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FINAL Current Developments at the Intersection of British Children ONLINE VERSION
5.4.3
Their background In British fantasy for children, the background of the traditional hero is determined by a stable family as well as the social fabric. As a rule, families are intact. 219 Due to the still strict and clearly defined morals and values separated or even divorced parents are a scandalous, hardly tolerable peripheral phenomenon of conservative Western European society. Within a functioning network of family and friends, traditional middle-class child heroes need to find room for their adventures, in which they tend to get involved in by accident. Alice falls into the hole when following the rabbit, Tom unintentionally into the chimney and then into the river and the children in Nesbit’s novel dig up the Psammead whilst playing outside. As we will see in the following, those adventures only become possible when the children are not being observed by adults or have momentarily escaped their reach. By contrast, the background of the modern child hero is not portrayed as stable. Current publications take into account the changing social structures from the traditional extended family to today’s small families, single parents and patchwork families. In addition to the increasing number of critical or even dysfunctional family structures in reality as well as current British fantasy novels for children, a strong tendency towards isolation is discernible. One of the consequences of the rural exodus and the urbanisation is the anonymity of the city which supersedes the idyllic country atmosphere of Nesbit’s novels, The Wind in the Willows or Winnie-the-Pooh. The growing globalisation influences the hero’s as well as the reader’s cultural background. With the cohabitation of different cultures in a heterogeneous society and the opening of the Western Europeans towards other cultures multinationality has established 218 Doderer, Neue Helden in der Kinder- und Jugendliteratur, p. 9. 219 Even if the family is not portrayed as a whole and often members are temporarily absent, they are at least mentioned for the sake of completeness. 178 itself in a once homogenous society. So as to make allowances for this fact, current publications of British fantasy novels for children have begun to hesitatingly introduce either more multicultural characters or a secondary world in which this ethnic diversity is only natural and even an ideal state of affairs. Hesitatingly, since so far characters with an ethnic background are a minority – with only one or a maximum of two per novel - especially as heroes. A trailblazer in this direction is Le Guin’s Earthsea quartet with the dark-skinned Ged as a main character. Current publications which follow up this innovative development are for instance McNish’s The Colours of Magic trilogy, in which an African toddler turns out to be a very powerful magician, or Taylor’s novels – above all Shadowmancer and Shadowmancer: The Curse of Salamander Street featuring the African angel Raphah. In the course of the Harry Potter series Rowling tentatively introduces the Asian girl Cho and the dark-skinned Angelina. Yet, not being portrayed in depth, both girls are more of a multicultural accessory rather than genuine characters. Even attempts at enlarging the Western European perspective by having visitors from France and East Europe in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire or occasional references to dragons in Romania do not manage to convincingly establish ethnic diversity or even create a multicultural atmosphere. As far as the realistic portrayal of a culturally mixed background of fantasy heroes for children is concerned much work is yet to be done. Possible reasons for this situation could be the lack of experience on the part of the authors – as well as the readers - caused by the late occupation with this topic. 220 On the macrolevel, the heroes’ background is strongly influenced by the culture they are exposed to but also by the society they grow up in. The social background is influenced by the dominant world view, given and accepted standards, values, traditions and the code of conduct. Within these parameters control is exercised so that too strong a deviation from the set rules is either not possible at all or restricted to a minimum. This way, the macrolevel sets the valid parameters for the microlevel: The hero’s family background. It is within the immediate structures the hero is integrated into, i.e. their family and friends or peers, that they are acting. Seen as he is a product of his environment, this network socialises the hero and decisively moulds his character, attitudes and ideals. Nowadays heterogeneous or alternative family models no longer have any scarcity value and this development is reflected by current publications of fantasy literature. An increasing number of British fantasy novels for children expand on this issue by relating the absence of one or even both parents and the insecurity and 220 This is where current approaches of neo- and postcolonial criticism set in. 179 lack of guidance resulting from it. Such an unusual amount of freedom can be used for development opportunities. Yet, with some heroes it leads to a state of blockade and fear, which need to be faced in the course of the quest. In their function, absent parents cannot be substituted fully, but an intact group of friends or peers of the same age can establish family- like structures and thus order for modern fantasy heroes, many of whom are affected by separation, divorce, new partnerships or even the loss of both parents. In this connection, a very recent development is the preoccupation with former taboos. Psychological illnesses, for instance depression, are on the advance these days and do not spare the family of fantasy heroes, either. Artemis Fowl’s and Will’s mother suffer from depression and other mental impediments, thus at least temporarily losing control of their own situation and their child. The latter therefore has to face an unusual role reversal of the parent- child- relationship and now has to try and provide the missing structure, security and guidance that he needs himself. The responsibility that the parents have for the child has to be taken over by the child for the parent, at least for a while. Whereas no dramatic differences can be discerned regarding the social background, the cultural background of the modern fantasy hero is being extended by multiculturalism and globalisation. What is more, the modern child hero’s family background distinguishes itself by an increased complexity and problematic, sometimes even vague relationships. Download 1.22 Mb. Do'stlaringiz bilan baham: |
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