© 1983 Don W. King

This essay first appeared in HIS 43 (April 1983): 28-29, published by InterVarsity Christian Fellowship.

The fantasy worlds of C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, Charles Williams, and George MacDonald offer Christian readers an escape from the harsh realities of this world.

Tolkien suggested that we should liken our thoughts of escape to those of a prisoner rather than a deserter. A prisoner wishes to escape the dirt, filth, and stuffiness of his cell; a deserter runs away because he lacks to courage to face reality. So when a Christian enjoys the world of a fantasy novel for its justice or mystery or beauty, he is not a deserter. He is a prisoner dreaming of another world where the air is fresh, life is new, and hope is real.

To understand why fantasy literature holds such allure for us, let's look a four general characteristics that distinguish it from other literary genres: 1) setting, 2) unique transitions into that setting, 3) inhabitants, and 4) themes.

Most fantasies are concerned with "other" worlds. The physical setting and composition of these worlds are not unlike our own: they contain rivers, seas, oceans, mountains, trees, flowers, suns, moons, stars, animals, and peoples. But there are marked differences: rivers and seas contain magic water; mountains are more mysterious; trees and flowers are more alive; the animals are humanlike-they can talk.

In addition to the unusual qualities of these other worlds, the transition from our world to another is often unique. In MacDonald's Lilith, Mr. Vane enters Lilith's world by following a huge talking raven through a mirror that has been precisely adjusted in relationship to the sun. In Lewis' The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, a group of children accidentally enter Narnia through the back wall of a closet. The effect of such entrances is always delightful for avid lovers of fantasy.

In her book The Lion of Judah in Never-Never Land, Kathryn Lindskoog tells of hearing this story: "A few years ago I learned of a family here in Oxford who, one Sunday afternoon, finished reading their little boy The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe . . . While the parents were having tea downstairs, such a terrible racket began upstairs they thought the house was falling in. They rushed up to find their son with a hachet. He had smashed through the back of his parent's wardrobe and was hacking away at the wall behind it. I'm told the only way to save the house was to read him another story of Narnia."

Fantasy literature is further identified by its inhabitants. These inhabitants are typically the many creatures of our childhood (and adult) imaginations: witches, ogres, dragons, trolls, werewolves, goblins, giants, wizards, elves, and dwarves. Talking lions, mice, beavers, badgers, horses, bears, wolves, dogs, and squirrels abound, as well as mythical creatures such as fauns, satyrs, wood nymphs, water sprites, unicorns, minotaurs and centaurs. Tolkien went so far as to create an entirely new creature to inhabit Middle Earth: the hobbit, whose outstanding characteristics are stealth, hairy feet and love of food, drink, and tobacco.

Another creature lives in these fantasy worlds-homo sapiens. The presence of human beings helps draw the reader's imagination into other worlds. Unless we can actually visualize ourselves living, breathing, and moving through such places, there is little hope that we will seriously pursue the other worlds of fantasy literature.

The final distinguishing mark of fantasy is theme: first, the conflict bewteen good and evil, and second, the quest. In MacDonald's The Princess and the Goblin, both themes are apparent. Princess Irene is captured by the comically grotesque king of goblins to be a bride for his simpleton son. Curdie, a young miner and the personification of goodness, is called upon to regain the little princess, and his quest leads him through various battles and conflicts.

Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy also employs both themes. The quest concerns the journey to the Cracks of Doom where an ancient and powerful ring (carried by hobbit Frodo Baggins) must be destroyed. Along the way, Frodo and company are assisted by the forces of good while the forces of evil attempt to capture the ring. In many ways Frodo's pilgrimage is similar to Christian's in Pilgrim's Progress.

In The Charwoman's Shadow by Lord Dunsany, the conflict involves a deceptive wizard and his naïve assistant, Ramon Alonzo. In order to pay back the wizard for having learned magic, Ramon must give up his shadow. Unfortunately, Ramon discovers that spiritual salvation can only be complete when one is accompanied by his shadow, and thus his quest becomes the recovery of his shadow.

Lewis also integrates Christian symbolism into his themes. In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe we find the clearest example of this integration. Aslan the lion and Jadis the witch become embroiled in as struggle for the life of a the human child Edmund. According to ancient Narnian law (Deep Magic), all traitors were to become the property of Jadis. Slightly bewitched by Jadis, Edmund had betrayed his brother and sisters and stood under condemnation of death. Aslan, however, recalling an even older Narnian law (Deeper Magic-if a willing victim is killed in a traitor's stead, Death will start to work backwards) offered himself for Edmund. Here the parallel to the atonement is obvious.

The importance of these two themes cannot be overemphasized. They give fantasies a vision of life centered upon morality; when we enter another world, we do not lose the reality of moral responsibility. Evil actions in Narnia are no less evil because they occur in a fantasy world. Evil is evil no matter where it occurs, and good is good regardless of the environment.

Most fantasies have a happy ending. Many people view happy endings as less-than-real. They argue that life usually ends unhappily. As A. E. Housman says in A Shropshire Lad, "Therefore, since the world has still / Much good, but less good than ill, / And, while the sun and moon endure / Luck's a chance, but trouble's sure / I'd face it as a wise man would / And train for ill and not for good."

These critics are right, of course: fantasies do deny the basic reality of this life. However, since fantasies occur in other worlds, we should not expect realistic endings. Happy endings are real for fantasies. And they are valid because they momentarily life us from the bleakness of our own world.

Fantasy can give us a feeling of mystery and wonder about life. Places where trees and animals talk, where mice and men fight together, and where life appears more attractive awaken our minds to wonder and longing. Fantasies can become the means by which our imaginations are fully baptized so that we can completely experience the beauty of our own world.

Literary critic Robert Crossley has ably expressed this: "What keeps successful fantasy from self-indulgence or that decadence of mere novelty is that . . . [the eye is directed] back to the richness of ordinary things. With access of knowledge and power the reader may return to his own world, his consciousness of self, others, and environment refreshed and cleansed." Lewis put it another way when he said that little boys read of enchanted woods and "the reading makes all woods a little enchanted."

Fantasy is also valuable because it hints at our final union with God. Various passages of Scripture emphasize the reawakening of nature when Christ returns: "Let the field exult, and everything in it! Then shall all the trees of the wood sing for joy before the Lord, for he comes" (Ps. 96:12-13), and "Let the floods clap their hands; let the hills sing for joy together before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth" (PS. 98:8-9). In many fantasies the reawakening of nature has already occurred, and the longing such an awakening creates within the reader helps him anticipate God's final reconciliation with nature and with humankind.

Finally, fantasy is a means of escape. I am not suggesting that Christians should avoid the realities of this world by losing themselves in other worlds. Christ did not pray that we be taken out of the world (Jn. 17:15). We are to accept our responsibilities in this world and do them well. However, we must not be burdened by the pressures of this world. Fantasies offer us an escape from the ugliness of this world, and such escapism is not negative, but courageous. As Christian prisoners in a world that is often dirty, disgusting, and demeaning, our escape is not desertion, but deliverance.

The importance of fantasy literature should not be glorified, but neither should it be belittled. According to Tolkien, the greatest fantasy of all time was the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. This happy ending, which he termed the Great Eucatastrophe, "is supreme; and it is true. . . . God is the Lord, of angels, and of men-and of elves. Legend and history have met and fused." The greatest fantasy of all is the very one that came true.