Telling Ideas in the Works of Lewis Carrol
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UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles The Intellectual Scale of Children’s Fantasy: Telling Ideas in the Works of Lewis Carroll, J.M. Barrie, A.A. Milne, and E.B. White A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in English by Alethia Shih 2017 © Copyright by Alethia Shih 2017 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION The Intellectual Scale of Children’s Fantasy: Telling Ideas in the Works of Lewis Carroll, J.M. Barrie, A.A. Milne, and E.B. White by Alethia Shih Doctor of Philosophy in English University of California, Los Angeles, 2017 Professor Joseph E. Bristow, Chair This dissertation focuses on the intellectual, philosophical, and narratological inquiries that undergird the children’s literary fantasies of Lewis Carroll, J.M. Barrie, A.A. Milne, and E.B. White. Although existing scholarship has acknowledged the complexity of these authors’ interests, such discussions have also remained overwhelmingly mired in preconceptions about the escapist and youthful qualities that define their works of fantasy. In this study, I argue that these writers were not only keenly attuned to the intellectual stakes of their writing for children, but also particularly interested in using fantasy as a means of exploring—or, more accurately, reimagining in different scales—some of the most important academic, political, and scientific ideas of their day. By drawing attention to the preoccupations that bridge these four authors’ philosophical thought and their best-known works of children’s fantasy, I suggest that literary ii acts of rescaling, resizing, and recalibrating in these stories often operate as mechanisms for cognizing what it means to adapt in a rapidly changing, expanding world. In doing so, my research constructs a more cohesive narrative of the unique intellectual inquiries that have shaped the category of children’s fantasy and offers a holistic framework for future studies of these contributions. My first chapter examines Carroll’s treatment of his young protagonist in his Alice novels. I assert that Alice’s uniquely scaled adventures through the natural history landscape of Wonderland and a highly globalized chess game in the Looking-Glass world allow Carroll to engage in Oxonian debates concerning the child, the individual, and the evolution of the English language. My second chapter focuses on oddly scaled figures of storytelling in Barrie’s Peter Pan stories, such as Liza and Irene, whose incongruent identities and ages enable them to become authorizers of narratives about the past, present, and future. My third chapter investigates Milne’s contemplation of early-twentieth-century philosophical ideas in his Pooh tales, which grapple with the ordinary language and educational theories of Bertrand Russell and John Dewey. My fourth chapter analyzes the connections between White’s vision of cosmopolitanism in his postwar writings and his portrayal of democratically-minded leaders such as Stuart and Charlotte in his children’s novels. iii The dissertation of Alethia Shih is approved. Christine N. Chism Sarah Tindal Kareem Virginia Walter Joseph E. Bristow, Committee Chair University of California, Los Angeles 2017 iv TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures | vi Acknowledgements | vii Introduction | 1 I. Expanding Worlds: Microscopic Landscapes and Global Histories in Carroll’s Alice Books | 26 II. Authorizing Narratives: The Evolution of Storytelling in J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan Myth | 90 III. Making Meaning: Communities of Language, Learning, and Democratic Philosophy in A.A. Milne’s Pooh Stories | 150 IV. One World: Cosmopolitanism in Miniature and the Politics of Writing in E.B. White’s Stuart Little and Charlotte’s Web | 207 Coda | 265 Bibliography | 274 v LIST OF FIGURES 1.1 Lewis Carroll, Chessboard Illustration from Through the Looking-Glass | 64 2.1 Photograph of Ela Q. May as Liza from Peter Pan | 100 2.2 Original 27 December 1904 Programme for Peter Pan | 107 2.3 Programme for 1906 Peter Pan Performance in Michael’s Nursery | 108 2.4 Mabel Lucie Attwell, Peter in Never Bird’s Nest from Peter and Wendy | 141 3.1 E.H. Shepard, Bath Mat Illustration from Winnie-the-Pooh | 155 3.2 E.H. Shepard, Illustrations from “Teddy Bear” Poem | 161 3.3 E.H. Shepard, “TRESPASSERS W” Illustration from Winnie-the-Pooh | 175 3.4 E.H. Shepard, Illustration of Eeyore and His “A” from The House at Pooh Corner | 197 4.1 Garth Williams, New York City Illustration from Stuart Little | 219 4.2 Garth Williams, Margalo and Stuart Illustration from Stuart Little | 220 4.3 Garth Williams, Avery and His Gun Illustration from Charlotte’s Web | 241 4.4 Garth Williams, “SOME PIG” Illustration from Charlotte’s Web | 253 5.1 Salvador Dali, “Advice from a Caterpillar” from Alice in Wonderland | 269 vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS “That’s right, Eeyore. Drop in on any of us at any time, when you feel like it.” —A.A. Milne, The House at Pooh Corner (1928) This dissertation would have been impossible without the support, guidance, and patience of the countless folks who encouraged me to “drop in on them at any time” over the years (and welcomed me with open arms every time I did, even at the oddest hours). Among the most generous of these individuals is Joseph Bristow, whose infinite support for my pursuits—both academic and personal—has broadened my perspective and facilitated my growth as a scholar in every way conceivable. To study children’s fantasy is to cherish the boundlessness of our imaginations: even so, I cannot imagine being where I am today without Joe’s endless encouragement and enthusiasm. For this, I am eternally grateful. Another portion of my gratitude must go to Christine Chism, whose eclectic passion for all things fantasy is as impressive and irresistible as it is immense; to Sarah Kareem, whose mentorship and example gave me the confidence I needed to stand at the front of a lecture hall for the very first time; and to Virginia Walter, who opened my eyes to a side of contemporary children’s literature that I would have missed without her insight. I am also deeply indebted to Jonathan Grossman for his incredible energy and unwavering interest in all of my endeavors, as well as to Donka Minkova, whose expertise in the history of the English language has shaped indelibly my interest in the philosophy of linguistics. Christopher Mott’s amazing dedication to pedagogical excellence has inspired me to become the best educator that I can be—and of course, my infinite thanks to Michael Lambert, Jeanette Gilkinson, and Rick Fagin, who have vii been so helpful at every turn of the way (and always with a smile). Although I did not “begin at the beginning” (as the King in Alice in Wonderland instructs), I certainly have to mention Katharine Wright, whose seminar at UC Berkeley first set me on the path to becoming a children’s literature scholar. Your classroom was the start of it all, and I could not have done this without you. Many thanks as well to the editors and reviewers of Lion and the Unicorn, whose feedback on my Stuart Little article has been invaluable to my thinking about scale and fantasy. A version of this article appears in my fourth chapter. A special note of gratitude also goes out to the individuals who have made this journey such an incredible one full of laughter and adventure: Richard Thai, Moupi Mukherjee, Fong Lui, the entire San Jose crew, and my Global Siblings, who have been my family away from home for the past six years. To the amazing colleagues who have proven themselves both “true friends and good writers”: Gregory Toy, Amanda Hollander, Doris Voronca, Crescent Rainwater, Ellen Truxaw, Ji Eun Lee, Lindsay Wilhelm, Angelina Del Balzo and Allison Hegel. To the social media and digital marketing teams at Nickelodeon and DreamWorks: your endless encouragement of all of my pursuits means more than I could possibly put into words here. And finally, an infinite thank you to my unconditionally loving and supportive family. Nathan, I may be your favorite you-know-what, but you are still my favoritest. Mom and Dad, I guess angels really do exist in this world after all. Thank you for always being mine. And now all the others are saying, “What about Us?” So perhaps the best thing to do is to stop writing Acknowledgements and get on with the Dissertation. viii ALETHIA SHIH EDUCATION M.A., English University of California, Los Angeles (2014) B.A., English University of California, Berkeley (2011) B.A., Media Studies University of California, Berkeley (2011) PUBLICATIONS “A City and World in Miniature: The Scale of Perspective in E.B. White’s Stuart Little.” Lion and the Unicorn 40, no. 1 (2016): 22-38. “The Authority of Alice: Unconventional Adult Authority and Critical Child Readers in Carroll’s Alice Stories.” Folio 3 (Spring 2012): 20-23. CONFERENCES “Art, Death, and the Routinization of Rural Spaces in Charlotte’s Web.” Children’s Literature Association Annual Conference, Richmond, June 2015. “‘And to Think That I Saw It’: The Subversive Logic of Nonsense Illustration in Dr. Seuss.” Children’s Literature Association Annual Conference, Columbia, June 2014. ‘Very Much Like a Mouse’: Size, Strangeness, and Fantasy in E.B. White’s Stuart Little.” UBC Graduate Student Research Conference, Vancouver, May 2014. “Lands Beyond Home: The Distance Between Child Protagonist and Reader in The Phantom Tollbooth.” UBC Graduate Student Research Conference, Vancouver, April 2012. ix Introduction Children’s literature has always been concerned with matters of scale. From the tiny Lilliputians found in Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels (1726) to the miniscule protagonist Arrietty in Mary Norton’s The Borrowers series (1952-82), these well-known examples highlight a recurring fascination in children’s fiction with obvious physical discrepancies such as unusual smallness.