Fragile Selves: Constructing Identity in Novels by Margaret Clark, Nette Hilton and Isobel Carmody
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21153/pecl2004vol14no1art1275Keywords:
identity, Isobel Carmody, Nette Hilton, Margaret Clark, narratologyAbstract
In lieu of abstract, here is the first paragraph of the article:
Australian children’s literature, in its production and dissemination, is heavily committed to particular values and processes: it seeks to promote maturation, liberation and transcendence as shaped by a humanistic vision of moral commitment and altruism... (Stephens 1996. p. 163)
In this statement John Stephens identifies not only a dominant liberal humanist tradition within Australian children's literature, but also its conventions: a commitment to a realist mode of writing. The logical extension of this position is underlined by Stephens' further observation that 'Australian children's literature itself remains virtually untouched by postmodernism … (Stephens 1996, p.162).
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References
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Stephens, John (1996) ‘Children's literature, interdisciplinary and cultural studies’ in Bradford, Clare (1996) Writing The Australian Child. Nedlands, UWA Press, pp. 161-180.
