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Ann Arbor, MI 48106 A TALE OF ANIMALS: THE CHANGING IMAGES OF ANIMALS IN ANIMAL FANTASY FOR CHILDREN FROM AESOP'S FABLES THROUGH 1986 DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Shu-Jy Duan, B. A., M. A. The Ohio State University 1 9 9 4 Dissertation Committee: Approved by: Janet Hickman Rudine Sims Bishop Advisor Depbftment of Educational Theory & Practice Theresa Rogers College of Education Copyright by Shu-Jy Duan 199 4 To My Parents, My Husband Sherwin, and My Newborn Son Justin To All The Animals That Have Instructed and Delighted Us, and Will Continue to Do So ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I enjoy animal fantasy, enjoy writing on it, and enjoy taking pains over it. During this process there are many who support me in one way or another. I would like to thank my dissertation committee. My sincerest thanks go to my mentor and fairy godmother Dr. Janet Hickman, who helped me solidify the problem, purposes, and framework of the study in the early stage, offered timely feedbacks on the formulation in the middle stage, and provided helpful advice in the final stage. Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop and Dr. Theresa Rogers also deserve special appreciations for their recommendations and comments. My friend Melanie Myers should be thanked for her editorial help and enthusiasm to assist in every aspect. Dr. Roy Wilson's sense of humor and Dr. Beth Smith's warm heart should not go unacknowledged. Meanwhile my parents, my husband Sherwin, my mother-in-law all assisted me substantially. And my new-born son Justin needs special mention for his cooperation and the joy he brings me. Indeed few women would have the chance in their life to nurture two babies at the same time-one in the womb and the other in the brain. This dissertation came to full being, approximately corresponding to the growth of my son Justin, and it is surely one of the most adorable gifts I can give him in his life. Ill VITA Shu-Jy Duan October, 26, 1961 Born in Taipei, Taiwan, ROC 1 9 8 0 -1 9 8 4 B. A. in English, National Taiwan University 1 9 8 4 -1 9 8 7 M. A. in English, National Taiwan Normal University 1 9 8 7 -1 9 8 8 Lecturer of English, Kwang Wu Institute of Technology, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC 1988-1991 Lecturer of English, Shien Chien College, Taipei, Taiwan. ROC 1 9 9 1 -1 9 9 3 Fulbright Scholar, US Information Agency, USA Fellowship, Ministry of Education, Taiwan, ROC FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: Education Children's Literature: Janet Hickman Rudine Sims Bishop Theresa Rogers Folklore: Daniel Barnes Literacy: Becky Kirschner IV TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE DEDICATION ........................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................................................................................... iii VITA .......................................................................................................................... iv LIST OF FIGURES................................................................................................... ix CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION.......................................................................... 1 Men and Animais ....................................................................... 1 Animais and Children ................................................................ 2 Animal Fantasy: A Typological Approach ............................ 3 Writers' Challenge in Animal Fantasy: Fact or Fiction? .. 6 Animals in Literature................................................................ 8 Didacticism in Children's Literature....................................... 11 Statement of the Problem ....................................................... 13 The Purposes of the Study...................................................... 16 Definition of Term s ................................................................... 18 Selection of the Books .............................................................. 19 P ro ced u re..................................................................................... 22 Organization of the Study ....................................................... 23 Limitations of the Study ........................................................... 25 Contribution............................................................................... 26 II. AESOP'S FABLES...................................................................... 27 Introduction.................................................................................. 27 Ancient and Medieval Beliefs Regarding Animals 28 The History of Fables in England ........................................... 30 John Locke on Fables ............................................................... 31 The Fable in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries.. 33 Rousseau on Fables................................................................... 35 The Fable Explicated .................................................................. 37 Aesop's Fables as "A Rude Graffiti of Human Nature" .. 40 C o n clu sio n .................................................................................... 43 PAGE III. EIGHTEENTH CENTURY ANIMAL FANTASY..................... 46 Introduction................................................................................. 46 Charges Against and Apology for the British Didactic S c h o o l ............................................................................................ 47 Social Background for the British Didactic School 50 John Locke on Cruelty to Animals........................................ 52 The Fad for Fictional Biographies of Animals and Inanimate Objects ...................................................................... 53 Introduction to Three Fictional Biographies of A n im als ......................................................................................... 55 Mrs. Sarah Trimmer. Fabulous Histories (1786) . 59 Dorothy Kilner. The Life and Perambulation of a Mouse (1783-4)........................................................ 65 Dorothy Kilner. The Rational Brutes or Talkino Animals (1799).............................................................. 68 C o n clu sio n.................................................................................... 71 IV. VICTORIAN AND EDWARDIAN ANIMAL FANTASY 75 Introduction................................................................................. 75 An Overview of Victorian and Edwardian Children's Literature.................................................................. 76 Introduction to Victorian and Edwardian Animal Fantasy 79 The Romantic Image of the Child in Victorian Period 81 The Romanticization of Animals in the Nineteenth C e n tu ry......................................................................................... 83 Beatrix Potter. The Tale of Peter Rabbit (1901) . 87 Kenneth Grahame. The Wind in the Willows (1 9 0 8 ).............................................................................. 91 Anna Sewell. Black Beautv (1877)........................ 96 Rudyard Kipling. The Jungle Book (1893)........... 100 C o n clu sio n.................................................................................... 102 V. THE ROMANTIC IN TWENTIETH CENTURY ANIMAL FANTASY..................................................................................... 105 Introduction to the Romantic in Twentieth-Century Animal Fantasy ............................................................................ 105 The River Bank Scene ............................................................... 107 Thornton Burgess. The Adventures of Reddv Fgx ( 1 9 1 3 ) ...................................................................... 107 VI PAGE Russell Erickson. Warton and Morton Series 109 Arnold Lobel. The Frog and