Nia wk 3

Q: How does Attebery (1980) define Fantasy? Find at least 5 definitions.

A: Firstly according to Atterbery (1980) defining fantasy is mostly dependent on presenting the reader with “persuasive establishment and development of… impossibility, an arbitrary construct of the mind with all the control of logic and rhetoric.” Another definition given by Attebery is fantasy can be “any narrative which involves as a significant part of its make-up some violation of what the author clearly believes to be natural law. Though this can contradict fantasy to be’ fact’ once lulled into it, it is not slavery to the mind. One more definition of fantasy can be a “straightforward treatment of impossible characters, objects, or events…” This is said by Attebery to be believed by use of ‘commitment’ through the reader and writer. A somewhat negotiation of sustainable impression of the fantasy world once in it. In addition, for the fantasy to completely be what Attebery states as ‘fact’ it can also be called a “secondary belief” and this gives the impression of “an occasional sense of…wonder.” This wonder is further explained by Attebery as “fantasy [that] invokes wonder by making the impossible seem familiar and the familiar seem new and strange.

Reference

Attebery, B. (1980) The Fantasy Tradition in American Lierature: From lrving to Le Guinn. Blommington: Indiana U P, 1980.