I was watching "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane" last week (while knitting more of the not-so-stealth knitting project) and this idea of the child star, encouraged to stay a child for a host of nefarious reasons, not only brought to mind our current child-star disasters, but more importantly the much more blog worthy- Ninetta Crummles (I fess up, I did have to look up her first name) better known as The Infant Phenomenon from Dickens' "The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickelby. I've always like the IP (I feel I know her well enough to call her the IP) ever since my USC days when I stage managed the entire 8-hour show. She appealed to me, her growth stunted by a diet primarily of gin--
"Language was not powerful enough to describe the infant phenomenon. “I’ll tell you what, sir,” he said; “the talent of this child is not to be imagined. She must be seen, sir—seen—to be ever so faintly appreciated.”... the infant phenomenon, though of short stature, had a comparatively aged countenance, and had moreover been precisely the same age - not perhaps to the full extent of the memory of the oldest inhabitant, but certainly for five good years. But she had been kept up late every night, and put upon an unlimited allowance of gin-and-water from infancy, to prevent her growing tall, and perhaps this system of training had produced in the the infant phenomenon the additional phenomenon."
And although it is a thought I'm sure I've had every time I've seen Baby Jane (once every four-five years whether I like to or not) it came to me, once again, as if it were new. I love the way Dickens persists in calling her the infant phenomenon,over and over again. In my minds eye, she is dressed as Baby Jane is dressed, all sausage-roll curls and white lace. Although I am no literary scholar, it would be wonderful to trace back the Infant Phenomenon Phenomenon, and her many appearance is literature, drama and film- so I've started us off 1838 for Nickelby, Baby Jane in 1962-- any other thoughts? anyone?
Well you made me go and Blockbuster that movie since your description the other night made it sound so good.
Posted by: Crafty Pancakes | March 27, 2008 at 06:18 PM