The Myth of Cokaygne in Children's Literature The Consuming and the Consumed Child |
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| Author:
| Burstyn, Franziska |
| Series title: | ALPH: Arbeiten zur Literarischen Phantastik. eine Schriftenreihe der Universität Leipzig Ser. |
| ISBN: | 978-3-631-61423-5 |
| Publication Date: | Oct 2011 |
| Publisher: | Peter Lang GmbH, Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften
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| Book Format: | Paperback |
| List Price: | AUD $55.95 |
Book Description:
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In the English-speaking world, the medieval concept of Cokaygne as a paradisiac landscape made of food is merely preserved as a part of American folklore, the «Big Rock Candy Mountain». This motif of food in abundance is recurrent in children's literature, which is discussed here first of all from a psychoanalytic angle, arguing that the infant's first contact with the world is established through food intake. In addition, a scarce diet as part of child-rearing in the 19thcentury and...
More DescriptionIn the English-speaking world, the medieval concept of Cokaygne as a paradisiac landscape made of food is merely preserved as a part of American folklore, the «Big Rock Candy Mountain». This motif of food in abundance is recurrent in children's literature, which is discussed here first of all from a psychoanalytic angle, arguing that the infant's first contact with the world is established through food intake. In addition, a scarce diet as part of child-rearing in the 19thcentury and the rationing system during World War II triggered the fantasy in children and adults alike. Accordingly, the medieval land of plenty found a new place in the imagination of the Victorian and post-war child. Apart from the predominant theme of the consuming child, this book also links the notion of cannibalism to the imagined cornucopia of food in children's literature, which is a frequent motif in many children's books up to the 21stcentury.