Jessie – Parasocial Relationship

When I was about 10 years old, I got the American Girl Doll, Felicity. I’m been enamored with her for a long time before that, in the pages of the American Girl Doll catalog. I remember reading her books more than I really remember playing with the doll. It was in those stories that I became engrossed in Felicity’s story about sneaking out at night to tame and care for an abused horse. I loved the story, but I was devastated because I believed I wasn’t as brave as Felicity. I was generally a cautious child and believed I’d never have the guts to sneak out in the middle of the night alone and tame a wild horse. So Felicity came to represent both my own aspiration and shame in one doll.