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'The Little Cottage in the Woods': the Symbolism of the Country Cottage in the 'Golden Age' of Children's Literature

《林间小屋》：儿童文学“黄金时代”乡村小屋的象征意义

基本信息

批准号：
2455416
负责人：
金额：
--
依托单位：
University of Surrey
依托单位国家：
英国
项目类别：
Studentship
财政年份：
2020
资助国家：
英国
起止时间：
2020 至无数据
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2455416
关键词：
Little Cottage Woods Symbolism Country

项目摘要

This thesis explores the country cottage as a symbol for social discourses in children's literature from the mid- nineteenth century to the early twentieth century, a period of history recognised as the 'Golden Age' of children's literature due to the many children's classics published at the time. The cottage forms a common setting in children's literature, a space that can mean safety or danger. This thesis will argue that this layered meaning of the cottage as a fictional setting also translates into the cultural contexts surrounding children's literature. My research will draw upon ecocritical theories by identifying the rural cottage as a dying symbol of the natural world within literature, threatened by urbanization and pollution as the Industrial Revolution swept through nineteenth-century Britain. I will further explore how this urban and rural division reflects upon the gender divisions which characterised Victorian society, bringing together feminist and geographical understandings of society and space. As a home and a family-orientated space, the rural cottage aligns with the conventional female role of motherhood and domesticity, separate from the conventional male role of work and business in the urban industrial cities. Through identifying the cottage as a complex, symbolic space, I will examine how it becomes a fluid setting for children's authors of the 'Golden Age' to teach contemporary ideology to young readers. Children's literature has been the subject of feminist criticism on the representation of gender roles, but it has often been overlooked in critical theorisations of space, geography and the environment. My research will fill this gap by positing the country cottage as a setting for rich interdisciplinary discussion, bringing feminism together with ecocriticism and geography. My research will use the country cottage to offer a new perspective on social discourses and so establish the cultural significance of the cottage in society.

本论文探讨了世纪中期至世纪早期儿童文学中乡村小屋作为社会话语的象征。这段历史时期被认为是儿童文学的“黄金时代”，因为当时出版了许多儿童经典。小屋在儿童文学中形成了一个常见的背景，一个可能意味着安全或危险的空间。这篇论文将论证，作为一个虚构背景的小屋的这种分层意义也转化为围绕儿童文学的文化背景。我的研究将借鉴生态批评理论，将乡村小屋确定为文学中自然世界的垂死象征，随着工业革命席卷19世纪英国，受到城市化和污染的威胁。我将进一步探讨这种城乡分工如何反映维多利亚社会的性别分工，将女权主义者和地理对社会和空间的理解结合在一起。作为一个家和一个面向家庭的空间，乡村小屋与传统的女性母性和母性角色相一致，与城市工业城市中传统的男性工作和商业角色相分离。通过确定小屋作为一个复杂的，象征性的空间，我将研究它如何成为一个流动的设置为儿童作家的“黄金时代”，教导当代意识形态的年轻读者。儿童文学一直是女性主义批评中性别角色再现的主题，但在空间、地理和环境的批评理论中往往被忽视。我的研究将填补这一空白，把乡村小屋作为一个丰富的跨学科讨论的环境，把女权主义与生态批评和地理学结合在一起。我的研究将以乡村小屋为例，提供一个新的视角来研究社会话语，从而确立乡村小屋在社会中的文化意义。