Centre for Arts, Humanities and Sciences (CAHS), acting on behalf of the University of Debrecen CAHS The Changing Adaptation Strategies of Children's Literature: Two Centuries of Children's Editions of "Gulliver's Travels" Author(s): Haifeng Hui Source: Hungarian Journal of English and American Studies (HJEAS), Vol. 17, No. 2 (Fall, 2011), pp. 245-262 Published by: Centre for Arts, Humanities and Sciences (CAHS), acting on behalf of the University of Debrecen CAHS Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/43487816 Accessed: 06-03-2020 18:29 UTC JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org. Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at https://about.jstor.org/terms Centre for Arts, Humanities and Sciences (CAHS), acting on behalf of the University of Debrecen CAHS is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Hungarian Journal of English and American Studies (HJEAS) This content downloaded from 137.122.64.159 on Fri, 06 Mar 2020 18:29:32 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms The Changing Adaptation Strategies of Children's Literature: Two Centuries of Children's Editions of Gulliver's Travels Haifeng Hui Children's li children. Yet adapted the for boundary in themselves and of c making the in chang children' research on ch literary mast considered ar plot. In this only in degre strategies children's century, and v edit I plot fin plu Instead, it is philosophy, a dynamic inter Adaptation Gulliver's Tr became imm children's ver the children Newberry pub 1744. So in th trade. Of cou length and q although Swi "Learning the in Emperor's Hungarian 201 th 1 by Jo HJEA This content downloaded from 137.122.64.159 on Fri, 06 Mar 2020 18:29:32 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms General Description of the Umpire ofUlliput (1728) and The Brobdingnagians: Being a Key to Gulliver's Voyage to Brobdingnag (1726), few of them maintained the basic original plot. They should not, therefore, be considered as children's editions of the novel, but new children's stories with some borrowed characters or settings from Swift's famous work. I will use the only available reliable eighteenth-century children's version, published by Stone and King in 1727 (see Smedman 77). As for nineteenth-century children's editions, of which there are plenty, I have chosen three representative volumes: one published by S. O. Betton in 1864, with 300 illustrations; one by George Routledge and Son in 1895, with 43 illustrations; and one by Henry Altemus in 1899, with 55 illustrations but including only the first two parts of the original novel. Eighteenth-century adaptation of Gulliver's Travels: Rewriting the story For a contemporary reader with a preconception that children's editions should be simple in vocabulary, sentence structure, and plot, the 1727 Stone and King edition of Gulliver's Travels proves a strange one, as this version goes against every such expectation. The Stone and King edition is largely a rewriting of the previous Motte edition. Many sentences were recast, diction and sentence patterns were changed, but often not made any easier. The main purpose of this style of adaptation seems to reside in the consideration of length, rather than of simplicity. The following passage is typical: First, The Man-Mountain shall not depart from our Dominions, without our Licence under our Great Seal. 2nd. He shall not presume to come into our Metropolis, without our express Order; at which time the Inhabitants shall have two hours warning to keep within their doors. (Motte 41) Iš He shall not depart our Dominions without Leave, under our great Seal. II. He shall not enter our Metropolis without Order. (Stone and King 23) Note that possibly difficult words for children, such as "dominion," are retained in the Stone and King edition. So vocabulary is not the issue, but it is rather that descriptive words, such as "express," and expository sentences, like the one explaining that the inhabitants should have sufficient 246 This content downloaded from 137.122.64.159 on Fri, 06 Mar 2020 18:29:32 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms time to prepare for Gulliver's coming into the metropolis, are deleted to keep the length short. The Stone and King edition has 334 pages, whereas the original Motte edition had 668 pages, nearly double the revised one. Deletion of words and plots is the simplest way to reduce length, but this method is used with economy. It should be kept in mind that the Stone and King edition is not an abridgement (though it is significandy shorter in print) but an adaptation. This statement will not be difficult to understand if we take a look at its layout. In the Motte edition, there is an empty line between two passages, while the Stone and King edition not only deletes the empty line, but also combines two paragraphs as often as possible. The result diminishes the book's length while at the same time maintaining its original plot. For example, chapter 6 in the Motte edition has 23 passages, covering 23 pages, while the Stone and King edition has only one passage in this chapter, with all the contents intact. Thus the Stone and King edition tries to maintain the plot as much as possible but in a shorter length mostly by means of paraphrase, which stands in obvious contrast to the nineteenth-century practices to be discussed later. This rewriting process retains the plot, or, in a more exact narratological term, the "story." That is to say, readers who have read the two different editions will know basically the same story. But the rewriting has in a way considerably changed the narrative style which relates to the purpose of adaptation. The following example will suffice: My Gentleness and good Behaviour had gained so far on the Emperor and his Court, and indeed upon the Army and People in general, that I began to conceive Hopes of getting my Liberty in a short time. I took all possible Methods to cultivate this favourable Disposition. The Natives came by degrees to be less apprehensive of any Danger from me. I would sometimes lie down, and let five or six of them dance on my Hand. . . .The Emperor had a mind one day to entertain me with several of the Country Shows, wherein they exceed all Nations I have known, both for Dexterity and Magnificence. I was diverted with none so much as that of the RopeDancers, performed upon a slender white Thread, extended about two Foot, and twelve Inches from the Ground. (Motte 47-48) My Gendeness and good Behaviour had so far gain'd on the Emperor and his People, that they were under no Apprehensions of Danger from me; the very Children would frequendy come and play about me, and dance in my Hand. . . . The Emperor had a Mind to divert me with the Shows of the Country, in which they exceed all other Nations in the World, for 247 This content downloaded from 137.122.64.159 on Fri, 06 Mar 2020 18:29:32 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms Dexterity and Magnificence. They are particularly famous for Ropedancing. (Stone and King 18-19) These passages contain basically the same story; that is, Gulliver gradually gaining the hope of earning his liberty in a short time and being entertained by the king. The ways it is narrated in the two editions are, however, strikingly different. The Motte edition stresses an experiential perspective. Gulliver first states the effect of his gentleness on the Laputian people. He naturally picks up hopes of being given back his liberty, which encourages him to reinforce the good impression he has already made. And then he tells of the good results of his further efforts. These sentences proceed in a coherent and logical order, without any interruption of his later knowledge when writing the book. The Stone and King edition is narrated in a more subjective way. Though the reader may follow the story via Gulliver's perspective, the protagonist has more knowledge than he did in the Motte edition. He is sometimes able to penetrate other characters' minds, ensuring the reader that "they were under no Apprehensions of Danger from me." What is more, the country shows, described in the Motte edition as exceeding all nations that Gulliver knew, are clearly from a limited point of view of the protagonist and are therefore relative, personal, and safe, but become in the Stone and King edition something "in which they exceed all other Nations in the World," implying that the narrator has absolute knowledge of the fictional world, that is, he must be an omniscient narrator. Omniscience, whether in adult literature or in children's literature, gives the narrator authority and strengthens the didactic power of the edition. Because of this power the omniscient narrator lost its historical position at the beginning of the twentieth century in adult literature, but also because of this power it is ever-present in children's literature. Frequently, a story with an experiencing character narrator is adapted to one with an omniscient narrator, though in the case of Gulliver's Travels this retelling in the omniscient external focalization appeared quite late, at the beginning of the twentieth century.2 In the original Motte edition of Gulliver's Travels , Swift employs a detailed, ostensibly objective style in order to parody the recommended style of the Royal society, for personal, moral and political reasons, and at the same time to create the credulous personality of the protagonist - the gullible Gulliver, while the Stone and King edition turns to a more subjective and therefore more didactic style for the young readers, with a totally different purpose. 248 This content downloaded from 137.122.64.159 on Fri, 06 Mar 2020 18:29:32 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms The satire in Gulliver's Travels is apparent, though for modern readers the specific figures alluded to may be obscure. Some of Swift's wit is political, such as the allusions to the government and the prime minister; some personal, such as his dislike for Sir Isaac Newton. When William Wood was granted letters patent to mint halfpence in Ireland, Swift wrote Drapier's letters calling on the Irish people to resist the coinage. The government assigned Newton to investigate the matter, but his report did not satisfy Swift, since he examined only the coins specified by Wood. C. Kiernan further points out that Newton outraged Swift not so much from a political as from a more profound moral perspective, according to which scientists misled people and transformed society into a mechanical and cold one (710). In his satire, Swift deliberately imitated the style recommended by the Royal Society, for which Newton served as president. Driven by the new science, first advocated by Francis Bacon, the Royal Society recommended a "plain style," encouraging objective and detailed descriptions. Swifťs most obvious imitation of this style appears in the third part of Gulliver's Travels , which introduces Laputa as a newly discovered place. (Note that Gulliver's name clearly bears an allusion to "gullible," reminiscent of the objective observation recommended by the Royal Society.) The quoted passage from the original Motte edition also follows a consistent narrative trajectory, revealing things in a cognitive order. This ostensibly objective, meticulous style of the Motte edition contrasts with the didactic style of the Stone and King edition, which nevertheless is a means, not an end. Changes are made for certain purposes. Compared to books originally for children, adaptation is restricted in the sense that it must be based on the original story and, therefore, has litde room for the various devices available for original stories, such as the naming of characters, use of symbols, and so forth. An adapter who wishes to insert desired morals, like Stone and King, must first carefully select appropriate passages and then be careful not to break the overall effect of the story - none of which is an easy task. Here are four sentences in the two versions from the beginning of the novel, when Gulliver was an apprentice and began his practice as a surgeon. 1) "I was bound Apprentice to Mr. James Bates , an eminent Surgeon in Londorf9 (Motte 7). "I was there bound Apprentice to a Surgeon, Mr. James Bates, for the Space of Four Years" (Stone and King 1). 249 This content downloaded from 137.122.64.159 on Fri, 06 Mar 2020 18:29:32 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms 2) "I was recommended by my good Master, Mr. Bates , to be Surgeon to the S wallop (Motte 7). "I obtain'd to be Surgeon of the S wallon?' (Stone and King 2). 3) "When I came back I resolved to setde in London; to which Mr. Bates, my master, encouraged me, and by him I was recommended to several Patients" (Motte 8). "I resolv'd to setde and follow my Profession" (Stone and King 2)- 4) "My good Master Bates dying in two Years after, and I having few Friends, my Business began to fail .... Having therefore consulted with my Wife, and some of my Acquaintance, I determined to go again to Sea" (Motte 8). ". . . this I did, till Business failing through loss of Friends, especially my Master, I was oblig'd, a second time, to go to Sea" (Stone and King 2). These two versions tell the same story, though the Stone and King version is simpler. But what is more important is how events in the story are narrated and ordered. The first sentences are basically the same in both versions. The second sentence of the Motte edition uses passive voice, which tells a relationship between an apprentice and master. The apprentice learns the trade under the guidance of the master, and when the term expires, he begins his own practice. The kindhearted Mr. Bates recommended Gulliver to be a surgeon on a ship. We have to bear in mind that the profession of surgeon differed from other trades at that time3 in that it was risky and patients were often unwilling to go to a new practitioner. Therefore, the recommendation of a famous master is absolutely necessary, but it could pose a challenge to the master's business. In this light, it can be seen that Mr. Bates treated Gulliver very well. Their relationship is a traditional one, the master being in a superior position, and the apprentice dependent upon him, which is reflected in, and reinforced by, the passive voice. But the Stone and King version rewrites the traditional patriarchal relationship, using an active voice with Gulliver as the subject, totally omitting Mr. Bates's recommendation and emphasizing Gulliver's initiative and ability to get the job through his own effort. In this text, Gulliver appears to be a more independent figure. The third sentence shows the same pattern of adaptation. From a narratological point of view, in the Motte edition, though Gulliver the protagonist is often the subject of the sentence, he is in a position of dependence upon other figures, especially father figures, including his own father and Mr. Bates.4 But in the 250 This content downloaded from 137.122.64.159 on Fri, 06 Mar 2020 18:29:32 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms Stone and King edition, he is transformed into an independent young man. The third sentence uses a strong verb, "resolve," to show his own determination, while Gulliver in the Motte edition is "encouraged" and "recommended" to do so. The differences in personality and independence are obvious. Also in the Stone and King edition, Gulliver is often the subject of the sentence, and passive voice occurs rarely. The fourth sentence is more complicated. It states the reasons why Gulliver determined to go to sea again. Altogether there are three reasons: 1) Mr. Bates died; 2) Gulliver had few friends; 3) his business began to fail after which Gulliver consulted with his wife and acquaintances. The ordering of these reasons is quite different in the two texts. The Motte edition places the death of Mr. Bates at the beginning of the sentence, which gives prominence and priority to this cause, then goes on to state Gulliver's own disadvantages with the consultation put at the end. The Stone and King edition, on the contrary, emphasizes Gulliver's own shortcomings and puts external causes such as the death of his master in a secondary position. The word "oblige" conveys a sense of reluctance and unwillingness, which shows a strong personal will. Though the Motte edition uses a seemingly stronger word, "determine," it is ironic since it follows a series of external causes that strengthens the reader's opinion that Gulliver is dependent upon others. The emphasis on a stronger personal will and independence in the Stone and King edition is a reflection of the educational trend of individualism in the eighteenth century, which was influenced by Protestant individualism, pervasive at the time, and by a Rousseauean advocacy of the Romantic idea of independence and solitude. As individualism became increasingly more a social practice rather than a theory of philosophers and political thinkers in the eighteenth century, it inevitably influenced the educational system. This was most obviously manifested in books on education. Locke's Some Thoughts Concerning Education already shows this trend: "We naturally, as said, even from our Cradles, lose Liberty and have therefore an Aversion to many Things, for no other Reason, but because they are injoined us" (173). The traditional way of teaching children was to give them orders, because children were considered to be under the absolute power of parents, without any particular needs or responses to be cared for. Assignments must be finished. No matter in school or in family, teachers and parents often resorted to punishment. Locke began to pay attention to the special needs of children and their personalities and realized that they were not fully developed in terms of personality, intelligence, and body, thus requiring different ways of teaching. Locke called for attention to 251 This content downloaded from 137.122.64.159 on Fri, 06 Mar 2020 18:29:32 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms children's needs and propensity, and proposed to foster their interest in reading by encouragement rather than by punishment. On the whole, children were treated by Locke as human beings that required listening to and understanding, and his ideas were influenced by individualism. Rousseau, another major figure in education in the eighteenth century, was also influenced by individualism. In Emile , he condemned all books, claiming that they would corrupt the mind of the youths, except Defoe's Robinson Crusoe . The reason for this exception is not hard to find. The most valuable section of the book for Rousseau is where the protagonist stays on the island (Rousseau suggests that the book s begin with the arrival on the island, discarding previous adventur period when he lives totally by himself (though equipped with m necessities from the modern world). For Rousseau, the island ep fosters independence, determination, and perseverance, and is theref beneficial for young readers. Other necessary changes for the sake of decency in childre editions Swift is sometimes too coarse in his sexual jokes, as his contemporaries recognized. Even the author of Tristram Shandy , Laurence Sterne, defended his decency by comparing himself with Swift: "I promise to be cautious; but deny I have gone as far as Swift: he keeps a due distance from Rabelais; I keep a due distance from him. Swift has said a hundred things I durst not say, unless I was Dean of St. Patrick's" (qtd. in Ball xlvii). Many scenes are daring, such as in part 1, when Gulliver is brought to the maids of honor, who change their clothes in front of him as if he were not there, or Gulliver's account of the corrupted lives of the young nobles in Europe, or even the cuckoldry in noble Laputan families. For children's books, such passages were definitely to be censored. Yet such scenes are not unvaryingly deleted in all children's editions, and the different degrees of tolerance toward these scenes reflect different cultural concepts of what is appropriate for children. Sexual modesty is also a historical and cultural notion, which varies in different times and places, as is the question of whether nudity is immoral or inappropriate. The eighteenth century was a time of peace and moral laxation. The critic Noel Perrin relates: "It was a reflection of moral progress in real world [sic]. People in the eighteenth century, and earlier, did not take offense at coarse passages because they were coarse themselves. They all talked like characters in Sterne and Fielding anyway, so how could they find it wrong 252 This content downloaded from 137.122.64.159 on Fri, 06 Mar 2020 18:29:32 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms in a book?" (qtd. in Karolides 209). The eighteenth-century children's edition of the novel shows the least censored passages, compared with the nineteenth-century editions. For instance, when Glumdalclitch brings Gulliver to visit the maids of honor, he witnesses them changing their clothes, and they, in turn, do not in the least mind his presence. The Motte edition gives a more tantalizing description of the scene, while the Stone and King edition deletes some sentences or attenuates the degree. When the Motte edition says "[tjhey strip themselves to the Skin," the Stone and King edition deletes the last three words. A more thorough deletion occurs when Gulliver is put on the dressing table, facing their naked bodies. Apart from deletion, the adapter had other devices ready at hand. Consider the following example: The Women of the Island have Abundance of Vivacity: they contemn their Husbands, and are exceedingly fond of Strangers .... Among these the Ladies choose their Gallants: but the Vexation is, that they act with too much Ease and Security (part 3, Motte 32) The Women of Laputa have a great Deal of Vivacity; they despise their Husbands, and are very fond of Strangers, whereof many . . . Out of these, the Ladies chuse Lovers; but what's most vexing is, that they act with too much Ease and Safety. (Stone and King 19) The two texts use different words for the same person: "gallant" in the Motte edition and "lover" in the Stone and King edition. The word "gallant" emphasizes a dependent, flattering attitude of the male, courting the favor of ladies, while "lover" emphasizes an equal relationship in love affairs. Therefore, in the Motte edition, women play a more active role in their love affairs, out of their own sexual and psychological desires: they chose their favorites from the men who come to the flying island. The dominating role of women was possibly not accepted by the adapter, who changed "gallant" into "lover," which avoided rendering the women as too dominating and condescending. Nineteenth-century adaptations of Gulliver's Travels Standing in sharp contrast to the eighteenth-century Stone and King edition, the three nineteenth-century editions employed totally different adapting strategies: all three texts did no literal rewriting of the original Motte edition, and many scenes were deleted under strict moral scrutiny and sometimes for other reasons. The fact that the three editions made no literal 253 This content downloaded from 137.122.64.159 on Fri, 06 Mar 2020 18:29:32 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms rewriting of the Motte edition shows a strong respect for original works in the second half of the nineteenth century, especially in educational books. It is a noteworthy phenomenon compared with the extensive rewriting in the eighteenth and twentieth centuries. An examination of eleven different nineteenth century-editions of Gulliver's Travels revealed that of all these editions none had rewritten the original.5 This phenomenon may be partly explained by a changing attitude toward the English course, which in turn was a result of a large-scale change in the landscape of education accompanying industrialization in Britain at the time. Traditionally, education in cities was only affordable by the rich and noble, who usually employed family tutors. This kind of private education was not uniform and varied from family to family. Education in ordinary families, either in towns or rural areas, was scarce. With the progress of industrialization and the large-scale influx to cities, the total number of children increased dramatically. This fraction of urban population was a potential labor force, whose quality might affect future production, thus calling for additional education. But in the first part of the century, there was no way to answer the need of education, because the labor deficit was still severe, and children were an important part of the labor force. Child labor became a controversial issue during the period of industrialization. Reports of several committees revealed the agony of children working under poor conditions. Charles Dickens's novels also helped to arouse public interest in the welfare of working children. The result was several important factory acts. The Cotton Factories Regulation Act of 1819 set the minimum working age at nine and maximum working hours at twelve; the Regulation of Child Labor Law of 1833 established paid inspectors to enforce the laws; the Ten Hours Bill of 1847 limited working hours to ten for children and women. Over the century, child labor declined, which gave children time and freedom to receive education. In 1851, children under fifteen accounted for 15% of the workforce, and in 1881 the percentage dropped to 11% (Booth 325). A more general education also meant greater expenditures on the building of schools and the hiring of teachers. It was only gradually possible to consider the issue in the second part of the century, when Britain nearly finished its industrialization and the benefits were more obvious, a time when capitalists were willing to expend some surplus value to mitigate complaints from ordinary people. Education improved in the second half of the century. During the thirties, government grants (though limited in coverage) were issued to help finance schools. During the forties and fifties, 254 This content downloaded from 137.122.64.159 on Fri, 06 Mar 2020 18:29:32 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms surveys of the condition of elementary schools were made, which led to the Education Act of 1870. Another act in 1880 made it compulsory for children to go to school between the ages of five and ten. These help to explain why the second part of the century saw a proliferation of children's literature. As Jan Susina points out, "[t]he second half of the nineteenth century saw an explosion of children's literature, both in terms of quantity and quality .... Children's literature also began to segment itself in terms of social class as penny dreadfuls, or dime novels, were produced for the working class and more high-minded literature was produced for the middle and upper classes" (Susina 183). The expansion of children's literature, the fine division of the market, and a more general education were all results of the large-scale social changes driven by the progress of capitalism and urbanization. More attention in education caused a reconsideration of the curriculum, and specifically, the English course. In 1898 Richard Bu published the article "Literature for Children," arguing for the vital cult importance of the English course for those who spoke the language English course was given more time and dignity. Burton pointed ou "the fast growing inclination to give children pieces of literature i whole, instead of by scraps in excerpts, as in earlier days, is an exc thing" (280), and he argued for a higher respect for masterpie literature. In his opinion, the masterpieces embodied the best though the English language (coming near to Matthew Arnold's definiti culture), vital for the cultivating of one's mind, and should be read a were, not in a modified way. This is perhaps why all eleven of the childr editions kept Swift's words intact. Moral scrutiny Nineteenth-century children's editions showed a far less toler attitude toward some crude scenes in Swift's original work, which divided into three categories: sexual jokes, scatological jokes, and po allusions. Swift's fiction is notorious for its ribald features. Thackeray is the only one to complain about its open sex jokes, but he expli described Swift's fiction as "filthy in word, filthy in thought, furious, r obscene" (qtd. in Hunter 218). For the sake of decency, adapters deleted many objectionable passages. One of the most frequently criticized passages occurs when nurse brings Gulliver to visit the maids of honor in Lilliput, who t change their clothes before him and use him as a sex toy: 255 This content downloaded from 137.122.64.159 on Fri, 06 Mar 2020 18:29:32 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms That which gave me most Uneasiness among these Maids of Honour, when my Nurse carried me to visit them, was to see them use me without any manner of Ceremony, like a Creature who had no sort of Consequence. For, they would strip themselves to the Skin, and put on their Smocks in my Presence, while I was placed on their Toylet directly before their naked Bodies, which, I am sure, to me was very far from being a tempting Sight, or from giving me any other Emotions than those of Horror and Disgust .... Neither did they at all scruple while I was by to discharge what they had drunk, to the Quantity of at least two Hogsheads, in a Vessel that held above three Tuns. The handsomest among these Maids of Honour, a pleasant frolicksome Girl of Sixteen would sometimes set me astride upon one of her Nipples. (Motte 136) This passage contains scenes of changing clothes, urination, and Gulliver being tricked by a maid. Its deletion in Victorian children's editions is not surprising at all. Victorians were notorious for their self-righteousness and moral strictness, and were often mocked and ridiculed by subsequent generations. In the minds of Victorians, rationality held a central place, while sex was regarded as irrational and a residue of animal instinct, and, therefore, was something to be suppressed, or, if possible, eliminated completely. J. S. Mill, for instance, wrote in his journal: "any great improvement in human life is not to be looked for so long as the animal instinct of sex occupies the absurdly disproportionate place it does therein" (Adams 128). The coarse (sometimes even libertine) language in the eighteenth century was, on the one hand, a natural linguistic and social phenomenon in a century that was not as developed and refined as the next. Progress in civilization ushered in new cultural, linguistic, and literary tastes. What was regarded as natural in the past might be criticized for not being civil, decent, and appropriate in a later period. On the other hand, sex was strangely linked to nature in the Age of Enlightenment. Writers of erotica found an excellent philosophical foundation in materialism with which to defend themselves. They argued that everything in the world, including human beings, were simply matter, thereby justifying the pursuit of bodily pleasure. "Any form of pleasure, even if it involved pain or death, was justified as reasonable and natural. Because pleasure was naturally occurring, Sade explicitly rejected any other criteria for evaluating sexual acts" (Dewald 402). Roy Porter also points out that people at the time thought sex was an integral part of a healthy life. Decolletage and erotica was on public view; 256 This content downloaded from 137.122.64.159 on Fri, 06 Mar 2020 18:29:32 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms there were even prostitutes' directories, such as Jack Harris's The Whoremonger's Guide to Ijondon (Porter 279). There were more than ten thousand prostitutes in London. A libertine life was available not only to men, but also to upper-class women, who also considered that they had the right to enjoy sex, and were provided with sex manuals, such as Aristotle's Masterpiece (Porter 279). Another scene in Gulliver's Travels related to sex but different in its own way is the depiction of cuckoldry. The nobilities on the flying island are often absorbed in meditations and cannot do without flappers, which gives their wives good opportunities to flirt with their gallants: "But the Vexation is, that they act with too much ease and security, for the Husband is always so rapt in speculation, that the Mistress and Lover may proceed to the greatest Familiarities before his face, if he be but provided with paper and implements, and without his Flapper at his side" (Motte 21). This passage is completely deleted in all children's editions, reflecting a different attitude toward extramarital affairs. The Victorians are famous for their cherishing of family values. In this aspect, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert are the best example, whose family was idealized as a perfect image of mother and father, not only of their own children, but also of the empire. Victorians' deep sense of family values was a contributing factor to their interests and debate on the issue of the double standard of men at the end of the century. In this light, the fact that all scenes related to cuckoldry were deleted is fairly understandable. Scatological allusions were treated the same way. The most offensive scene of this kind appears in the part 6. Consider the following passage: I had been for some Hours extremely pressed by the Necessities of Nature; which was no Wonder, it being almost two Days since I had last disburthened myself. I was under great Difficulties between Urgency and Shame. The best Expedient I could think on, was to creep into my House, which I accordingly did; and shutting the Gate after me, I went as far as the Length of my Chain would suffer; and discharged my Body of that uneasy Load. . . . From this Time my constant Practice was, as soon as I rose, to perform that Business in open Air, at the full Extent of my Chain; and due Care was taken every Morning before Company came, that the offensive Matter should be carried off in Wheel-barrows, by two Servants appointed for that Purpose. (Motte 148) 257 This content downloaded from 137.122.64.159 on Fri, 06 Mar 2020 18:29:32 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms Scatological depictions have a special significance in children's literature, which may be better understood by looking at their different social contexts. Scatological literature was not regarded as so terribly offensive in the eighteenth century. Thomas B. Gilmore, when discussing Swift's scatological poems, points out that these poems should not be treated as a special case, but as instances in the literary tradition at that time (Gilmore 34). But with changes in taste and the development of children's literature (especially in the second half of the nineteenth century), scatological allusions in children's literature were largely suppressed. Children, during the process of socialization, are guided to learn the proper use of language, not only grammar, but also pragmatics. They have to learn how to convey meaning and how to express themselves in an appropriate way; that is, as approved by adults and social norms. Etiquette and taboos have to be internalized, which is a necessary step if one wants to be accepted in society. Adults want children to realize what can be said and what cannot in a given circumstance. Therefore, during the course of growing up, children gradually lose some of their linguistic freedom. The play with taboo terms in a book thus brings pleasure, when children finally have a chance to temporarily get rid of social restrictions and adult supervision and become free to use those words that they are not allowed to use in most circumstances. Adult prohibition loses its power, and the children are for a moment beyond adult control. The power of taboo language and, in this case, scatological words, is subversive of the adult/ child power structure, for adults do not allow children such freedom to play with scatological words. Therefore, adult power interferes, and by deletion reinforces, the structure that children should be under the control of adults, even linguistically. Many political allusions were also deleted in the nineteenth century. For instance, in part 4, chapter 3, Gulliver describes the operation of the flying island and its government: "If any Town should engage in Rebellion or Mutiny, fall into violent Factions, or refuse to pay the usual Tribute; the King hath two Methods of reducing them to Obedience" (Motte 28). This passage was deleted in all the three children's editions. Perhaps a more interesting and illuminating example is the passage about political tricks. Gulliver told a professor in the Academy about people in his own country, which is called Langden (London), where most people were accomplices of politicians and were good at libeling and finding meanings "hidden" in letters. 258 This content downloaded from 137.122.64.159 on Fri, 06 Mar 2020 18:29:32 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms For instance, they may, if they so fancy, interpret a Sieve to signify a CourtŁady , a lame Dog an Invader, the Plague a standing Army , a Busard a great Statesman , the Go/// a Prc&r/, a Chamber-pot a committee of Grandees , a Broom a Revolution^ a Mousetrap an Employments a bottomless Pit , the Treasury , a jV/7/è a Courts a and 13ć//t a Favourite , a broken Reed a Court of Justice , an empty Tun a General ' a running Sore the Administration. (Motte 92) For instance, they can discover a flock of geese to signify a senate; a lame dog, an invader; the plague, a standing army; a buzzard, a prime minister; the gout, a high priest; a gibbet, a secretary of state; a broom, a revolution; a mouse trap, an employment; a bottomless pit, a treasury; a sink, a court; a cap and bells, a favourite; a broken reed, a court of justice; an empty tun, a general; a running sore, the administration. (1864 ed. 221) For instance, they may, if they so fancy, interpret a sieve to signify a court- lady, a lame dog an invader, the plague a standing army, a buzzard a great statesman, the gout a high priest, a broom a revolution, a mouse-trap an employment, a bottomless-pit a treasury, a sink a court, a cap and bells a favourite, a broken reed a court of justice, an empty tun a general, a running sore an administration. (1895 ed. 252)6 What is interesting here is that the whole passage was not deleted completely. Different editions made their own choices to delete pairs of words. Even the Motte edition deleted three pairs (the Privy Council, senate, king) if we compare it with the more authoritative Faulkner edition in 1737, which included 17 pairs. The 1864 edition added "senate" and "the Privy Council," subtracted "court-lady" and "committee of grandees," compared to the Motte edition. The 1895 text retained only "court-lady," making a total of 13 pairs. Censorship in nineteenth-century Britain was tighter than that in the previous century. Many factors contributed to this change. First of all, the French Revolution, heralded in Britain by the writings of many radicals (including Thomas Paine), led to a more suppressive governmental policy. Second, along with the development of compulsory elementary education, literacy was greatly increased, which aroused caution among the ruling class. The burgeoning of the media, especially newspapers, which were widely circulated and had great influence, called for a tighter and more efficient censorship. Censorship was not, however, uniform, but, generally speaking, 259 This content downloaded from 137.122.64.159 on Fri, 06 Mar 2020 18:29:32 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms publications for the lower class and for educational purposes were more strictly censored (Goldstein 9). Conclusion The production of children's editions of literary works is st neither in nature nor in strategy. It is the result of the interaction offsetting of various factors that are constantly changing, thus creati dynamic historical map of the changing landscape of adapted child literature, attesting to a larger evolution of society and culture eighteenth century was a period of diversity, moral laxity, and a great age the English language and produced an edition that was more open individualistic in narrative. In the nineteenth century, when people w more aware of schooling and education, the need to maintain the orig flavor in respect of literary masters and a more rigorous scrutiny in term moral appropriateness in children's books were dominant, contributin the uniform strategies in the adaptation of Gulliver's Travels in that centu Peking University, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China Notes 1 M. Sarah Smedman, "Like Me, Like Me Not: Gulliver's Travels as Children's Book," Frederick N. Smith, ed., The Genres of Gulliver's Travels (Delaware: U of Delaware P 1990) 77. 2 Swift, J., and Lang, J., Gulliver's Travels in Ulliput and Brobdingnag (London: T.C. and E.C. Jack, 1906). 3 Until the middle of the nineteenth century, the surgeon and the physician were two distinct careers. 4 Jonathan Swift was a posthumous child. His father, before he had arranged the business of the family, died, leaving Swift with a mother whom he did not like. The obsession with an ideal father haunts many of his writings. For a more detailed analysis, see Margaret Anne Doody, "Swift and Women" 87-88. 5 London: Willoughby and Co., 1860. 6 London: Longman, Green, Longman Roberts, and Green, 1863. 7 London: S. O. Betton, 1864. 8 London: J. C. Nimmo and Bain, 1883. 9 London: Macmillan and Co., 1894. 10 London: George Roudedge and Sons, 1895. 11 Philadelphia: Henry Altemus, 1899. 12 New York: Harper and Brothers, 1913. 13 Boston: Ginn, 1914. 260 This content downloaded from 137.122.64.159 on Fri, 06 Mar 2020 18:29:32 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms 14 Philadelphia and London: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1918. 15 New York, London: Dodd, Mead and Company; William Heinemann, 1920. 16 The 1899 edition is not included here, since it has deleted the last two parts. Works Cited Adams, James Eli. "Victorian Sexualities." Herbert F. Tucker, ed. A Companion to Victorian Uterature and Culture . Maiden, MA: Blackwell, 1999. Print. Ball, F. Elrington, ed. The Correspondence of Jonathan Swift, D.D. London: G. Bell and Sons, 1913. Print. Booth, C. "On the Occupations of the People of the United Kingdom, 1801-81." Journal of the Royal Statistical Soríety 49 (1886): 314-436. Print. Burton, Richard. "Literature for Children." The North American Review 167.502 (1898): 278-86. Print. Dewald, Jonathan, et al., ed. Europe 1450-1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World ' Vol. 5. New York: Thomson Gale, 2004. Print. Doody, Margaret Anne. "Swift and Women." Fox 87-111. Eliot, Charles W., ed. Essays: English and American. Vol. 28. New York: P. F. Collier and Son, 1909. Print. Fox, Christopher, ed. The Cambridge Companion to Jonathan Swift. Cambridge: CUP, 2003. Print. Gilmore, Thomas B., Jr. "The Comedy of Swifťs Scatological Poems." PMLA 91.1 (Jan. 1976): 33-43. Print. Goldstein, Robert Justin. The War for the Public Mind: Political Censorship in Nineteenth-century Europe. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2000. Print. Hunter, J. Paul. "Gulliver's Travels and the Later Writings." Fox 216-40. Print. Karolides, Nicholas J. Banned Books: Uterature Suppressed on Political Grounds. New York: Facts On File, 2006. Print. Kiernan, C. "Swift and Science." Historical Journal 14.4 (1971): 709-22. Print. Lock, F. P. "The Text of 'Gulliver's Travels.'" The Modern Language Review 76.3 (1981): 513-33. Print. Locke, John. Some Thoughts Concerning Education. London: A. and F. Churchill, 1712. Print. "Obscene Publications Act 1 857 Wikipedia. 2011. Web. 13 Feb. 2011. Porter, Roy. English Sodety in the Eighteenth Century . Middlesex: Penguin, 1984. Print. 261 This content downloaded from 137.122.64.159 on Fri, 06 Mar 2020 18:29:32 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms Susina, Jan. Encyclopedia of Children and Childhood in Histoiy and Society. Ed. Paula S. Fass. Vol. 1. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2004. Print. Swift, Jonathan. Gulliver's Travels. London: George Routledge and Sons, 1895. Print. London: T.C. and E.C.Jack, 1906. Print. Henry Altemus Company, 1899. Print. 1726. Print. King, 1727. Print. 1864. Print. 262 This content downloaded from 137.122.64.159 on Fri, 06 Mar 2020 18:29:32 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
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