What does the word 「せん」 mean in this sentence?

Question

It is said by the old man to a group of children about going to see a boy who is in a jail.

Old man:　おめえら　そんなかっこうであそんでいていいのか　ジョーにあいにいくしたくを　せんでもいいのか

Child:　あたいたちもつれてってくれるの？

I noticed that there is a blank space between 「を」 and the word 「せん」. I then think that 「せん」 would not be a transitive verb but a noun followed by an expression 「でもいい」 to be translated like "would...be good?". In my guess, it would relate to something like travelling by train or 「線」.

If I am correct, I am still further curious why the writer did not use the Kanji instead of Hiragana so that it would be more easier to catch the meaning.

Here is the screenshot.

Answer 1

In this phrase, せん is not 線。 せん is しない (don't do) in some dialects.

I think the blank between したくを and せん makes it difficult for you to understand.

したくをせん means "don't prepare". したく (支度 in kanji) is preparation.

So the phrase ジョーにあいにいくしたくを せんでもいいのか means "Would it be okay for you to be not prepared to meet Joe?"

Answer 2

• 「せんでもいいのか」 ＝ 「しなくてもいいのか」
• 「せん」 ＝ 「しない」

せん・せぇへん is a common way to say しない especially in Kansai.
You can see something similar in the Standard Japanese「すみません」

In 時代劇 on TV, they often say せぬ which is a literary equivalent of せん.