Evil Children In Religion Literature And Art

Download or read book Evil Children in Religion, Literature, and Art written by E. Ziolkowski and published by Palgrave Macmillan. This book was released on 2001-05-21 with total page 253 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Evil Children in Religion, Literature and Art explores the genesis, development, and religious significance of a literary and iconographic motif, involving a gang of urchins, usually male, who mock or assault a holy or eccentric person, typically an adult. Originating in the biblical tale of Elisha's mockery (2 Kings 2.23-24), this motif recurs in literature, hagiography, and art, from antiquity up to our own time, strikingly defying the conventional Judeo-Christian and Romantic image of the child as a symbol of innocence.