The Child and the Beast, written by Marcus Sauermann and illustrated by Uwe Heidschotter, is an example for "empathy and the clash of roles".

The Child and the Beast, written by Marcus Sauermann and illustrated by Uwe Heidschotter, is an example for "empathy and the clash of roles". The text reflects the process of divorce of the parents in an unusual way from the eyes of the child character. The story begins with the definition of the mother as a beast. The mother, who has transformed into a beast, returns to her normal life with the efforts of the child who has empathized with her as if an adult. After the beast mother returns to her life, the time of recovery for the father beast begins. Then, the role of the child as a healer shifts to the father and the story ends. Although the story points to a really difficult and emotional problem, its  language is very clear and plain. It seems that it would easily be remembered by children because of its sizeable illustrations. Giving the main responsibility to a child and taking such a serious issue in a children’s book form, the text points out a big problem. In this article, I will examine the mother's depression process in the context of the cognitive development of a child in the preschool period; the empathic relation that the child has with her mother and father; and the problem of the roles between the parents and the child.

The Child and The Beast begins with the mother turning into a beast in the eyes of the child character: "If your mother turns into a beast, things will change drastically" (Sauermann 6). There is no information shared with readers in the text about the beast mother before the process of divorce. The child answers the depression process of a modest mother emerged with the divorce with an unexpected cognitive maturity for his age. "You have to do everything by yourself. Because your mother is not even there" (11). The child character is in a position to accompany his mother just like an adult. He is in a position that he can understand his mother’s emotions by empathy. In this context, it appears that adult and child roles have changed in The Child and The Beast narrative. However; the child character, who is in the pre-school period, is in the process of development as Piaget calls "cognitive development theory": "The main features of the pre-process period are self-centeredness, sharp thoughts, semi-logical reasoning and limited social cognition" (Miller 76). In this context, the narrative does not reflect a realistic perspective. The self-centeredness corresponds to "a) I and the world, including others, are not fully separated, and b) perceiving and interpreting the world by placing himself in the center" (77). According to Piaget's theory, self-centeredness causes the child believing that he has a role in the divorce of his parents. Here, it is possible to talk about a child profile that identifies himself with the individual, who experiences the problem itself. Based on this, there emerges an empathetic relationship for the mother and the father: "Self-centeredness makes it difficult for a child to play the role of another person" (ibid.) Therefore, empathy is not a skill that can be achieved in this age group in the context of their developmental skills. However, in this story, the reader observes that the child acts with such a skill that exceeds the limits of his cognitive status.

Pre-school period coincides with the “guilt for initiation” stage according to Erickson's theory of psycho-social development. Erickson describes each depression as a dimension with possible positive and negative consequences, such as shame and doubt against autonomy. What is ideal is that the child should develop a favorable rate, in which positive features dominates the negative ones "(208). The child asks himself "Who am I?" at every stage and gets different answers in each period. The child in his “guilt for initiation” stage accepts that he has an identity. Now, he has to find an answer to the question "what kind of person will I be?" This symbolizes a vital objective that he has acquired for himself. In this developmental period covering the pre-school age, the role model to be searched in response to that question is shaped through his mother and father, who are the closest to the child. If everything goes well, the answers the child could have at all stages are approved by the parents. "The theme of this stage is the identification of the child with his parents who were regarded as being great, powerful and involved in all things" (214). Instead of being indicated as a role model in the child's eyes, however, the mother is depicted as an individual, who must be helped, understood and empathized, due to the depression that followed the divorce process throughout story. Later on, this transfer passes on to the father and the story ends with him.

The beast mother, who is in the process of divorce throughout the text, remains as a depression symbol for the child character. "Depression is a mood that is manifested by a great deal of sadness, anxiety, guilt and worthlessness, distancing from others, and indifference to everyday activities such as sleep, appetite and loss of sexual desire" (Davison & Neale 235). The mother faces most of these problems in her life. The child states his mother's situation: "But sometimes the beasts can be very embarrassing. They may show their evil moods everywhere" (Sauermann 13). So much so that, this is such a strong outpouring that will cause the child to be ashamed of himself in social circles. The beast mother draws the portrait of depression with her attitudes and her affectivity when she is together with the child. "Some nights, beasts are so sad that they even tear off photographs that remind them that they were happy one day. This is a call for help; now it is the time for consolation." (14-5).

In the story, a breakup begins at this moment onwards. It is striking that the beast mother approaches to the child as if he is a shelter. "Sometimes beasts come to you at nights, and lie on your bed next to you" (16). Although the functions of protection and taking care should be mother’s responsibility, they are attributed to the child in the text. Then the child's need is told to the reader in humorous way: "This is a wonderful feeling, if they do not start snoring right away. Then, that great feeling disappears. It is so easy to defeat beasts in football. Even too easy than desired" (16-9). As the mother begins to spend more time with the child, the child begins to regain her childhood. As the roles of the mother and the child progress slowly, the father character, which is another object both for the mother and the child, is included in the story. The emergence of the father causes the roles of the child and the mother to change again. The tense relationship between the couple obliges the intervention of the child, instead of adults, who cannot protect their adulthood. "When the beast encounters the other beasts, bad things may occur. All of a sudden, both of them become more monstrous, and may even forget that they once loved each other. Then, you need to calm them down and show them everything is all right" (21-2). Due to the involvement of the beast father, the child, once again, is forced to show a maturity as opposed to his name.

Since depression is supposed to emerge from the repressed sense of a loss and unconsciously inward resentment, psychoanalytic treatment attempts to provide insight into the patient's repressed conflict, and encourage the person to express his/her introspective anger (Davison & Neale 252). The emergence of the father both in the text and in the illustrations has enabled the mother to experience the repressed sense of her loss (of her partner), to show outwardly her anger, and confront her past experiences. Thus, according to the psychoanalytic theory, depression begins to heal. "Even though the time may be too long to be measured by the individual in the depression or the people around him/her, most of the periods of depression pass within a few months" (ibid.). The child, who is the closest to the depressed beast mother, behaves in the same emotional state: "Nobody knows how long it would take for the beast to return to her former state. To achieve this; in addition to time, patience, lots of good summer days the mother should meet her old friends whom she has not seen for a long time..." (Sauermann 24-5) and the child continues to be in his supportive stance. On the other hand, the mother now gets close to the end of the divorce (loss) process, and thus, begins to fulfill her role as a mother and “…one day, right after you got used to her, the beast turns into your mother again. In the beginning, this may not be easy” (28-9). The child needs to reconcile with the mother and his childhood role. However, while the child is in this adaptation process, another dynamic gets involved. "Mothers are always better than the beasts; there is no doubt about it. Moreover, sometimes they fall in love again and feel really good about themselves." (30). With the advent of a new figure into the mother's life, the child's angry facial expression is reflected visually. Moreover, in the statement "even a little too good", this outpouring of the anger is conveyed ironically (31). After the loss of the unity of the parents with the marriage, and the advent of a new figure into the mother's life; the child this time experiences the loss of his mother in addition to the loss of his family. The loss here is not a real loss but the one designed to represent the child's spiritual world. With this loss he returns to his role at the beginning of the story. Because there is another person who has a similar loss; his father. Now, his father needs attention, love, and relevance. This time, the child, entering the same loop again, tries to heal his father: "Your father needs more time. And I play football with him then." (32-3).

In the parents-children relation, -even if the parents get separated or not- I should mention about what parents make children to acquire. However, in the story how the child helped his mother and father to acquire good things is written, and the child was given responsibility of an adult as a covert message. Thus, in the text the child is given a heroic role with responsibilities that are incompatible with his developmental processes. The divorce of parents, and hence, the psychological processes that they have experienced -like depression- do not overlap with the cognitive and psychosocial development of pre-school children, and therefore, the child character performs a superior cognitive performance that is incompatible with reality. If there are those, who have also experienced divorce, among the readers at the age group that the narrative is addressed, a message can be receipt by them by ascribing a non-realistic "role assignment": “You can also be a hero". This kind of example may cause psychological and behavioral problems such as perfectionism, and stress for a little reader, who makes such an attempt but cannot succeed. In this context, the message that The Child and The Beast would like to convey didactically to the readers touches a problematic point in consideration of the targeted audience. In a process such as divorce, which is a very sensitive subject, the sense of responsibility that the text imposes on the character can lead to negative effects on the development of children. For this reason, even though it is a very well written work that fosters empathy, there is a question mark in terms of pedagogy.

Bibliography

Davison, Gerald C. Ve John M. Neale. Anormal Psikolojisi. Çev. Ed. İhsan Dağ. Ankara: Türk Psikologlar Derneği

Yayınları, 2004.

Miller, Patricia H.. Gelişim Psikolojisi Kuramları. Haz. Bekir Onur. Çev. Zeynep Gültekin. Ankara: İmge Kitabevi,

2008.

Sauermann, Marcus. Ufaklık Ve Canavar. Çev. Ümit Mutlu. İzmir: Tudem Yayın Grubu,  2016.