O is for orphan,
the central character of children's literature. Like almost
everything in children’s literature, orphans can
be traced back to myths and folktales, in which the symbolic removal
of parental figures is the foremost requirement for a successful rite
of passage. A children's literature child is an orphan
by definition, whether actual or symbolic. As long as the child is
under parental protection, nothing interesting can happen. So the
first duty of a children's literature parent is to be absent,
preferably dead, but temporary absent will do. Even just emotionally
absent will do.
If you browse mentally
through children's books you know, all characters are orphaned in
some way or other. A socio-historical scholar would say that the
abundance of orphans in early children's literature reflected
mortality rates in society, and I would ask: so why are there still
so many orphans in children's books today, disproportionally many?
Because, says my non-mimetic critical self, literature is not a
direct reflection of reality, but a distorting mirror.
O is also for omission,
which is one of the most fascinating narrative devices. Omission of
parents must have a very good reason. Did the little prince ever have
a mum and a dad?
No comments:
Post a Comment