Gaiman, Dahl, Walliams. A strange pattern emerges. All men accused of varying degrees of misconduct, and all men that built the literary landscape of my childhood. What seems to be the pattern here?
Other childhood authors, who I did not personally engage with, also seem to fit into this motif. Rowling, Suess, Blyton… Why does there seem to be such a prominent connection between moral corruptness and success within the children’s literary sector?
Is it the case that, to know creativity without bounds is to know the moral law without bounds? Do humans forget morality when their mind permits them to conjure up new worlds? Or is it more a symptom of our society, allowing nefarious individuals to garner success in the literary field?
There seems to be a puzzling pattern between corrupted individuals and creating texts that seem to be innocent. Is it the case, then, that an author’s text is a product of the best parts of themselves? Or just a projection of who they want to be? And, once these allegations come to light, can the texts ever be read in the same way again? Is it the case that a text can be innocent, even when the person who created it is not?
The debate seems to boil down to the classic argument of whether or not we can separate art and artist.
Personally, I believe that everything an author creates stems from themselves, and it is therefore impossible to separate the two. This means that, if a writer is corrupt, their work is also tainted. I think this view is especially interesting in the case of children’s literature. If we would not allow prejudiced individuals to teach our children, why should we permit their work in the classroom?
However, despite my opinion, I wonder if we should even be trying to conclude this debate. The purpose of literature is to invoke and promote thought. It is, in itself, a moral maze with numerous avenues promoting thought, reflection and discussion.
Thus, although I have raised my opinion here, I think it is up to the reader to decide. So, I raise the argument that I began with: What is the link between moral corruptness and children’s fiction?