The Twin Dilemma
Mark’s post on twins poses an interesting question - where did kid-lit twins vanish to? - and then lets it tantalisingly hang. So here’s two half-baked explanations!
i. A shift in the idea of kid-ness. When the heroes of childrens literature tend to come as fully-formed gangs - the Famous Five, the Pevensies, the Arthur Ransome kids - making two of said gang twins opened up a few marginal story possibilities. But it seems to me that now heroes in kid-lit tend to start more as loners who work their way - by luck or effort or magic - into companionship. If this is the current winning structure for kid-lit then twin protagonists clearly closes off story elements.
Ii. A shift in the idea of twin-ness. The focus of thinking about twins seems to have moved from an external one which saw them as largely comical (mistaken identity being the most obvious device), to an internal one in which the ‘psychic bond’ (whether real or actual) of twin-ness is emphasised more, and the comedy moves to spookiness.
A big counter to both of these is surely Mary-Kate and Ashley, twinnish screen heroines whose adventures I have never seen but appear to be entirely trad.
Site powered by
Kat on November 16th, 2006
There has been a fair few kids telly sitcoms feat twins in recent years (discounting Hollyoaks as one of them had to change their hairdo so you could tell them apart): I watched Sister Sister all the blimmin’ time. Usual formula: the naughty one of the pair gets grounded & the other covers for her while she goes off larging it up on the town. I will think of some more in a bit.
Kat on November 16th, 2006
Er aren’t there twins in Harry Potter? Ron’s brothers? I’ve only read one Harry Potter book so I’m not sure.
Kat on November 16th, 2006
OMG of course, He-Man and She-Ra were twins!
FT's Tom on November 16th, 2006
Yes - in the trad twin role of “played for comic relief” too. They’re pretty minor characters, though. And HP follows the “kid starts alone” model too - he only encounters all these colourful characters once he’s started building up his ‘gang’ (and then has to re-start every book!)
FT's Alan on November 16th, 2006
sherri and terri in the simpsons never had a proper story about them
Kat on November 16th, 2006
And Luke & Leia!
FT's Alan on November 16th, 2006
hang on aren’t Leia and Luke twins??
FT's Alan on November 16th, 2006
d’oh!
FT's Alan on November 16th, 2006
Top 10 Children’s Books About Twins & Other Multiples from about.com
FT's CarsmileSteve on November 16th, 2006
Patty and Selma have had a few stories though…
Stevie on November 16th, 2006
Also Pitt and Pliny in ‘Mason and Dixon’.
Kat on November 16th, 2006
*dons statistical hat* In 2004, about 1 in 34 babies was born a twin or a triplet in the UK, in 1980 it was 1 in 52. Hi dere IVF! But remember there are two of them so it will be half that number “per pregnancy” I guess. Argh maths. BUT anyway, should we be getting MORE fiction abt twins/triplets nowadays than we used to?
FT's pˆnk s lord sükråt cunctør on November 16th, 2006
i refer you back to lucy fitch perkins for a reality check as to the meaning of MORE
FT's pˆnk s lord sükråt cunctør on November 16th, 2006
structurally, twins seem sometimes to serve the function of NOT CONTRIBUTING MUCH (bcz they only actually engage w.each other) at the same time as BULKING UP THE NUMBERS
also: you don’t have to invent a “character” for them — their character is “twin”
obv this doesn’t apply to perkins or to malcolm saville
Pete on November 17th, 2006
Vis Mary-Kate and Ashley and/or the Sweet Valley High twins, these days the defacto personalities for female twins seems to be serious vs popular (or as was better expressed last night: brainy vs slutty).
FT's Alan on November 17th, 2006
Talking of popular, weren’t there studious v popular twins in the show Popular?
FT's pˆnk s lord sükråt cunctør on November 17th, 2006
alang was it you (or kat?) who wz a-arguin that the spate of twins-on-TV was an attempt to target the demographic spike?
FT's Alan on November 17th, 2006
don’t think it was me.
Kat on November 17th, 2006
Also studious v rebellious in Sister, Sister. Makes for repetitive yet believable role-swapping storylines.
Adult twins seem to crop up less in adult fiction than adolescent/child twins in kid-lit? I suppose adults are more likely to have separate adventures once they’ve left school, unless said adventures include TURNING EVIL and coming back to cause mischief (e.g. Derek in Sunset Beach…)
FT's pˆnk s lord sükråt cunctør on November 17th, 2006
turning evil!!
ooh ooh there is also twins-as-swopsies = “the prince and the pauper” (twain) and erich kästner’s “lisa and lottie” (filmed twice as “the parent trap”)
FT's pˆnk s lord sükråt cunctør on November 17th, 2006
(kästner is grebt btw and something by him will feature in THRILLERS FOR KIDS at some point)
FT's Pete Baran on November 17th, 2006
There is a film on general release which has a twin plot.
Though clones are much more interesting.
FT's Alan on November 17th, 2006
last night we noted that John Constantine and some other rub superhero comic character has an evil twin who dies before birth.
Emma on November 17th, 2006
I think Neighbours has done an evil twins plot recently but I couldn’t keep up (this is due to only seeing 2 min snatches (arf) of Neighbours at any time rather than due to my great stupidity at not even being able to keep up with Neighbours. Or maybe not). I think the good one was in a coma and the evil one was pretending to be the good one but then the good one woke up. Or something.
FT's pˆnk s lord sükråt cunctør on November 17th, 2006
i possibly actually solved this riddle on ile but then forgot but i remember readin a book (possibly a series) when small about twinsd who were TINYWEE ie JUST FOUR INCHES HIGH and the world-historical hilarity that ensued
i think they were german or possibly swiss — so i assume the book was translated
FT's Pete Baran on November 17th, 2006
As usual : wikipedia got there first:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_twins_in_fiction
Which reminded me that there are both identical twins (both played by Jeffery Tambor) and fraternal boy/girl twins in sit-com Arrested Development.
FT's pˆnk s lord sükråt cunctør on November 17th, 2006
re wiki: no fitch perkins no credibility obv!
(i realise it is my job to insert her)