Read Yes
Length 198
Overview A Victorian children’s classic addressing themes and issues reaching far beyond a basic children’s fairy tale.
I read The Water-Babies by Charles Kingsley in a Victorian Lit. class in college. I really loved it, but I was confused at how it could possibly be a children’s fairy tale. Yes, it’s engaging and interesting and full of wonder, but it has really deep meanings, which cannot be ignored partially because they’re constantly smacking you in the face.
Basics of the story: Tom is a poor chimney sweep, who has no knowledge of God or cleanliness or any type of kindness. Through a small bout of craziness and an old Irish lady, Tom runs away from his hyper abusive master. He ends up being turned into a water-baby, which is the water equivalent of a land-baby. There are other water-babies, fairies, and characters with names like Mrs. Bedonebyasyoudid. How can you not love it?
Like many Victorian novels, it is, at its core, a truly moral fable. There is a stark moral code set out within the novel – Charles Kingsley was an Anglican minister. One thing that I was absolutely taken with in college was the fact it is such a female centric novel. The women are good, strong, honest, and resilient and the men are fools, abusive, or a combination thereof.
There are so many layers and lenses in which The Water-Babies can be read. Kingsley’s opinions are pretty evident throughout for the good and the bad. He did not support child labor, and it can be read as a satire. Throughout the story science is evident. Darwin is mentioned kindly on several occasions. Other scientific topics are pollution, method, geology, education, and biological debates prevalent at the time. Kingsley heavily criticizes close-minded approaches to life and knowledge.
One of my favorite things about the narration, is how the narrator speaks directly to the reader. This isn’t unusual, especially at the time, but the way he does it is not terribly common. There are full on discussions, where the reader is answering questions posed by you, the reader. It is highly amusing as it can go on for several pages.
Anyways, The Water-Babies is a fun little novel. You can read it for a fun, light read, or you can deeply read it. I’m not a science person, so I would love to hear your sciency takes on it!
Memorable Quotes
“The most wonderful and the strongest things in the world, you know, are just the things which no one can see.”
“Do as you would be done by.”
“…children always wake after they have slept exactly as long as is good for them…”