ABSTRACT
One of the main purposes of this chapter is to set out the historical context for this thesis, and lay the groundwork for my arguments about the four main types of subversive/transgressive humor which have emerged in junior fi ction since 1960. It will also demonstrate how the limits of what is classed as transgressive by society have altered alongside changing social conventions. This involves, in particular, establishing the fi rst type: the ‘deliberately transgressive character’ who challenges society’s codes of behavior in humorous ways. Although I will point out other types of ‘transgression’ which have emerged since the emergence of the ‘transgressive character’ in nineteenth-century children’s fi ction, as seen in texts such as Susan Coolidge’s What Katy Did (1872) and Rudyard Kipling’s Stalky and Co. (1899), humorous fi ction revolving around ‘naughty’ child characters, particularly in everyday-life fi ction, is a persistent mainstay of children’s books. This discussion will encompass mainly the psychological functions of humor, typical of ‘relief ’ theories of humor and laughter, highlighting the intra-personal benefi ts of the carnivalesque in these everyday-life texts, which feature temporary disorder caused by ‘naughty’ characters that may serve as comic relief for young readers.
