The Hidden in the Visible: Reflections on The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
Abstract
Beatrix Potter is a British writer and illustrator whose contribution to the development of 20th-century illustrated children’s literature is unquestionable. However, as M. Daphne Kutzer (2003) demonstrates in her work Beatrix Potter: Writing in Code, Potter was also an author who mastered the art of camouflage (evident across various stages and forms of her creative output). Following Kutzer’s observations, the author of the article aims to examine Potter’s first publication, The Tale of Peter Rabbit (1902), focusing on its rebellious – though at first glance invisible – content. The paper makes an attempt to explore the seemingly hidden symbolic messages that emerge at the intersection of text and illustration (created by Potter herself), which functions as more than mere accompaniment to the narrative.
Keywords
Beatrix Potter; children’s literature; coded message; The Tale of Peter Rabbit
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Jagiellonian University in Kraków Poland
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5281-5883
Michalina Lubaszewska – PhD, works at the Chair of Computer Linguistics of the Institute of Information Studies of the Faculty of Management and Social Communication of the Jagiellonian University in Kraków (Poland). Her research interests include engaged art and pop culture. Contact: michalina.lubaszewska@uj.edu.pl.
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