Nature Studies in the Service of Animal Protection in XIX-century Literature for Children and Teenagers

Abstract

In the XIX century, literature for children and young people joined the societal movements for the protection of animals against cruelty and violence. The cultivation of moral attitudes to animals became a leading issue, particularly for children and teenagers. In the literature of the time, we can distinguish two trends. The first is moral-didactic literature, including stories about animals and people used to promote attitudes of care and concern for animals and illustrating the advantages of good treatment of animals. The second trend is popular-scientific literature about nature in which popularising knowledge about the lives and behaviour of animals is also treated as a way of inculcating an attitude of non-cruelty to animals.