As a psychology major and future psychologist, I found Freud in Oz to be quite fascinating. Kenneth Kidd does an excellent job of analyzing the intersection of psychoanalysis with the different forms of children’s literature. Kidd also gives an extremely comprehensive summary of the literature revolving that intersection. Not only does he look at The Wizard of Oz, but he also looks at many other texts and gives a vivid account of how psychoanalysis played a major role in their themes and methods.
Kidd addressed many interesting points within the reading, but the two following points in particular stuck out to me; a) The Hidden Adult, of which Rose mentions this theory of children’s literature that is derived in part from psychoanalysis, and the literature allows the child to receive a message that the adult cannot and will not directly convey; b) Picture books and the important impact that they had on psychoanalysis. Books, such as Where the Wild Things Are were embraced as a psychological primer, “a story about anger and its management through fantasy”, and Freud’s voice is extremely vocal within the tale.
Kidd does not attempt to rework Rose and Nodelman by writing Freud in Oz, much rather he takes instructions from both of them, most notably Nodelman. Kidd seems to be less interested in theorizing children’s literature by psychoanalysis, however he does look to examine the mutual ties of the two discourses. Kidd also touches upon the Americanization of children’s literature and the sacrificial nature in which the protagonists often make sacrifices to prove that they are mature. Which therefore shields children from enduring traumatic experiences, simply because the fictional character goes through it for them. Which ties back to the Hidden Adult being ever-present in children’s literature, providing a very important moral lesson for the child readers and listeners.
In the first chapter, Kidd speaks heavily about Freud and his connection to fairy tales. There was a transition period where fairy tales went from being stories for adults to being for children. As per Maria Tartar, this was a long process, and a prime example of such texts is Grimms. However, Freud’s method of addressing fairy tales was very similar to how he approached his theories on dreams. Freud believed that fairy tales were symptomatic expressions of wish fulfillment and they play out dynamics of sexual repression. For example, the “Oedipus Complex” was first a folklore that Freud transitioned into one of his most popular theories.
Kidd pays recognition to Franz Ricklin, a clinical psychiatrist that blends fairy tale analysis with patient case histories effectively and beautifully. Whereas for Freud, the fairy tale offered something like a side path to the individual unconsciousness.
In chapter 4 on Picturebook Psychology, Kidd gives a detailed account of the evolution of Where the Wild Things Are. Kidd praises the accolades of Sendak and often quotes other authors who acknowledge the excellence that is, Where the Wild Things Are, for instance:
“The picture books that become classics do so,” writes Ellen Spitz, “because they dare to tackle important and abiding psychological themes, and because they convey these themes with craftsmanship and subtlety” (1999, 8). By this standard, the “classic”’ status of Where the Wild Things Are should come as no surprise; indeed, the book functions for Spitz (among others) as the exemplary picturebook a classic; classicism or canonicity is not a naturally occurring phenomenon but rather the result of particular values and practices.
Kidd then continues to express how children’s literature changed around the time that Where the Wild Things Are was published. More and more, the importance of Feelings, both in a residually Freudian sense and in the context of humanistic psychology became evident. The Freudian context comes shining through when Sendak presents the complexities of feelings and society through a dream. Kidd gives the ultimate compliment by saying that …”Where the Wild Things Are gets the dream-work just right.”
I found Kidd’s reading to be extremely informative and insightful when it comes to historicizing the evolution of children’s literature and psychoanalysis. He provided excellent and in depth examples of the history of children’s literature and psychoanalysis was given, however, his stance on agreeing, or disagreeing with those of which he mentioned was few and far between. Or as he so eloquently put it, “Betwixt-n-Between.” It was a very successful review of the literature on Kidd’s part.
