Four Saints
By Gordon Kearns
Preface: For your information before reading this story
In most of my stories with leading child characters you'll find several instances of child nudity and sexuality. Please understand that in no way am I encouraging the consideration of children as sexual objects. In some stories (Once Upon a Time Margaret, Goblins, Four Saints), there are instances of sexual abuse of children. Such terrible things happen to children in real life, and I tried to emphasize in such instances in my stories the repugnant nature of the sexual abuse. It was my aim whenever they were subjected to sexual or any other kind of abuse to focus on the character of the child, and how she coped with abuse. The story was the child, not the abuser or the abuse. Where the children survived the experience, I tried to emphasize their courage and strength of character.
Nudity is a major element in almost every story. This is not to be read as a statement for the cause of nudism (for which I do have a healthy respect), but as a symbol of the natural innocence of children. In all cases, I have the children voluntarily embrace nudity as a statement that they have nothing immoral to hide with artificial cover. I think it might reasonably be said that the term "coming of age" equates with what society considers a loss of sexual innocence as adolescents begin acting on their exploding hormones. For me, children acting out their natural sexuality is normal. Wisdom and prudence would caution against getting too deep into sexual behavior at young ages. Too many obvious dangers - booby traps, so to speak. That Scot and Deborah in Four Saints might have occasionally behaved naughtily in their curiosity to see each other naked and in some of their touches was normal on both their parts. There was a line to be drawn, because Scot was significantly older than Deborah, and he had a responsibility not to take advantage of Deborah's greater naivete. The same applied to Tris and Margaret (in Once Upon a Time Margaret). There was genuine love between them, even though he was an adult and she a child. In their love for each other touching was a natural act of affection (like fathers familiar touchings of their little girls of eight or nine, and their ritual of bathing the girls often extended well beyond the point when the child could do the job adequately herself). But Tris would never carry the intimacy beyond those limits. When Margaret, lying on the couch, puts her hand on his leg in a tacit offer of herself, he kisses the hand and returns it under the cover, resuming his position as protector, the proper place of any adult in relation to all children.
Of the sexuality exhibited by young girls, I may actually be understating the case. I do believe most girls approaching adolescence are much more interested in exploring their sexuality than their parents could possibly realize. In the nudism, I realize I'm overstating what most girls would be likely to practice so liberally. Most young girls of, say about nine and above, would be more modest in their dress. But, again, I choose to use nudism here as symbolic of a child's natural innocence. Overall, what I'm trying to do in my stories is bring morality down to the basics. The nature of children, being innocent of the artificial rationalizing adults have learned, gives us an uncomplicated picture of the basic simple truths of morality. We can learn from children, but not from any special knowledge children possess (which they don't). We can learn something about right and wrong. As in Hans Christian Anderson's The Emperor's New Clothes, it took an innocent child to speak what all the adults pretended not to see. Almost all my young protagonists are subject to moral abuse of much more significance than whatever their sexual behavior. In most cases my kids are not being recognized as the sentient beings they are. They are being exploited often in ways adults don't even recognize as wrong (Deborah is cruelly treated by sincere teachers concerned for her future). Margaret is treated coldly by her parents, barely accepted as one of the family - and, indeed, when they're approached by a pornographer who offers them money to use her in his films, they agree because of the strapped circumstances of the costs of health treatments for another child. Later, she is held as a sex slave by a perverted policeman. I give no indication of her attitude about the sex activities - because her attitude is irrelevant. She's a child. The bigger abuse is making a prisoner/slave of her, which she resents to the very core.
The reader will understand the stories as he/she will. But in the writing of them, my purpose is to crusade against abusive exploitation of children in whatever form; and especially to emphasize that children are sentient, basically innocent beings who at young ages are capable of strong character.
Contents:
START: Part One (Pages 1-6)
LAST: Part Seven (Pages 59-67)
Copyright 1989 and 1993 by Gordon H. Kearns
All Rights Reserved
Dorgus Publishing
St. Louis, Missouri
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