The secular angel in contemporary children's literature: David ...

Stephanie feel accepted and more secure in the classroom. Had Miss Volhard been successful
in controlling the situation Stephanie would have considered the classroom to be a safer
environment for her to be in, as “children, particularly those who are frequently victimized,
interpret teachers’ advice to avoid or stand up to aggressors as criticism of their ability to
effectively stop their mistreatment or as evidence that teachers are unwilling to help them”
(Troop-Gordon & Quenette, 2010, 337).
However, there is one more aspect that has not been considered, and that is the
discipline and lessons that the other children are not given in their own homes. The novel
portrays the intolerance of children, whatever their age, towards other children who do not
abide by the unspoken and unwritten social rules of attire and behaviour. Stephanie is a good
and kind-hearted person who simply wants a friend close to her, yet, her ‘weird’, old clothes,
and her unusual hobbies —which are clearly a social faux pas— instantly put her in the
‘unwanted’ category of social hierarchy. Freya, who has previously been in Stephanie’s
situation, realizes and foresees the danger of Stephanie’s victimization by Amy, as well as
other students, and attempts to help her. Her support becomes significant for two reasons:
first, it temporarily reassures the reader that Freya has not completely lost herself and her
compassion as a result of her socialization within Amy’s ‘crew’, and second, it temporarily
soothes Stephanie’s transition from her secluded home environment to the openly aggressive
and verbally violent school environment. Schmidt and Bagwell argue in “The Protective Role
of Friendships in Overtly and Relationally Victimized Boys and Girls” that based on a series
of investigations and researches, it was found that “high-quality friendships” enabled the
positive adjustment of victimized children in school and protected them from internalizing
problems (Schmidt & Bagwell, 2007). Freya begins to assume this role for Stephanie and is
successful in creating a bond with her over their conversation about angels, during which she
tells Stephanie everything that has happened to her. For Stephanie, Freya’s confession and
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