Comfort zones are a big thing for everybody. Whether you're a child or an adult, there's something about moving from the unknown to the known that scares us all, deep down. That step away from the stable and secure, be that trying something new, going to school for the first time, or starting a new job. It's scary! What will it be like? How will you cope? Who will you meet? Endless questions! At the moment I am feeling somewhat stuck in a comfort zone that I have neatly curated for quite some time, and it made me think about how comfort zones are portrayed in children's literature, because of course, this is often my first route of enquiry.
My first thought was of dear Mole in The Wind in the Willows, spring cleaning his little hole, when all of a sudden he decides enough is enough, "Hang spring-cleaning" he mutters and scrabbles out into the open fields above him, ebracing life above ground. He does it, pushes out of his comfort zone! He has moments of fear, where no doubt he wishes he could disappear underground, don't we all! But most importantly Mole shows us that's its ok to falter, and its our inner strength that helps us continue onwards.
Then I though of timid Piglet, always one step behind Pooh bear, his living, breathing comfort zone. A friendship that was more than just two pals. They made each other braver and stronger somehow and together they were able to traverse the boundaries of their comfort zones to hunt woozles and heffalumps, as well as deal with Tigger on a daily basis!
Both Mole and Piglet show us that courage comes just beyond your comfort zone, and it's always easier with the support of others.
As my brain delved deeper into the idea of comfort zones in children's books I starting thinking about the concept of growing up and how many children's books written during the Golden Age of children's literature made a clear distinction between child and adult, and many books such as Little Women, were written to eductate children in the art of becoming an adult, or navigating the transition between childhood and adulthood. In Little Women Alcott is showing us what it is like to grow up, the moral trials and tribulations, as well as the practical expectations for the 19th century woman. We see the girls' grow away from the comfort zone of Marmee to become women in their own right, however, I would argue this is only successful for Amy and Jo, who take up independant careers and an artist and teacher, respectively. Beth, unfortunatley never makes it to adulthood, she is too entrenched in the comfort zone of home that she is forever trapped there, always rememebered as the shy, sickly child she was in life. Meg becomes a comfort zone in her own right, taking on the Marmee role as the book progresses, something more expected at the time the novel is set.
On the reverse of this is Peter Pan, J.M Barrie's 'Boy Who Never Grew Up'. His relationship with adulthood is very different. He refuses to accept the notion of growing up, the biological fact that children grow into adults. A lot of this characterisation is down to Barrie's own relationship with adulthood and his own personal comfort zones. Barrie was traumatised by his brothers death when he was a child, and the subsequent effect this had on his mother. He himself retained some childlike traites in his adult personality, an attempt a reliving the life he had before his early trauma, his comfort zone. Many historians have suggested that Barry was asexual, and that his attitude towards growing up was closely linked with his sexuality. He believed that once you had crossed the boundary into adulthood (mainly through sexual acts) that there was no way of getting back to childhood. This idea can be seen wholeheartedly in Peter Pan. The nursery is a comfort zone, and although the Darling children travel from it's confines to Neverland, this is Peter's domain, where adulthood (depsite Wendy playing at Mother) is no where to be seen. A fantasy comfort zone that insures adulthood will never get in.
Thinking more on the idea of comfort zones I also considerd the idea of the physical book too. Do you have a book that you return to again and again? An escapism that has in some way become a comfort zone. I know I do. For me it's the world of Winnie the Pooh, and a fictional diary called A Diary of a Nobody by George Grossmith. When i'm a bit down, or unsure what to read next, I will always reach for one of those books. They make me laugh, and slipping into their pages is like slipping into a pair of snuggly socks or clean sheets. It's magical, and of course extremely comforting! For children there will always be books that they will want to read again and again, or a series that they really get hooked on. For adults you may return to books you read as a child to feel comforted or reassured. It's natural for humans to want that comfort, support and reassurance of the known. This is why stepping outside our comfort zone is really hard.
The children's adventure or school story genres often hold an element of comfort zone expansion, of pushing beyond what they know or what parents have set as the boundaries, and often the protagonsists of these books do it without batting an eyelid! The innocence of childhood in these stories seems to take away any fear of the unknown that we might have as adults. Re-reading some books I often find myself projecting my own fears and anxiety onto the characters. Why are they doing that? What will be the consequences of those actions? Who should or shouldn't they trust? Is this blatent disregard for the unknown good for children? Is it teaching them to have a growth mindset or to be plain reckless!? Nowadays I think there is a lot more phsychology involved in the actions of characters in children's books. Children are no longer just 2D stereotypes in stories that like to sail, or act the spy. Children's books now address a lot broader range of themes, questions and societal issues, all of which at points will deal with the idea of the comfort zone in some way or another. Books for children, and more often teens, nowadays address issues such as loss, grief, sexually, violence, crime and drug abuse. There is almost no topic out of bounds anymore! They are instruction guides to growing up, cheat sheets for big life decisions; books for big emotions. Children growing up today are so incredibly lucky that they have literature that addresses issues they might come across and helps them navigate life. Comfort zones have been replaced with topics that make us think and feel, rather than settle down in a cosy corner. I sometimes wonder if this is a good thing? But I suppose things move on. Like life. We must move on, push forward out of that comfort zone like Mole; free ourselves and good things will happen.
"This day was only the first of many for the emancipated Mole, each of them longer and fuller of interest as the ripening summer moved onward."
Thanks for reading, L x
