An imaginary friend (also “an invisible friend”, “an imaginary partner”) is a character invented by a child with whom he is friends or communicates [1] . An imaginary friend may seem very real, although usually children understand that he does not really exist [2] .
Content
- 1 Study of the phenomenon
- 2 In popular culture
- 2.1 Literature
- 2.2 Cinema
- 2.3 Animation
- 3 See also
- 4 notes
- 5 Literature
Phenomenon research
It is believed that the first scientific research on the subject of imaginary friends was carried out in the 1890s [3] .
There is very little information on the appearance and evolution of this phenomenon. However, Clausen and Passman (2007) write that originally imaginary partners were described as supernatural beings and spirits, which were believed to connect people with their past lives [4] . In early historical times, adults had home gods, guardian angels and muses , who played the role of imaginary partners, providing comfort, guidance and creative inspiration [4] . According to Clausen and Passman, in the end the phenomenon of imaginary friends passed on to children. In what era imaginary friends began to appear in children, it is not known, but, according to the above authors, it is possible that the childhood phenomenon of an imaginary friend arose in the middle of the 20th century , when childhood was considered an important period in a person’s life, time for play and imagination [4] .
In popular culture
Literature
Although Astrid Lindgren ’s books on Carlson contain evidence of his real existence (he is finally seen by friends and parents of Baby Svante Swanteson , the house on the roof saw a chimney sweep and so on), on the other hand (especially in the first book), Carlson’s behavior that appears only in moments of loneliness of the boy and compensates for the excessive softness of his character, fits entirely into the model, where he is only an imaginary friend, alter ego of the child. It is from this point of view that critics and literary critics often consider him, both in the USSR and Russia, and in Sweden [5] . These include biographer Lindgren E. M. Metkaf [6] , A. Isaev [7] , Elena Tager [8], and others. The trilogy about Malysh and Carlson is built as a parenting novel whose hero integrates his infantile alter in the process of growing up and socializing. ego with its main "I" [5] .
Before Carlson, Astrid Lindgren addressed the topic of fictional friends in her collection, Baby Nils Carlson . The heroes of the eponymous storybook, published in 1949, are children suffering from illness, loneliness or cold. Each of the magical creatures that come to them: a householder, a living doll, an invisible sister, or the mystical Mr. Lilonquast, have clear signs that they are a figment of their childhood imagination [9] .
Like Carlson, he is able to fly, and in the same way can be interpreted both as a real and as an imaginary character, the ill angel Skellig from the eponymous novel for children of David Almond (and its adaptation ) [10] .
Cinema
- Harmful Fred (1991)
- Bogus (1996)
- The Shining (1980)
- Ben X (2007)
- Waiting for a Miracle (2007)
- Supernatural (2015)
Animation
- Foster: Home for Fantasy Friends (2004)
- Imaginary Mary (2017)
- Happy (2017)
See also
- Dream country game
Notes
- ↑ Ann Bakus. Guide for raising children from 3 to 6 years. Tips of the famous French psychologist . - Litres, 2014-10-30. - P. 58–. - ISBN 978-5-457-64188-4 .
- ↑ Taylor, M. (1999) Imaginary Companions and the Children Who Create Them. New York: Oxford University Press.
- ↑ Klausen, Espen; Richard H. Passman. Pretend companions (imaginary playmates): the emergence of a field (Eng.) // Journal of Genetic Psychology : journal. - 2006 .-- December ( vol. 167 , no. 4 ). - P. 349-364 . - DOI : 10.3200 / gntp.167.4.349-364 .
- ↑ 1 2 3 Klausen, E .; Passman, RH Pretend companions (imaginary playmates): The emergence of a field (Eng.) // The Journal of Genetic Psychology : journal. - 2007. - Vol. 167 , no. 4 . - P. 349-364 . - DOI : 10.3200 / gntp.167.4.349-364 .
- ↑ 1 2 Mayofis, 2008 , Carlson after the 20th Congress, p. 246-248.
- ↑ E. M. Metcathus. Astrid Lindgren. - M .: Swedish Institute, 2002 .-- S. 20.
- ↑ Isaeva A. Malysh and Carlson, who lives on the roof // Foreign Literature . - 1958. - No. 2 . - S. 200 .
- ↑ Tager El. On translated books for children // Star . - 1959. - No. 2 . - S. 246 .
- ↑ Kaisa Eberg Lindsten (translation by A. Polivanova ). Astrid Lindgren and Swedish Society (Rus.) // The Safe Reserve. - 2002. - No. 1 (21) .
- ↑ AF Harrold. Top 10 imaginary friends in fiction // The Guardian . - 2014 .-- October 23.
Literature
- Chesnokova O.B., Yaremchuk M.V. The phenomenon of "imaginary partner" in childhood . “Questions of Psychology”, 2002, N 2. P.14-27.
- Maria Mayofis. Dear, dear trickster: Carlson and the Soviet utopia about "real childhood // Merry little men: cultural heroes of Soviet childhood. - New literary review . Scientific Library, 2008. - Vol. LXXIV . - S. 241-286 . - ISBN 978-5-86793-642-6 .