The Fantastic
Fantasy and Science Fiction
Fantastic Stories
Fantastic Stories ask us to
imagine alternative worlds,
which challenge and
provoke controversy and
debate about possibilities in
human experience.
In other words, fiction of the
Fantastic allows us to the
see the world with new
eyes...
An overview
The Fantastic is the literature of change - It creates a
world where anything can happen, limited only by the
mind of the writer. It is a place both beyond and within
reality, a place that could have been, or might be, if only
the rules of the Universe were altered just a bit. The
Fantastic allows one to go beyond the mundane nature
of the everyday world, into a realm of magic, fantasy,
myth, horror or science – however, each of these
worlds must have a set of norms the reader can
understand and follow.
Science fiction could happen,
fantasy couldn't.
Evolution of fantasy
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Fantasy, in its archaic form, dealt
with the fairy tale and the heroic
epic - and the corresponding
issues of education, personality,
morality, duty and relationship
that went along with such an
exploration.
Supernatural tales were a way of
relating ordinary themes of
everyday life in extraordinary
ways, thus inspiring the reader
not only to magical worlds of
disbelief, but also, educating him
on important issues which were
universal in nature. Fantasy,
contrary to its name, always
carries an element of truth within
it.
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Fantasy provides our
modern, materialistic and
so-called ‘enlightened’
culture with a sense of
spirituality or a numinous
mysticism.
Fantasy has its roots in
mythology, as do most
religions, and is
attempting to see beyond
the mere physical reality
of our world.
Science ‘Fictions’
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Science Fiction is imaginary
writing based on current or
projected scientific technological
developments
This fiction deals with the
influence of real or imagined
science on society or individuals.
A story based on fictional,
scientific possibilities.
A form of fiction that draws
imaginatively on scientific
knowledge and/or speculation.
literary fantasy involving the
imagined impact of science on
society
A kind of fiction that could only
result from a scientificallyinfluenced worldview.
Jung and Fraser
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The works of Carl Jung, one of
the founding fathers of
Psychology, and anthropologist
Sir James Frazer, lead to
archetypal criticism.
What both Jung and Frazer show
is that ritual, dreams and by
extension, fantasy literature, tell
us a great deal about the inner
workings of our mind and soul.
Carl Jung claimed that, "All the
works of man have their origin in
creative fantasy."
"When we read a good fantasy
we are being admitted into the
subterranean worlds of our own
souls."