Volume : V, Issue : I, January - 2015

A Glimpse of "Child Abuse" in the History of English Literature

Ruchee

Abstract :

Children are visualized as angels and most innocent creation of god. Despite this fact they are most victimized, exploited, marginalized and abused members of the society. The lively, happy and jovial picture of children is quite visible in the folk tales, children’s stories, fairy tales and fables .It has always been assumed that all the children on earth are safe and sound in the very hands of caregivers and caretakers. But the darker side of reality is that the protectors are actually the violators. This truth is quite implicit even in the happiest and world renowned tales like Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast and Hansel and Gretel, etc. This is true not only in the case of female children but also applicable in the case of male children. Literature is the mirror of the society and a vent to those hidden realities of culture, religion and society which never come to surface or which are not sanctioned by the constructors of the social norms until triggered. It is only possible through the pathway of literature that these realities come out consciously or unconsciously in the wrap of aesthetic vocabulary in acceptable way. One of such theme pertaining to childhood is “child abuse” which has never been talked about so openly due to orthodoxy, patriarchy, societal taboos, religious restraints and psychological constraints. The present paper seeks to trace the ief history of child abuse in literature

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Article: Download PDF   DOI : 10.36106/ijar  

Cite This Article:

Ruchee A Glimpse of �Child Abuse� in the History of English Literature Indian Journal of Applied Research, Vol.5, Issue : 1 January 2015

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