The portrayal of women in eastern and western childrens literature a comparative study

Abstract

The thesis attempts to analyse the issue of gender in select Children s newlineLiterature from the East and the West. newlineChapter one The Introduction traces the origins and history of newlinechildren s literature. The first chapter traces this growth. The Introduction newlinealso attempts to identify the various themes, motifs and literary techniques newlinethat are used in this genre. newlineChapter Two examines the gender imbalances found in seminal Fairy newlineTales. The characterizations of women in canonical texts like Snow White newlineand the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Beauty and the newlineBeast have been analysed. newlineThe third Chapter attempts to re-read seminal works of newlineChildren s Literature belonging to the Golden Period. The texts taken for newlineanalysis are Louisa May Alcott s Little Women, Charlotte Yonge s The newlineDaisy Chain and J M Barrie s Peter Pan. newlineThe fourth chapter examines the treatment of gender issues in Indian newlineChildren s Literature. Kashmira Sheth s Keeping Corner and Radha newlinePadmanabhan s Suchitra the Rag Picker are discussed in this chapter. newlineThe Final Chapter The Conclusion will summarize the issues newlinediscussed in the earlier chapters and it will seek to codify the findings into newlineestablishing a healthy relationship between Traditional and Children s newlineLiterature. newline