Unhappy Birthdays in the Novels by F.H. Burnett (A Little Princess) and Charles Dickens (David Copperfield

• Published in: Libri et liberi
• Main Author: Byachkova, Varvara A.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2021
• Subjects: birthday; F.H. Burnett; children; Charles Dickens; Victorian novel; Edwardian novel; rođendan; djeca; F. H. Burnet; viktorijanski roman; edvardijanski roman; Dickens; Hodgson; Kad’; sami
• Online Access: https://hrcak.srce.hr/261875; https://hrcak.srce.hr/file/380955

This article deals with “unhappy birthdays” in the novels of Charles Dickens and Frances Hodgson Burnett. Both writers follow the folklore tradition of depicting young characters who have to take care of themselves after a parent’s death. In the novels David Copperfield and A Little Princess, the news of their parent’s death comes on the child’s birthday. This article studies why this particular day is chosen, under what circumstances the children survive their trauma and what makes them capable of moving on. The news of the parent’s death on the child’s birthday seems to mark the start of a new period in each character’s life, a test that has to be passed. Having passed the test and won a moral victory over the circumstances, the child gets an opportunity to move on and be happy again. Ovaj rad posvećen je „nesretnim rođendanima“ u romanima Charlesa Dickensa i Frances Hodgson Burnett. Ti autori slijede folklornu tradiciju u prikazivanju mladih likova koji se nakon smrti i drugoga roditelja moraju sami brinuti za sebe. U romanima David Copperfield i Mala princeza (A Little Princess), novost o smrti stiže na djetetov rođendan. Članak razmatra zbog čega se odabire upravo taj dan, pod kojim okolnostima djeca preživljavaju svoju traumu i što ih čini sposobnima za daljnji život. Vijest o smrti roditelja na dječji rođendan obilježava, čini se, novo razdoblje u životima protagonista navedenih romana i predstavlja svojevrsni životni ispit koji se mora proći. Jednom kad svlada tu poteškoću i postigne moralnu pobjedu nad okolnostima, dijete dobiva priliku za daljnji život i, ponovno, za sreću.