The most unique von Trapp?

Huh. No wonder I always thought Marta was the sweetest. I like me a compliant kid who's no trouble at all, I guess. Heaven knows I didn't give birth to that kind.
I think we're supposed to infer her character from that sugary "pink parasol" remark. She does do a nice pratfall when kicked in the butt during "SLF."

I submit for discussion that perhaps his intelligence doesn't work out in Marta because she is more like her mother than any of the others.  In the beginning, we find out her birthday is Tuesday and yet her father is leaving town.  And then by the end, she's the one jumping into his arms when they return from Paris.  Perhaps her nature was more of a curse and she's that way because it made it hard to be close to her father for a long time.  And then he learns to appreciate her for how much she is like Agathe.  Just a thought.

I will say that it always seemed to me that she had some kind of speech thing, but I am sure Debbie Turner was losing teeth every week at that age and they might have had her wear some kind of false teeth?  I don't know this for a fact, though if it was a known fact, I'm sure someone here would be able to verify. 

Poor Marta, she wasn't the baby but she gets put in the "the little ones just want to be loved" and not singled out at all.  So yeah, I'm not really that surprised that the character of Marta is a bit washed out.  I know one family that has 10 kids.  From the oldest on down, the overachievement factor is astounding, they are quite accomplished musically, academically... and now that they are older, professionally.  You kind of expect them all to be that way.  But I spent time with their 8th child once and discovered that while she is incredibly sweet and polite and incredibly easy to like, which I expected, she wasn't very... I don't want to say she isn't smart because she is.  But she struggled to read, and was slow in group conversations, like she had perfected the art of acting like she knew what people were talking about.  

These are fictional children, but if they were real, odds are that one of them wouldn't be as sharp and outgoing and captivating as the others.  We think all the children should be equally dynamic but that really isn't very realistic.  In a family full of sharp, stubborn, outspoken and determined children, there is bound to be one that prefers the shadows anyway.  

Interesting topic for sure. Like gothicbutterfly95 said, it was Marta, not Louisa, that Maria says she doesn't know much about. And I also agree with the whole seven children being like one character - save maybe Liesl since she's the only one we really get any more information on.

My mother is actually the second youngest of seven, and so is the Marta equivalent (four girls and three boys, though one uncle passed away when I was very little). But she is certainly nothing like Marta. All my aunts and uncles are all very different. Some are driven and some aren't. My mother's family was very poor and most of my aunts and uncles did not receive much of an education. My mum was the only one to finish high school, and then went and became a nurse. She was also the last to have children because she went and got a career first before marrying and having children, unlike the rest of my aunts. My aunt, Liesl equivalent, is not very driven at all and was more than happy to settle down and have children. Because that was what was expected back then too, I guess. Anyway, my point is that the SOM children are very much the bare bones of what was needed for the story line. And I can see Debbie's portrayal definitely being an influence as to what Marta was like.

Marta has always been my favourite because she is so sweet, likes pink and cats. I identify with her greatly haha

I realised I confused her with Gretl, and it's bunny rabbits not cats but whatever. I can picture her liking cats.

I think it is marta. Because she's so shy and quite. Like myself i think she probably gets pushed aside by the more outgoing ones. Her father leaving on her birthday and getting nothing from him must hurt her she's only a young child after all but with georg being emotionally closed off to his children she wouldn't get anything present or attention .