The Self-Image of Children’s Literature in the Anglophone Cultural Polysystem of the Nineteenth Century
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This article explores the position of children’s literature within the Anglophone cultural polysystem of the nineteenth century, focusing on the notion of self-image as a defining factor of its literary and social function. Self-image is understood as the dynamic interaction between internal self-perception and external evaluation by dominant cultural and literary institutions. Drawing on polysystem theory (Even-Zohar, 1979; Toury, 1974), the study argues that although children’s literature occupied a secondary position in relation to the literary canon, it played a crucial role in transmitting moral values, shaping social norms, and constructing models of childhood characteristic of Victorian culture.
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