Reinterpreted attitude towards animals in the literature of the XIX – XX centuries

Abstract

The prerequisites for the development of a new literature about animals, in which one the animal is regarded as an anthropomorphic subject, arose thanks to Romanticism, but developed much later. It was during the heyday of romanticism that attempts were made to view animals as a group of creatures that needed protection along with other oppressed groups. Characteristics of the literature about animals coincide with the general characteristic of the art of romanticism. Natural objects, including animals, are anthropomorphized – that is, they are given human traits. The degree of anthropomorphization in this case can vary from superficial to sufficiently developed, when almost all characteristics of a person are attributed to an animal. Consideration of animals as creatures that deserve compassion and have the right to it, has arisen in the tendencies of romanticism. However, this trend was developed much later – the works which taken as illustrations in this article date from the second half of the XIX century to the beginning of the XX century. Just then that the concept of «rights» of animals takes root in the minds of society, and animals and people in literature gradually begin to converge, resulting in appear images of «animal friend» and «animal defender».