Children’s Identity In A.S.byatt’s The Children’s Book

A. S. Byatt is a prominent figure in contemporary British literature, who makesdistinguished achievements in novels, short stories, poetry and literary criticism. Herrecent novel The Children’s Book (2009), regarded as the greatest work since Possession,is shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize of2009, and wins the James Tait Black MemorialPrize of2010. Tracing the lives of several related families amid social, historical andcultural changes from the late Victorian period to the First World War, the book draws nolittle critical attention with its sumptuous historical details, complicated characterrelations and fantastic story lines.As the main characters of the book and the focus of the times, children are at theheart of the novel. Beneath the surface joyousness are the children’s failed identityconstruction and their loss, grief and trauma. This thesis attempts to analyze, from theperspective of adult–child relationship, the failed construction of children’s identityunder the influence and manipulation of adults.The body of this thesis consists of three parts. Chapter I discusses, applying Lacan’stheory, the “illusory identity”. With the adults immersing themselves in fantasy, the childis confused between reality and imagination, and is led to construct his identity in theillusory world, which finally drives him to self-destruction. Chapter II concentrates,employing the theory of trauma, on the “controlled identity”. It explores how the adultscontrol their children’s identity and traumatize the children by reducing them to desireobjects and restricting their identity formation. Chapter III focuses on the “deconstructedidentity”. The children’s identity assigned by the times actually carries the adults’projection of their own identity and is thus a construct of the adults. As the opposingbinaries based on the child/adult dichotomy collapse, the children’s identity is thusdeconstructed.In Conclusion, the thesis summarizes the predicaments of constructing children’sidentity in an age that loves children. By pointing out children should be cared as specificliving individuals rather than the imaginary, abstract or mystified symbols, it shows the nature of such concern as the adults’ projection of their own desires and denial of theirown difficulties. The Children’s Book is a tragedy of children, but it is also a tragedy ofthe adults and the whole era.