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The Myth of Cokaygne in Children’s Literature

The Consuming and the Consumed Child

Franziska Burstyn author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Peter Lang AG

Published:10th Oct '11

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

The Myth of Cokaygne in Children’s Literature cover

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 19th century 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 21st century.

ISBN: 9783631614235

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 170g

122 pages

New edition