"One of my fears was that if I did get the grant, I'd think, 'Oh no, not more of this,'" she said. "But I'm actually looking forward to it." Kitsis believes children's books are critical in the formation of society. "Ideologically, it's the most important kind of literature," said Kitsis. "Children's books universally address both a child and an adult."
Kitsis also had more personal reasons for doing a thesis that required research about the Land of Oz. "It was really cool to have a thesis where all your source books have pictures," she said.
The choice of Russian-language literature was more straightforward. In addition to being a Russian major, Kitsis also studied in St. Petersburg last spring semester, and it was there that she began to solidify ideas about her thesis topic.
The situation of children in the former Soviet Union has proven to be particularly interesting. "You have a generation of children that's undergoing these astounding changes," she said.
On her trip to Russia, Kitsis noted that Russia's Westernization has come at the cost of native culture. "Disney is just on every street corner. It's sort of sad," she said. "You hope that traditions are being preserved, that not everything is being tossed out."
Translations in Pooh
In her thesis, Kitsis considered Russian translations of "Winnie the Pooh," "Alice in Wonderland" and "The Wizard of Oz."
She admits to having chosen these three "partly because of personal fondness." Of course, they are also all "classics that have endured the test of time," according to Kitsis. "All three books really highlighted the tension between the adult and child reader."
As the translations were done during the communist era, Kitsis expected to see some ideological manipulation of the text, in order to turn children's entertainment into Communist propaganda. To some extent, her expectations were accurate.
For example, she found the translation of "The Wizard of Oz" to have a very different message than that of the English version.
"The original book has a lot to do with independence," Kitsis explained. In the English version, Dorothy discovers that she can get through most of her difficulties on her own.
But the Russian version is quite different, according to Kitsis. In this translation, Elli (Dorothy) becomes very dependent on the other characters in the book and is unable to make it without them. "In the Soviet Union, it's about the importance of group effort," she said.
As she read through the translations, Kitsis also found something that she had not anticipated. "Some of the books did exactly the opposite of what I expected," she said. "Some of the books were much more subversive in the Russian translation than the original."
What was a relatively harmless story in England, Kitsis discovered, can take on an entirely different meaning for Russian people. The end of "Alice in Wonderland" was indicative of this change in context. In both versions, the Knave of Hearts is tried at the end of the book for stealing the Queen of Hearts' tarts. In England, this might have made reference to Queen Victoria, but scholars are undecided, according to Kitsis. In Russia, the trial was viewed as a discrete commentary on the recent trial of dissident writers Andrei Siniavsky and Yuli Daniel.
Set in Estonia
With her Fulbright, Kitsis will study children's books in Estonia. She came up with the idea for her Fulbright proposal during her semester abroad, which included a brief trip to Estonia.
Kitsis' new project aims to show what is "going on now" in Estonia-that is, to see how Estonian children's literature has changed since the fall of the Soviet Union.
Estonian literature is likely to be even more of a challenge for Kitsis than Russian. For one thing, Kitsis does not speak Estonian, and she is not very optimistic, calling it "a horribly, horribly, painfully difficult language to learn."
Though she will begin classes this summer, she plans to study very simple children's books. "I'm not going to be taking on the Estonian translation of 'Alice in Wonderland,'" she said.
Ultimately, Kitsis would like to attend graduate school in Slavic studies. Even so, she cannot seem to leave behind her taste for children's literature. "I would be thankful if children's literature could remain an interest."
Kitsis admits that after all the analysis, her enjoyment of the books may have been complicated somewhat. "I hope I haven't spoiled it for myself," she said. "It's never going to be as simple, as childish as it was."
For Kitsis, this new perspective is not all bad: "You could say ruined, you could say enriched."