IMAGINARY FRIENDS:
ENGAGING THE UNCONSCIOUS MIND THROUGH PICTURE BOOKS
Written by Cleonique Hilsaca
MFA Critical Essay, Spring 2025
ENGAGING THE UNCONSCIOUS MIND THROUGH PICTURE BOOKS
Written by Cleonique Hilsaca
MFA Critical Essay, Spring 2025
“Imaginary Friends” investigates the potential of the ‘imaginary friend’ as a
narrative device in picture book storytelling. By combining the research of Marjorie
Taylor on ‘imaginary companions’ and Lois Rostow Kuznets on ‘toy animals’ in
literature, I seek to give form to the concept of the imaginary friend, to then explore
the phenomenon further by delving into the intellectual heritage of the imaginary
and the unconscious mind. To explain how the imaginary friend works as a visual
metaphor in illustrated narratives, I borrow principles of image-making and their
effect on children, as discussed by Martin Salisbury, Morag Styles, and Molly Bang.
Through examples by picture book makers Maurice Sendak, who uses the device
in the form of the ‘wild thing’ in Where the Wild Things Are (1963), and Shaun
Tan, in the form of the ’creature’ in Eric (2010), I illuminate the imaginary friend at
work. Following a thread of scientific theory into artistic practice, while analyzing
the benefits of imaginative play and fantasy in readers by Gianni Rodari and J.R.R.
Tolkien, I find the value of the liminal nature of the imaginary friend in children’s
literature. Ultimately, I argue for its function as a doorway for young readers to
engage with the world of picture books in unique and insightful ways.
narrative device in picture book storytelling. By combining the research of Marjorie
Taylor on ‘imaginary companions’ and Lois Rostow Kuznets on ‘toy animals’ in
literature, I seek to give form to the concept of the imaginary friend, to then explore
the phenomenon further by delving into the intellectual heritage of the imaginary
and the unconscious mind. To explain how the imaginary friend works as a visual
metaphor in illustrated narratives, I borrow principles of image-making and their
effect on children, as discussed by Martin Salisbury, Morag Styles, and Molly Bang.
Through examples by picture book makers Maurice Sendak, who uses the device
in the form of the ‘wild thing’ in Where the Wild Things Are (1963), and Shaun
Tan, in the form of the ’creature’ in Eric (2010), I illuminate the imaginary friend at
work. Following a thread of scientific theory into artistic practice, while analyzing
the benefits of imaginative play and fantasy in readers by Gianni Rodari and J.R.R.
Tolkien, I find the value of the liminal nature of the imaginary friend in children’s
literature. Ultimately, I argue for its function as a doorway for young readers to
engage with the world of picture books in unique and insightful ways.
Read the full essay at WashU's Scholarly Repository
