Matthew Deng on "Purpose in Fantasy"

Purpose in Fantasy

By Matthew Deng 

            Several years ago, I abandoned the faith that I had been raised in. To my despair, I soon found that religion was the only bastion between me and the malignancy of nihilism. Like a ship floating in an empty sea, I found myself purposeless and lost. 

            Is my lack of faith to blame for this affliction? Is atheism the root of my nihilism? I recently read an article that argued that the causes for this bleak reality may be rooted in society itself. The embracement of science has created a disenchantment with the world. Events, destines, even miracles, are no longer the result of some divine agency – they can be explained by science and its indifferent causal processes. What arrogance, science! To monopolize truth, to belittle concepts of morality, and to throw away man’s God given purpose. What more is a boy to do but turn towards nihilism?

            However, I soon discovered an odd correlation. My existential attitude began around the same time that I stopped reading fiction for pleasure – one genre to be exact. That genre is fantasy. 

            Fantasy stories, regardless of their subgenre, celebrate the beauty of a meaningful world. 

Their universes are steeped in magic, they feature wars between factions of good and evil, and they send heroes on important quests – purpose by definition. Is this a nihilist’s kryptonite? Or the very opposite? Perhaps fantasy was the medication I needed for my existential crisis. 

            Fantasy offers a world without moral ambiguities or deficiencies in purpose. In this sense, high fantasy and low fantasy share no significant distinctions. While their respective stories may take place in varied settings, Middle Earth and normal Earth for example, these are only the backdrop for the battle between good and evil to be waged. The two genres’ potential divergences - their scope, their level of character development, their incorporation of magic - are only the subtler notes in the perfume of fantasy and are not nearly as important.

            Consider the realm of Middle Earth. In The Hobbit, an ordinary Baggins and his posse embark on a quest to retrieve the homeland of the dwarves. Purpose? Check. Next, it’s apparent that each race in the story shares not only physical and psychological characteristics but moral ones as well. These racial differences drastically limit the possibility for individual choice, but also make moral distinctions easy to maintain. All goblins, trolls, and wargs are inherently evil, while all elves are good. Morality is black and white. From the very beginning, the story has established its heroes, with Bilbo, Gandalf, and the Dwarf crew, and its villain, the dragon Smaug. Good vs. Evil? Check. The Hobbit’s continuation, the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, obeys this same formula, only on a bigger scale. This time around, the purpose is saving Middle Earth, there is a more impressive fellowship of heroes, and the primary villain, Sauron, is a Satan-like character bent on world domination.  

            The tenets of purpose and morality are equally present in low fantasy. Consider Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere. In this novel, ordinary Londoner Richard Mayhew becomes entangled in the dark, magical world of Below London. He encounters a girl named Door, and, whad’ya know, they embark on a quest. Door seeks the truth and Richard seeks home. Check! While the benevolence of many characters are ambiguous throughout the novel, their true natures are nevertheless set in stone. There’s Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandemar, two sadomasochistic, ultra-violent, cannibalistic killers who happen to be very talented at what they do. And then there’s the ex-angel, Islington, who admits responsibility to the death of millions. And I quote, “the angel’s serene beauty cracked; its eyes flashed; and it screamed at them […] utterly certain in its righteousness, “they deserved it.” Another Satan? Check. 

            The elements of purpose and morality are present in high fantasy, low fantasy, and everything in between. Harry, you have to destroy the Horcruxes and stop Voldemort! Gregor, you’re the prophesized warrior! Eragon, Galbatorix is evil and you’re our only hope! The creation of purpose draws readers into the pages of these books. Their stories are straightforward and morally innocent, devoid of the ambiguities, uncertainties, and indifference that manifests the real world. While there may be differing characteristics between high and low fantasy, they are not what define the genre, and are ultimately only window dressing. 

            Has fantasy healed me of my nihilism? Not necessarily. But, like Richard in Neverwhere, it has opened doors to other worlds where things, ironically, make more sense.