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Death in children’s literature


Death in children’s literature has changed over the course of history as both the average lifespan has increased and society’s morals and beliefs and conceptions of children have changed.

Until about the 17th century, there was very little literature written specifically for children.Oral storytelling and music accepted death as a matter-of-fact for both children and adults alike. Since mortality rates for children were much higher then, the subject was not taboo. The restoration of life, life as a preparation for death, death as a form of sleep, immortality, animals sacrificing themselves for humans, love as a conqueror of death, and inanimate objects that come to life were all common themes.

Examples of the changing approach to death include: The Juniper Tree by the Brothers Grimm, in which a boy is murdered by his stepmother, but comes back as a bird and kills the stepmother. The bird then turns back into a boy and is reunited with his father and sister. The stepmother, though, does not come back to life.

Andrew Lang's Fairy Books series contains numerous stories with references to death. In one instance, the reader is encouraged to live a good or “perfect” life in order to go to Heaven after death. In others, both animals and humans gain immortality. Already the concept that bad people stay dead and good, loving people return to life is evident. A better-known example is Sleeping Beauty, in which a character’s death is just a sleep that is conquered by love. These themes are also seen in the Slavic story Firebird and the retold versions of Le Morte d’Arthur by William Caxton and Robin Hood by Howard Pyle.

Faith is also a factor in life and death. A well-known example is John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, originally written for children. Life is a journey of faith that will end at the gates of heaven. Those having lived a good (in this case Christian) life, enter. In Hans Christian Andersen’s original Little Mermaid, the character must endure a journey, suffering and ultimately death for others, after which she is rewarded with an immortal soul.Aesop’s Fables also contain such references both in the versions written exclusively for adults and those for both children and adults.


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