'William' and the old folks: Notes on infantilisation

Ageing and Society

Volumn 16, Issue 4, 1996, Pages 423-441

  Hepworth, Mike ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF ABERDEEN   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

Fictional images; Infantilisation; Literary gerontology; Positive ageing

Indexed keywords

EID: 0040868347     PISSN: 0144686X     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1017/S0144686X00003615     Document Type: Article

References (46)

1. The author gratefully acknowledges permission from Macmillan Children's Books to reproduce passages from stories by Richmal Crompton (c Richmal C. Ashbee) and illustrations to these stories by Thomas Henry (c Thomas Henry Fisher Estate). Specific textual references are given in the notes below. The first publication dates of these stories are cited in the references below.
2. Johnson, J. 1993. Does group living work?, in Johnson, J. and Slater, R. (eds), Ageing and Later Life. Sage in Association with the Open University, London, Thousand Oaks, New Delhi, p. 124.
3. Spark, M. 1993 (1959). Memento Mori. Penguin, Harmondsworth.
4. Coupland, N., Coupland, J. and Giles, H. 1991. Language, Society and The Elderly: Discourse, Identity and Ageing. Blackwell, Oxford UK & Cambridge USA, p. 13.
5. Ibid. p. 176.
6. Ibid. p. 177.
7. Green, B. S. 1993. Gerontology and The Construction of Old Age: A Study in Discourse Analysis. Aldine de Gruyter, New York, p. 1.
8. Hockey, J. and James, A. 1993. Growing Up and Growing Old: Ageing and Dependency in The Life Course. Sage, London, Newbury Park, New Delhi, p. 39.
9. Ibid. p. 39.
10. Cole, T. R. 1992. The Journey of Life: A Cultural History of Ageing in America. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, New York, Port Chester, Melbourne, Sydney, p. 28.
11. McIsaac, S. J. 1993. How nursing home residents live while in the sub-passage of confusion: the battle of dignity and respect versus deterioration and decline. Unpub. PhD, Department of Sociology, University of Aberdeen.
12. Featherstone, M. and Hepworth, M. 1989. Ageing and old age: reflections on the postmodern life course. In Bytheway, B., Keil, T., Allatt, P. and Bryman, A. (eds) Becoming and Being Old: Sociological Approaches to Later Life. Sage, London, Newbury Park, New Delhi.
13. Of particular relevance is Kitwood's work on the role of social interaction in the dementing process: Kitwood, T. 1990. The dialectics of dementia: with particular reference to Alzheimer's Disease. Ageing and Society, 10, 177-196.; Kitwood, T. 1993. Towards a theory of dementia care: the interpersonal process. Ageing and Society, 13, 51-67.
14. Of particular relevance is Kitwood's work on the role of social interaction in the dementing process: Kitwood, T. 1990. The dialectics of dementia: with particular reference to Alzheimer's Disease. Ageing and Society, 10, 177-196.; Kitwood, T. 1993. Towards a theory of dementia care: the interpersonal process. Ageing and Society, 13, 51-67.
15. Elias, N. 1985. The Loneliness of The Dying. Basil Blackwell, Oxford, New York.
16. Cohen, A. P. 1994. Self Consciousness: An Alternative Anthropology of Identity. Routledge, London and New York, p. 99.
17. Ibid. p. 105.
18. The standard references on the life and work of Richmal Crompton are Mary Cadogan's biography (1986), Richmal Crompton: The Woman Behind William. Allen & Unwin, London, Boston, Sydney, Wellington, and her reference book (with David Schutte) 1990. The William Companion, Allen & Unwin, London, Boston Sydney, Wellington. These works are indispensable for any student of 'William' and I am particularly indebted to Cadogan's description and discussion of three of the stories discussed in this paper: 'The Cure' (Great-Aunt Jane), 'Aunt Jane's Treat' (Aunt Jane), and 'The Circus' (Grandfather Moore). These accounts are found respectively in pp. 140-142 and pp. 151-152 of her biography.
19. The standard references on the life and work of Richmal Crompton are Mary Cadogan's biography (1986), Richmal Crompton: The Woman Behind William. Allen & Unwin, London, Boston, Sydney, Wellington, and her reference book (with David Schutte) 1990. The William Companion, Allen & Unwin, London, Boston Sydney, Wellington. These works are indispensable for any student of 'William' and I am particularly indebted to Cadogan's description and discussion of three of the stories discussed in this paper: 'The Cure' (Great-Aunt Jane), 'Aunt Jane's Treat' (Aunt Jane), and 'The Circus' (Grandfather Moore). These accounts are found respectively in pp. 140-142 and pp. 151-152 of her biography.
20. Cadogan, M. The William Companion, p. 2.
21. Ibid. p. 118.
22. Cadogan, M. Richmal Crompton, pp. 152-153.
23. Crompton, R. 1984. (first published 1925). William and Uncle George, in Still William. Macmillan Children's Books, London.
24. Ibid. pp. 222-223.
25. Crompton, R. 1984. (first published 1930). William Goes Shopping, in William's Happy Days. Macmillan, Children's Books, London.
26. Ibid. pp. 7-8.
27. Ibid. pp. 9-10.
28. Ibid. p. 12.
29. Hepworth, M. 1991. Positive ageing and the mask of age. Journal of Educational Gerontology, 6, 93-101.
30. Crompton, R. 1983. (first published 1923). The Cure, in William Again. Macmillan Children's Books, London.
31. Ibid. p. 29.
32. Ibid. pp. 31-33.
33. Crompton, R. 1983. (first published 1924). Aunt Jane's Treat, in William The Fourth. Macmillan Children's Books, London.
34. Ibid. p. 65.
35. Ibid. p. 66.
36. Ibid. p. 68.
37. Ibid. p. 78.
38. Ibid. p. 68.
39. Ibid. p. 76.
40. Crompton, R. 1983. (first published 1923). The Circus, in William Again. Macmillan Children's Books, London, pp. 176-177.
41. Ibid. p. 184.
42. Ibid. p. 185.
43. Crompton, R. 1992. (first published 1964). Violet Elizabeth's Party, in William and The Witch. Macmillan Children's Book, London.
44. Ibid. p. 50.
45. Ibid. pp. 50-51.
46. Ibid. p. 59.