Roald Dahl’s stories have touched the imagination of several generations of children, and not so children. He writer He is responsible for stories like Matilda or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which have been adapted several times for audiovisuals.
In recent days, Roald Dahl has become a trend again, although not because of the stories in his books —well, yes, but no—, but because of some words that he uses in them and that, in the opinion of the editors of Puffin Booksa seal of Penguin Booksare not appropriate for today’s audience.
Several of the books of the bibliography of the British writer are being republished to adapt the inclusive language to Roald Dahl’s narrative.
Words like “fat”, “crazy”, or calibrations when making allusions to the genre are making their way into the new editions that Puffin Books will launch.
Inclusive language reaches the work of Roald Dahl
The Puffin Books editorial team is working closely with Roald Dahl Story Company, owned by Netflix for the review of the books. From Puffin they indicate (through The Telegraph) that the objective of this review is that the stories “can continue to be enjoyed by everyone today.”
In Charlie and the Chocolate FactoryFor example, August Loop it is no longer “fat”, but “huge”. The Oompa-Loompas they are no longer “little men”, but “little people”, removing the gender discrimination from the original text. References like “no taller than my knee” and the like have also been removed.
Another work that is being “made up” is Matilda, with Miss Trunchbull changing her English title from “most formidable female” to “most formidable woman”. The young Matilda, moreover, no longer reads Rudyard Kipling, but Jane Austen.
More changes are expected in stories like James and the Giant Peach o The Witches, as the Puffin Books team continues to adapt Roald Dahl’s books to today’s society, not how the author intended.
