English Studies Forum

The Forum Reviews

Writing (and Righting) the Self

M. ElizKaren Coats. Looking Glasses and Neverlands: Lacan, Desire, and Subjectivity in Children’s Literature.  U of Iowa P, 2004. 191 pgs.  $34.95.

By Lori M. Campbell, University of Pittsburgh

            The field of Children’s Literature continues to evolve and in this study Karen Coats significantly contributes with a fascinating look at the way what we read helps to shape who we are. Using Lacanian theory and the notion of “Modernist Subjectivity” as its combined foundation, this text approaches “certain canonical children’s texts and genres” with the goal to show how “the child (unconsciously) uses books to precipitate or activate his split, to fill his unconscious with representations and images, shape his reality, and define the parameters of possibilities” (6). With an emphasis on the sense of loss that typically characterizes such a time and invariably finds its way into the so-called “children’s” book, Coats indicates how reading equals a process of negotiation and recovery.

            Coats begins with an introduction defining “The Subject of Children’s Literature.” Obviously the term “subjectivity” carries myriad implications and connotations. Coats clarifies by sketching a modernist paradigm whereby “Subjectivity . . . is more than identity – it is a movement between that which we control and that which controls us” (5).  Viewing the book as a bridge by which the child comes to self-actualize or to explore the world is not a new idea, but Coats expands our knowledge of children’s literature and of the strategies used to understand it by applying Lacan’s work to some key yet quite diverse texts. Perhaps more importantly she helps to solidify the importance of reading not only in education but also in the psychological and emotional development of a human being.

            Although the chapters move more or less chronologically in regard to the path of child development, Coats builds upon the introduction by providing in chapter one more in-depth information to situate her use of Lacan and of modernist subjectivity. So instead of beginning with the picture books and early readers she discusses in chapters two and three, she turns here to a more advanced work, Charlotte’s Web. Given the emphasis on words in the story, the choice is especially appropriate to exemplify Coats’s argument about the performative effects of language and of the book as signifiers.

            Arguing that texts meant for beginning readers actually “go even further than chapter books in setting the stage for the advent of subjectivity” in chapter two, Coats deals with the process of individuation as “A Time to Mourn.” The most convincing discussion here regards Stellaluna, which Coats finds “offers a way to think about the conditions for radical change by showing us how one might escape a passionate attachment to subjection and replace it with a passionate attachment to joy” (75). Coats revisits Stellaluna in the following chapter, which considers the learning to read as part of the child’s “assimilation (and subsequent annihilation) into the Symbolic order” (63).

            Author biography figures large in chapter four, which focuses on J.M. Barrie and Lewis Carroll. Although studying Peter Pan and the Alice books in this way remains valid, Coats treads on familiar territory, but the application of Lacan allows for a refreshing look at highly complex material. At times I would have liked Coats to go even further in this chapter since her readings of these texts, written during the first Golden Age of Children’s Literature, are cornerstones of the form and also excellent examples substantiating Coats’s argument. For example, while correctly identifying Peter as a “spouse” figure for Wendy, Coats does not comment upon how Peter’s identity as “imaginary” father equates with the other father figures in the story, Mr. Darling and his Never-land alter-ego, Captain Hook. However the omission does nothing to undermine this otherwise fruitful and sophisticated phase of Coats’s argument; rather the feeling of wanting to know “more” illustrates the interest this chapter generates.

            The most insightful and thought-provoking chapters are five and six, which delve into the matters of sexuation and race, respectively. The discussion of Pippi Longstocking especially makes me want to re-read that book using Coats’s approach. By far, though, chapter six, “Blinded by the White: The Responsibilities of Race,” powerfully shows how a text can and does define subjectivity. Coats sees “whiteness” as a “master signifier” and imagines the kind of “intervention” that might counteract “the unfortunate consequence of grounding a race-based, and thus racist, social structure” inherent in the majority of classic and even more recent children’s literature (135). The discussion leads smoothly into chapter seven, which regards “Abjection and Adolescent Fiction” and starts with a helpful review that also propels the argument forward.

            Coats concludes by covering what she calls “three emergent trends that correspond to the central issues” of her work, namely: “the nature of language, the relation of the subject to the Law, and . . . the construction of a moral universe” (163).  Indicating a recent “shift from a constative to a performative” view of language, Coats sees “the abandonment of an overly simplified notion of the correspondence of worlds to world” (165) and ponders how the change will effect the development of “post-modern children” (167).  What she refers to here has to do with the continued evolution of children’s literature as an art form; just as the Victorians did in the first Golden Age by creating their own literary fairy tales, today’s writers are more adventurously considering the shape and messages of stories that continue to entertain and impact an adult as well as a juvenile audience. Coats does not specifically acknowledge this, being more concerned about the psychological than the literary properties of the genre, but her point that the shape of “evil” and the shadowy protagonist support her own argument while also revealing important literary trends.

            One difficulty in assessing Children’s Literature involves identifying which texts “fit” into the category – even with an ever-growing body of scholarship, a concise, specific definition upon which everyone can agree eludes us. Coats covers canonical texts targeting a wide age range, from beginning readers to adolescents, without explicitly acknowledging distinctions between categories beyond those relating to psychological development. Since she seeks to show a pattern of development in which reading material coincides with the stages of a child’s development, her choice of primary texts is necessary and appropriate. Highly original in many ways this work helps to propel and expand the category of children’s literature. The emphasis on psychoanalytic theory makes the work of particular interest for the student or practitioner of psychology and child behavior. She masterfully unravels the complexities of Lacan for the reader who may not be as familiar while at the same time convincingly applying the ideas. As a whole Looking Glasses and Neverlands encourages re-assessment of some multi-faceted and extremely noteworthy texts, providing an influential and thought-provoking resource.