«Museu zoològic» and «Bestiari» by Josep Carner: an ecocritical approach

Abstract

The ecocritical analysis of different editions of Museu zoològic (1963 and 1998) and Bestiari (1964 and 1998), two bestiaries by Josep Carner, is useful to know the message that the text and the illustrations convey. Last decades’ awareness for a more sustainable planet suggests that the images from the most recent editions will help young readers to become aware of the relationship that humans have to establish with the environment. Thus, it will be possible to detect if current children’s poetry communicates a concept of nature respectful to the ecosystem, and also the influence that paratexts can exert on the text.

The tool used in the study is the NatCult matrix, designed by the Nature in Children’s Literature and Culture research group from the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences. This matrix takes into account the anthropocentrism and biocentrism from which children’s literature is conceived, as well as the celebration or problematization of nature that it conveys. The selected corpus focuses on the poems on donkeys and owls because these animals are very represented in Catalan children’s bestiaries and their symbols are easy to identify.