"I'm really confused about something," Jolena said, as some of the dolls were sitting around, reading.
Mariah and Billy looked up from their books.
"What's confusing, Jolena?" Mariah asked.
Billy was wondering the same thing, but Mariah asked first, so he waited to hear what Jolena would say.
"In the book I'm reading, it says that some human people were stolen from their homes and made to work for the people who took them. They were given food, clothes and a place to live, but they didn't get any pay for their work, and they couldn't leave, so it wasn't like a job."
"Yes," Mariah said. "I've read about that. It's called slavery. Some human people have done this to others for as long as there have been human people, I think."
"This book says that sometimes they were mistreated," Jolena added.
"Yes," Mariah agreed. "Some people did not mistreat their slaves (that's what these kidnapped people were called), but sometimes they did, and the slaves couldn't leave. Even if they were not mistreated, they were not allowed to decide things for themselves. Sometimes they were separated from their families and sold to other people."
"So are we slaves?" Billy asked. "I mean, we were taken away from the factory where we were made. We were sold, too."
"That's what I was going to ask," Jolena put in. "Dolls have to do what our human family members want us to do. We don't get to decide who buys us or where they take us."
"Yes," Billy agreed. "They give us a place to live and clothes to wear. Sometimes we get to pretend to eat food or drink pretend tea or water or milk," but someone else usually decides everything for us."
"Some children even mistreat us!" Jolena added. "Sometimes children throw us or use us to hit something. Sometimes they take off our arms or legs or head!"
"Sometimes they cut our hair, even if we don't want it cut," Billy pointed out. "I wanted to have mine cut, but what if you didn't want that to happen to you. Sometimes they draw on our faces or bodies with permanent marker. Sometimes they throw us down outside and forget about us."
"We can be given away or sold to someone else," Jolena agreed. "When that happens, maybe we never get to see our families again."
"We get an allowance here," Billy said, "but it isn't because we have a right to it, and most dolls don't get paid for what they do. Doesn't that mean that dolls are slaves?"
Mariah had been listening to the two dolls talking. She was trying not to laugh, because Jolena and Billy were serious.
"It's not the same for dolls," she explained when she could talk without laughing. "We aren't slaves, because we aren't human people. We are made to be sold. We are made to do whatever our human family members want us to do, and it makes us happy."
"The Writer bought Veronika from someone else," Mariah continued. "Veronika told me she enjoyed her life in her first home, but she is happy with us, too. She stood around with a thing holding her up, so she couldn't run around. Human people looked at her and admired her, but she didn't mind. She sometimes hears from the other dolls she lived with back then. Most of them went to new homes, too. Sometimes they write her a letter or send her an email. Sometimes they read our stories and comment on them."
"It's different for dolls," Mariah went on. "If we are mistreated, we don't feel pain. Human people suffer if they are hit or damaged."
"Well," said Billy, "maybe we don't feel pain, but I suffered when they gave me long hair and a dress to wear in the factory. It was so embarrassing! Freckles didn't mind, but I did! I didn't want anyone to see me like that."
"I was glad they gave me a snowsuit and ski equipment at the factory," Jolena said. "All I ever wanted to do was fly through the air on skis!"
"I think the reason you wanted to be a boy was because The Writer needed boys for the stories," suggested Mariah. "You wanted to be a boy because it was what you were meant to be. Some of the factory workers don't know how to listen to dolls, so they don't know, and I think that all of the dolls who look like you were made to look like girls."
"I think Mariah is right," Jolena said, "I see that you might have been embarrassed, but it didn't hurt you! I've seen real human skiers fall and break a leg or an arm. You can tell it hurts them, and sometimes the damage can't be repaired easily. Doll skiers just get upset that they didn't perform well. They might be embarrassed if they land on their head and it comes off and rolls off the course and ends up in a snowbank, but they don't feel pain, and if they are damaged, they can usually be fixed."
"We understand and accept," Mariah said "if our human family members don't play with us or if they sell us to someone else or give us away. It's what we're made for," she added. "It's our fate!"
"Human beings are not made to be bought and sold, though," Mariah continued. "They are not made to accept being treated unkindly. Human people need to be able to make their own decisions when they grow up, and they want to get paid for their work so they can support themselves and buy dolls."
"Well," Jolena said, "I've decided that slavery is a bad thing."
"Yes," Mariah agreed. "It is! That's why it's illegal. It's against the law to own human people in this country and in most other countries around the world."
Billy nodded. "I'm glad I'm a doll," he said. "I'm glad I'm a boy, but I'm really glad I'm a doll. I thought I wanted to be a real boy, but it must be hard."
Jolena had been with a lot of real human people because of her ski trips and competitions. "I think," she said, "what Mariah is saying is that if you were a real boy, you would be glad, because it would be what you were meant to be. Real boys seem to like being real boys most of the time."
"Maybe you're right," Billy said. "It seems to make sense."
Then Billy looked at Mariah. "Thinking of Freckles reminded me that real human people buy real dogs. Some dogs work for their owners. Are real dogs slaves?"
Now Mariah had to laugh for real. "No, dogs are not slaves, because dogs are meant to be owned by human people. They will love the person they live with unless that person is bad, but unlike dolls, they need to be treated kindly, because they can feel pain, and be hungry and thirsty. They need real food and water, like real human people."
Marmalade had been listening in the doorway.
He walked away, purring softly.
People sometimes buy cats, he thought to himself, but that doesn't mean they own them. No, they don't. That's how cats get to own human beings, but it's legal. Only cats are allowed own human beings.
Jolena: Götz Happy Kidz Lena in Aspen
Mariah: Götz Happy Kidz Mariah, "Chosen" from My Doll Best Friend
Billy: Götz Happy Kidz Lily at London
"The Doll's Storybook" is not affiliated with Gotz Dolls USA Inc. or Götz Puppenmanufaktur International GmbH.
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Copyright © 2021 by Peggy Stuart
Peggy, thank you for this story. My girls recently read Addy's story from AG. And yours was in-line with that. We giggled along with Mariah. But then the girls felt sad that in the past they had given away some of their dolls. It seems it can be a scary world for dolls too.
ReplyDeleteIt was a difficult story to write. I thought it was important, but I didn't want it to be a downer. I believe that dolls are happy to move on to a new life, because it's what they are made for. No need to be sad for them.
DeleteWhat a clever way to deal with such a sensitive subject! It even touches on the very current subject of how we should regard animals. Bravo, a fan!
ReplyDelete