letter is that it sets a specific reader. This makes the descriptions more detailed and the story more vivid. (It is much easier to explain something to one person you know well than to several strangers.) Daddy-Long-Legs is a collection of letters with these advantages. We read this book as if we were peeking into someone’s love letter. Then, at some point, we too fall in love with Judy and read the letters with the feelings of Jervis Pendleton. With the hope that their love will be fulfilled.
With its well-structured plot and vivid descriptions, Daddy-Long-Legs allows readers to fully enjoy the pleasure of reading a true romance novel. The setting of an orphan girl and a rich man’s love has also influenced many novels and movies since then.
Daddy-Long-Legs Book Plot
When Judy first went to college, she was laughed at for not knowing Michelangelo and could not keep up with the level of education of others. She felt inferior, saying, “The hardest thing is not studying, but playing with (rich children).” However, Judy read, wrote, and ran hard to build up her knowledge and physical strength. What is important is that Judy’s mind also grew in the process. Of course, it was not easy. Judy, who sometimes could not sleep because of the pain of not having a family, and who was constantly worried about hiding her background, is a character that readers can fully empathize with. Finally, Judy comes to regard her memories of the orphanage as positive ones, and she confesses to the man (and perhaps to herself) that they were “valuable experiences.”
“Dear Daddy-Long-Legs, Isn’t it funny? I began my existence as an individual on the first day of college. Up to that time I was just part of the John Grier Home, dependent on kind-hearted people for shelter and bread.”
Jervis Pendleton, who was very quiet and rarely socialized with others, gradually fell in love with Judy as he read her letters. How much fun would it have been for Jervis Pendleton to read the letter Judy wrote about her first impression of him, in which she didn’t know that he was Daddy-Long-Legs? How adorable was it for Jervis Pendleton to see Judy, who knew nothing about the farm, looking for traces of his childhood? On the other hand, Judy also pointed out to Daddy-Long-Legs Jervis Pendleton’s fault of troubling the servants.
Of course, Judy doesn’t know why Daddy-Long-Legs won’t let her visit Sallie’s house. But we know. He is anxious that Judy will be taken away from him by Sallie’s brother, Jimmy. He also tries to persuade her to go on a trip to Europe with him as Jervis Pendleton. Jervis Pendleton also changed as he went through these feelings of love, and this can also be considered a form of growth. Because love makes people grow.
The two of them end up confirming their feelings for each other after bickering. The last part of the letter written by Judy, who found out that Daddy-Long-Legs was Jervis Pendleton, is interesting.
“It’s funny, isn’t it, that I should be writing love-letters to you?”
As far as we know, Judy is not a coy young lady. If that is the case, then Judy must not know how good she is at writing love letters. A person is most attractive when only he or she knows that he or she is outstanding. Is this the secret to the popularity of Daddy-Long-Legs?
