Themes in Literature

Literary Themes Childhood

Childhood

In 1960, the French historian Philippe Ariรจs advanced the hypothesis that the idea of childhood was practically nonexistent before the early modern period. The controversy about the existence or absence of the idea prior to that time in history gave rise to a host of studies on childhood. But what does the word childhood mean? Our awareness that it refers to a distinct period of human life is natural, … Read the rest