| This thesis argues that some classic works of Victorian children's literature are capable of initiating deeply nostalgic memories for adult readers by providing a momentary escape from the pressures of everyday grown-up life; this is especially true of works of children's literature that involve traveling to and from an alternate reality. The journey taken enables the protagonists of the stories (and, figuratively, adult readers) to travel far away from the real world and its continually looming responsibilities and hardships. Visiting these alternate realities enables adult readers to nostalgically recall some of the magic of childhood that has not entirely vanished from their unconscious. However, these alternate realities also display elements of a callous and undesirable reality. As a result, any tendency of the adult reader to idealize childhood is challenged by the representation of its emotional actualities and hardships. And like the protagonists, adult readers eventually want to return home. |
