The Giving Tree

[prog]

Via jadelennox, I learn that The Giving Tree, one of my beloved books from childhood, has a great deal of controversy around it and is actually reviled by some children's literature scholars, herself included.

I find the controversy both surprising and interesting, but I think this is the first time I've seen a book I hold so dear (there are very few) get attacked like this. I put up a little defense for it in that thread, but seeing all the other commenters pour righteous scorn on it makes me feel queasy, as if all these people were rushing in to talk about how my Aunt Jan was actually a pirate who molested them as children or something. Bad news.

Comments

[dougo.livejournal.com]

The problem I have is with the jump from "demonstrating the worst tendencies in relationships" to "wrong". Are you saying that nothing bad should be depicted in a children's book without unambiguous condemnation of it? I don't think that is what you're saying, but I can't figure out what your actual criticism of the book is about.

My memory of '60s and '70s children's lit (and TV and movies etc) is that ambiguity and nonjudgementalness was the norm, and the subject matter was often dark or sad or just opaque or contrary. But if it is thought-provoking, and gets at some sort of underlying truth, I think it can have merit without having a clear positive moral. The fact that the Giving Tree has been interpreted in so many different ways seems to indicate that it does encapsulate a truth, or many truths, ugly or confusing as they may be.