Ideology in Victorian children's literature; views on empire and imperialism
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2018-06-15
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en
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This thesis will examine the extent to which Victorian attitudes towards empire and imperialism were present in children’s literature. During the Victorian era, attitudes towards empire and imperialism were not consistent (McCord and Purdue 322; Brantlinger 4). These attitudes towards empire are connected to Victorian Britain’s ideology. Ideology is nearly always present in literature, since it is impossible to write a text without including a society’s ideas and values and, therefore, it is possible to research this Victorian ideology through children’s books (Kutzer, “Introduction” 1).
During the Victorian era, the West regarded themselves as superior cultures and the inhabitants of the East were regarded as inferior cultures (Brantlinger 2). Subsequently, postcolonial theory is suitable for this research for it focuses on these power relationships and the differences between cultures related to white superiority. This imperial ideology is the most apparent in children’s literature and, therefore, the two books that are discussed are Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and The Jungle Book (Kutzer, “Introduction” 2).
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Faculteit der Letteren