Modern Allegory and Fantasy - Hardcover

Inhaltsangabe

This study attempts to explore much of the discussion with regard to the modern allegorical and fantasy genres. The author argues that much of the discussion that takes place does so in terms of received opinion about the genres, opinion that not only distorts but obscures. The 20th century, particularly from the 1950s onward, has produced an enormous amount of writing about alternative worlds; utopia, dystopia, fantasy, science fiction, allegory and fable. This work, which feeds upon the desires, shames and fears of the contemporary world, has come to provide a major forum for the presentation of social and political issues both within the writings themselves and the critical and theoretical discussion about them. Grounding itself on a survey of contemporary works about genre, the study moves on to search among the confusing literatures related to allegory and fantasy for a helpful guide to the use of those terms. In the process it explores many of the major 20th century contributions to the field, from Freud, Tolkien and Huizanga, to Brooke-Rose, Todorov and de Man, and seeks out the analogies that inform their arguments: from apocalypse, prophecy, entropy and evolution, to deceit, desire and radioactive decay. In conclusion, the author examines women's writing in the genre, (Atwood, LeGuin, Riecey and Russ) and attempts to show that a genre theory that neglects rhetorical stance, or the way that readers, writers and texts interact in historical place and time, not only severely curtails the possible readings but also restricts the range of social activity which may result from those readings.

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