Photos taken by McKenzie Rider
Telling the story of American Girl doll Felicity.
Felicity Merriman
Circa: Late 1700s
Location: Williamsburg, Virginia
One Girl Revolution–Felicity wears pants!
Felicity is the horse girl blueprint- all those jokes about horse movies where the female protagonist is the only one that can connect with and ride an unruly horse? Yeah, that all comes from Felicity.
Felicity lives within a contentious time in American history, born into a patriot family as tensions between the colonists and British were reaching a flashpoint. She’s initially not like other girls and hates doing “girly” things, preferring instead to spend her time in nature or riding horses.
She can be stubborn, but over the course of her canon she becomes more understanding of others’ interests. Felicity even begins to enjoy dressing up in fancy dresses and dancing at opulent balls, realizing just because something is girly, doesn’t mean it’s bad.
Felicity has many friends from many different backgrounds, including a loyalist girl named Elizabeth Cole and apprentice Ben.
When she hears that the town drunk and otherwise ne’er-do-well Jiggy Nye has won a new horse while gambling, she becomes determined to rescue it, knowing that the man abused his last horse to death.
She soon sees the horse up-close, and notices how the spirited mare is resisting Jiggy Nye’s mistreatment. Privately, she names her Penny after the color of her coat.
Felicity dons pants (scandal) and sneaks over to the farm where she slowly tames Penny and earns her trust through sugar cubes and gentle approaches.
Her parents are shocked when Jiggy Nye arrives at their home and accuses Felicity of stealing his horse, to which Felicity counters that the old man has been abusing it and does not deserve to have her.
But, to her horror, Jiggy Nye responds that if he sees Felicity near Penny again, he will kill the horse. Felicity knows that more drastic measures must be taken and decides to set Penny free into the woods. She does and no one ever sees the horse again, but Felicity imagines she is living her life free and somewhere safe.
So, If Felicity is your favorite, well, you may be ginger.
You are also free spirited and brave, willing to try anything that interests you, even if it might be a little dangerous.
Felicity girlies are steadfast and loyal, taking time to discover their core beliefs, but sticking by them passionately once they are found. You may be prone to rash decisions but learn from your experiences to become a more emotionally intelligent person.
You were (are) a total horse girl and begged your parents for riding lessons, filled your room with horse figurines and covered your notebooks with horse stickers both big and small. Sure, it’s a stereotype, but God forbid a girl has hobbies, right?
When you were younger, you fell into the trap of hating pink and anything considered feminine, but now, while you may still not prefer those things, you realize that it’s okay to change your mind and there is nothing wrong with expressing femininity.
You love museums and feel a certain kinship with the living museum Colonial Williamsburg, whether or not you have been there or simply have come across its TikTok. When you study for a big test, or need to do complicated research for an essay, you find that the best playlist to que up is “colonial classical.” This music allows you to immerse yourself in academia, and you are unable to keep your feet still under the table.
In the end there is more than meets the eye when it comes to this stereotypical horse girl. Felicity is brave and passionate about the things she believes and devoted to the friends she makes along the way.
