Psychoanalysis has a history of using literature to explain and augment its theories. What is more unusual is when a work of fiction finds itself structured around pre-existing psychoanalytical theory. Algernon Blackwood’s Jimbo: A Fantasy (1909) is a children’s novel reminiscent of a combination of Henry James’s The Turn of the Screw and Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. In the novel, the titular character is a seven-year-old boy with an overactive imagination who is traumatized by his governess before suffering an accident that places him into a coma. The coma results in Jimbo entering a bizarre fantasy world which he journeys through with a version of his governess. The resulting narrative becomes one of childhood trauma and repression, seemingly structured around Freud’s long buried seduction theory, a theory of childhood trauma caused by sexual abuse. The novel serves as a case study, while also illustrating how children’s literature can take an active role in shaping and building upon psychoanalytic theory.
","abstract_html":"<p>Psychoanalysis has a history of using literature to explain and augment its theories. What is more unusual is when a work of fiction finds itself structured around pre-existing psychoanalytical theory. Algernon Blackwood’s <em>Jimbo: A Fantasy</em> (1909) is a children’s novel reminiscent of a combination of Henry James’s <em>The Turn of the Screw</em> and Lewis Carroll’s <em>Alice in Wonderland</em>. In the novel, the titular character is a seven-year-old boy with an overactive imagination who is traumatized by his governess before suffering an accident that places him into a coma. The coma results in Jimbo entering a bizarre fantasy world which he journeys through with a version of his governess. The resulting narrative becomes one of childhood trauma and repression, seemingly structured around Freud’s long buried seduction theory, a theory of childhood trauma caused by sexual abuse. The novel serves as a case study, while also illustrating how children’s literature can take an active role in shaping and building upon psychoanalytic theory.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Schluter, Kristina"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts (MA)","degree_level":"Masters Thesis","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Eric Tribunella","Monika Gehlawat","Alexandra Valint"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2019,"date_issued":"2019-08-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2019-08-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:45:12Z","subjects":["algernon blackwood","seduction theory","sigmund freud","children's literature","jimbo a fantasy","Children's and Young Adult Literature","Literature in English, British Isles"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/670","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Eric Tribunella","Monika Gehlawat","Alexandra Valint"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Schluter, Kristina"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2169-08-01T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Masters Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (MA)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["algernon blackwood","seduction theory","sigmund freud","children's literature","jimbo a fantasy","Children's and Young Adult Literature","Literature in English, British Isles"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/670"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Psychoanalysis has a history of using literature to explain and augment its theories. What is more unusual is when a work of fiction finds itself structured around pre-existing psychoanalytical theory. Algernon Blackwood’s Jimbo: A Fantasy (1909) is a children’s novel reminiscent of a combination of Henry James’s The Turn of the Screw and Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. In the novel, the titular character is a seven-year-old boy with an overactive imagination who is traumatized by his governess before suffering an accident that places him into a coma. The coma results in Jimbo entering a bizarre fantasy world which he journeys through with a version of his governess. The resulting narrative becomes one of childhood trauma and repression, seemingly structured around Freud’s long buried seduction theory, a theory of childhood trauma caused by sexual abuse. The novel serves as a case study, while also illustrating how children’s literature can take an active role in shaping and building upon psychoanalytic theory.
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