Bachelorarbeit

Über das Thema

Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan

A comparison of English and Scottish fantasy literature

dem Prüfungsamt bei der

Johannes Gutenberg - Universität Mainz

Fachbereich Angewandte Sprach- und Kulturwissenschaft

vorgelegt von

Amina Belabbès

SS 2009

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Belabbès 2

Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan

Contents

I. Introduction 3

II. Fantasy Literature 4

A. A Definition of Fantasy 4

B. Victorian Fantasy 9

C. Children′s Fantasy 11

III. English Fantasy Literature 14

IV. Scottish Fantasy Literature 19

V. Alice in Wonderland 24

A. Lewis Carroll - Biography 24

B. Story 26

C. Characteristics that mark the story as English Fantasy 29

VI. Peter Pan 33

A. James Matthew Barrie ­ Biography 33

B. Story 34

C. Characteristics that mark the story as Scottish Fantasy 36

VII. Conclusion 38

VIII. Bibliography 42

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Belabbès 3

I. Introduction

`Fantasy literature′ is a term most people have come across at some point in their lives

nowadays. However, according to Colin Manlove, an expert on this field, ′fantasy′ as a

recognised genre only came into being in 1965, after the United States ′discovered′

Tolkien. After ten years "modern fantasy [already had] a very large readership, and

[enjoyed] considerable academic repute" (Manlove,

Modern

vii). since the recognition of

fantasy as a literary genre, "most have treated it as an international and mainly Anglo-

Saxon form" (Manlove:1999, 1). Therefore, it appears only reasonable to take a closer

look at the sort of fantasy literature that originates from the English-speaking countries.

In this case, the British Isles might be of special interest, because as far as the English-

speaking world is concerned, it is here that fantasy has its longest tradition. Some of the

best known authors of fantasy literature are of English or Scottish origin. Both England

and Scotland begot highly creative and sophisticated fantasists. And works of both

English and Scottish fantasy have had a great impact on the entire genre. Among the

English writers there are such famous names as C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien or Lewis

Carroll, and among the Scottish fantasists there are for example Robert Louis

Stevenson, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle or J. M. Barrie. Although they are neighbours and

share a common language, English and Scottish fantasists have always had very

different ways of expressing themselves.

The aim of this dissertation is to point out the similarities as well as the

differences of English and Scottish fantasy literature, in order to clarify what it is exactly

that characterises them. As there are a great many different pieces of literature which

provide material for the analysis and characterisation of Scottish and English fantasy,

statements on the two shall be underlined with examples. These should not differ too

much from each other with regard to their contents and the time frame in which they

were written in order for them to be more easily comparable. A famous English novel

belonging to the fantasy genre is

Alice′s Adventures in Wonderland (AAW)

written by

Lewis Carroll in 1865. It is often categorised as children′s fantasy. One of the most

famous pieces of Scottish fantasy literature, which was also written for children, is J. M.

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Barrie′s

Peter Pan (PP),

published in 1911. These two books will serve as the basis for

a comparison of English and Scottish fantasy literature.

At the beginning of this dissertation, the attempt for a general definition of the

term `fantasy literature′ will be made. This will be followed by a short characterisation of

fantasy in the historical context of the Victorian era, as well as a definition of the

category ′children′s fantasy′. Then there will be a general characterisation of Scottish

and then of English fantasy. After that, the two novels will be introduced, beginning with

short biographies of their authors, followed by summaries of their plots and then an

examination of the respective characteristics that mark them as either Scottish or

English. Based on the results of the analysis, the dissertation concludes with a

comparison of English and Scottish fantasy. The books written by Colin Manlove on

fantasy literature as a whole and on English and Scottish fantasy in general will serve

as the most important resource for this analysis.

II. Fantasy Literature

A. A Definition of Fantasy

In order to compare English and Scottish fantasy it is necessary understand the term

`fantasy′ as such. It is important to know the criteria that are used to determine whether

a work belongs to the genre of fantasy literature or not. As will be pointed out in this

chapter, defining fantasy literature is not as easy as it may appear at first glance.

But what exactly is fantasy literature? Usually it is associated with magic

creatures such as dragons, dwarves or fairies. This popular notion has, to a great

extent, been influenced by the success of contemporary fantasists such J. K. Rowling,

the author of the

Harry Potter

books, and by famous adoptions of classic fantasy books,

such as Tolkien′s

The Lord of the Rings

by the film industry. However, in order to

understand the real meaning of `fantasy′, it is necessary to look at more than just these

few examples and find out what books that belong to the genre have in common.

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Colin Manlove offers a simple definition that can be used for the purpose of

explaining the term `fantasy literature′: "Fantasy is fiction involving the supernatural"

(Manlove

Scottish,

1). This definition of fantasy, given in Manlove′s book

Scottish

Fantasy Literature: A Critical Survey

, goes beyond the kind of literature that merely

involves magical creatures and suggests that it can be anything that deals with the

supernatural. This statement is supported by other authors who tried to define fantasy

literature, among others Tzvetan Todorov. But is it really that simple? Does everything

that involves the supernatural belong to the fantasy genre? And does everything that

does not involve the supernatural not belong to the genre? And what exactly is the

`supernatural′ anyway?

In order to show the complexity of this topic, two more of Colin Manlove′s own

definitions, written before and after the one mentioned above, shall be compared. In his

book

Modern Fantasy,

written in 1975, Manlove states the following:

In the introduction to his

A Checklist of Modern Fantastic Literature

E. F. Bleiler writes,

If anyone were to ask me what is meant by the term ′fantasy′, I fear that I would

have to admit my ignorance. A year or so ago I would have had no difficulty

answering, but the compiling and reading involved in the preparation of the

Checklist

has forced me to realise that fantasy may be almost all things to all

men. I have often wished that the subject of this book were something with an

objective reality, such as minerals or plants.

(...) the definition of `fantasy′ which will be outlined here makes no claim to satisfy

everyone; all that matters ultimately is the isolation of a particular kind of literature.

However, though the name is relatively unimportant, that of `fantasy′ is kept here

because most people, Bleiler included, apply it to the books we shall be considering.

This understood, a fantasy is:

A fiction evoking wonder and containing a substantial and
irreducible element of the supernatural with which the mortal characters in the story or
the readers become on at least partly familiar terms

." (Manlove

Modern

, 1)

Manlove agrees with Bleiler that it is hard to determine exactly what fantasy literature is.

He therefore chooses a definition that fits the books he intends to present.

The last definition of fantasy that can be found in

The Fantasy Literature of

England

is intended to be what Manlove calls "a ring fence" and "a rule of thumb rather

than a thumbscrew" (Manlove

English

, 3).

The definition of fantasy in this book is ′a fiction involving the supernatural or impossible′

(...). ′Supernatural′ implies the presence of some form of magic or the numinous, from

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ghosts and fairies to gods and devils; ′impossible′ means what simply could not be, such

as (...) A.A. Milne′s animated toys in the

Pooh

books

.

(Manlove

English

, 3)

Here Manlove explains what is meant by the term `supernatural′, thereby answering one

of the questions asked at the beginning of the chapter. It also becomes apparent that

the term `fantasy′ does not have a fixed definition. It can be broadened or narrowed to fit

the desired subject matter.

It must now be stated that not everything that involves the supernatural (and the

`impossible′) belongs to the fantasy genre, however, as this is also a theme of `science

fiction′. There are many books that, in their titles, present `fantasy′ and `science fiction′

next to each other, which suggests at the same time that these two are equivalent in

their status as well as different in their respective content. It is known that science

fiction, such as H. G. Wells

The Time Machine,

also involves `supernatural′ or

`impossible′ elements. `Impossible′ in the sense that we do not think these elements to

be possible at the moment, but we can imagine that they might be in the future (for

example travelling at the speed of light) or `supernatural′ in the sense that we do not

know whether these things are natural, or whether they even exist somewhere or not

(for instance aliens). "Even stories which explore possibility in the form of `might-have-

been′ worlds remain on our terms science fiction" (Manlove

Modern

, 4). Fantasy, on the

other hand, does not usually try to present something that might one day become true

(although, for example, Mary Shelley′s

Frankenstein

displays characteristics that could

be interpreted otherwise). According to Manlove a work is not fantasy if it "sets out to

make us believe that such `authenticated′ incidents as (...) `A Relation of the Apparition

of Fairies, their seeming to keep a Fair, and what happened to a certain man that

endeavoured to put himself in amongst them′, really occurred." (Manlove

Modern

, 1) He

goes on to explain:

"Of the same order (...) [are] the photographs in Arthur Conan Doyle′s

The Coming of
the Fairies

(...). The aim in these works is to produce absolute credence in the reader.

Some Christian fantasies try to prove or make us come to believe in the existence of

God and heaven generally (...), but none ask us to take the particular stories or

characters they present simply at face-value." (Manlove

Modern

, 1)

Fantasy literature may not try to make the readers believe outright in what is presented

to them. However, fantasists seem to have the clear intention to make their creations

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appear as credible and authentic as possible. ,,Their object is to enlist their experience

and invention into giving a total vision of reality transformed: that is, to make their

fantastic worlds as real as our own" (Manlove

Modern

, 12).

In its preface the

Science Fiction and Fantasy Reference Index

explains that

fantasy and science fiction are actually only subgenres that belong to the genre of

"fantastic fiction". As the name most evidently suggests there are other genres that deal

with the supernatural, as Manlove, who himself mentions science fiction and allegory for

example, is well aware of. Thus, not all texts that deal with the supernatural can

rightfully be called fantasy literature.

Regarding the question of whether anything that does not involve the

supernatural also does not belong to the fantasy genre, it is clear that without any

supernatural element, a novel cannot belong to the fantasy genre. On the other hand,

there may be supernatural or impossible elements in fiction that is clearly not fantasy

literature. In order to be able to differentiate fantasy literature more clearly from any

other fiction, we need to go back to Manlove′s last definition of `fantasy′ and the

`supernatural′ and examine it more closely.

If fantasy involves the supernatural and if the supernatural implies "the presence

of some form of magic or the numinous," the exact meaning of `presence′ needs to be

determined. Manlove states that the mortal characters in the story or the readers need

to be on at least partly familiar terms with the supernatural elements. Therefore, if

`presence′ meant being present at the time and place in which a story is set, this would

be somewhat problematic. This meaning of `presence′ would imply that if the

supernatural is not directly involved in the action of a story, it would not be considered

fantasy literature, even if the supernatural is mentioned, even if all characters are at

least partly familiar with it and believe it is real and even if the narrator presents it as

real. The term `presence′ must therefore imply something else.

If `presence′ meant that the supernatural merely needs to be mentioned, a lot of

stories which are obviously not meant to be thought of as fantasy literature would have

to be considered as belonging to the genre. This would, for example, be the case for the

biography of a murderer who dreams of his victim as a ghost, even though this may be

a natural psychological occurrence.

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