Shaping narratives of age : old women in children’s literature of the 1960s to 1990s

Abstract

The world of children’s literature is one full to the brim with magical, unbelievable, and fantastical characters and adventures. This does not mean, however, that it is completely removed from our reality. Societal stereotypes and cliches are inevitably interwoven into the stories that we read, and children’s literature is no exception. This dissertation explores the representation of older women in works of children’s literature and how these representations are affected by stereotypes, either by subverting them or by conforming to them. It attempts to do this through examining the protagonists of Diana Wynne Jones’s Howl’s Moving Castle and Christianna Brand’s Nurse Matilda. Through a comprehensive analysis, it investigates the multifaceted representations of aging women, exploring the themes of beauty, transformation, gender roles, and power dynamics. Chapter One delves into the complex interplay between beauty standards and the transformative journeys of the elderly characters in both novels. Chapter Two examines the depiction of elderly women as either nurturing grandmothers or as women relegated to servile domestic roles, unraveling the relationship between gender, age, and societal expectations. Chapter Three explores the symbolic significance of magic and power as it pertains to these older female characters. Through these analyses, this dissertation aims to shed light on the ways in which narratives of age are constructed and conveyed in children’s literature, contributing to a deeper understanding of societal attitudes towards aging and the representation of older women in children’s fiction.