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A story, exemplified in a series of figures: paper doll versus moral tale in the nineteenth century

journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-08, 22:31 authored by Hannah FieldHannah Field
Early in the nineteenth century the London publishers and printsellers, S.and J. Fuller, packaged paper dolls and storybooks together in their ?empleof Fancy paper doll books. Tis article examines the tension between thenarratives of these works—typically moral tales for children in which a loveof clothing is punished—and the accompanying paper dolls, which celebratecostume and dressing up. Te textual morals against love of clothing aregendered in problematic ways, with female characters morti?ed for this ?aw more readily than male characters. However, the variety of potential reading experiences o?ered by the form of the paper doll book, in which picture and word are separate, is viewed as a challenge to the gendered moral content of the stories. Ultimately this article argues that the form of the paper doll book sheds new light on D. F. McKenzie’s (1986) ideas about how readers makemeaning from texts.

History

Publication status

  • Published

Journal

Girlhood Studies

ISSN

1938-8322

Publisher

Berghahn Journals

Issue

1

Volume

5

Page range

37-56

Department affiliated with

  • English Publications

Full text available

  • Yes

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2015-09-14

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    University of Sussex (Publications)

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