( The magical land: ecological consciousn~ in fantasy romance. J~ica TifFm Thesis submitted for the degree of Master of Arts University of Cape Town 1995 University of Cape Town The copyright of this thesis vests in the author. No quotation from it or information derived from it is to be published without full acknowledgement of the source. The thesis is to be used for private study or non- commercial research purposes only. Published by the University of Cape Town (UCT) in terms of the non-exclusive license granted to UCT by the author. University of Cape Town The magical land: ecological consciousness in fantasy romance. The modem genre of fantasy romance is a relatively recent development in popular literature, and one which is gaining increasing popularity. In its contemporary form, fantasy romance has developed from earlier fantasy and romance forms, and a generic base which includes romance, comedy and pastoral can be identified. Conventional fantasy romance is concerned with the defense of a magical land, characterised in terms of beauty, health and balance, from some destructive threat. This concern with the health of the land reflects modem ecological consciousness and awareness of potential environmental destruction. Ecological awareness can be traced through critical analysis of various works of fantasy romance. J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rin~s, as the text which marked the beginning of the modem fantasy romance form, shows the potential for ecological awareness in the genre, although Tolkien' s cultural context of post-war England in some ways inhibits ecological consciousness in the narrative. The development of a more modem ecological consciousness is studied through investigation of the Riddlemaster trilogy of Patricia A. McKillip, which shows a more abstracted sense of environmental destruction expressed through a concern with power and identity. Stephen Donaldson's Chronicles of Thomas Covenant provides a narrative awareness of generic convention which could be construed as postmodem. Derrida's deconstruction of the notion of genre allows an interesting insight into Donaldson's processes of generic mixing, although the narrative's success is ultimately compromised by Donaldson's lack of authorial control. Sheri S. Tepper's True Game series displays a highly contemporary conflation of ecological concerns with those of feminism, as the destructive impulses of largely male competitiveness are contrasted to an organic and intuitive female response to the land. Orson Scott Card's Alvin Maker series, in its depiction of an alternative settler America, integrates ecological concerns with those of racial harmony, while his construction of a messianic hero recalls Card's own Mormon background. Finally, some attention is given to fantasy romance as a potentially escapist genre rather than one which inspires actual ecological awareness, and links are made with popular elements in the ecological movement itself. The thesis concludes by proposing the relevance of fantasy romance's magical land as a regenerative ideal of health and beauty in an increasingly ugly and ecologically deteriorating modem environment. I would like to thank various people whose assistance with this thesis I greatly appreciate. My supervisor, Prof. John Cartwright, for his invaluable comments and limitless patience. Nicholas Gevers, for notes, advice, and the loan of books. Other book loaners - Andrew, Michelle, and especially Eckhard. The Tolkien society, for arguing vociferously with almost everything I had to say. Julia Martin of UWC, for allowing me access to her reader on ecological literature. Mark, for kind loan of the laser printer. My housemates, for their tolerance, support and endless cups of tea, and for enduring for three months the large sign on the front door saying "What's a Derrida?". My parents, for insisting that I got here in the first place, and for making it possible. Contents Chapter 1; Introduction - fanta~y a~ Ccnre................................................. p. 1 Sword and sorcery: fantasy as genre. Easy reading: fantasy as popular culture. Wishful thinking: fantasy as romance. Happy endings: fantasy as comedy. Restoring green peace: fantasy as pastoral. The green world: the land as ecological construct. Chapter 2: J.Q.Q. Tolkien's lord ofthe /}jf18& ..•....•.................•...............•. p.23 Tolkien's Elves: the land as Other. Tom Bombadil: the marginalised presence of the pagan. The marvel of the trees: Ents and the active land. Domestic comedy: the hobbits and the taming of the land. The magic of Middle-Earth: externalised paternalism. The threat to the land: ecological versus moral flaw. Middle-Earth's heroes: legend walking the land. Conclusion: the passing of Middle-Earth. Chapter 3: Patricia A. McKillip'~ /JiddlemacBlcr trilogy.......................... p. 47 The power in every stone: McKillip's dangerous land. Knowing one's own name: identity in the defense of the land. The farmer prince: pastoral and the impossibility of peace. Threat from within: the complexities of otherness. Chapter 4: &.ephen Donaldron'~ 'I'homacB Covenant ~ries.................. p. 61 Thomas Covenant: the ecological anti-hero? The land: health, beauty, power, destroyed from within. The rules of power: restraint and ward. Psychological fantasy: the failure of genre? Chapter 5: ~heri ~- Tepper'~ Troe Game ~ries....................................... p. 83 Little Star and the Daylight Bell: marginal narrative. Lorn: the dis/integrated world. Talent, attachment and (feminist) angst: human relationships in the True Game world. Claws that Snatch: gods, bao and mercy killing. Chapter 6: Orron &otl Card'~ Alvin Haler ~rics.............................. p. 101 The Promised Land: fantasy as religious doctrine. The green song: the land in balance. Making the Crystal City: Alvin as ecological hero? Conclusion: greater than the land. Chapter 7: Conclu~ion~ - Ecological Escape'? ............................................ p. 117 Primary texts ............................................................................................. p. 127 Other fantasy texts cited ............................................................................. p. 128 Bibliography of critical works .................................................................... p. 133 Chapter One: Introduction - fantasy as Genre. It is part ofthe essential malady of four] days­ producing the need to escape, not indudfrom life but from our present time and self-made misery - that we are acutely conscious both of the ugliness ofour works, and oftheir evil. So that to us evil and ugliness seem indissolubly allied. JRR Tolkien, •on Fairy Stories• The realm has had many names over the centuries. Initially it was the Garden of Eden or Arcadia, the land of the Golden Age. More lately, it has been Logres, Lyonesse, Huy Brasil, Avalon or the Forest Perilous. In this century it is all of these and more: Middle­ Earth, Narnia, Earthsea, Nehwon. It may be an anthropomorphised planet or an unplaced and nameless realm. It may simply be called "the Land." It may even be America. It has always been the land of dreams. It exists primarily in the form of prose narrative, but also in poetry, film, graphic novel, even popular music. Its centre is enchanted beauty, its inhabitants are heroes, its history that of the quest which defends it against threat of destruction. Those who dismiss it with contempt recognise it nonetheless. It is kin to mythology and to the powerful archetypes of the unconscious mind. The magical land of romance and modem fantasy operates as a powerful ideal within a Hterary genre which has expanded radically within the last twenty years. Increasing sales in fantasy and science fiction mark the development of a thriving popular culture. This culture is obviously highly diverse, but it finds one specific expression in the form of romance- a form which offers, potentially, wish fulfillment in the successful completion of the hero­ quest I. As always with a popular genre, the question of contemporary relevance is continually raised by the exponents and critics of "serious" literature, usually as a precursor to a contemptuous dismissal of fantasy novels as sheer escapism. The popular production of a non-realist narrative whose literary roots are found among mythic and psychological The concept of "hero" and "hero-quest" are relics of older genres, and are extremely problematical in a modem age of feminist awareness. Some of the heroic protagonists in the contemporary texts discussed are female, but their function in the narrative is often very similar to that of the traditional hero of the quest narrative. Despite problems attached to the term, I use "hero" and "hero-quest" in my historical account of genre to imply the traditional (male) sense, but intend the terms to be non­ gender-specific when applied to modem fantasy texts. I have discussed problems and developments in gender roles specifically when they arise. genres seems to some an unlikely ground for the discussion, in however tangential a form, of serious contemporary issues. This thesis, however, attempts to draw a parallel between the recurring depiction of the magical land in modern fantasy, and the development of an increasingly desperate awareness of the natural environment in modern culture. Discussion of the potentially escapist nature of fantasy romance will be reserved for the final chapter of the thesis. Don D. Elgin prefaces his study of ecological narrative with the statement, "That the twentieth