Congo belge et littérature de jeunesse dans l'entre-deux-guerres

Abstract

While little known to critics, Belgian colonial literature for French-speaking children nevertheless provides interesting perspectives on colonial history, and, more broadly, on the whole question of identity resulting from a relationship to the “other” and “elsewhere.” In this context, we examine three major works from the interwar period: Tante Julia découvre le Congo (Roger Ransy, 1932), Jeannot gosse d'Afrique (Jeanne Maquet-Tombu, 1935) and Bamboula le petit homme noir (Franz Hellens, 1942, adapted from Bass-Bassina-Boulou, 1922). Here we are concerned with the ways in which these children’s colonial stories constitute a privileged place in which one can either embrace or question ideology.

Keywords

• children’s literature
• colonial literature