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7/31/2019 Essay Irish Writing in English
1/11
Mat Dupont, Visiting student. 1
EN2030: Irish writing in English (1580-1800).
Are children adaptations ofGullivers Travels a good means of getting to know
Swifts work? Study of the major differences between SwiftsGullivers Travels
and Marie Stuarts adaptation of it.
In some works of critic, concern has been raised as to whether or not the literary
reference ofGullivers Travels should be considered genuinely shared in society, given that
most of us know this work only through children versions. In this essay, we will try to answer
that question through a comparison between Swifts original version and Marie Stuarts
adaptation of it. We will point out at some of the main differences between those two
versions, which occur at four major levels: first, the deletion of the last two books of Swifts
novel; secondly, the suppression of most of the elements of satire, notably the scatological
references; then an increased focus on size; and finally, a modification of Gullivers Travels
relationship with travel literature. We will try to uncover the reasons for these alterations on
the basis of scientific articles, and then express to what extent this children version of Swifts
satire can be said to count (or not to count) as a real means of getting in touch with the actual
cultural reference ofGullivers Travels.
Before even throwing himself into Stuarts text, what strikes the reader is the ruthless
deletion of no less than half of Swifts original work: only books one and two are retained,
which results in an impossibility for readers to seize the whole extent of Swifts message, for
two reasons. Firstly, because the story stops after the second travel, it is told from a radically
different perspective: in the original book, Gulliver tells his story after his fourth voyage,
during which he acquired a different, misanthropic and disillusioned view of the world. In this
adaptation, on the other hand, Gulliver tells the story after leaving Brobdingnag, when his
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view of the world is left almost unchanged, as he has not genuinely questioned his condition
and the world in which he lives yet1. This leads to a heavy loss of part of the satirical weight
of the work, leaving us mostly with the fantastical and adventurous elements of the plot. The
second reason why Stuarts abridged version keeps its readers away from Swifts overall
message is that without the last two books, readers lack the necessary elements to understand
that the relativity of all standards goes well beyond size, and is applicable to moral standards
as well2. Reasons usually given for discarding the last two voyages are that their plots are not
adequate for children, and that the end of book four is at odds with one of the core principles
of children literature, that is to convey a sense of hope3. However, the absence of these books
alone may already be a good argument in favour of dismissing children versions as a genuine
means of accessing Swifts Gullivers Travels.
Within the books that are covered by the adaptation, very few elements of satire
remain, and if they do, they are too de-contextualized to be understood as such, and retained
only on account of their comical or adventurous characteristics4. In this section, we will go
over a few significant satirical passages that were retained and show to what extent alterations
dealt a serious blow to the original message. We will also mention some passages that were
completely overlooked, and discuss the impact that it has on the message initially conveyed
by Swift. Firstly, most purely political references, central to Swifts satirical point, were
1KOSOK Heinz, Gullivers Children: A Classis Transformed for Young Readers. in REAL Herman
J. & VIENKEN Heinz J. (eds.), Proceedings of the First Munster Symposium on Jonathan Swift, 1985,
Wilhelm Fink Verlag, Mnchen, p. 139.2Ibid.3MENZIES Ruth, Children Versions ofGullivers Travels and the question of horizons of expectation:
from biting satire to exciting adventure story. in Reprsentations. Revue lectronique du CEMRA,
novembre 2011, p. 46.4
The introduction of the book itself contributes to demonstrating that raising the young readers awareness to the
satirical side of the work is not Stuarts primary objective, and that the following account mainly aims at
diverting them: For over 250 years, people everywhere have enjoyed reading about Lemuel Gullivers travels inthe strange countries of Lilliput and Brobdingnag []. Although this famous tale was originally written as a
political satire, its instant appeal to all ages has been as a story. Interestingly, the information about satire isexpressed in a subordinate clause.
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abandoned in Stuarts version, or were much altered. No reference at all is made to the
lengthy descriptions of Lilliputs customs and political structures. The case of the political
discussions between Gulliver and the Brobdingnagian king, on the other hand, is slightly
more complex: the debates are evoked at two points of the story, but the message rendered in
Stuarts book gives a somewhat twisted version of Swifts first intent. In the original work,
after the first discussion, Gulliver has not managed to advertise the customs of his country
successfully, as the king scornfully observe[s] how contemptible a thing was human
grandeur, which could be mimicked by such diminutive insects as I (Swift 110). In the
adaptation, this is fraudulently rendered as When I had finished telling him all I could about
our ways and customs, he concluded that our peoples were really very alike, except for size
(Stuart 73). It does not seem necessary to enlarge on the way this undermines Swifts
message.
The second account that Stuart gives of these discussions is a bit less distorted, but still
fails to render the extent of Swifts criticism, mostly because it is totally deprived of all the
explanations surrounding the kings critical conclusion. These explanations contribute to
putting all Gullivers customs in ridiculous perspective, and without them we miss most of
Swifts satirical point. In Stuarts adaptation, my little friend Grildrig, you have made a most
admirable panegyric upon your country; [] I cannot but conclude the bulk of your natives to
be the most pernicious race of little odious vermin that nature ever suffered to crawl upon the
surface of the earth (Swift 139-140) is simply rendered as The king was very critical of
some of our systems (Stuart 73), and is only an excuse to go on with the passage that
receives most attention:
"[] and I determined to find a way of impressing him with our superior knowledge. When the
king was talking to me one day, I said I could teach him how to make gunpowder so that he would
win a lot of wars. The king of Brobdingnag however was a very wise man. He said that he did not
want to learn how to do it, and I must never talk about it again. He said that if a man could make
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two ears of corn, or two blades of grass grow where only one grew before, he would do more good
than he could ever do by winning a war (Stuart 73).
The comparison of this passage with the original version deserves close scrutiny: in Swifts
version, Gullivers reaction to the kings refusal is described as follows:
A strange effect of narrow principles and short views! that a prince possessed of
every quality which procures veneration, love and esteem; of strong parts, great wisdom, and
profound learning, endued with admirable talents for government, and almost adored by his
subjects, should from a nice unnecessary scruple, wherof in Europe we have no conception, let
slip an opportunity put into his hands, that would have made him absolute master of the lives,
the liberties and the fortunes of his peoples (Swift 143).
The differences in tone between the passages hardly need further explanation. Whilst, in the
children version, this passage is evoked in a decidedly moral tone, as a kind of warning to
children against what is morally wrong (i.e. violence), the original passage, together with
Gullivers reaction when the king criticizes the customs of his country5, largely contributes to
undermining human pretensions of knowledge and power, demonstrating sarcastically that
men are only morally weak. Gullivers reaction contributes to that criticism, as it shows
humans inability to realize their own pettiness6. All these satirical elements are disposed of in
the adaptation, in which Gulliver only nods at the kings wise moral lesson. This
demonstrates how Stuart is willing to alter Swifts message to make his work more suitable to
what she considers to be morally and educationally adapted to children.
On the other hand, some passages with a strong satirical weight are retained in Stuarts
adaptation. Examples include the depiction of government officials elections according to
their performances at rope-dancing, or the description of the quarrel between the Big-Endians
and the Little-Endians. However, those passages are so de-contextualized that even if they
5
Cf. SWIFT Jonathan, Gullivers Travels, 1994, Penguin Popular Classics, London, p. 141.6 See section on page 5 for a further discussion of the treatment and criticism of human pride by Swift and
Stuart.
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were able to, children do not have enough clues available to identify their satirical
significance. Therefore, the rope-dancing passage is retained only because of its comical,
playful quality. On the other hand, the way the political quarrel is presented, in absence of all
the information given in the original version, is provided to the reader only as a logical and
anecdotal justification for the adventurous episode of the fleet hi-jacking7.
Finally, Stuarts treatment of satire leaves very little space for the numerous elements
demonstrating one of Swifts most important messages: the relativity of human power, and
the critique of human pride. These elements are crucial to understand the point that Swift
intends to make in Gullivers Travels, and their absence of Stuarts version deals a fatal blow
to the overall message of the book. Events that used to contribute, in the original version, to
putting human pride in a ridiculous perspective are either ruthlessly suppressed, or retained
but so significantly modified that the message that they convey is sometimes opposite to
Swifts. A prior example of this is the parade between Gullivers legs: in Swifts version, we
learn that while this pompous demonstration of power is taking place, all the army is actually
parading below Gullivers naked bottom. This information actually justifies the very presence
of the passage, which is designed to ridicule the Lilliputians (and humans) pretensions of
power. Marie Stuart however, out of concern not to display supposedly offensive bits to
children, dismisses this important detail, leaving us with the boastful parade only, presented
as a token of both Lilliputs grandeurand of the size difference between the Lilliputians and
Gulliver, with no element of parody in it: On one occasion the emperor asked me to stand
with my legs apart so that his army could march between them. There were no less than 3000
foot soldiers twenty-four abreast and 1000 horsemen in columns 1000 abreast! (Stuart 26).
7 In his article The Yahoo in the Dolls House: Gullivers Travels the Children Classic, which we did not have
enough space to cover, J. Traugott explains the way in which, isolated from its context, this political quarrel may
well seems perfectly justified to children, for whom petty quarrels happen daily, and may just appear to be anamusing episode. This goes to demonstrate how profoundly modified Swifts novel is by Stuarts adaptation, and
how anecdotal only significant passages like these are made.
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pleasures of satire lies in turning the tables on someone who may be bigger or stronger, or
may hold authority11, which is precisely the position that children hold towards adults.
Therefore, another, perhaps more valid reason for these alterations is that elements of
biting satire against humanity were removed by adults, for adults sake, in an attempt to
safeguard themselves, as after all, it is our faults and foibles that are so often revealed in
embarrassing clarity12
. Therefore, by presenting such anarchic and fragmented views of
authority13, satire might encourage children to question existing adult-child hierarchies,
which adults prize highly. Rather, adults would like children literature to participate in
educating children, inculcating in them the values that adults want them to abide by14. This
model is particularly helpful to account for the deletion of scatological passages: though these
passages are central to Swifts work, to adults they are much disruptive, as there are at odds
with their will to trace out for children the boundaries of socially acceptable behaviour15
according to the normative discourses of society. Swifts carnivalesque mode makes visible
and comically appealing the very elements that adults try to conceal from children for that
purpose. In doing so, he undermines adults pride, purity and control of themselves, criticizes
and ridicules normative discourses, and presents possible alternatives to them16
. As adults edit
children books, theyget to decide which is best for children, and their choices reveal much
about the adult-child relationships.
Whilst she seeks to alter or even delete some elements of Swifts work, Stuart clearly
wants to emphasize other components, in ways that contribute once more to altering the real
stakes of Swifts work. If Stuart disposes of most of the satirical weight ofGullivers Travels
11STALLCUP Jackie E., op. cit., p. 98.
12Ibid., p. 101.13Ibid.14
Ibid., p. 89.15Ibid., p. 94.16
Ibid., p. 96.
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punctiliously, she takes at least as much care over stressing Swifts descriptions of the size of
the inhabitants and objects that Gulliver encounters during his voyages. It is very striking that,
whilst the children story is very much condensed, doing away with whole pages of details and
descriptions in favour of adventurous passages, it also displays numerous instances where the
author enlarges on describing size very scrupulously. She frequently dedicates a whole page
to giving a multitude of very precise figures, or to describing what Gulliver finds by means of
children-oriented comparisons17
. Surely, Swift did spend a lot of ink on describing size
differences in very precise terms, but that was mainly directed to the purpose of satirically
demonstrating human excessive pretensions of power, and the relativity of any kind of
strength. As has already been discussed, Stuarts version does not render that idea
successfully18, and therefore twists Swifts descriptions to reduce them to mere anecdotal
descriptions designed to amuse children. The way she focuses on size voluntarily is well
rendered by some adjectives or phrases that she repeatedly adds, such as tiny, enormous,
little, or since everything was so tiny. After searching Swifts text for such terms, I could
find no occurrence at all of these adjectives in the relevant books19
, which demonstrates
Stuarts wish to make size difference outstanding. Stuart actually emphasises differences
more than similarities between Gulliver and the people that he meets, as we can see from the
various scenes in which Gulliver is described as a curiosity for the Lilliputians and the
Brobdingnagians. However, the parallels that Swift draws between Lilliputian and human
pride, for example, are central to Swifts work. Leaving them invisible in this version is
therefore a further alteration of his underlying message.
17 Examples include: a palace that looks like a big dolls house (Stuart 31) or a table [] which was as big as
a football field (Stuart 65).18 Even though one sentence (in the whole book!) does refer vaguely to that side of Swifts message, when
Gulliver arrives in Brobdingnag (Stuart 60).19 Except for enormous, which appears twice in the second book. However, that is still less than the number of
times it appears in Stuarts short adaptation.
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Finally20
, Gullivers Travels is largely devoted to ridiculing travel accounts and their
pretensions of truthfulness. Part of it, notably paratextual elements21
, informs the attentive
reader that the narrator and his account should not be trusted, nor should most accounts of this
kind. However, Stuarts version reverses this parodic relation of Swifts text to travel
literature. Firstly, all the paratextual elements were removed, and with them most of the clues
revealing a generic affiliation that is only caricatural. Moreover, most of the elements defining
Gulliver as an unreliable, gullible narrator were deleted as well and instead the protagonist
that is presented to us is an adventurous hero that faces all kinds of hazards with wisdom and
courage. Stuart devotes no less than eleven out of eighty-three pages of text and pictures to
Gullivers journeys at sea, which is quite a lot compared with the focus Swift himself gives it.
As she does for the size elements, whilst she gives up many details at other points in the story,
Stuart dedicates quite some space to giving ship names, precise dates, places of departure and
arrivalAs a result, Stuarts adapted story resembles more an actual account of travels, such
as those that Swift meant to satirize, than it ridicules it, thus reversing another major point of
the original work.
In conclusion, in her adaptation ofGullivers Travels, Marie Stuart deletes most of the
satirical elements that are at the basis of Swifts work, notably the scatological ones, and de-
contextualizes those that she retains (usually for comical and anecdotal purposes) too much
for anyone to link them to an overall meaningful message. Rather, she chooses to focus on
diverting elements of size and adventure22
which, bereft of their context, are deprived of the
whole meaningful message that they were originally meant to convey. As a result, even
20This paragraph was inspired by Menzies article: MENZIES Ruth, Children Versions of Gullivers
Travels and the question of horizons of expectation: from biting satire to exciting adventure story. in
Reprsentations. Revue lectronique du CEMRA, novembre 2011, pp. 43-51.21 MENZIES Ruth, op. cit., p. 49.22
Swift said himself, in a letter to A. Pope, that his aim in writing was to vex the world rather than divert it.Stuarts adaptation, as we demonstrated, decidedly has for a main aim to divert children. Th is alone is sufficient
evidence to reject Stuarts work as an accurate means of getting in touch with Swifts work.
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though this adaptation of Gullivers Travels remains an entertaining story for children, its
readers cannot be said to share a cultural legacy with those who read the original book, as its
whole meaning is altered, and in some respects even reversed. Rather, adaptations of this kind
should raise readers awareness to the fact that the account that they give diverges from the
work from which they derive, as well as trigger in them the desire to discover the real work
when it becomes more accessible to them.
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References
Primary sources:
STUART Marie, Gullivers Travels, 1977, Ladybird Books, Loughborough, 89 pages.
SWIFT Jonathan, Gullivers Travels, 1994, Penguin Popular Classics, London, 329
pages.
Secondary sources:
KOSOK Heinz, Gullivers Children: A ClassicTransformed for Young Readers. in
REAL Herman J. & VIENKEN Heinz J. (eds.), Proceedings of the First Munster
Symposium on Jonathan Swift, 1985, Wilhelm Fink Verlag, Mnchen, pp. 135-144.
MENZIES Ruth, Children Versions of Gullivers Travels and the question of
horizons of expectation: from biting satire to exciting adventure story. in
Reprsentations. Revue lectronique du CEMRA, novembre 2011, pp. 43-51.
SMEDMAN M. Sarah, Like me, like me not: Gullivers Travels as a childrens
book. in SMITH Frederik N., The Genres of Gullivers Travels, London, Associated
University Presses,1990, pp. 75-100.
SparkNotes Editors, SparkNote on Gullivers Travels, Spark Pub Group, 2003, 84 pages.
STALLCUP Jackie E., Inescapable Bodies, Disquieting Perception: Why Adults
Seek to Tame and Harness Swifts Excremental Satire in Gullivers Travels. in
Childrens Literature in Education, 35/2, 2004, pp. 87-111.