『소공녀』에 나타난 세라의 성장

Sara’s Growth in A Little Princess

Frances Hodgson Burnett (1849-1924)’ A Little Princess (1905) is an autobiographical novel created on the basis of the “Cinderella” type. However, Sara, the main character, differs from the one dimensional main characters found in “Cinderella” and other children’s literature written in the early 20th century. In A Little Princess, Sara, who is born into middle class comfort, lives comfortably with her father in India, only to experience sorrow, a fall into extreme adversity, and finally a surprising return to comfort and wealth. Though Sara is ultimately rewarded with the restoration of her fortunes, she demonstrates some differences over her predecessors: Sara’s fortunes are not restored by her passive waiting or reliance on marriage with a prince. Instead, she plays an active role in her redemption. While Sara creates and tells stories, raising herself and her orphaned companions, her imagination works as the transformative power. Throughout her ordeal, she escapes her reality, pretending herself as a princess even though she lives in the cold and bare attic. Sara endures this hard time with imagination and is finally rewarded with her late father’s fortune and Mr. Carrisford’s sweet home. When she tells stories to the children of the Carmichaels and shares a moment of understanding with Ann, a beggar child, we can envision her as a surrogate mother, caring for children across boundaries of home and class.