“The Axis of Influence”: The Roles of Illustrations in Children’s Literature

Since the 17th century, when illustrations began to appear in children’s schoolbooks, the role of illustrations has undergone a development in concept. It has shifted from a narrow view of illustrations demonstrating the text, as well as lightening up the textual monotony, to a broader view of illustrations as a way of perceiving an additional interpretational layer of the meanings inherent in the text. Concurrently, the hierarchy indicating the supremacy of the written text over the illustrations has been undermined, opening the way to viewing children’s stories as a literary work in which the text and the illustrations conduct a complex relationship, together affecting the addressees’ experiencing of the meaning. After five decades of analyzing picturebooks, there are still some gaps between the research on children’s literature and the research on illustrations, whereby the study of children’s literature mainly deals with the textual aspects of works. The present research offers a model examining the functions of illustrations in children’s literature. The model includes a spectrum of layers located on an axis, which may be termed “the axis of influence”. This spectrum begins with illustrations that are limited to a simple description and adhere to the text, and it reaches illustrations that contrast with the text, accompanying it as a “counterpoint”. The illustrations’ modes of function are divided into three groups. The first group is that of illustrations describing the text faithfully. The second group includes illustrations which expand the meaning by providing layers that do not exist in the text: illustrations describing the space in which the protagonists are located; illustrations portraying the inner world of the protagonists; illustrations explicating complex concepts or themes; inclusive illustrations expanding the cultural and social variety of the characters in the story; and illustrations which promote social or national values. The third group includes illustrations subversive to the text, often even contradicting it or promoting a message that does not necessarily adhere to the contents of the text, thereby providing an independent narrative. The existence of an independent narrative leads to a poetic gap, by which there are two narratives dwelling in the same story. The research examines four types of subversive illustrations: illustrations creating gender correction; the implicative illustrations containing a visual subtext; illustrations casting a new light upon the story’s ending; and illustrations voicing a counterpoint to the content delivered in the text.