Throughout the history of story-telling, the fox has been represented in an anthropomorphic way not only in early tales, mythologies, fables and oral stories, but also in contemporary literature and movies. The focus has often been directed at how its behavioural attributes are to some extent similar to human characteristics, both positively and negatively. Even in today’s popular culture, the fox is often used in an anthropomorphic way by giving him human characteristics, like
intelligence and cunning. This literary treatment stands in contrast to his natural animalistic behaviour as a predator, for which the fox is still negatively connoted.
The relationship between a human and a fox, a wild and non-domesticated animal, is certainly different from a relationship among human beings, or a human and a pet dog,
or between a fox and a rabbit. However, the desire to maintain a closer relationship, even friendship, with wild non-human animals has increased over the last years and is
being addressed in environmental and animal studies as well as in ecocriticism and literature.
In her award-winning short story, "Mrs Fox" (2013), Sarah Hall explores how the relationship between a husband and his wife changes when she transmogrifies into a fox in “an act of will” (Hall 2013: 62). Hall focuses on the point of view of the husband and how he struggles to accept the reality of his beloved wife having transformed into a vixen. The following paper will look at how "Mrs Fox" challenges anthropomorphism by applying animal characteristics to the female main character by physically turning her into a fox rather than applying human characteristics to an animal.
Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)
- INTRODUCTION.
- MRS FOX
- SUMMARY AND SHORT STORY CHARACTERISTICS
- CHALLENGING ANTHROPOMORPHISM
- TRANSMOGRIFICATION
- HUMAN - ANIMAL RELATIONSHIP
- RE-VALUING OTHER SPECIES.
- CONCLUSION
Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)
This paper examines Sarah Hall's short story, "Mrs Fox", and how it challenges the traditional portrayal of animals in literature, particularly in terms of anthropomorphism. The author delves into the complex relationship between a human and a wild animal, specifically a fox, and explores the consequences of blurring the boundaries between human and animal perspectives.
- Challenging anthropomorphism in literature
- Exploring the human-animal relationship
- Re-evaluating the status of other species
- The impact of urbanization on nature and animal life
- The role of the short story genre in conveying these themes
Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)
- Introduction: This section sets the context by discussing the historical and contemporary representations of foxes in literature, highlighting how their behavior is often anthropomorphized. The author introduces Sarah Hall's short story "Mrs Fox" and outlines the main focus of the paper, which is to analyze how the story challenges anthropomorphism by physically transforming the female protagonist into a fox.
- Mrs Fox: Summary and Short Story Characteristics: This section provides a detailed summary of the plot, focusing on the husband's point of view as he experiences his wife's transformation into a fox. It also analyzes the story's narrative techniques, such as the use of a homodiegetic narrator and present tense, and discusses how these elements contribute to the story's overall effect. The author also highlights key elements of the short story genre, including the brevity, focus on character development through action, and the presence of a significant change or shift in the narrative.
- Mrs Fox: Challenging Anthropomorphism: This section delves into the main focus of the paper, examining how the story challenges anthropomorphism by transforming the female protagonist into a fox. The author explores the implications of this transformation for the human-animal relationship, specifically questioning whether humans are truly capable of understanding and respecting the perspectives of other species. This section also delves into the themes of re-evaluating the status of other species and the impact of urbanization on animal life.
Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)
The primary focus of this paper is on exploring the concept of anthropomorphism in the context of human-animal relationships. Key keywords include anthropomorphism, animal studies, ecocriticism, human-animal interaction, transmogrification, short story, and urbanization. This research emphasizes the importance of understanding animal perspectives and challenging anthropocentric views within literature and broader society.
- Quote paper
- Sarah Gahler (Author), 2016, Challenging Anthropomorphism in Sarah Hall's "Mrs Fox", Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/337819
