It is analyzed the episode of a child leaving home for school in the novels «David Copperfield» and «Bleak House» by Charles Dickens and «Jane Eyre» by Charlotte Bronte. Studying at a boarding school and leaving home for it was quite a typical episode of life for the Victorians, but for the main characters of C. Dickens’ and Ch. Bronte’s novels the circumstances of leaving home are paradoxical and unusual so much, that it becomes a part of the initiation process. All of them are not happy at home. In fact, being orphans brought up by distant relatives (aunts or, in David’s case, cruel stepfather who is diminishing the role of David’s mother at home) they, strictly speaking, do not have home at all. That is why the characters are afraid to go to the new place but, at the same time, they are really longing for a change in their lives. Without being homesick, the children go through all other stages of initiation process. During their journeys they shut themselves off other people, feeling lonely among strangers and unsettled by the road. At school, they make new friend (stage of partnership). New people help David, Jane and Esther to know themselves better and reconsider their former experiences. As for the third stage (lethal stage, the experience of death), it is interesting that only Charlotte Bronte gives us the full, traditional representation of it, Dickens prefers his character to experience loss earlier (Esther) or in connection with long left home (David). The fourth stage (the transformation) is the child’s making peace with the world far from home. In all three novels the process of initiation, started with leaving home is necessary for the child to build a strong character, find one’s place in life and achieve happiness.
This article deals with “unhappy birthdays” in the novels of Charles Dickens and Frances Hodgson Burnett. Both writers follow the folklore tradition of depicting young characters who have to take care of themselves after a parent’s death. In the novels David Copperfield and A Little Princess, the news of their parent’s death comes on the child’s birthday. This article studies why this particular day is chosen, under what circumstances the children survive their trauma and what makes them capable of moving on. The news of the parent’s death on the child’s birthday seems to mark the start of a new period in each character’s life, a test that has to be passed. Having passed the test and won a moral victory over the circumstances, the child gets an opportunity to move on and be happy again.
Варвара Андреевна Бячкова к. филол. н., доцент кафедры мировой литературы и культуры Пермский государственный национальный исследовательский университет 614990, Пермь, ул. Букирева, 15. bvarvara@yandex.ru В статье ставится проблема парадокса женских и детских образов в романах Ч. Диккенса. Как известно, Диккенс в своих произведениях часто обращается к теме семьи. Важнейшая в семье фигура, по мнению Диккенса и его современников,-это хозяйка дома, жена и мать, «Домашний Ангел». Вместе с тем тема семьи неотделима от темы незащищенного детства и воспитания. Парадокс женских и детских образов видится в том, что «Домашние Ангелы» у Диккенса, как правило, вырастают только из несчастливых детей. Среди возможных причин парадокса называются дидактическая направленность романов писателя, использование приема контрастов, следование писателем идеологии современной ему эпохи (с постановкой и обсуждением актуальных проблем воспитания и образования) и, наконец, место и роль женских персонажей в системе образов (ориентир и наставница молодого героя). Ключевые слова: Ч. Диккенс; романы; женский образ; детский образ; детство; «Домашний Ангел».
Варвара Андреевна Бячкова к. филол. н., доцент кафедры мировой литературы и культуры доцент кафедры английского языка профессиональной коммуникации Пермский государственный национальный исследовательский университет 614990, Россия, г. Пермь, ул. Букирева,
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