“Real Isn’t How You Are Made”: Reconstructing the Real in The Velveteen Rabbit

Abstract

The paper develops an interpretation of Postmodern reality in The Velveteen Rabbit (1922) authored by Margery Williams Bianco. Reality is handled in the text as the most contested and subjective term that is based on how the receiver perceives and interprets, subsequently disavowing a monolithic view of reality. A vast dimension of reality adhering to the emotions of the characters that complicates the conventional understanding of reality shall be taken into account. The sensory perceptions of the characters create and transmit a sense of reality which is validated when love affirms itself as possessing a transformative effect on the characters. Without exploiting the thematic concern and relevance of the book, the paper attempts to problematize the fabric that constitutes reality. What lies crucial in the narrative is the manner in which fantasy functions as an apparatus that elides the boundaries and slippage between the real and the unreal. Additionally, fantasy functions as an alternate form of reality that manifests what lies beyond the apparent. The Baudrillardian notion of Simulacrum shall be put in place in order to question the presence of the real without definite and coherent origin of reality. The Posthumanist stance that surrounds the narrative breaks down the binary of human/non human category while showcasing that non-human constitutes our very embodiment of being.