Leeds Beckett University post-colonial literature expert Emily Zobel Marshall has accused Peter Rabbit author Beatrix Potter of upholding colonialism..“While rereading another collection of children’s stories featuring the ‘trickster hero’ Brer Rabbit — for my own book on how these folktales were introduced to North America by enslaved Africans — it became clear to me the similarities between Beatrix Potter’s tales and the Brer Rabbit stories demand further consideration,” said Marshall in an op-ed in the Conversation. .“The tales of Brer Rabbit can be traced back to pre-colonial Africa, from where they were transported to the plantations of America by enslaved people.” .The stories were first adapted for a white audience in the late 19th century by American journalist and folklorist Joel Chandler Harris. .Harris created a fictional African American narrator, Uncle Remus, for his stories, whose name became a popular title for the collections. Brer Rabbit is a cunning character who lives in briar patches and outwits larger animals using brains rather than brawn. .A Life in Nature author Linda Lear noted in her book while Potter’s first audience was British, her work was influenced by Harris, who she loved as a child. Lear wrote her tales were “favourably compared to Uncle Remus in early reviews of her work.”.One of the most striking references cited in A Life in Nature was a letter she wrote to her publisher Harold Warne in 1911. The letter is about her new Peter Rabbit story the Tale of Mr. Tod and refers to her use of Remus in this work. .“I think the story is amusing; its principal defect is its imitation of Uncle Remus,” she said..“It is no drawback for children, because they cannot read the Negro vernacular.” .Having analyzed the plot, language, and characters in Potter’s stories, Marshall said it is clear she was more than inspired by these folktales. She added her stories “owe a debt to the Brer Rabbit stories told by enslaved Africans working on American plantations that needs to be fully acknowledged.”.Brer Rabbit originated from the hare trickster figure of the Bantu people in south, central, and east Africa. She said those origins are known through careful comparisons of plot, structure, language, and characters in the stories..This character was known for outwitting his often more powerful animal adversaries using brains rather than brawn. The tales came to embody the tactics of resistance which slaves implemented to survive the brutality of plantation life. .Harris adapted them while living on the Turnwold Cotton Plantation in Georgia in the late 19th century. He would spend his evenings in the quarters of slaves, listening to them share these stories..Literary critics argued Potter's stories are anti-imperialist and anti-capitalist, highlighting the problems of private property and poor people. Others said she created a sexist world in which only men can have adventures and misbehave. .But above all, Marshall said the stories are viewed as quintessential English culture about characters conjured from Potter’s own mind and inspired by her life in rural England. What needs to be known is the stories were from folklore exposing and reflecting the violence, resistance, and survival tactics of plantation life. .The expert went on to say the Potter and Peter Rabbit brands are lucrative. However, she found no references to the African American sources of these stories in any of the museums and experiences in the United States or United Kingdom. .While Harris moved the stories out of reach for many African Americans and enforced minstrel stereotypes in Uncle Remus, he credited slaves as the storytellers. .In contrast, Marshall said Potter’s silencing of her sources led to the African American tales she used being passed over without acknowledgement or celebration. She said Brer Rabbit must be reasserted into people’s understanding and appreciation of her stories. .“For far too long, they have been stealing from his briar patch,” she said.
