Publication Date
Fall 2018
Advisor(s) - Committee Chair
Erika Brady (Director), Timothy Evans, and David Miller
Degree Program
Department of Folk Studies and Anthropology
Degree Type
Master of Arts
Abstract
Both folklorists and literary critics have been drawn to Nathaniel Hawthorne’s body of work because of his distinctive style and incorporation of folk motifs. Such motif-spotting presents no challenge in Hawthorne’s juvenile literature like his retellings from Greek mythology in Wonder Book for Girls and Boys; however, contemporary folklore redirects the focus of this scholarship to “how particular literary uses of folklore fit into a larger, more fundamental concept of what folklore is and how and what folklore communicates” (de Caro & Jordan 2015:15). Hawthorne’s work interacts with other forms of cultural expression in the nineteenth century such as dominant cultural narratives and artwork to transform the classical narratives in Wonder Book for Girls and Boys into narratives that reflect customs in conversational discourse and childrearing practice.
Disciplines
American Literature | Children's and Young Adult Literature | Folklore | Literature in English, North America
Recommended Citation
Brandt, Kristen Clark, "Cultural and Narrative Shifts of Nineteenth Century Children's Literature in Hawthorne's Wonder Book for Girls and Boys" (2018). Masters Theses & Specialist Projects. Paper 3083.
https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/3083
Included in
American Literature Commons, Children's and Young Adult Literature Commons, Folklore Commons, Literature in English, North America Commons