The Water Child describes that Tom, an orphan who cleans chimneys, is abused by Master Green. One day, when they came to the squire's house to clean the chimney, Tom got lost and went into the bedroom of the squire's daughter Ellie. He was regarded as a thief and was chased by everyone.
Tom escaped, fell into the water and became a boy delivering water. Later, Ellie also came to Tom's underwater world and became a water child. Because of the fairy's guidance, Tom decided to go to a distant place to find the punished owner.
He went through hardships along the way, traveled to many strange countries, and finally grew into a person who loves truth, is honest and brave.
Extended data
The Creative Background of The Water Child
/kloc-the middle of the 0/9th century is a period of exploration, expansion and idealization. The scientific trend of thought represented by Darwin's theory of evolution became a "new religion", which conquered the Victorian people with the power of simple truth and facts. Kingsley was deeply attracted by The Origin of Species, and said that he benefited a lot from his communication with Darwin, but his theory of evolution conflicted with the founding philosophy of Christianity.
As a priest, Kingsley felt uneasy inside. He tried to adjust himself and seek comfort through the writing of water children and the fantasy story of Tom's soul washing journey. In this sense, the water boy is not only Tom in fantasy, but also the solution to Kingsley's mental and intellectual crisis in reality.
As a priest, social activist and an active advocate of nature, Kingsley tried to solve his thoughts in the fierce debate between religion, society and science in Britain from 65438 to 09 century. Like many people in the Victorian era, he tried to find prescriptions for diagnosing and treating social, cultural and psychological diseases in literature, especially in stories.
Find ways to change deficiencies into diversity, contradictions into compatibility, replace inappropriate elements in the "period of change", and find the myth of re-imagining the generation of traditional culture.
The Water Child is a rich artistic world created by Kingsley through the combination of realism and fantasy. He faced and thought about the social and cultural reality of Victorian era through Tom's soul washing journey, and tried to reconcile the conflict between self-belief and the spirit of the times.
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