Harriett's Literary Spyhood

Louise Fitzhugh’s Harriett the Spy presents a portrait of a young girl struggling with her inner quest for identity and self-worth through the very medium the novel presents itself in—writing.  Harriett deems herself a spy: she spends much of her time peering through windows, hiding in trees, trying to make sense of specific instances.  The remainder of her life, though, unbeknownst to her, also includes methods of spying, though in a less meticulous manner.  This attempt to make sense of the world around Harriett is accomplished mostly through her involvement with her notebook, and the deep secrets she develops into stark revelations about her life.  Ruminations like “I’m glad I’m not perfect—I’d be bored to death” both highlight her perceptions of her subjects, in this case the Robinsons, but also lead her to introspective developments used to craft her specific identity1 (68). 

Harriett analyzes her surroundings through her writing, a fairly meta concept for a book of this caliber.  A disconnect between her and adults exist—“Where do people go at five o’clock?” (93).  She wonders about the lives of the adults in her life, and about their relationships and emotions.  She includes these thoughts in larger questions about life, questions asked so frequently in everyday life that they bridge the gap between the adult and the child: “Life is a great mystery.  Is everybody a different person when they are with someone else?” (97). 

These ideas, these ruminations allow Harriett to make sense of the world around her, the bustling Manhattan neighborhood that she inhabits.  The idea of the spy beautifully pervades her everyday life, as she is constantly searching and questioning and trying to make sense of things.  Her reliance on writing is particularly striking though, as it conveys the importance of art, creation, and reflection, a privilege often missing in literature that is didactic or child-like in a sense.  This emphasis on creativity and self-expression fuels Harriett’s quest for understanding. 

1Louise Fitzhugh, Harriett the Spy, Yearling Books.  2001.