The objects have a life of their own, albeit and abstract one, and the interactions between them are as interesting as (or even more than) the "soap opera" relationships between people. To me, of course, mathematics does not need to be personified in order to be interesting. I'm sure that this would be the basis for a very interesting discussion of whether mathematics as normally presented to children is "cold and inhuman" in contrast to the way Francie made it all about family life, and whether one way is better than the other. So arithmetic was a warm and human thing to Francie and occupied many lonely hours of her time.
X was the boy's sweetheart who came into the family life and complicated it. Each single combination o nubmers was a new set-up for the family and no two stories were ever the same.įrancie took the game with her up into algebra. The number 62 meant that papa was taking the little boy for a walk 50 meant that mama had the baby out in the buggy for an airing and 78 meant grandfather and grandmother sitting home by the fire of a winter's evening. When a number such as 1024 appeared, it meant that all the little children were playing together in the yard.
If the answer was 924, it meant that the little boy and girl were being minded by company while the rest of the family went out. When Francie added a sum, she would fix a little story to go with the result. He was company and what a hard time fitting him into family life! The grandmother, 8, was hard too, but easier to understand than 7. He was a crotchety old grandfather and not at all accountable for how he came out. The father, 6, was harder than the others but very just. In large sums, she came along and made everything easy the way a mother should. Then there was 4, a girl of Francie's age. And 3 was an older boy in kindergarten, who had to be watched a little. He went into family life (into sums, etc.) with very little trouble. The figure 1 was a pretty baby girl, just learning to walk and easy to handle 2 was a baby boy who could walk and talk a little. Whenever he appeared you just "carried" him. She devised a game in which each number was a family member and the "answer" made a fmily grouping with a story to it. In Chapter XXII we elarn a bit about Francie's academic experience: three short paragraphs about reading and three short paragraphs about arithmetic. However, the little bit of math which appears is cute, and this book is such a classic that I decided to list it anyway. In fact, it is a stretch to call this "mathematical fiction". You may be surprised to see Betty Smith's novel about a girl growing up poor in the early 20th century on this list. A list compiled by Alex Kasman ( College of Charleston)
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