Ideological Children: A Reading of 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' and 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix' with Special Reference to the Representation of Young Children
Author
Thorn, Birgitte Amalie Fristrup
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2010
Abstract
Denne afhandling undersøger C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1950) og J.K. Rowlings Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2003). Selvom de er skrevet i meget forskellige historiske og sociopolitiske rammer, kunne man forvente, at de udtrykker forskellige værdier. Ved hjælp af tekstnære læsninger, teori om fantasygenren og deres respektive kontekster analyserer afhandlingen, hvordan bøgerne fremstiller unge børn—særligt hvordan de danner (kønnet) identitet og bliver voksne. Afhandlingen argumenterer for, at begge værker formidler ens og konservative ideologier, det vil sige traditionelle forestillinger om roller og normer. Den drøfter også, om sådanne konservative fantasier alligevel kan være subversive—undergravende eller udfordrende over for det bestående—selvom forskere som Rosemary Jackson og Lucie Armitt har afvist denne mulighed.
This thesis examines C.S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1950) and J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2003). Although they were written in very different historical and socio-political settings, one might expect them to express different values. Using close textual analysis, ideas from fantasy studies, and attention to each book’s context, the thesis analyzes how young children are portrayed—especially how they form (gendered) identity and grow up. It argues that both works promote similar, conservative ideologies, meaning traditional views about roles and norms. It also considers whether such conservative fantasies can still be subversive—i.e., challenge the status quo—even though scholars like Rosemary Jackson and Lucie Armitt have dismissed that claim.
[This abstract was generated with the help of AI]
Keywords
Documents