![]() ![]() The clothing that Potter’s characters are made to wear by their mothers are mainly for them to look socially acceptable, which suggests middle or upper class, as in the lower classes the clothing was of smaller importance.The anthropomorphism is projected onto the child animals by their mothers, who seem determined to raise them correctly, exactly as human mothers in their time and class would have done. They provide the link between the animal world and the human world, as in both they are wearing clothes (presumably), and are trying to teach their children good behaviour, according to the social class they are in. The role of mothers seems to be the key to anthropomorphism. The moment their instinct takes over, they tend to lose their clothing, and they start walking on four legs again. They have kept their natural instincts and basic habits, and behave only like humans until they have to face a danger that is natural for animals of their kind, for example predators. But the animals in Potter’s stories were never meant to fully substitute for humans as in the traditional fable. Because of the obvious presence of nature in the stories, it is hard to pin down the line between the human and the animal. These wild, animalistic characteristics are also seen in the pictures, which are naturalistic and scrupulously accurate. Show more Animals that dress up like children, but lose their clothes when they are in danger: how far does the anthropomorphism go in Beatrix Potter’s stories? Potter made her animal characters to resemble children, but she deliberately let them keep many of their natural animal instincts, too. The role of mothers seems to be the key to. ![]() Mary’s sister-in-law Beatrix enjoyed her occasional stays at Ashyburn well into the 1930's.Beatrix Potter’s Animal Characters: Resembling or Critiquing The 1900s Notion of the Child? Bachelor thesis | Engelse taal en cultuur (BA) Animals that dress up like children, but lose their clothes when they are in danger: how far does the anthropomorphism go in Beatrix Potter’s stories? Potter made her animal characters to resemble children, but she deliberately let them keep many of their natural animal instincts, too. His widow Mary continued to live at the farm for many years afterwards. He was buried in the parish cemetery outside Ancrum, Scotland near the remains of the Old Parish Church, which was abandoned in 1890. The Potters hosted an annual New Year’s Day football match in Ancrum, Scotland as well as occasional musical evenings.īertram died suddenly of a stroke after working in his garden. He was generally a popular figure in the village and surrounding area. Some of his artwork can be seen at Hill Top house, his sister’s former property near Ambleside, Cumbria, England Many of his surviving paintings and etchings depict the countryside near his farm. He was not accepted, possibly due to the important role small farmers played in the war effort.īertram Potter exhibited at the Royal Academy and the Royal Scottish Academy. In 1914, Bertram attempted to enlist in the armed forces. ![]() The result of his honesty, coupled perhaps with the delay in revealing his marital status, was that his father wrote him out of his will. Bertram kept his marriage to Mary secret for over a decade before he informed his parents. As a former mill worker, she came from a social milieu that would have horrified Bertram’s and Beatrix’ parents. Mary Potter came from the nearby town of Hawick. About a year later, the couple purchased Ashyburn Farm near the village of Ancrum, in the Scottish Borders. He married Mary Welsh Scott on Novemin Edinburgh. ![]() It appears that, just as did Beatrix, he heard the call of the North country and of rural life. He attended Magdalen College at Oxford University, where he graduated with a BA in Classics. They both particularly enjoyed family holidays that took them far away from London - to the countryside of the English Lake District, and to Perthshire in Scotland. As such he shared the vocations of his more famous sister Beatrix Potter, the illustrator and author of the classic children’s books.īertram grew up in a wealthy and sheltered household in London, with his older sister as his closest childhood companion. Bertram Potter was an accomplished artist and farmer. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |