In most of the various kinds of children's books on our shelves, the protagonists are anthropomorphic animals, and interestingly, the same foxes may have diametrically opposed traits in the writings of different authors. Although stories for children are made up by adults, it seems that the protagonist is not very interesting if he is a "person". Children and animals naturally have a sense of closeness, so why do animals have such magic? Perhaps The Wind in the Willows, published in 1908, can give some answers.
This is a series of stories featuring moles, river rats, toads and badgers, which take place in a "natural wonderland". Originally told by the author Kenneth Graham for his son who was born with an eye disease, Graham continued the story in the form of letters, and eventually assembled and published, becoming one of the most famous children's books in the UK.
The book not only appears frequently in the list of recommended books for primary school students in China, but its adaptations are available in dozens of editions in the English-speaking world, including poems, plays, picture books, and pop-up books. There are also "sequels" written for it. "Mr. Toad Goes to a Psychiatrist", which quickly made a best-seller list in the Chinese book market in 2020, is based on the four animals in "The Wind in the Willows" as the protagonists.
The Sound of the Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Graham, illustrated by E.H. Shepherd, translated by Ren Rongrong, December 2020 by Shanghai Translation Publishing House.
The following article, with the theme of "The Wonderland of Nature and Animals in the Wind in the Willow Forest", analyzes why animal characters are so valued in the category of "children's literature" through the interpretation of some paragraphs. (Because "The Wind in the Willows" is already a public edition book, the translation of the passage quoted in the text comes from the version of the Shanghai Translation Publishing House, and the illustrations of this edition were drawn by E.H. Shepherd.) ）
*The author below is Sang Ni, who and another columnist, Zi Ye, specialize in comparative literature, and the article in the "General Studies in Children's Literature" column comes from the children's literature class they took when they were visiting students at Oxford University. Each article was completed after more than an hour of one-on-one discussion with the professor, and went through a large number of materials to consult, find ideas and outline the process. Including "people and animals in fairy tales", "adaptation and circulation of fairy tales", "how children's literature is presented in movies", etc., explore the cultural factors behind the works and the meaning they really want to express.
Written by | Mulberry
In the foreword to Alice in Wonderland and adventures in the Mirror, published by Oxford University Press in 2009, the famous children's literature theorist Peter Hunt mentioned that when we talk about the concept of "wonderland", in addition to its utopian meaning, we often ignore the word "wonderland" to describe a region that people are always curious about and can explore. The Wind in the Willows, first published in 1908, perfectly illustrates the regional meaning of "wonderland": in the story, animal characters wander around, exploring the "wonderland" of nature and experiencing different events together, taking risks, and even gaining a deep understanding of life.
The Wind in the Willows, cover of the 1930 edition.
Although many literary critics, including Peter Hunt himself, have criticized the characteristics of the story such as the anthropomorphization of animals and the irony of life in a fantastical and whimsical way, it should not be overlooked that the fantasy color and metaphor of the human world in "The Wind of the Willows" are the core features of its story. In the book's natural wonderland, the author is completely free to use his imagination to create a world with a unique social system and worldview, or even an idealistic utopia, in which animals continue to explore the mysteries of life — a form of writing that many critics consider to be a representative feature of the literary category of "children's literature".
Of course, what sets "The Wind in the Willows" apart from other works of children's literature is precisely the characteristics of its protagonists: the story focuses on a group of animals living in nature, who appreciate the beauty of nature, have a likable or unique characteristic, and always grow in the challenges of the environment, which are also the story elements that are loved by readers. This article attempts to explore several questions: Why are animal characters and nature's "wonderland" so popular with authors and readers? How does the selection of animals and the shaping of wonderland in the book achieve the desired story effect? Why are these story elements so valued in the category of "children's literature"?
Illustration of "The Wind in the Willow Forest".
In a natural wonderland,
Everything is happy and vibrant
At the beginning of the story, author Kenneth Graham makes the reader feel a strong sense of happiness, vitality and hope through a description of the scene of the arrival of spring:
"The breath of spring floats in heaven and earth and around him, even penetrating into his dark and low little house, bringing with it the sacred spirit of spring, which makes people feel unsatisfied and eager to pursue something."
In the first scene, Graham has already led the reader to feel nature through the primitive and powerful perception of the mole character, and integrates the main characters in the book with nature, setting the tone of the whole story.
Nature's "wonderland" is depicted as a place that brings endless joy, passion and beauty:
"Everything looks so good that people can't believe it. The mole hurried to the east and west, through the grass, through the bushes, through the bushes, everywhere to see the birds nesting, the flowers in the buds, the leaves sprouting - everything is happy, full of life, not idle. ”
It's also a place that encourages constant exploration, curiosity, and adventure. Describing the mole's mood when it saw the river, Graham wrote:
He had never seen a river in his life—a light and slippery, curved, swollen animal, chasing and giggling, giggling and grabbing something, laughing and putting it down, and throwing it at another game partner, who was just about to break free and was caught by it. Everything was shaking and trembling—shimmering, sparkling, swirling, whispering. The mole is really fascinated and fascinated. ”
After this beautiful opening, the mole meets Mr. River Rat and begins the next wonderful story. The above love and pure enjoyment of nature also runs through the narrative of "The Wind in the Willows", creating memories of the beautiful, pure world in people's childhood (of course, this also corresponds to the appearance of the British rural world before the Industrial Revolution). Although this is indeed from the pen of an adult writer.
In the natural world, animals have their true selves, their individuality, differences, and emotions are encouraged and accepted, and they have enough freedom to explore in the natural world and enjoy the pure beauty of nature. Their innocence and love of beauty are also fully demonstrated in the natural world. For example, when the mole overturned the boat because of the excitement of rowing, and he and the river rat both fell into the water, the river rat responded to the matter with a very relaxed attitude, and he comforted the mole: "That's nothing, God bless you!" He said briskly, "What does a little wetness mean for a river rat?" On most days, I spend more time in the water than outside the water. You don't have to think about it anymore. ”
Illustration of "The Wind in the Willow Forest".
This group of friends enjoys each other's company and has their own space to digest personal feelings, such as when the mole comes to the primeval forest alone, he becomes sentimental because of the dry land in winter:
"It was a cold and quiet afternoon outside, with an iron-gray sky overhead. The fields around him were bare, and there were not a few leaves on the trees, and he felt that he had never seen as far as he could on this winter day, and see the interior of all things as intimately. At this time, nature is deeply entering the annual hibernation, as if it has kicked out everything it has put on. The bushes, the small valleys, the stone pits, and the hidden places, once a mysterious treasure trove of exploration in the summer of dense foliage, now let themselves and their secrets be pitifully exposed, as if to invite him to see their temporary poverty, until one day they can re-indulge in the glorious masquerade, as they once did, and deceive him and seduce him with ancient deceptions. On the one hand it is pathetic, but on the other hand it is joyful–even exciting. He was pleased, he liked the way Tianye looked untied, naked, and stripped of his ornate costumes. He had come to its bare bones, and they were good, strong, simple. ”
Here, nature prompts the mole to have heartfelt feelings and to expand his imagination through this land, while at the same time nature becomes anthropomorphic, carrying the mole's personal feelings and being reshaped by his subjective vision while expressing his emotions. Nature becomes a space that can be shaped and experienced by individuals, and the animals in the book can also create more experience space for their experiences and adventures. As the critic Jacqueline Rose wrote in Peter Pan's Story and the Impossibility of Children's Literature, "Fiction in children's fiction perpetuates the concept of childhood." Similarly, from Russell to Alain Garner, the depiction of the relationship between childhood and nature has always existed in literature." She argues that the concept of childhood allows children to carry a yearning for the innocence of childhood, and to exchange expectations with nature through irrational and non-verbal intuition. Children read from the earth and the sky the mysteries that belong only to them.
From the perspective of the writer's motivation, Graham's creation of a cheerful, beautiful and individual natural utopia may also be his way of escaping the oppressive real world. During the period of Graham's life, the abhorrence of modern life and the negative impact of the Industrial Revolution on society had become a central theme in Writing in Britain– a social context in which the British writer Richard Jefferies' writing on nature themes gained a very enthusiastic audience, and Graham was one of the authors of such an audience.
In addition, the scholar Humphrey Carpenter, in his book A Study of the Golden Age of Children's Literature, mentions that Graham had an unbearable and unhappy marriage that oppressed him to such an extent that "he wanted to escape from the present by returning to his childhood."
In the above two interpretations of Graham's daily life, we can see that the childhood world close to nature and the oppressive adult world have become two concepts of binary opposition, and childhood has become a more ideal "golden age" in contrast. Jacqueline Ross explains the above concept: "The image of the child is therefore very innocent and allows us to regain innocence. This may be the scene where Graham chose the natural world as the "wonderland" he created, because such a place that has not been polluted by industrial pollution, detached from the entanglement of the adult world, and fully accepting the pure beauty of nature also allows us to regain something that has been lost.
Illustration of "The Wind in the Willow Forest".
From the perspective of an animal,
Seek a more natural life
Graham's choice of animals as the protagonists in his work also confirms in a sense that he is satisfying his desire to live in a pure, happy environment by creating an idealized environment that allows him to escape from the dominant world, and even wants to bring into the perspective of animals to seek a more essential, close to natural way of life. The scholar Margaret Blount once explained this phenomenon: "There is now an attitude of disgust or criticism towards human beings, and the belief that more sincere/harmonious animals should dominate the earth... Animal fantasy works that abandon humans always have such a beautiful quality, and human intervention weakens all this. ”
Graham himself said: "We, as others, have long lost our more delicate physical perception ability, and even the ability of animals to interact with their surroundings, whether it is survival or anything else." For example, the sense of smell, for animals, represents a series of sensitive sensory stimuli in the nasal cavity - summoning, warning, attracting, repelling. ”
At the same time, as an ideal world, the existence of the natural wonderland in the book also has a certain warning and even educational nature for readers in real life. In nature in the book, the individual is encouraged, and even this encouragement pushes the animal to adventure and explore, to respect nature and all things that are grander and more important than the self.
When the mole enters the unknown world of the primeval forest, he feels a strong sense of fear and unknown. Graham used the animal's very sensitive sensory abilities to shape a world that gradually began to oppress the mole, "those faces in the forest began to flash", "the cry began" and then "those tapping sounds began", gradually increasing the mole's fear in the senses:
"Then suddenly, it seemed as if there had always been hundreds of holes so far and near, each of which looked at each face, appeared and went as fast as it could, and all stared at him with malicious and hateful eyes: all cold, vicious and fierce."
In this description, the natural wonderland here is not only a utopia of beauty and happiness, nor is it simply a reinvention of childhood life. The existence of primeval forests also reminds the reader and the protagonist of the book to respect the grand nature and the wider world. Henfri Carpenter argues that the pristine forests in the book "also represent the dark side of the human psyche."
The river rat comforted the mole and said:
"You really shouldn't have come out like this, mole. I did my best to make you not do that. It is rare for those of us who live on the banks of the river to come here alone. Be sure to come at least with a companion, and that's fine. Besides, there are hundreds of things to pay attention to here, and we know these things, but you don't know them yet. I'm talking about passwords, signs, effective words, plants in your pocket, poems you're going to recite, tricks and tricks you're going to play. You know, these things can't be simpler, but you're a small animal, you have to know this, or you're in trouble. Of course, if you're a badger or an otter, that's another story. ”
In the chapter "The Piper at Dawn," nature is placed more directly on the unknowns that are higher than human beings, societies, and everyday life. When the sacred god of the wilderness, Pan (referring to pan, who was the animal husbandry god of human sheep's feet and horns on his head in Greek mythology) was found by animals on a small island:
It was at this moment that the mole suddenly developed a great sense of awe, a sensation that turned his muscles into water, made his head hang down, and made his feet stand on the ground and could not move. It wasn't panic—he was genuinely feeling unusually calm and happy—but it was a sense of awe that had attacked him and controlled him, and he didn't have to look to understand that it could only mean that an awesome elf was very, very close. ”
Here, of course, as with other works of children's literature seen as aimed at a wider audience, this profound reverence for nature and the laws of nature and even the universe has significance beyond the "wonderland" or children's world.
Illustration of "The Wind in the Willow Forest".
Margaret Brandt wrote in her Animal World: Creatures in Children's Literature: "Animals are beautiful, pure, lovely and peculiar, and their inner qualities can be used as a springboard for examining humanity in stages." "In The Wind in the Willows, it's clear that animals living in nature have infinite possibilities to grow, discover, and express themselves, and that the world created by the animals' traits in the story is as important as the animal characters themselves. Using the natural world and animal characters, the story world and the real world can exist in parallel - the story world has elements of reality, and it is different enough from reality, and the author gets more creative space from it. At the same time, whether for children or adults, the natural "wonderland" can be seen both as a reshaping and nostalgia of the childhood world, and as a product of adult free fantasies, in order to show the author's personal values and his emphasis on individual characteristics.
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Resources:
1.Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows(London: Methuen and Co.LTD), 1931.
2.Julia Mickenberg and Lynn Vallone, eds., TheOxford Handbook of Children’s Literature (Oxford: Oxford University Press),2011.
3.Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderlandand Through the looking-Glass (Oxford: Oxford University Press) 2009.
4.Margaret Blount, Animal Land: The Creatures ofChildren’s Literature (New York: William Morrow & Company), 1975, 146
5.Jacqueline Rose, The Case of Peter Pan or TheImpossibility of Children's Literature, (Hong Kong: The MacMillan Press LTD,1994)
6.Humphrey Carpenter, Secret Gardens, A Study ofthe Golden Age of Children's Literature, (London: George Allen & Unwin,1885)
7.Darcy, Jane. "The Representation of Naturein The Wind in the Willows and The Secret Garden." The Lion and theUnicorn 19.2 (1995): 211-22. Web. 211.