How Old Is Pauline Fossil in Ballet Shoes?

Ballet|Ballet Shoes

Pauline Fossil is one of the main characters in Noel Streatfeild’s classic children’s novel Ballet Shoes. She is the eldest of the three Fossil girls, adopted by an eccentric paleontologist, who is also their guardian. While Pauline’s age is never explicitly stated in the book, it can be estimated through context clues and information about her character.

Pauline is described as being mature for her age and often taking on a parental role in regards to her siblings. This implies that she is older than them and likely beyond the age of adolescence.

Furthermore, she is already attending school when the story begins and is later said to be taking classes at a college level. This suggests that she is at least in her mid-teens.

In addition to this, Pauline has a job as a secretary for one of her guardian’s colleagues at the British Museum. It can be assumed that she would have been too young to hold such a position without special permission from her guardian or legal authority figure. This suggests that Pauline may be at least sixteen or seventeen years old when the story begins.

It can also be inferred from other details in Ballet Shoes that Pauline may even be slightly older than this estimation. For example, she has already had experience with ballet during her childhood whereas her younger sisters are just beginning their training in the novel. This indicates that Pauline was likely taught dance at an earlier age than her siblings, which would lead one to believe she was born before them as well.

Overall it appears that Pauline Fossil’s age can be estimated to be around sixteen or seventeen years old when Ballet Shoes takes place – making her one of the oldest characters in Streatfeild’s novel series!
Conclusion:
Pauline Fossil’s age in Ballet Shoes can be estimated to be around sixteen or seventeen years old – making her one of the oldest characters in Streatfeild’s novel series!