Monday, June 12. 2006
Narrative Theory and Children's Literature
Today was a public holiday in Australia, the rather anachronistic Queen's Birthday Holiday (given Her Maj was actually born on April 21...) But I always welcome a long weekend, and I used this day to do some more reading towards my (apparently) never-ending-thesis...
The essay I read is titled "Beyond the Grammar of Story, or How Can Children's Literature Criticism Benefit from Narrative Theory?" by Maria Nikolajeva, published in the Children's Literature Association Quarterly, Vol. 28, No. 1, 2003
My thesis is to be about feminist criticism and fairy tales/fairy tale retellings (focusing on Donna Jo Napoli's novels for the MA, and then planning to expand the topic for a putative PhD, one of these years...). I am particularly interested in what happens if one incorporates narrative theory (aka narratology) with the socio-cultural focus of feminist lit-crit. Feminist theory (of the second-wave) has been pretty tough on the fairy tale, but the retellers have found that it is indeed possible to unearth and interrogate a feminist reading of those fairy tales (especially the "princess tales", to borrow Disney's nomenclature).
Narrative theory sits pretty easily with me—I am endlessly fascinated with narratology's interest in "how" versus "what"—children's literature is far too often reduced to content in popular discourse, it seems to me. Thus, children's lit is mostly assessed on its didactic function, rather than as a legitimate genre of literature in toto. While I am certainly interested in ideology and a socio-cultural reading of children's books, I am probably more intrigued by how texts work. Interrogating texts has always increased my pleasure and appreciation as a reader, which I know is anathema to many readers.
Back to Nikolajeva's paper. For the nascent theorist (me), it presents a clear explication of narrative theory, and of the way that narratologists have frequently ignored and misunderstood literature written for children. For example, she notes that "Narratologists often use Henry James' What Maise Knew as a unique example of a child's naïve and innocent perception... since narratologists seldom know anything about children's literature, they have no idea that this supposedly unique device is a rule rather than an exception in chilren's books... "
This is but one of Nikolajeva's observations regarding the complexities available in writing for children/YA readers. I found myself not always agreeing with her—her paper tends to focus on books for pre-adolescent readers and "classic" children's fiction, such as and The Secret Garden and Anne of Green Gables, and, to be fair, Nikolajeva notes that contemporary books for children and teenagers are often far more complex in their telling than may be presumed. But Nikolajeva's paper has inspired me to go back and consider more deeply so much about my topic, and about Napoli's work—external V internal characterisation, psychological truth V narrative tropes, focalisation, and how one might marry "narratological studies with other theories and methods" in order to disclose "the mutual dependence of form and content".
I've either lost you entirely (dear reader), or you're nodding your head in sad, nerdish recognition. Time to go and blast some Springsteen on the iPod...
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Oh, finally someone interested in the how narratology aspect of YA lit. Can't you do an essay on the topic pre-thesis?
Alas, no, Lee—no chance at all! For a start, I doubt I'd feel confident enough to until I've done more research, and written about narratology in relation to the retellings, which bring to the table all sorts of complications that Nikolajeva doesn't address in her paper. (Eg, she comments that fictional characters aren't real, and therefore don't have a life outside the fictional world of the novel, and so questions such as what happens to the character after the end of the book are irrelevant and impossible to answer. (These questions, of course, are ones children are commonly asked to answer in English assignments.) However, the characters in the fairy tale retellings DO have a life outside of the novel, and so what are the implications of such intertextuality for a narratological analysis?
Secondly, I simply won't have time! I am supposed to be given a paper based on my thesis at a conference in July, and I am nowhere near ready to do so, so no distractions are possible! But thanks for assuming I'd be up to the task!
Secondly, I simply won't have time! I am supposed to be given a paper based on my thesis at a conference in July, and I am nowhere near ready to do so, so no distractions are possible! But thanks for assuming I'd be up to the task!
Interesting. And asking "How Can Children's Literature Criticism Benefit from Narrative Theory?" begs the question - how can children's writers benefit from a better understanding of narrative theory? And to make it even more specific to your field of interest - and to me, I admit - how can feminist authors of children's literature benefit ... etc.
Oh and ... There's a question in all that for me about feminist readings of fairy tales versus the Jung/Campbell idea of the quest/archetype narrative. Are we all just rewriting the same stories and fairytales, even if in feminist versions?
have you any thoughts on that?
Or perhaps I'm just a nerd.
have you any thoughts on that?
Or perhaps I'm just a nerd.
Hi Kelly,
Thanks for your thoughful comments. It's so good to have the opportunity to talk about this stuff!
Regarding your question "how can children's writers benefit from a better understanding of narrative theory?" Well, I would say, a lot, but then not all authors (in fact, perhaps very few) are interested in the theory behind their work, and perhaps that's as it should be (although I do know some authors—Pamela Freeman comes instantly to mind—who are deeply engaged with such questions). Maybe given that novelists are the practioners of narratology, if they became too self-conscious about the theory, things would begin to unravel creatively...
Your second comment is entirely pertinent to my thesis. I would direct you to John Stephens paper "Gender, Genre and Children's Literature" (Signal 79/1996). (John is my supervisor, by the way.) John writes about the "tendency for major genres in children's literature to be endemically gendered in their character functions, events and outcomes." So yes, the question is, do such retellings as I am interested in merely replicate a male schemata with a (superficially) female character, or do they more deeply interrogate and re-form gendered discourses? I dunno yet! I'd like to think/hope they do reinvent and open up archetypal tales to allow a feminist reading, but I'm going to have to be really careful not to just find what I'm looking for, if you know what I mean. Not to impose a feminist reinvention where there really isn't one...
Thanks for your thoughful comments. It's so good to have the opportunity to talk about this stuff!
Regarding your question "how can children's writers benefit from a better understanding of narrative theory?" Well, I would say, a lot, but then not all authors (in fact, perhaps very few) are interested in the theory behind their work, and perhaps that's as it should be (although I do know some authors—Pamela Freeman comes instantly to mind—who are deeply engaged with such questions). Maybe given that novelists are the practioners of narratology, if they became too self-conscious about the theory, things would begin to unravel creatively...
Your second comment is entirely pertinent to my thesis. I would direct you to John Stephens paper "Gender, Genre and Children's Literature" (Signal 79/1996). (John is my supervisor, by the way.) John writes about the "tendency for major genres in children's literature to be endemically gendered in their character functions, events and outcomes." So yes, the question is, do such retellings as I am interested in merely replicate a male schemata with a (superficially) female character, or do they more deeply interrogate and re-form gendered discourses? I dunno yet! I'd like to think/hope they do reinvent and open up archetypal tales to allow a feminist reading, but I'm going to have to be really careful not to just find what I'm looking for, if you know what I mean. Not to impose a feminist reinvention where there really isn't one...
Aye, there's the rub - and if you could just work out how to achieve the balance between writing strong female characters/replicating traditional narratives, we'd all be much obliged!
I have a Jungian-Feminist friend who is exploring the use of fairytales by artists other than writers of children's stories. I gather from her that she sees those early second-wave feminist readings as missing the point -- that many if not most fairy tales are generated from women's experience, and are a long way from being sock-puppets for patriarchy.
Hi Jonathan,
I'd be very interested to find out more about your friend's work. I'm not an entire apologist for the fairy tale. I think some of what the early feminists had to say is fair enough—and just because the stories appear to have been frequently women's stories doesn't mean they are ipso facto not sexist! But where I think the point was missed is at the narrative level—what alternative narrative function might the marriage ending play, for example, apart from just perpetuating the oppression of women?
Send me her website details!
I'd be very interested to find out more about your friend's work. I'm not an entire apologist for the fairy tale. I think some of what the early feminists had to say is fair enough—and just because the stories appear to have been frequently women's stories doesn't mean they are ipso facto not sexist! But where I think the point was missed is at the narrative level—what alternative narrative function might the marriage ending play, for example, apart from just perpetuating the oppression of women?
Send me her website details!
Yeah. That.
Now, now, don't play dumb with me!
Sorry -- my last comment was meant to echo your views on feminism and fairy tales etc. She doesn't yet have a web site but I'll keep you posted.
Judith,
Reading post-modern literary theory on the Queen's birthday? What are you--a communist?!
Mike
Reading post-modern literary theory on the Queen's birthday? What are you--a communist?!
Mike
Hey Mike.
I'm a republican (which for all my US readers is NOT what you think!), which is just as bad, surely?
I'm a republican (which for all my US readers is NOT what you think!), which is just as bad, surely?
Judith--none of your emails from this site connect!Dear Ms. Ridge,
I'm a teacher librarian in an American high school, and I'm also enrolled in the online Ph.D. program at Charles Sturt University in Australia. (I'm still in the very early stages of the program.)My dissertation is on recent Australian fiction for young adults, in particular those books and authors that have won, or been shortlisted for, the Printz Award given by the American Library Association.=A0 Since the award's inception 10 years ago, about 12% of its top titles have been by Australian authors, which may not seem like a big deal until you realize how few Australian books even makeit into the U.S. YA market. I'll be studying why these authors and books have been so powerful in the U.S. (beyond the fact that the authors are brilliant and the books outstanding, of course!), and suspect it has something to do with 1) a different definition of YA in the two countries; 2) a right-wing swing in the U.S. that has had a stifling effect on literary risk-taking in the teen market.
I've been in Australia since early July, and will be going back to the States August 19. I've been relatively fortunate in setting up meetings withMelina Marchetta (who suggested I contact you) and Margo Lanagan, and am waiting to hear back from Sonya Hartnett (all Printz authors). I'm also waiting to hear from YA editors and marketing people from Pan Macmillan and Penguin. (I am still hoping beyond hope that my path will cross Markus Zusak's, although everyone is telling me not to hold my breath, he's very busy. It was actually his The Messenger that inspired my choice of dissertation topic; as I read that book the first time years ago, I knew that it was something remarkable, and also that it would never have stood a chance if first published in the U.S. YA market.)
I'm in Sydney (Glebe, to be exact) until July 31; then on campus in Bathurst until August 16, with a long weekend in Melbourne; and finally back in Sydney August 16-19. Then home, and back to school/work almost immediately. I would love to have an opportunity to talk with you about the Australian children's/YA literary scene--or, if not to talk, to start an email correspondence. Just skimming your website, I think you'll be an important resource for my research.I've been to Australia before, but as a tourst the first time; I didn't spend a lot of time in bookshops then. I'vebeen a teacher librarian for 25 years, and a book reviewer and columnist; I've always considered myself pretty in touch with what's out there for kids and teens--and it amazes me how many authors I've never heard of who fillshelves in your bookshops, or how many unfamiliar books I see by familiar authors. There's an entire book culture here, and we in the U.S. only see the tip of the iceberg.
Much thanks for any assistance you'll be able to give me!
Cathy Andronik
I'm a teacher librarian in an American high school, and I'm also enrolled in the online Ph.D. program at Charles Sturt University in Australia. (I'm still in the very early stages of the program.)My dissertation is on recent Australian fiction for young adults, in particular those books and authors that have won, or been shortlisted for, the Printz Award given by the American Library Association.=A0 Since the award's inception 10 years ago, about 12% of its top titles have been by Australian authors, which may not seem like a big deal until you realize how few Australian books even makeit into the U.S. YA market. I'll be studying why these authors and books have been so powerful in the U.S. (beyond the fact that the authors are brilliant and the books outstanding, of course!), and suspect it has something to do with 1) a different definition of YA in the two countries; 2) a right-wing swing in the U.S. that has had a stifling effect on literary risk-taking in the teen market.
I've been in Australia since early July, and will be going back to the States August 19. I've been relatively fortunate in setting up meetings withMelina Marchetta (who suggested I contact you) and Margo Lanagan, and am waiting to hear back from Sonya Hartnett (all Printz authors). I'm also waiting to hear from YA editors and marketing people from Pan Macmillan and Penguin. (I am still hoping beyond hope that my path will cross Markus Zusak's, although everyone is telling me not to hold my breath, he's very busy. It was actually his The Messenger that inspired my choice of dissertation topic; as I read that book the first time years ago, I knew that it was something remarkable, and also that it would never have stood a chance if first published in the U.S. YA market.)
I'm in Sydney (Glebe, to be exact) until July 31; then on campus in Bathurst until August 16, with a long weekend in Melbourne; and finally back in Sydney August 16-19. Then home, and back to school/work almost immediately. I would love to have an opportunity to talk with you about the Australian children's/YA literary scene--or, if not to talk, to start an email correspondence. Just skimming your website, I think you'll be an important resource for my research.I've been to Australia before, but as a tourst the first time; I didn't spend a lot of time in bookshops then. I'vebeen a teacher librarian for 25 years, and a book reviewer and columnist; I've always considered myself pretty in touch with what's out there for kids and teens--and it amazes me how many authors I've never heard of who fillshelves in your bookshops, or how many unfamiliar books I see by familiar authors. There's an entire book culture here, and we in the U.S. only see the tip of the iceberg.
Much thanks for any assistance you'll be able to give me!
Cathy Andronik
Hi Cathy,
So sorry about the email links on the website. I'd be really happy to meet with you while you're in Sydney—I do love an international visitor! My proper email address is attached to this comment reply, but just in case it's judith dot ridge at gmail dot com
Cheers,
Judith
So sorry about the email links on the website. I'd be really happy to meet with you while you're in Sydney—I do love an international visitor! My proper email address is attached to this comment reply, but just in case it's judith dot ridge at gmail dot com
Cheers,
Judith
I am a masters student of children's literature at Makerere University in Uganda, East Africa. I must say the comments and observations made by the various respondents have helped me in a way. Thank you.
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Wed, 12.10.2011 04:50
I am a masters student of chil dren's literature at Makerere University in Uganda, East Afr ica. I must say the comm [...]
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