Revisiting Some Icons of the Golden Age
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21153/pecl1994vol5no2-3art1415Keywords:
children's literature, literary criticism, Louisa May Alcott, Little Women, R.M. Ballantyne, The Coral Island, Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret GardenAbstract
To approach and reread childhood literature is fraught with problems. The recollection is often replaced by a new adult version of reality, much of which threatens to shatter the illusion of the child reading. Therefore it was with trepidation that I approached the task, armed with.the adult critical tools: suspension of disbelief; ability to recognise didactic and moral intent; a partially formed paradigm of literary theory; a vast body of knowledge about narrative structures, historical norms and biographies. An arsenal. The outcome was mixed. True, the reflection showed flaws, at times yawning gaps, but I found to my delight and perhaps to the discomfiture of my adult critic, that my child feelings and recollections survived. If necessary, they can subvert the grown-up response of critical angst and threat of disillusionment.
This article discusses Little Women, The Coral Island, and The Secret Garden.
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References
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