The Illustrated Mum
Programme 3: Part Three

Aims

Back to top

Outline

Series Outline

After Star's departure, and Dol and Marigold's emotional trip in search of her, Dol falls asleep on the sofa as soon as she gets home. She wakes up in the middle of the night to discover Marigold standing shivering and naked in the bathroom, having covered herself from head to toe in white paint. It's an attempt to get rid of the tattoos that Star hates and so become a proper mother.

Dol tries to rub some of the paint off but to no avail. What's worse is that Marigold is in a world of her own. Dol knows her mum hates hospitals but what can she do? When the ambulance arrives, she lies, telling them her father will soon be home. As the ambulance doors close, ready to take her mum away, she is told not to worry by the crew: 'We'll soon get your mum sorted out' - but the words ring hollow. Dol is now completely on her own, with no-one to turn to.

Programme 3: Outline

'The Illustrated Mum' raises awareness about a person's capability for love and forgiveness, even in the face of hardship and instability.

Centring around the life of young girl Dolphin, it is a remarkable coming of age story, filled with pathos and humour, which won Jacqueline Wilson the 1999 'Guardian' Prize for children's fiction. This drama is very closely based on the book narrative. At its core is an intimate exploration of what happens when children are forced to take on all the roles that parents are usually expected to deliver – nurturing, emotional and financial support, feeding, clothing, compassion and discipline.

Deep down Dolphin knows the truth about her mother, Marigold: she suffers from a mental illness that makes her different from all the others mums at school. But it's just that difference, the magic and wonder that Marigold brings to life, which makes her really special. If only Dol's big sister, Star, still believed in Marigold – then nothing would ever have to change…

What happens to Dolphin is extraordinary and requires great courage, but the experience of a parent who doesn't live up to a child's expectations is something that many children can relate to. In varying degrees, most children will be forced to confront the fears and realities of a parent who fails them – either by accident, design, or, in Marigold's case, by the unpredictable chemistry of her inner being and the outside world.

Back to top

Curriculum Relevance

Key Stage 2, 3

Ages 10-14, Scotland: 5-14, English Language: Writing

4Learning's dramatisation of the award-winning book by Jacqueline Wilson offers 10-14 year olds the chance to read for enjoyment and information, as well as deepening learners' understanding of themselves and others. It also offers useful material for media studies and may be used to provide opportunities for:

• insights into the author's craft; how they convey setting, mood and character; the structuring of text
• exploring the Citizenship and PSHE themes of growing-up, family relationships and mental illness
• applying a context in which to compare the differences between first person book narratives and third person film narratives
• responses to an on-screen text, interpreting actions, characters and events; illustrating how meanings are changed according to different media
• encouraging writing skills and confidence
• supporting drama techniques
• promoting speaking and listening, reflection and discussion
• encouraging the use of print and Internet resources for research purposes

Back to top

Background

Tattooing

The tattoos found on Egyptian and Nubian mummies suggest that the art of tattooing was practiced around 2000 BC. As the Egyptian empire grew, so did the use of tattoos. The Ancient Greeks used tattooing for communication among spies; the Romans used tattoos to mark criminals and slaves, and in 1500 BC, Polynesians starting using tattoos to mark tribal communities, families and rank.

The Ainu people of western Asia also used tattooing to show social status. The Ainu are known to have introduced tattooing to Japan where it became a religious and ceremonial rite. As with the Romans, tattoos were also used to mark criminals in Japan. Tattooing also has a long history in Europe; the Danes, Norse, and Saxons tattooed family crests on their bodies. During the eighth century, however, Pope Hadrian banned tattooing as barbaric. Roughly four centuries later, Captain Cook returned from Tahiti with news of an operation called 'tattawing'. The word tattoo, therefore, comes from the Tahitian word 'tatau', meaning 'to mark something'.

Tattoos grew in popularity in England when English sailors began making trips to the Orient, but they became particularly fashionable when King Edward VII (1841-1910) expressed a liking for them. What stopped tattooing from becoming more widespread was the slow and sometimes painful procedure involved - each puncture of the skin was done by hand.

It wasn't until 1891, when the Irish American Samuel O'Riley designed the first electric tattooing machine, that the tattoo became popular again. Based on Edison's electric pen that pierced paper with a needle, O'Riley's machine meant that anyone could get a reasonably priced tattoo. By making the process easier, the tattoo became common and the upper classes shunned it. By the turn of the century, tattooing had lost a great deal of credibility. Tattooists worked in the sleazier sections of town, while heavily tattooed people travelled with circuses and freak shows.

Back to top

Activities

1 Settings

Use the programme images below to compare the setting in the book with the settings in the television adaptation. How are the visual images in the drama different from the written descriptions in the book?

• right-click on an image and, from the pop-up menu that appears, select 'Save Picture As …'
• type a title for the image, select where you want to put it in your computer and click 'Save'
• open a word processing program and you will be able to 'Insert' the picture from your computer

2 Dol's school report

How does Dolphin get on at school? What sort of pupil is she? What does her teacher think of her? Fill in her school report from the point of view of her teacher, Miss Hill.

3 Diary

Add another diary entry in your journal. Write a diary comment from Star's point of view, describing what it was like when she was living with her dad and his girlfriend. Don't forget that she was thinking about Dol and Marigold, too.

4 Character analysis

The character of Marigold changes as the story develops. In column one, list some adjectives to describe how you see her at the start of the story. In column two, list adjectives that describe how you see her at the end of the story.

What has made her change? How does this develop her character?

Back to top

Links

This web page contains links to other websites that are neither controlled nor maintained by Channel 4 Television. Channel 4 Television is not responsible for the content of these sites and does not necessarily endorse the material on them.

www.channel4.com/bookbox
www.write4gosh.nhs.uk
www.storiesfromtheweb.org/stories/wilson/index.asp
www.literacytrust.org.uk/rif

Back to top

© 4 Ventures 2004