Children’s Literature: Between the World and Global Literature

The article presents the place of children’s literature in literary systems across time, regarding its position in the context of two key categories of the present-day discourse: the world literature and the global literature. Since in 1932 Paul Hazard proclaimed “the universal republic of childhood” in his Books, Children and Men, scholars such as Zohar Shavit or Emer O’Sullivan have discussed the changes concerning children’s literature itself as well as ways of approaching it.

 

„Constantijntje, my dear little son...”. Netherlandish writings for children and about children up to the end of the 17th century

The aim of the given paper is to describe the changes that occurred in the Netherlandish (i.e. Dutch and Flemish) juvenile texts from the Middle Ages up to the end of the 17th century. The introductory remarks focus upon the methodological issues, such as defining the child and its age in the past and the questions concerning the ‘identity’ and possible forms of old literature/ writings aimed for children. In the Netherlands, up to the end of the 16th century, children, were mostly the addressees of the numerous schoolbooks, both Latin and vernacular ones. The revolt against the Spanish rule (1555) resulted in the division of the Netherlands into the Catholic South and the Calvinistic-minded North, namely the Dutch Republic. Whereas in the southern provinces the shape and form of the juvenile writings remained practically unchanged, in the North the publishing market for children grew rapidly, greatly stimulated by the rise of the common education in the Republic, spectacular increase of literacy and the social advancement of the country, based upon the Protestant faith and economical progress. Within few decades young Dutch readers from the North, boys and girls alike, were able to choose from a considerable publishing offer, designed not only for instruction but also for pleasure. Finally, the multitude of representations of children in the 17th century Dutch literature and their contexts (emblem books, conventional didactic and vanitas texts, more personal confessions) have been briefly suggested in the paper.

 

Mimesis and beyond. Fantasy mountains and their function in “world mapping” in contemporary children’s literature

In fantasy literature for children and youth, there function descriptions of space that may be categorized as part of the concept of “fantasy geography” (cf.: U. Eco). These regions are images of Arcadias, utopias, illusions, or simply “lands of fantasy” that exist without geographical or metaphysical limits (see: M. Ende – Fantastica). Imaginary worlds – which in a sense are representations of the real world – create poetics of place and space that is marked historically, socio-culturally, morally, and ethically.
In such works, mountains are a significant aspect of literary backgrounds for protagonists’ journeys. They lack such elements as: aesthetic and contemplative experiences, hierophany, or psychological effects that are associated with the element of aesthetic surprise – in other words, they lack spiritual emotions that come directly from observing and experiencing the world. Instead, they invoke emotions connected with fascination by otherness, childlike curiosity of the world, dream of adventure, activity, and humour. The beauty of mountains is in this case overshadowed by their dangerous nature, the will to overcome obstacles, and the resolve to accept the challenge.

 

Kleks (The Inkblot) in the text, the text on Kleks (The Inkblot). Metaphors and intertextuality in Jan Brzechwa’s novel sequence on Mr Kleks (Mr Inkblot)

The main aim of the paper is to find some deeper meanings of Jan Brzechwa’s trilogy on Mister Kleks. The author focuses on metaphor of a library as a gateway to a fabulous world and on a metaliterary dimension of the work, showing that it can be read as a kind of Künstlerroman (and Bildungsroman). She also seeks sources for Brzechwa’s invention, analyzing each part of the novel from this point of view. The science-fiction, utopist and parodist contexts of the novel are also taken into consideration.

 

The story of Cinderella as received by adults. An empirical attempt at studying reception of the story

The present work enters sociology of literature and is, to a great extent, based on empirical study. The main aim of this work is to confront scientific interpretation of the Cinderella story with an intuitive reception of the story by adults. A questionnaire serves as the main research tool and is composed of close and open questions. The questionnaire is constructed in such way that each answer corresponds to a given scientific interpretation, for example a) presents psychoanalytical views, b) is related to the feminist approach etc. Philologists and psychologists are excluded from the responding group, as the could possibly encounter Cinderella in terms of scientific approach; the author wants to receive an interpretation based mainly on creativity and intuition. In order to analyze the story, certain literature and psychological publications are used, as well as dictionaries, mainly dictionaries of symbols which are essential in reading stories. The first chapter is devoted to the theoretical part of the story. It answers questions about the definition of a story, its meaning and functions nowadays. The following chapters introduce the analysis of Cinderella in terms of achievements and empirical study of its reception. It is also an attempt of recognizing potential issues in the story which may be discovered through careful reading. 
It answers questions about the definition of a story, its meaning and functions nowadays. The following chapters introduce the analysis of Cinderella in terms of achievements and empirical study of its reception. It is also an attempt of recognizing potential issues in the story which may be discovered through careful reading.  

 

The fairy-tale as a metaphor for the whole of human experience

This article treats about the book The Brothers Grimm and the Sister Death of Jadwiga Wais, which is about circumstances attending a passing, inalienable subjectivity of moribund, ways of handling with the fear of death, and interprets selected writings of Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm. The fairy-tale serving a therapeutic and compensatory functions and being a narration, can be and it is the very important element of education not only to life, but also to death understood as an immanent part of lifetime. It is also part of children’s literature focusing on death issue and facing with often parents and teachers helplessness with conversations about this difficult theme. Fairy-tales by using metaphors have an ability of gradually uncovering next, important for development contents, which have also cognitive nature, and answer the individual fear of Unknown.

 

Self in the laboratory of the humanities

From the Culture of the I to the Culture of the Self by Roma Sendyka is an outstanding, innovative review of research into various notions of subjectivity. Sendyka uses the inflected form of the reflexive pronoun self (Pl. siebie) as a literary theoretical category, and selected literary autobiographical essayistic texts as peculiar laboratories in order to investigate its cognitive potential. The author reviews a variety of the concepts of self derived from diverse disciplines and philosophical idioms. She juxtaposes the model of self which is manifestly contingent, episodic and circular (with its ‘centrifugal’ and ‘centripetal’ movement) and the autonomistic, diachronic and narrative model. The perspective of the culture of self reveals rebellious, subversive and so far ‘invisible’ texts, important for the notion of autocreation.