ABSTRACT
Out of Reach examines the sedimentation of the ideal girl trope in popular American girls’ series since the genre’s creation. Edward Stratemeyer proposed a series featuring “a girl of sixteen” – an “up-to-date American girl at her best, bright, clever, resourceful and full of energy.” Little did Stratemeyer know how influential his “American girl” would be to future iterations of girls’ series, girl readers, and the continual construction of ideal girl trope. while the ideal girl remains out of reach for the average American girl, she remains an aspiration, disciplining girl readers toward the unobtainable ideal. Tracing the ideal girl’s journey in popular girls’ series over the course of the twentieth century produces a genealogical account, not a cohesive history. Rather, it reveals productive shifts in the trope of girlhood. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
