Reframing the ‘Normal Child’ through Representation of Disability in Children’s Literature

Abstract

On exploring the history of childhood studies and children’s literature, it is clear that the
power structure between adults and children have always existed and still exists. This
presupposition of power has led to the creation of didactic stories and characters whose
aim is to build a subject who can be moulded according to the desire of those weaving
these narratives. Although, this is largely inspired by the Eurocentric model of childhood
and children’s literature, it should not be overlooked that Indians too have had such
didactic interest rooted in their religious and mythological texts since times immemorial.
These texts can also be credited for the creation of biases in the society in terms of
important social constructs including gender and ability. In this paper, I will begin with a
study of the representation of disabled characters within these texts and what impact it
could have had on a child’s understanding towards the subject.