The Cauldron

Now here's something that just sort of came to me as read both A's and MH's posts just now: Maybe the reason she acts so childish is exactly because of the fact that she had no childhood. Maybe that is why Rhapsody put up with her; she knew that Jo had no one in her past that taught her, either through actual lessons or simply by example, the correct way to act. Let me see if I can explain where my thoughts were at the time of reading this. This will be long, but I think it will go a long way in understanding Jo's character.

 A Swiss psychologist, Jean Piaget began to study how humans learn to reason. After years of study, he concluded that children go through four stages as the develop. We learn about these stages in psychology, sociology (where I learned about them), and even some in ethics (where I learned about them again).

The first stage is the sensorimotor stage, which is generally from birth to about the age of 2.  The next stage is the preoperational or prereasoning stage, from about age 2 to 7.  Step three is the concrete operational or reasoning stage, from about age 7 to 12.  The last step is the formal operational or reasoning stage. This is after the age of 12.

Related to this are the stages of cognitive development. The three stages are childhood to adolesence; adolesence to early adult; and mature. During the first stage, the person is more ego centered (I will do this because it makes me feel good; I won't do this because I will be punished and that feels bad), the second stage is more group centered and society/law centered (If I do this, my "group" won't except me; if I don't do this it wouldn't be acceptable in our society; if I do this I will be breaking the law); and the last stage is more principal and reasoning centered (I will do this because it is the right thing to do; if I do this, there will be this and that consequence). Most people in our society are either in the second stage, or fluctuate between stage two and three. Very few people are totally within the last stage.

Now, what's all this have to do with Jo? Well, we grow from each of these stages into the next through our socialization, which is done through family (which Jo had almost none of since she was a very small child apparently), education (which Jo had none of), and peers (since she was living on the street, what peers she had would have been in the same boat as her, so they wouldn't have taught her more than how to survive).

Jo is a classic case of an isolated child. If any of you have watched to movie Nell (which I highly recommend) there are some similarities between Jo and Nell. Although Nell's speak was distorted and Jo can speak clearly, look at the kind of language Jo uses, which, by the way, Rhapsody herself uses (she missed part of her growing up as well, since she left her home at 14, though she did have the advantage of a loving family). Also, look at how selfish Jo is. She has never made it through all the stages, so she is stuck in that maturity level. In the movie Nell, the title character didn't have any problem with nudity around others, because she hadn't yet been taught that we don't lift our dress up in a bar full of men. We normally teach little girls, as well as little boys, that we keep ourselves covered, especially in public, at a very young age. Jo felt that pick-pocketing was perfectly reasonable because she is set in "survival mode" even though Rhapsody is there to help her. Jo's been on her own for so long, she simply hasn't reached to stage of understanding abstract thoughts yet.

I have a lot more compassion for Jo then I once did. But you younger folks don't be too hard on her. Of course you guys are much more mature than her, and naturally were are that same age, too, but that would be expected because you had more normal upbringing, no doubt. Jo is just stuck in between childhood and adolescence.

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Avie pic by me.
Elwood: It's 106 miles to Chicago, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses.
Jake: Hit it. ~ The Blues Brothers (1980)

That is a very valid point, Valecynos. Of course, it doesn't mean that I have to like Jo. Of course, I like her more than I did. In retrospect, she kind of balanced out the group--Ashe, Grunthor and Achmed along with Rhapsody do not make a particularly balanced group, in personality or gender. Achmed doesn't give a crap, Ashe gives so much of a crap that he becomes over-emotional (this isn't the thread for it, but Ashe kind of disgusts me, to choose the best possible word; I don't care what he's been through, he should not cry as much as he does) and Grunthor is Grunthor. Jo was a little refreshing, if obnoxious.

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If science could fail,a mountain's a mammal.[..]
--luckily for us,a mountain is a mammal.
~E.E.Cummings

Oh I absolutely agree on that! There are a lot of people that I can understand and have compassion for, but don't exactly want to have Thanksgiving dinner with, if you get my meaning. I actually disliked Jo a great deal before. I haven't looked through this thread to see if I posted anything like that, but I know I'd commented about my original feelings towards Jo in other threads about her. Really, to say I disliked her is an understatement. When I first read the books, I absolutely couldn't stand her. But now at least I kind of see why she is the way she is, (and in some ways see why Rhapsody cared for her so much) and that makes me dislike her a little less.

And Grunthor rocks, IMHO.

LOL! You know, Grunthor may be the only one of all the characters that doesn't have severe emotional problems.

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Avie pic by me.
Elwood: It's 106 miles to Chicago, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses.
Jake: Hit it. ~ The Blues Brothers (1980)

I just took psychology and we talked about Piaget. You do have a great point; I never even thought of it like that. Hmmm, let me think...nope, I still don't like her, even with psychology on her side.

And Grunthor ought to be the ruler of the universe.

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"All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream."
~Edgar Allan Poe
"Darest thou now O Soul, Walk out with me toward the unknown region, Where neither ground is for feet Nor any path to follow."
~Walt Whitman
~Avatar made by Me, madhatter.

Grunthor should be ruler of the universe...

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"Fire-child, star-child, what is kel? Sword-bearers, song-weavers, that is kel."
-The Faded Sun trilogy by C.J.Cherryh.
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