Summary
Burnett begins chapter five by explaining that Sara's true power lies in neither her wealth nor her cleverness, but in her ability to make up stories. Sara loves to tell stories and get lost in her imagination. One day she notices a small, grimy child watching her, but the child runs away as soon as Sara notices her presence. Later, though, the same girl enters the room where Sara is telling a story to friends and begins to clean the fireplace. Sara, seeing that she is working slowly and quietly because she wants to hear the story that is being told, raises her voice to help the girl hear. Lavinia, though, calls attention to the eavesdropper, who runs out of the room. This prompts Sara to reveal her more hotheaded side. She objects to Lavinia's behavior, but Lavinia explains that her mother would not allow her to tell stories to servants. When Sara responds that her own mother would not mind, Lavinia reminds Sara that she has none. This prompts Lottie to pipe up, mentioning the comforting tales of the afterlife that Sara has told her. Lavinia finds these tales immoral and ridiculous. Later, Sara asks her maid Mariette about the servant, and Mariette tells her that she is newly hired and does every type of menial task imaginable at the school. In spite of her stunted appearance, she is fourteen years old, and her name is Becky. This revelation sets Sara's imagination aflame, and she becomes even more curious about Becky.
Not long afterwards, Sara finds Becky fast asleep in her own room. A brief foray into Becky's point of view reveals that she always saves Sara's room for last when she cleans, since it is more luxurious than the other pupils' and therefore more interesting. In fact, Becky is as fascinated by Sara as Sara is by Becky. Sara is inclined to let Becky rest, but she wakes up in a panic. Sara soothes her and reassures her that she won't tell anyone about Becky falling asleep. She even offers her some cake. Becky tells Sara that she reminds her of a princess she once saw, and Sara resolves out loud to pretend that she is a princess. She also offers to tell Becky the rest of the story that Becky started listening to earlier, sharing it in increments when Becky comes to visit. Becky leaves feeling loved and gratified, while Sara realizes that, while she cannot help strangers the way a real princess might, she can still offer kindness in small ways to those who cross her path.
The start of chapter six brings a major revelation: a friend of Sara's father owns some land with diamond mines on it, and, as he develops these mines, he is sure to become extremely rich. He has asked Captain Crewe to be his partner in the venture. Lavinia, as usual, is jealous when this news arrives. In a conversation with Jessie, she makes fun of the way Sara pretends to be a princess. Jessie reports that Sara thinks being a princess has to do entirely with how one behaves and thinks, not with wealth. One day, during free time at school, Lavinia cruelly scolds Lottie for crying. Sara soothes Lottie, but is furious with Lavinia's treatment of the young child. Lavinia, feeling hurt, begins to tease Sara for her pretend-princess game. Sara, whose imaginative games are meaningful and private to her, proudly tells Lavinia that pretending to be a princess allows her to behave like one. After this very public argument, Sara's classmates begin to refer to her as "Princess Sara," either out of admiration or jealousy.
In the meantime, Becky's visits to Sara continue. Sara begins to shop for filling food to give her hungry friend. Sara's birthday arrives, and her father offers to buy her a new doll from Paris, as well as new clothes. He is delighted by Sara's response, in which she declares that this will be her "Last Doll," since she is growing out of playing with dolls. However, his letter has an undertone of solemnity. He is unwell, and feels overwhelmed by his new business ventures. Still, the birthday is set to be a celebratory occasion, with a huge party for Sara. Sara also discovers a humble package addressed to her, with a flannel pincushion inside it. The attached card reads "Miss Amelia Minchin," but Becky enters and explains that she made the pincushion, then used one of Miss Amelia's rejected cards since she had none of her own. Sara is delighted and overwhelmed with affection for Becky.
The next time Sara sees Becky is at her own luxurious party. Miss Minchin tries to expel Becky from the festivities after she has helped set up the party, but Sara, reminding Miss Minchin that Becky is a girl just like herself who will enjoy the party, insists on her staying. Miss Minchin then gives a speech about how Sara will inherit a large fortune, and how her manners and academic skills are a credit to the school. Sara feels embarrassed and a little angry. Sara begins to unwrap her presents to the delight of the gathered girls. The Last Doll is particularly exciting, since she is enormous and extravagant, with a hugely expensive wardrobe. Sara asks her schoolmates to pretend that the doll can hear and enjoy their admiration, prompting Lavinia to derisively imply that Sara only enjoys imagining pleasant things: her imagination would not, for instance, allow her to pretend to be a beggar. Sara objects that someone in poverty might require an even more active imagination than one with wealth.
At this moment, the girls are expelled from the room so that Miss Minchin can speak to Mr. Barrow, Captain Crewe's solicitor. The narrative shifts to their conversation, in which Barrow reveals that Crewe's investment in diamond mines was a failure and that he has now died from a combination of "jungle fever" and business-related stress. Sara is now orphaned, penniless, and left entirely in the care of Miss Minchin. Miss Minchin's dislike of Sara emerges fully now that she has no money, and she nearly decides to cast her once-star student out on the street. She changes her mind only when Barrow points out that this will be bad for the school's reputation. After Miss Minchin instructs her overwhelmed sister Miss Amelia to break the news to Sara, Becky emerges crying from under the table: she has overheard both conversations and pities Sara, who must transition from a life of luxury to one of poverty.
After Miss Amelia tells Sara that her father is dead, Sara paces her room in a daze, and Miss Amelia reports with surprise that she does not cry when receiving the news. She also does not cry several hours later, when she visits Miss Minchin in mourning clothes. Miss Minchin tells her that she will give up her fine clothes and toys (though Sara refuses to part with Emily) and that she will be a servant, working in the kitchens and helping tutor younger students. Sara is relieved to hear that she will have work to keep her busy; Miss Minchin is disappointed by her dignified reaction to this news. When Sara tries to return to her room, Miss Amelia reluctantly informs her that she will now sleep in the attic with Becky. Becky finds Sara in their now-shared room, and Sara exclaims that she is no longer a princess. Becky, overcome with emotion, assures her friend that she will always be a princess regardless of circumstance.
Analysis
As Sara climbs the stairs from her former luxurious room to her new quarters in the attic, the narrator notes that she feels suddenly like a different person from before. After all, her clothes and circumstances have changed, but, in the space of a day, her innocence has also been fundamentally corrupted. Sara has lost both her father and her fortune in a matter of minutes, and the teachers and students at her school no longer have a reason to treat her with kindness now that she is impoverished. Throughout this novel, Frances Hodgson Burnett asks young readers to consider what it is that creates a person's identity. Are people consistent throughout their lives, or are they capable of changing, even in a matter of minutes? Are people more inclined to display kindly personalities if they have everything they want and need, as Sara does in the book's first six chapters? The scenes following Captain Crewe's death seem to argue that, at least for some people, identity is stable. As a matter of fact, it may be the only stable thing. Even though Sara has gone from adored and cared-for to scorned within a day, she remains principled and sure of herself. Becky is equally sure that Sara has not fundamentally changed, reassuring her that she is still a princess.
In this moment, Becky shows her mature understanding of what "princess" means in the context of this book. Sara herself notes early on that, while she would like to be a princess in order to help others, she can still do so with the resources that she has, pretending to be a princess all the while. Therefore, "Princess" here is more a metaphorical than a literal figure: a princess is a person who, like Sara or Becky, tries to help others to the extent that she can. While Sara has always been able to do so with her wealth and her extravagant toys, she has also helped others with kindness and playfulness. Becky, for her part, shows princess-like qualities because she tries to help Sara and even gives her a birthday gift in spite of her own extremely limited means. One character who woefully misunderstands the meaning of the princess metaphor is Miss Minchin herself. Miss Minchin announces, during the speech at Sara's party, that she is called "princess" because of her proper manners. For Miss Minchin, Sara's worth is inextricable from her wealth. To the extent that her personality matters, it is because she acts like an upper-class child, with the corresponding "correct" manners. Miss Minchin is shrewd and materialistic, and is interested only in wealth. In fact, she is so upset by the mere appearance of poverty that she prefers to keep Becky out of her sight.
For the most part, students and teachers at the seminary view Becky through a similar lens. They do not dislike her so much as they find her presence offensive: Becky, as a living embodiment of poverty, is supposed to simply stay hidden. As a result, Lavinia tries to throw her out of the room when she notices her listening to one of Sara's stories, even though she has not disturbed anyone. One of Sara's unusual qualities is that she is as curious about poverty as she is about luxury. She wants to help Becky, but she also wants to learn about Becky's life, which is so different from her own. While most of the wealthy people at Miss Minchin's school seem to think that poverty is contagious and must be kept far away, Sara is unafraid of it. Becky, for her part, displays no jealousy or fear of Sara. While she benefits from Sara's sharing of food and toys, she is also simply excited to learn about the life of a girl very different from herself. In both cases, Burnett hints that fearlessness is as important as generosity. Sara's fearlessness also allows her to stay calm while her circumstances break down. While she is heartbroken over her father's death and shocked by the sudden changes in her life, she is not horrified by the trappings of poverty.
Through the character of Becky, Burnett plays a slight narrative trick on the reader. We first encounter Becky from a distance, and know neither her name nor her gender. As a result, Burnett refers to the girl with the pronoun "it," and even calls her a "creature." Only as Sara determinedly learns about her do readers get a chance to do so as well. Therefore, Burnett shows the way in which poverty dehumanizes its sufferers, causing the wealthy to see the poor as subhuman. Later, when Sara is transformed into a strange-looking and pitiable figure, readers may recall their initial impression of Becky. Sara, too, is now subject to the same dehumanizing gaze that others turn on Becky. By this point in the book, though, readers are familiar with and hopefully feel affection towards both girls.
