Microsoft Word Hollie Adams ma thesis

 
Conclusion 
In this novel, male and female protagonists are set as equals. The characters are able to 
help and support one another without their gender affecting the way in which they do 
so. Funke, a woman writer, writes strong female characters, who are independent and 
fully autonomous, which is especially interesting in her child protagonist. Meggie is a 
twelve-year old girl, up against two terrifying authority figures; Basta and Capricorn. 
It could be believed that the use of a young female protagonists against two large male 
antagonists is Funke’s way of showing the good/evil dichotomy. No matter your 
gender, as long as you are on the side of the righteous, you will prevail. It is okay to 
need help and gain support from others as long as good prevails.

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6.
A Comparative Analysis of the 1950’s-60’s and the 1990’s-00’s 
Comparing British and German Children’s Texts in the 1950’s and 60’s 
Scholarly articles have been right to defame C.S. Lewis as a misogynist as his Narnia 
texts continue traditional stereotypes that do not allow women to defy social 
expectations. Critiques have lacked in relation to gender in Otfried Preußler’s and 
Michael Ende’s texts, however, they too place characters in traditional gender roles 
albeit, in a less extreme way than Lewis.
As with all literary texts, Lewis, Preußler and Ende all feature male and female 
characters in their respective novels. However, these characters are portrayed in 
comparable and contrasting ways. The authors all place at least one female character 
within a domestic role. In LWW, Lewis’ female characters are prevented from taking 
an active role in the plot unless they cast away their feminine attributes. They are 
prevented from procuring food for a meal with the Beavers and are prevented from 
fighting in the battle of Narnia. Instead, Lucy and Susan prepare the meal and the 
household for the return of the male characters. They also are on the side-lines of the 
battle, ready to care for the heroes should they need aid. The domestic role of Lewis’ 
characters is mirrored in Ende’s character, Frau Waas who is prevented from joining 
her adoptive son Jim on his quest. Instead, she cares for the people of Lummerland, 
providing them with food from her shop. On the other hand, Preußler does not place 
only women in domestic roles but men too. When Seppel is captured, he is placed in 
the role of house-wife as he must prepare Zwackelmann’s meals. Here, it can be seen 
that Preußler breaks the stereotypical placement of women in domestic roles. 

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Women are not the only characters to be placed in traditional gender roles. In 
all of the texts, the man is the hero; a role often reserved for that particular gender. In 
the historical context of this time, in the 1950’s and 60’s men were seen as the ‘war 
heroes’ after returning home from WWII. They had defended their country’s beliefs 
and fought to protect their home and nation, whether their nation was Germany or 
Britain. Throughout the war, women had taken over ‘men’s jobs’ but when their heroes 
returned, they were placed back within the domestic sphere. It could be argued that this 
context reflects the authors’ choices of their heroes and the roles assigned to each 
character. LWW, JK, and RH all have the male hero as the focus of their texts.
In LWW, Lewis anoints Peter and Aslan as the heroes. Peter and Aslan assert 
patriarchal authority to make Narnia safe, reflecting the male soldiers of WWII, 
defending the safety of their country. In JK, Emma, a companion to Jim and Lukas 
takes a passive role, whilst the two men become heroes, saving children from the 
terrifying dragon, Frau Mahlzahn. Similar to this, Kasperl and Seppel in RH take on the 
role of hero to retrieve their grandmother’s mug from the two patriarchal, authority 
figures. However, in contrast to LWW and JK, Preußler makes the female Fee a hero 
too, breaking the stereotypical idea of ‘inferior woman’ and masculine hero (O’Hanlon 
148). What is interesting to note here is that the male heroes all attempt to overthrow a 
figure that has unnatural authority. Ende and Preußler both have their heroes overthrow 
authoritative figures who torture the innocent. It could be argued that this is 
representative of the downfall of the Nazi dictatorship. It shows the dangers of 
unnatural authority and that one should work to create a world filled with good. 
Considering the time period of these texts, it is likely that the hero overthrowing 
authority alludes to the defeat of the axis powers in WWII.

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Regarding the antagonists, they are all dangerous characters who are feared and 
hated. Lewis’ White Witch has ‘vanquished’ Aslan and taken over Narnia in order to 
overthrow patriarchal order whilst Ende and Preußler’s antagonists have taken over to 
strike fear into civilians. Lewis’ White Witch is a figure that is condemned for her 
excessive femininity and sexuality. Jadis is punished for attempting to abolish the 
patriarchal authority of Aslan and Lewis uses her to warn children of the dangers of 
heightened femininity and sexuality. He condemns women as evil. Similar to this, 
Preußler condemns Petrosilius Zwackelmann for the excess of his gender and the abuse 
of his authority. However, it must be noted that Preußler does not condemn all witch 
figures. His little witch in KH is a fully autonomous female character. She is a 
protagonist rather than an antagonist. Here, Preußler inverts the typical image of the 
evil witch and creates a relatable character that does not continue troubling gender 
stereotypes. However, Zwackelmann in RH is an evil patriarch, he is subject to ridicule 
by Preußler in the way he is described and illustrated. In Lewis’ text, antagonists are 
not ridiculed. Rather, they are discussed with fear and are entirely condemned. This is 
in sharp contrast with the German texts as their antagonists are comical. Preußler’s 
Hotzenplotz and Zwackelmann are depicted in a ridiculous, over-the-top manner for 
children to laugh at. Both characters, like Jadis, emphasise their gender and use it to 
assert control, however, they are not condemned for their specific gender. In Lewis’ 
text, evil is reserved only for unruly women. In the German texts, evil characters are 
ridiculed in general. It could be speculated that this is the German authors’ attempt at 
making evil unimportant and to show how good characters are to be followed.
Despite this, characters continue to be gendered. It is not only human characters 
that are assigned genders in these texts but also non-human characters, such as animals 
and machines in JK and LWW. In children’s literature, many novels feature non-human 

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characters who children can also relate to. These non-human characters are often 
gendered male in British literature (Goodman 14). For example, male non-human 
companions can be seen in Kenneth Grahame’s Wind in the Willows and “the 
overwhelmingly male world of Winnie the Pooh” (16-17). Even in Alice’s Adventures