Diana Wynne Jones’ The Time of the Ghost: A Call for Childism
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Fantasy plays a significant role in the fiction of Dianna Wynne Jones. As an author of children’s fantasy, the writer offers a critical lens into the condition of children within the adult world. Jones’ novel The Time of the Ghost is a case in point. The novel, which features the heroine’s time-travel visit to her past in the form of a disembodied spirit, has been the subject of much critical discussion. In particular, the motif of time and the issue of female agency or power have been debated points. Critics have attempted to find an explanation for the nature of the heroine’s time travel and its function in the novel. Likewise, they have focused upon the degree to which she has been endowed with freedom to shape her identity as a female character. In view of these issues, we address the motif of time in this novel in terms of the core concepts of fantasy fiction and proceed to analyze the notion of female agency by drawing upon David Rudd’s discussion of the construction of children as passive or active agents. Emphasizing the interplay between the fantastical and real domains in this narrative, we argue that the fantasy setting of the novel, where Jones’ protagonist undergoes her catharsis, serves as a convenient backdrop for highlighting the adverse consequences of neglecting children. Finally, we propose that Jones’ narrative is a call for what John Wall in response to the marginalisation of children terms childism, a critique of adultism pervading human societies.
Abstract
Fantasy plays a significant role in the fiction of Dianna Wynne Jones. As an author of children’s fantasy, the writer offers a critical lens into the condition of children within the adult world. Jones’ novel The Time of the Ghost is a case in point. The novel, which features the heroine’s time-travel visit to her past in the form of a disembodied spirit, has been the subject of much critical discussion. In particular, the motif of time and the issue of female agency or power have been debated points. Critics have attempted to find an explanation for the nature of the heroine’s time travel and its function in the novel. Likewise, they have focused upon the degree to which she has been endowed with freedom to shape her identity as a female character. In view of these issues, we address the motif of time in this novel in terms of the core concepts of fantasy fiction and proceed to analyze the notion of female agency by drawing upon David Rudd’s discussion of the construction of children as passive or active agents. Emphasizing the interplay between the fantastical and real domains in this narrative, we argue that the fantasy setting of the novel, where Jones’ protagonist undergoes her catharsis, serves as a convenient backdrop for highlighting the adverse consequences of neglecting children. Finally, we propose that Jones’ narrative is a call for what John Wall in response to the marginalisation of children terms childism, a critique of adultism pervading human societies.
참고문헌 (14)
- Attebery, Brian, "Fantastic Literature: A Critical Reader", pp.293~309 (2004), Praeger Publishers
- Attebery, Brian, "Strategies of fantasy" (1992), Indiana UP
- Irwin, William. R, "The Game of the Impossible : A Rhetoric of Fantasy" (1976), U of Illinois P
- Jones, Dianna Wynne, "The Time of the Ghost" (1981), Beech Tree
- Lehtonen, Sanna, "Shifting back to and away from girlhood : Magic Changes in Age in Children’s Fantasy Novels by Diana Wynne Jones", Papers : Explorations into Children’s Literature, 21(1), pp.19~32 (2011)
- Mendlesohn, Farah, "Diana Wynne Jones: Children’s Literature and the Fantastic Tradition" (2005), Routledge
- Rudd, David, "Understanding Children’s Literature", pp.15~29 (2005), Routledge
- Todorov, Tzvetan, "The Fantastic: A Structural Approach to a Literary Genre" (1975), Cornell
- Wall, John, "From Childhood Studies to Childism : Reconstructing the Scholarly and Social Imaginations", Children’s Geographies, pp.1~14 (2019)
- Waterhouse, R, "Time for a Ghostly Point of View", Papers : Explorations into Children’s Literature, 2(3), pp.135~142 (1991)
- Wolfe, Gary, "Fantastic Literature: A Critical Reader", pp.271~273 (2004), Praeger Publishers