Week Three

Can you identify any common fantasy meta-narratives from your own reading/viewing?

To be honest, I did not know the definition of “meta-narrative”. Wikipedia answered and revealed it to be a story within a story, the metaphor of a much greater concept, usually tied with society. With this understanding, my mind quickly jumped to the CS Lewis novel, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, which has received considerable attention as a parallel of Christian teachings (i.e, the deceit of Edmund is likened to Judas, Aslan’s death and resurrection to that of Jesus, etc) Instead, I shall examine two favourite texts of mine, J.R.R Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings and J.K Rowling’s Harry Potter series, and the common meta-narratives I see that they share.

Fantasy literature appears very preoccupied with the concept of good and evil/ light and dark. We often witness a (usually young) protagonist, thrust against their will into a battle against the dark, concluding with the good side triumphant victory, often after numerous inner struggles. This is very obviously linked to everyday life however on a much grander scale. In fantasy novels, notions are portrayed in very definite terms whereas in real life we know that things are not quite so simple – black and white vs. shades of grey. In reality, for example, we would sympathise with the mother/family of the evil Sauron and debate his (clearly very bad) upbringing. As Arwen, we would be racked by jealousy every time Aragorn took off, convincing ourselves that he would be off plundering in all the Prancing Pony’s of Middle Earth! However, the fantasy genre is not concerned with these realities. W.R. Irwin (as cited in Attebery, 1980) points out that fantasy is an “overt violation of what is generally accepted as possibility” (p.3). Therefore, any meta-narratives presented will be on an exaggerated, metaphorical scale.

I begin with Harry Potter. These stories are considered as low-fantasy, in that its fantastical elements exist alongside the everyday world we inhabit. It also reveals a battle between good and evil which is much more relatable than in Lord of the Rings. The tribulations of the characters are identifiable and, despite many involving magic, they also refer continuously to the same Muggle world that we know. J.K Rowling also presents an extensive background for Voldemort (unlike Tolkien with Sauron). This battle between good and evil is a clear indication of an unbalance in power, with one always trying to one up the other. Voldermort is obsessed with power and one way this is asserted is through racist practices, like many famous figures throughout history (eg. Hitler). Muggles and mixed-bloods are on the receiving end of an enormous hate-campaign, which utilize the methods of the Ku Klux Clan. Indeed, in the movie version, the Death Eaters are presented in clothes similar in style!

But it is not just on the side of the darkness that we see this displayed. The Ministry of Magic talk about Muggles as citizens in need of protection. Muggles need wizards basically. The wizarding world are also very strict on keeping other magical beings separate, for example, only wizards can carry wands despite an abundance of creatures with the same potential, such as house elves. The house elves, furthermore, are an obvious parallel to slavery.

Enter the Lord of the Rings. The nine rings, which corrupt absolutely, have betrayed all those they have come into contact with. The master ring notoriously destroys, but its promise of power beckon even the unfaltering Gandalf. Man is particularly vulnerable to its call, and friendships are thus fractured i.e Boromir and Frodo. I link the ring with money (a by-product of power) which, due to greed and reckless wantonness, have overwhelmed governments and caused the loss of values in society. Elrond warned of this, which is why the Elves disappear into the West after acknowledging that the time of men has begun. Further indications of power and its corruption are noted with Sauron set on dominating Middle Earth, and Saruman who unites with Sauron and briefly implements a totalitarian regime in the Shire.

Do we see racism in Lord of the Rings? Yes and no, as the conflict between man and orc appears to be more an issue of what is in a creature’s nature, rather than a choice of racism, whereas the distrust between dwarf and elf seems also engrained into the overall psyche of a particular group. However, we see this resolved in the Lord of the Rings, thanks to a lasting friendship as a result of Gimli and Legolas fighting together.

Finally, slavery. I view the slavery in Lord of the Rings as a much more subtle meta-narrative than in Harry Potter: Middle Earth are all slaves to the pull of the ring (whether they like it or not), the Urak-Hai are slaves to Saruman, the trolls to the Balrog (of Moria), the wraiths to the ring and/or Sauron, the dwarves to their underground treasures, the elves to their ancient traditions. These concepts all appear metaphorically and transcend physical slavery. Instead, many refer to a slavery of the mind and are tied to the meta-narratives mentioned above, eg. Power.

To conclude, I have revealed the common meta-narratives present in two classic fantasy texts which are Slavery, Racism and Power. It is my belief that the struggle of power is the overall element, and is the crux of the good/evil battle that appears in some form in so much of fantasy literature.

References List

Books:

Attebery, B. (1980). The Fantasy Tradition in American Literature: from Urving to Le Guinn (pp.1- 10). Bloomington: Indian University Press

Rowling, J.K (1997-2007). Harry Potter (series 1-7).

London, England: Bloomsbury

Tolkien, J.R.R (1950). The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

London, England: Collins.

Websites:

The Lord of the Rings. Retrieved August 2, 2011 from Wikipedia website:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Rings_film_trilogy

Metanarrative. Retrieved August 2, 2011, from Wikipedia website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metanarrative