"A Dream of a Dream" : Selbstreflexives Träumen in der Kinder- und Jugendliteratur

"A dream of a dream" : dreaming as a metafictional device in children’s and young adult literature

  • In Franz Hohlers Tschipo (1978), dem ersten Teil einer Trilogie, erlebt ein Schweizer Junge Abenteuer auf seltsamen Inseln. Und in Maggie Stiefvaters Serien The Raven Cycle (2012 – 2016) und The Dreamer Trilogy (2019 – ) bekämpft ein amerikanischer junger Erwachsener mit Namen Ronan Lynch magische Gefahren. Was haben Tschipo und Ronan gemeinsam? Eine seltsame Gabe: Von ihren Träumen bleibt am Morgen etwas zurück...
  • This article analyses the relationship between dreaming, art and identity in Franz Hohler’s Tschipo (1978) and Maggie Stiefvater’s The Raven Cycle (2012 – 2016) and The Dreamer Trilogy (2019 – ). At the centres of their fictional universes lies the fantastic ability of specific characters to take things out of their dreams; an ability which is both a plot element and a narrative principle. In Tschipo, dreaming is used in analogy to storytelling, with the storyteller inventing worlds that are so vibrant that the audience is unable to discern what is ›real‹ and what is ›just‹ invented or dreamed. In Stiefvater’s books, the character of the dreamer is revealed to be a kind of artist who thrives on the thrill of creation and transgression. In all the texts, the concept of taking things out of dreams is transgressive on two levels: Formally, it is used to subvert traditional storytelling and to question the role of the narrator. In terms of plot, it is employed in order to articulate nonnormative identities, lifestyles and desires. By using dreaming as a central narrative device, Tschipo, The Raven Cycle and The Dreamer Trilogy are therefore highly metafictional, revealing that literature addressed to younger audiences participates in a cultural conversation about fact and fiction, and draws on narrative strategies similar to those employed in literature addressed to adults.

Download full text files

Export metadata

Additional Services

Share in Twitter Search Google Scholar
Metadaten
Author:Joanna Nowotny
URN:urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-674226
DOI:https://doi.org/10.21248/gkjf-jb.54
DOI:https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.21248/gkjf-jb.54
ISBN:978-3-9821241-1-7
ISSN:2568-4477
Parent Title (German):Jahrbuch der Gesellschaft für Kinder- und Jugendliteraturforschung : GKJF
Publisher:Gesellschaft für Kinder- und Jugendliteraturforschung
Place of publication:Frankfurt am Main
Document Type:Article
Language:German
Date of Publication (online):2020/12/01
Date of first Publication:2020/12/01
Publishing Institution:Universitätsbibliothek Johann Christian Senckenberg
Release Date:2022/03/29
Volume:2020
Page Number:12
First Page:86
Last Page:97
HeBIS-PPN:493758976
Institutes:Neuere Philologien / Neuere Philologien
Dewey Decimal Classification:8 Literatur / 80 Literatur, Rhetorik, Literaturwissenschaft / 800 Literatur und Rhetorik
8 Literatur / 83 Deutsche und verwandte Literaturen / 830 Literaturen germanischer Sprachen; Deutsche Literatur
Sammlungen:Universitätspublikationen
Germanistik / GiNDok
Zeitschriften / Jahresberichte:Jahrbuch der Gesellschaft für Kinder- und Jugendliteraturforschung
Licence (English):License LogoCreative Commons - Namensnennung-Nicht kommerziell 4.0