I began this week with a look at some fictional works to give me a practical look into how different creators tackle the idea of fable.
Just So Stories
My first piece of literature was Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling, renowned children's author and creator of The Jungle Book. The book is a collection of short children's stories written in a form akin to the traditional fable. The illustrations are by Isabelle Brent, but I will focus more on her work later.
The first thing worth noting is Kipling's inclusion of a poem summarising each of his stories, placed at its conclusion. This poetry bleeds through to the rest of the writing, note the iambic pentameter and rhyming of "He ate the starfish and the garfish, and the crab and the dab... and the really truly twirly-whirly eel" in the first story, "How the Whale Got His Throat".
The sing-song lyrical nature to the writing makes it exceptionally pleasing to read. Another thing that makes his stories so engaging is his repeated reference to the reader, dubbed "Best Beloved" as a reference to his daughter. He breaks the fourth wall constantly, asking the reader to retain information or privately clarifying facts outside of the canon of the story in brackets.
His work is rife with anthropomorphism, weaving in typical human emotions and motivations within the context of the animal itself. The story "How the Leopard Got His Spots" focuses on the leopard as a predator and his ability to adapt and overcome to remain a successful hunter. However this is laced with undertones about ambition and ability, about the necessity of change in the face of evolution - things that apply to people and that people can relate to.
Whilst the stories don't include morals as a maxim attached at the end, there's definitely a moral to be learned from each. "How the Camel Got His Hump" delivers a moral about the pitfalls of laziness and being "'scrutiatingly idle", and the punishment the Camel received for these behaviours. Whilst the lesson is framed within the "evolution" of an animal, the message is clear: if you do not do your share of the work, you will suffer one way or the other. "How the Whale Got His Throat" end in the whale's throat being blocked by a grate by a human he ate so he had to stop devouring everything in the ocean - a warning against greed. "The Cat That Walked By Himself" balances the idea of punishing hubris and misplaced arrogance with the idea of fitting into a community and society without sacrificing who you are. Through all of these is a running thread about community and society - how to be a better being within one, to pull your weight but also to be treated fairly.
Something that makes for an appealing read that's common not just of Kipling's work but the work on lots of children's authors is repetition. This is most prevalent in the story "The Cat That Walked By Himself, with constant motifs and phrases that are repeated throughout. The word "wild" appears about four times in every sentence, making for a rhythmic and consistent read.
Isabelle Brent
Isabelle Brent is the illustrator behind my edition of Just So Stories and other works. Whilst her style is recognisable, it borders on being naturalistic in its approach to painting various animals. She uses rich, but not bright, colours that contrast and compliment each other well on the page. The bulk of her images are soft watercolours, embellished further with inks and surrounded by geometric patterns for a polished, traditional finish.
What I find personally appealing about her work is that it straddles the line between looking childlike and adult in a way that isn't alienating to either party. When printed, her use of gold not just in colour but in its metallic texture makes turning each page of the book feel luxurious - it draws you into the story just as much as Kipling's writings do.
It also always places its animal subjects within the natural setting described in the books. At no point are the characters the sole existing object in the image, they are tucked into a dense environment that their stories take place in, further pushing this theme throughout all fables about the importance of nature.
Beatrix Potter
Something my original research on this topic unearthed was the work of Beatrix Potter, beloved British children's author and artist. Looking into her further, I wanted to examine why she wrote what she wrote, and examine her work as a whole, from her stories to her paintings.
I discovered that Beatrix Potter (actually Helen Beatrix Potter) was the eldest of two children with a six year gap in-between. She was never sent to school, but was privately tutored instead, and compensated for her isolation from other children with lots of pets, who she'd frequently draw. Her first pets were two rabbits, one of which was called Benjamin Bouncer, who "who enjoyed buttered toast and joined the Potter family on holiday in Scotland where he went for walks on a lead" (https://www.peterrabbit.com/about-beatrix-potter/). Peter Piper was her second rabbit, who could do tricks and went everywhere with Beatrix.
It's no surprise to me, then, that she ended up creating the characters that she did - all anthropomorphised animals. Her first book The Tales of Peter Rabbit was self-published initially, and then professionally published following its success.
Something that heavily influenced her stories was the environment she was in. Having spent many family summer holidays in Scotland, and eventually moving to her favourite place in the Lake District, nature features heavily in her work and is another reason why I'm focusing on her aside from the obvious anthropomorphism. Hill Top Farm, which she bought following the death of her fiancé, features in her later stories.
This ties in well with my previous research about the importance of nature in fables. It seems to me that many of the authors that focus on animals as their characters naturally have an inherent appreciation for nature that accompanies it. Potter was a conservationist herself, which shows in the way that she does not consider man to be superior to nature, rather, in her stories, man can often be the antagonist.
Beatrix Potter's art, similar to that of Isabelle Brent, has a softness to it that's very appealing. In contrast to more modern children's book illustrations, she relies heavily on watercolours and gentle, natural pastel colours to create pleasant, soft images. Once the watercolour paints have dried she goes back in with pens and inks to bring out more detail in the image. The effect is an organic, innocent style that reflects the contents of her books.
