Magical Realism in Children’s Literature: The Didactic Use of Animals in Three Books by Elizabeth Goudge, C.S. Lewis, and Lucy M. Boston

Abstract

This thesis explores the relationship between magical animals and didacticism in three texts written for children. Current approaches have dealt extensively with the topics of magic and didacticism in children’s literature, although rarely about their relationship to each other. Children’s literature involving magic is typically categorized as fantasy or divided into subcategories with the result that comparison of similar texts is neglected and the function of animals is overlooked. By investigating the role of magical animals in three post-WWII era children’s books, I discovered thematic and genre similarities. The texts exhibit traits of magical realism as well as common features of fables and fairy tales. Employing Wendy B. Faris’ characteristics of magical realist texts in my study, the primary findings of my analysis align with Don Latham’s concept of “cultural work”. This thesis argues that these three children’s novels perform the cultural work of magical realism through their didactic use of animals in the tradition of fables and fairy tales. The relationship of the animals with the children implements the twofold cultural work of magical realist texts, socialization and subversion: by teaching the children to live as virtuous citizens in the world and by critiquing the dominant adult society. This study addresses a lacuna in criticism calling for further research into magical realism and a redefinition of the genre within children’s literature.