Date of Award

8-2025

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

School

Humanities

Committee Chair

Eric Tribunella

Committee Chair School

Humanities

Committee Member 2

Jameela Lares

Committee Member 2 School

Humanities

Committee Member 3

Alexandra Valint

Committee Member 3 School

Humanities

Committee Member 4

Craig Carey

Committee Member 4 School

Humanities

Abstract

The Late Victorian Nursery: A Legacy Space examines both the physical and mental constructions of the British nursery space through its appearance in a variety of texts from British authors born during the Victorian era. The nursery was one of the first widely used child-centered spaces, and it served as a foundation for children’s spaces even today. Even so, it appears less frequently in children’s literature as one might expect, which raises questions about how the space was often considered uninteresting to adult writers, despite the myriad possibilities the space could afford for child characters.

Though Victorian society formulated a set of ideals for the nursery and the acceptable forms of children’s socialization, play, sexuality, gender, etc. in the space, the authors in this study use the nursery to resist these ideals and provide examples of children pushing back against adult-imposed restrictions. As spatial theorists note, spaces exist with or without human implications, but places, such as nurseries, contain meaning. The people within the nursery construct its meaning, and the physical aspects of the space also reflect back on the relationships and performances of the people therein. It is a reciprocal space where children, despite the limits of Victorian ideals, could experiment, play, break rules, and use their imaginations freely, often without judgement or interference from adults.

In each of the main chapters of this study, the texts exemplify ways child characters resisted norms and social constructions, using the nursery to find independence, agency, and enjoyment whether or not they had adult approval. By examining these often-canonical children’s texts, this study builds on research on the spaces of childhood. Though this study focuses only on a space made for middle- and upper-class children, this study purports that the nursery became a symbol of ideal childhood for all children, and through providing the space through literature, children’s writers began the work of taking children, childhood, and their spaces seriously.

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