Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan

  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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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

(…) 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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If ‘presence’ means that the supernatural elements are presented as ‘real’ by the narrator and regarded as real by all or most characters within the fictional work, fiction in which supernatural elements are clearly designated as belonging to dreams or illusions could not be called fantasy. It would not be fantasy if the narrator presented something as ‘unreal’, as is the case for dreams or illusions, even if the characters and the reader become familiar with the supernatural. But if the supernatural had to be presented as ‘real’ throughout the entire story to be regarded as fantasy literature, works like Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, which Manlove seems to regard as belonging to the fantasy genre, would not be considered fantasy, because at the end the reader and the characters come to know that the fantastic that happened was in fact ‘unreal’.

It may therefore be reasonable to assume that a work can be called fantasy if it is presented as ‘real’, at least throughout most of the story, and if the reader and the characters become at least partly familiar with the supernatural. As was suggested at the beginning of this chapter, the term ‘fantasy’ is rather flexible and considering that Alice would hardly fit into any other genre either, it is probably safe to regard the book as belonging to the genre, even if it may not be the purest form of fantasy.

Nevertheless, it is hardly surprising that Bleiler and Manlove both agree on the term fantasy being almost indescribable and that it is only possible to try and create a “rule of thumb rather than a thumbscrew”. It is too hard to make out exactly where fantasy begins and where it ends – the edges are very blurry as soon as the supernatural is involved in one form or another. However, Manlove also explains that “there are of course questions regarding who decides what is supernatural and how much of it is present, when many disagree on its limits: but often it is the text itself which signals what is supernatural or not within its own world. Obviously the amount and the kind of the supernatural will vary” (Manlove English, 3).

To sum it up, not everything that involves the supernatural is fantasy literature, because different works may involve the supernatural for a whole range of different reasons, as is the case if we compare science fiction and fantasy literature. It is safe to say, though, that anything that does not involve supernatural elements at all does not belong to the genre. Especially when it comes to dreams and illusions, the definition of

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the 'supernatural' can be somewhat fuzzy. Sometimes it may be the text itself that reveals whether it belongs to the fantasy genre or not.

B. Victorian Fantasy

When we look at Victorian fantasy literature we must also look at Victorian era in general. This particular period is named after Queen Victoria of Great Britain. It officially begins with her ascension to the throne in 1837 and ends with her death in 1901. During that time there were many events of great importance that shaped not only that era but that still have influence on our society as it is today, such as the publication of Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species (1859) or the invention of the telephone by Alexander Graham Bell (1876). It was not only a period of scientific, but also of religious changes. Nevertheless, in the nineteenth century it was still “impossible to separate aesthetics from theology and social thought" (Prickett 19). The Gothick, which had become en vogue right before the Victorian era, had, for the first time, provided poets with “a language in which to talk about areas of human experience for which they had no conceptual framework” (Prickett 31). And it was “at the beginning of the nineteenth century [that] the word fantasy changed its meaning radically in the course of a single generation." (Prickett 5) Earlier the expression was used to designate some kind of “delusion, hallucination, or simply wishful thinking” (Prickett 5). Fantasy “signified a kind of imagination one might expect to find in a madmen – or children” (Prickett 6).

From being terms of derision, or descriptions of daydreaming, words like fantasy and imagination suddenly began to take on new status as hurrah words. People began to feel that the very unreality of fantasy gave its creations a kind of separate existence, an autonomy, even a “real life” of their own. They even began to feel differently about madmen and children, who now became objects of interest. The word Romanticism is a loose enough term to describe this shift in sensibility (…). (Prickett 6) In 1823, a selection of Grimm’s fairytales was translated into English and with this the reading and writing of fantasy literature began with a flourish. “Magical and marvellous stories (…) were now being rediscovered as a source of spiritual ‘dynamism’“ (Prickett 9). Nevertheless, according to Rosemary Jackson,