Nellie Oleson is a
fictional character that appeared in the
children's books written
by
Laura Ingalls Wilder. Her
character was later adapted for the
NBC
television show,
Little House on the
Prairie. She also stars in the book
Nellie Oleson
Meets Laura Ingalls, by
Heather
Williams.
Nellie was a wealthy girl who had long blonde curly hair and always
wore fashionable dresses. She could also be very cruel and
callous.
Historical influences
The fictional character of Nellie Oleson was a composite character
based on several school girls from Laura Ingalls Wilder's
childhood. Most of the events involving the character of Nellie
were heavily fictionalized and the girls she was based upon did not
necessarily do the things Laura attributes to them in her
books.
Nellie Owens
The girl named Nellie Owens was about the same age as Laura and had
a younger brother named Willie, just as the character of Nellie
Oleson did in the books. Her parents, William and Margaret Owens
(renamed Nels and Harriet Oleson in the television series; called
only "Mr. and Mrs. Oleson" in the books), did, as Laura describes,
run the local mercantile in Walnut Grove. Nellie Owens is the basis
for Nellie Oleson in
On the Banks of Plum Creek. Later in
her life, Owens moved to California and then on to Oregon, where
she married Henry Kirry and had three children, Zola, Lloyd, and
Leslie. Her brother Willie went blind from a firecracker explosion,
attended a school for the blind, married, and also had three
children. There seems to be no indication that Laura ever saw
Nellie Owens again after Laura's family left Walnut Grove in
1879.
Nellie died in 1949.
Genevieve Masters
The second girl, Genevieve Masters, was the spoiled daughter of a
former teacher of Laura's. Genevieve wore beautiful tailored
clothes and had striking blonde hair (in curls), just as "Nellie
Oleson" had. Genevieve was originally from New York and boasted
about the city. With her superior attitude, Genevieve was far
nastier than Nellie Owens had been, and Laura and Genevieve became
keen rivals, both academically and socially. Gennie's family moved
to De Smet not long after the Ingalls family, but the Owens family
did not move. Therefore, the "Nellie" of
Little Town on the
Prairie is Genevieve Masters. In her "Letter to Children"
written late in her life (a sort of form letter sent to the
hundreds of children who wrote her monthly), Laura states that
"Nellie Oleson . . . moved back East, and did not live many years".
She was evidently referring to Genevieve Masters in this letter.
Gennie died of
pneumonia in 1909. She had
one daughter.
Stella Gilbert
The third girl, Stella Gilbert, was a poor girl who lived on a
claim north of the Ingalls in De Smet. Though poor, she was
reportedly very attractive and was interested in Almanzo Wilder.
She convinced him to take her on several buggy rides, which were
described in
These Happy
Golden Years. Almanzo, who was not aware of a conflict
between Stella and Laura, eventually became aware of Stella's fear
of horses (which greatly disappointed him). In addition, Laura
eventually gave Almanzo an ultimatum regarding Stella, and
Almanzo's invitations to Stella to join them on the rides stopped.
This was the last appearance of a "Nellie Oleson" in the
series.
Stella's older brother was Dave Gilbert, the brave young man (he
was 17 at the time) who made the very risky run to Lake Preston,
Dakota Territory on his horse drawn sled between blizzards to take
the outgoing mail, and bring back the incoming mail as described by
Laura in
The Long
Winter.
Stella died in 1944. She was 80 years old.
Fictional Nellie
Little House books
Nellie Oleson appeared in three books written by Laura Ingalls
Wilder (
On the Banks of
Plum Creek,
Little Town on the Prairie,
and
These Happy Golden
Years).
Little House on the Prairie television series
The Little House books were later adapted into a long-running
television series. Played by actress
Alison Arngrim, Nellie Oleson was a
manipulative, witty, sharp-tongued character on the
NBC television show,
Little House on the
Prairie.
Her parents, Nels and Harriet Oleson, owned
the mercantile in the small town of Walnut
Grove
, set in post-Civil
War Minnesota
.
Early in the series, the character of Nellie closely resembled her
counterpart from the books - mainly as portrayed in
On the
Banks of Plum Creek. She had long, elaborately curled hair,
acted very prissy and spoiled - yet underneath, she could display a
vicious and manipulative personality. Nellie took after her doting
mother Harriet (
Katherine
MacGregor), while father Nels (
Richard Bull) tended to be stern with
his two children and had little tolerance for Nellie's often cruel
antics. Nels and Harriet frequently conflicted on the rearing of
both Nellie and Willie; Harriet's assertiveness frequently won out,
although Nellie was not always allowed to get away with her
behavior. For example on the episode called "The Cheaters", Mrs.
Oleson finds out Nellie has cheated, and Mrs. Oleson started
hitting Nellie with her jacket.
Arngrim's character grew in importance during the series (as did
the roles of the entire Oleson family) as she served as a perfect
antagonist to honest, tom-boyish Laura Ingalls, played by
Melissa Gilbert. Nellie and Laura feuded
during their school years together, which was at times comically
paralleled with quarreling between the two girls' mothers, Harriet
and Caroline Ingalls (
Karen
Grassle).
After Nellie graduated from school, her mother, Harriet, bestowed
her with a restaurant and hotel. At first, Nellie balked, showing
great incompetence in the hospitality business. Eventually, Nels
and Harriet hired Percival Dalton (played by
Steve
Tracy) to help Nellie learn how to cook and run the restaurant.
During this time, Nellie began maturing — thanks to Percy's work
with her and Nels' values winning out over Harriet's — and fell in
love with Percival. The two eventually married, and Nellie gave
birth to twin children (Benjamin and Jennifer). Nellie ended up
becoming close friends with Laura in her adult years and Laura was
present at her wedding. Before Nellie takes off for her honeymoon,
she throws the bouquet to Laura. And in the episode "Come Let us
Reason Together", Laura's mother Caroline helped deliver Nellie's
twin babies.
Arngrim left the series at the end of the seventh season. Nellie's
resulting departure was explained by having her move with Percival
and their children to New York to run the family business when
Percy's father falls ill; the move is made permanent when
Percival's father dies. After Nellie's departure became permanent,
the Olesons adopted a daughter named Nancy (played by
Allison Balson), who bore a striking
resemblance to Nellie, although she had a much nastier and meaner
disposition than Nellie. Nellie — who retained her pleasant
personality seen in her later years — returned in the ninth season
and met Nancy, who briefly ran away from home when she (mistakenly)
believed that her adoptive parents loved Nellie more than
her.
As compared to the book
On
the Banks of Plum Creek, Nellie Oleson was a much more
prominent character on the series. Likewise, while in the books
Nellie's family members are only very minor characters, the Olesons
on the series all ended up becoming major figures, and several
episodes concentrated almost exclusively on Nellie and/or her
family. Eventually, the "villainous duo" of mother Harriet and
daughter Nellie proved to be very popular with viewers for their
often evil, yet humorous, antics.
Still running daily in
syndication across the United States,
as well as in many other countries, the series continues to have a
popular following, and the character of Nellie, as portrayed by
Alison Arngrim, has become a cultural icon of sorts.
Beyond the Prairie
Although Nellie does not appear in either of
these
movies, there is a character named Patsy Robbins (played by
Jenny Dare Paulin) in the first
movie that is clearly referring to Nellie.
Cultural impact
The
sketch comedy group
The Nellie Olesons took their name after
the character.
References
- http://www.americanprofile.com/article/19857.html
External links
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