Psychoanalysis Responses to Children's Literture

by Rollin, Lucy

• ISBN13: 9780786437641
• ISBN10: 0786437642
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-06-30
• Publisher: McFarland & Co Inc Pub

Summary

With the growing emphasis on theory in literary studies, psychoanalytic criticism is making notable contributions to literary interpretation.Sixteen chapters in this work explore the psychological subtexts of such important children's books as Carlo Collodi's Pinocchio, Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach, Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows, Louise Fitzhugh's Harriet the Spy, Mark Twain's The Prince and the Pauper, and E.B. White's Charlotte's Web.Drawing on the ideas of such psychoanalytic theorists as Sigmund Freud, Alice Miller, D.W. Winnicott and Jacques Lacan, it analyzes the psychological development of characters, examines reader responses, and studies the lives of authors and illustrators such as Beatrix Potter and Jessie Willcox Smith.

Author Biography

Lucy Rollin is professor emerita of English at Clemson University, where she taught children's and young adult literature. She has written many books and essays on children's literature and pop culture. Mark I. West is a professor of English at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where he teaches children's literature and coordinates the American Studies program. He has written or edited a number of books dealing with children's literature, and is vice-president/president-elect of the Children's Literature Association.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. vii
Preface	p. xi
Introduction	p. 1
Regression and the Fragmentation of the Self in James and the Giant Peach	p. 17
The Mysterious and the Uncanny in Nancy Drew and Harriet the Spy	p. 23
Uncanny Mickey Mouse and His Domestication	p. 31
Narcissism in The Wind in the Willows	p. 45
The Reproduction of Mothering in Charlotte's Web	p. 53
Pinocchio's Journey from the Pleasure Principle to the Reality Principle	p. 65
Gazing and Mirroring in The Prince and the Pauper	p. 71
Childhood Fantasies and Frustrations in Maurice Sendak's Picture Books	p. 79
The Grotesque and the Taboo in Roald Dahl's Humorous Writings for Children	p. 91
Good-Enough Mother Hubbard	p. 97
Humpty Dumpty and the Anxieties of the Vulnerable Child	p. 111
Dream Imagery and the Portrayal of Childhood Anxieties in Nursery Rhyme Illustrations	p. 119
Repression and Rebellion in the Life and Works of Beatrix Potter	p. 129
Depictions of the Mother-Child Dyad in the Work of Mary Cassatt and Jessie Willcox Smith	p. 141
Guilt and Shame in Early American Children's Literature	p. 151
The Psychological Roots of Anthony Comstock's Campaign to Censor Dime Novels	p. 159
Bibliography of Psychoanalytic Interpretations of Children's Literature	p. 171
Index	p. 175
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