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Introduction
13
deformedandtheroleofnurtureintheprocessofbecoming(or,alterna-
tively,un-becoming)amonster.
Whileinterpretingthefigures,orratherillusoryimages,ofmonstrous
children,navigatingone’swaythroughthesphereoftheimaginarybe-
comescrucial.InTheMedievalImaginationJacquesLeGoffinsiststhat
thesphereofrepresentationsismoreinterestingasanobjectofstudyin
givingreadersmoreinsightintothepastthanconcretehistoricsources.13
Astudyofthepurelyfictitiousmonstersfrommedievalliteraturemight
thereforeresultinamoreproductiveoutcomethanconcentratingonthe
actualdeformedoffspringwhichwasborntomeetitsfrequentlydreadful
end,ifoneremembersthatabandoningsuchchildrenwasausualpractice
inRomanantiquityandintheMiddleAges.Fiction,oftentingedoreven
suffusedwithideology(ies),couldtellusmoreaboutthementalitypreva-
lentintheepochinquestionthanhistoricalrecords.Themonstrouschild
thatwillbetheobjectofourattentionhererepeatsthepatternthatRein-
hardKuhnobservedinchildfiguresinWesternliterature:thechildcanbe
treatedasa“culturalinvention,aproductoftheimagination”.Moreover,
Kuhndescribesthatconstructasa“proteanfigure”:theonethatunder-
goesconstantchanges.14Asweshallsee,themonstrouschildinmedi-
eval,andspecificallyMiddleEnglishliterature,isnodifferentfromthe
moreabstractfigureofanychildemergingfromKuhn’sstudy.Itisalso
anelusiveconstruct,alwaysinthemakingandundergoingunpredictable
transformations.
Thefiguresofmonstrouschildrenthatwillbereferredtoheremayseem
veryillusory.Afewofthemarepivotalcharactersintheplot,whichisnat-
urallynotthecasewiththereportedoffspringofqueensfalselyaccused
bytheirsinisteradversaries(theenemiesinterestinglyoftenbeingwomen
exercisingpowerintherealsenseofthephrase,sincetheyaremostlythe
unfortunateheroines’regalmothers-in-law).Thustheword“representa-
tions”thatshouldrefertoallthefiguresdiscussedherebecomestoacer-
tainextentinadequate.Nevertheless,themonstersfiguringinthefalsified
lettersmaystillbereferredtoas“representations”,sincetheyareconcre-
13JacquesLeGoff,TheMedievalImagination,trans.ArthurGoldhammer(Chicago:
UniversityofChicagoPress,1992),particularlypp.1117.
14ReinhardKuhn,CorruptioninParadise:TheChildinWesternLiterature(London:
UniversityPressofNewEngland,1982),p.3.
