UNIVERSITY of CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO Little Geographies
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UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO Little Geographies: Children’s Literature and Local Place A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Literature by Katharine Simons Slater Committee in charge: Professor Seth Lerer, Chair Professor Michael Davidson Professor Rosemary George Professor Rebecca Plant Professor Nicole Tonkovich 2013 Copyright Katharine Simons Slater, 2013 All rights reserved. The Dissertation of Katharine Simons Slater is approved, and it is acceptable in quality and form for publication on microfilm and electronically: Chair University of California, San Diego 2013 iii DEDICATION To my grandmother, Elizabette “Betty” Slater, who taught me the value of excellent work sustained over a life that spanned ninety-six years. Her ethics, resourcefulness, and resilience are a continual inspiration. iv EPIGRAPH “Before giving the history of any country, I tell the reader where it is; I give him a sketch of its present condition; I direct his attention to its place on the map, and ask him to observe its position in relation to other places . Thus it will be seen that I have made Geography the basis of History.” Samuel Griswold Goodrich “Children are . at heart the most confirmed regionalists. What they like as background for a story is an explicit, well-mapped strip of country, as intensively lived into as any healthy child lives into his own neighborhood.” Mary Austin “The words are maps.” Adrienne Rich v TABLE OF CONTENTS Signature Page…………………………………………………………………….. iii Dedication…………………………………………………………………………. iv Epigraph………..………………………………………………………………….. v Table of Contents………………………………………………………………….. vi List of Figures…...…………………………………………………………………. vii Acknowledgments…………………………………………………………………. viii Vita.………………………………………………………………………………. xi Abstract of the Dissertation………………………………………………………... xii Introduction: Little Geographies: Children’s Literature and Local Place................ 1 Chapter 1: The Matter with Kansas: L. Frank Baum, Hamlin Garland, and the Local Color of Oz...…………………...…………………………………...……… 42 Chapter 2: “Of an order entirely new”: Translocality, Dialect, and The Secret Garden............................................................................................................ 102 Chapter 3: A Pioneer and an American: Little House on the Prairie, Caddie Woodlawn, Regionalism, and Nationalism………………………………………..….... 150 Chapter 4: “Apt to be on any floor at any time”: Localities in New York City Children’s Fiction………………………….……...……………………..……………. 216 Conclusion: Oh, the Places You’ll Go! Bridging Children’s Literature and Children’s Geographies......……………………………………...…………………………..... 270 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………..... 282 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: The Tin Man Reads, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz …….……...……. 73 Figure 2: Dorothy in Kansas, Oz ……..…………………………………......……. 75 Figure 3: Uncle Henry, Dorothy, and Aunt Em, Oz……...…………………… 76 Figure 4: “‘I was only made yesterday,’ said the Scarecrow,” Oz……...………. 95 vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Both this dissertation and I owe a great deal to the advice, direction, and support of Nicole Tonkovich, Rosemary George, Michael Davidson, and Rebecca Plant. In my scholarship and my pedagogy I find myself continually returning to concepts, theories, and methods I learned from Nicole Tonkovich, whose intellectual rigor and insightful, detailed feedback has made my work and teaching far stronger than it would’ve been without her input. Thanks to her, I will never again use the phrase “the way in which.” Rosemary George guided and encouraged me as my academic focus transitioned from trauma in children’s literature to the geographies of children’s literature. Her graduate course on transnational literature planted the seeds of what became this dissertation’s second chapter. Michael Davidson worked extensively and generously with me as I developed the fourth chapter. His thoughtful suggestions helped direct my writing towards a productive place, and his teaching practices have been an important model for my own. Rebecca Plant’s willingness to make herself available and to provide an important outside socio-historical perspective to this work on literature has helped this process be more effective and far smoother than it might have otherwise been. I am grateful to all four for their generosity of time and knowledge. The unfailing and tireless efforts of my chair, Seth Lerer, have been key to the completion of this dissertation. I owe more than I can say both professionally and personally to our conversations over the last three years, which were always intellectually stimulating and universally enjoyable. His unflagging faith in me and my abilities propelled this project from prospectus to defense. My tremendous appreciation is not viii only for his insight, his perspective, his knowledge, and his time, but for his humor and his enormous kindness. Thanks are also due to a community of scholars, particularly in the children’s literature field, who have welcomed me with open arms and equally open minds. I have benefited in countless ways from the guidance, friendship, and support of June Cummins, Joe Sutliff Sanders, Jerry Griswold, Phil Nel, Karin Westman, Kenneth Kidd, Lee Talley, Dawn Sardella-Ayres, and Jill Coste, among many others. Tom Lutz, whose work on American literary regionalism arguably forms the backbone of this dissertation’s critical framework, kindly spent an afternoon with me discussing the intersections of childhood and regional fictions, and my arguments are stronger for his suggestions. The Children’s Literature Association awarded me the Hannah Beiter Grant in 2012 for research in the Vivian Burnett Collection of Frances Hodgson Burnett at Princeton University. I also received a fellowship from the UCSD Division of Arts and Humanities in 2011, which enabled me to travel to the University of Guelph for research in the L.M. Montgomery archives. I am grateful to ChLA and UCSD for their support. My friends and loved ones have sustained me tirelessly throughout my graduate career. Even though it’s my job to find the right words, I can’t seem to locate any that accurately communicate my gratitude for their faith, energy, and affection. The friends who have contributed in small and large ways are too numerous to detail here, but Clare Rolens deserves special mention. Our in-depth, impromptu discussions and late-night chats over the last three years have gotten me over more writing impasses than she knows. My partner, Jack Hernandez, has contributed in hugely important ways to the conditions that made this dissertation possible. She’s cooked for me regularly and ix without complaint, made sure I left the house every now and then, proofread my writing, patiently listened to my frustrations, and cheered my successes. Most importantly, she’s made my life a brighter, more beautiful place through her wonderful presence. I am so thankful to know and love her. Finally, my parents, Harold Slater and Deborah Simons, for whom the word “appreciation” is shamefully inadequate. My mother read to me every night from infancy to adolescence, and is largely responsible for my love of literature— specifically children’s literature. Four of the books in this dissertation were ones I first encountered through her voice. I am indebted beyond measure to her for that legacy and for her unflagging willingness, even now, to support me in countless ways. Alongside my mother, my father is my biggest cheerleader, providing me with encouragement, advice, and some much-needed perspective, always helping me to see the forest rather than the trees. His complete faith in me is constantly inspiring and encouraging. Their compassion, work ethic, intellect, unvarying generosity, and unconditional love have participated—more than any other social, political, historical, or geographic force—in the construction of my particular childhood and adulthood. Chapter 2, in part, has been submitted for publication in the Children’s Literature Association Quarterly. The dissertation author was the sole researcher and author of this paper. Chapter 3, in part, has been submitted for publication in Genre: Forms of Discourse and Culture. The dissertation author was the sole researcher and author of this paper. x VITA 2006 Bachelor of Arts in English, Sonoma State University 2010 Master of Arts in Literature, University of California, San Diego 2013 Doctor of Philosophy in Literature, University of California, San Diego SELECT PUBLICATIONS "'The Other Was Whole': Anne of Green Gables, Trauma and Mirroring." The Lion and the Unicorn 34.2 (2010): 167-87. xi ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Little Geographies: Children’s Literature and Local Place by Katharine Simons Slater Doctor of Philosophy in Literature University of California, San Diego, 2013 Professor Seth Lerer, Chair This dissertation explores the intersections of twentieth-century U.S. children’s literature, regional place, and local place. I argue that child characters in major works for children become social actors through engagement with their immediate environments. Formations of childhood and place in these novels are co-constructive; child characters influence the sociospatial development of their locations just as much as their locations influence the sociospatial development of child characters. Yet despite the narrative of accrued agency in these texts, child characters’ actions have important limits that complicate a linear reading of passivity to agency. The convergence of childhood