Th ough he Po al and in o he Ques : Robe Jo dan’s
The Wheel o Time and China Mié ille’s Un Lun Dun
Rui Miguel Ma ins Ma eus
Disse ação de Mes ado em Línguas, Li e a u as e
Cul u as – Es udos Ingleses e No e-Ame icanos
Se emb o 2017
Disse ação ap esen ada pa a cump imen o dos equisi os necessá ios à
ob enção do g au de Mes e, ealizada sob a o ien ação cien í ica da
P o esso a Dou o a Te esa Bo elho.
DECLARAÇÕES
Decla o que es a disse ação é o esul ado da minha in es igação pessoal e
independen e. O seu con eúdo é o iginal e odas as on es consul adas es ão de idamen e
mencionadas no ex o, nas no as e na bibliog a ia.
O candida o,
Decla o que es a disse ação se encon a em condições de se ap eciado pelo jú i a
designa .
O(A) o ien ado (a),
Ag adecimen os
Es a disse ação é o esul ado de um longo p ocesso de in es igação que en ol eu
um g ande núme o de pessoas e às quais gos a ia de ag adece . Em p imei o luga ,
ag adeço à p o esso a Te esa Bo elho odo o apoio, conselhos e comen á ios que o am
undamen ais pa a a ealização da disse ação e po odos os ecu sos que me disponibilizou
ao longo des e pe íodo.
Ag adeço ao co po docen e do Mes ado de Línguas, Li e a u as e Cul u as oda a
sua dedicação que, de uma o ma ou de ou a, me ajudou a conclui es e abalho.
Pa a a minha amília, um g ande ob igado, e em especial ao meu i mão, cujos
conselhos o am p eciosos e acili a am, em á ios aspec os, a ealização da disse ação.
Que o ag adece ainda a odos os meus amigos que assis i am a es e p ocesso de
in es igação, em especial à Débo a San ana, que me acompanhou desde o início e com
quem oquei ideias que con ibuí am posi i amen e pa a es e abalho.
Po im, que o ag adece à Vanessa San os e à Conceição San os odo o empo que
disponibiliza am pa a e e e co igi a disse ação.
Resumo
Abs ac
A a és do Po al e pa a a Demanda: The Wheel o Time, de Robe Jo dan, e Un Lun Dun,
de China Mié ille
Th ough he Po al and in o he Ques : Robe Jo dan’s The Wheel o Time and China
Mié ille’s Un Lun Dun
Au o
Au ho
Rui Miguel Ma ins Ma eus
Pala as-cha e: Li e a u a Fan ás ica, Fan asia de Po al e Demanda, Taxonomia de
Fan asia
Keywo ds: Fan asy Li e a u e, Po al-Ques Fan asy, Taxonomy o Fan asy
A p esen e disse ação consis e numa análise de duas ob as do géne o li e á io da
an asia à luz de um eo ia desen ol ida po Fa ah Mendlesohn em Rhe o ics o Fan asy
(2008) que se deb uça sob e a di isão de múl iplas ob as de an asia em qua o ca ego ias
dis in as. Os au o es em es udo, Robe Jo dan e China Mié ille, ap esen am ob as que,
numa p imei a análise, se podem coloca na mesma ca ego ia de an asia. No en an o, uma
análise que conside e a axonomia de Mendlesohn conclui que, enquan o The Wheel o
Time (1990-2013), de Jo dan, se man ém, na sua maio ia, den o dos limi es da an asia de
po al e demanda, a p imei a ca ego ia da axonomia, Un Lun Dun (2007), de Mié ille,
ap esen a ca ac e ís icas ans e sais a odas as ca ego ias de Mendlesohn. A p e isão da
di iculdade de coloca Un Lun Dun num só g upo se e de base à c iação de uma quin a
ca ego ia na qual se inse em ob as que sub e em os pa adigmas das es an es ca ego ias.
Es a disse ação, di idida em qua o capí ulos, começa á po um es udo sob e as
á ias de inições de an asia p opos as ao longo dos empos, desde Tolkien a é aos
académicos mais ecen es. A pa i des e le an amen o, se á p opos a uma de inição mais
ge al daquilo que o géne o da an asia comp eende. Também se á ei o um ca álogo de
á ias ob as de an asia publicadas desde o século XIX a é aos empos mode nos, bem
como uma análise mais de alhada da axonomia de Mendlesohn. O segundo capí ulo ai

deb uça -se sob e a emá ica dos po ais, um elemen o undamen al da an asia de po al e
demanda. Es e capí ulo consis i á numa análise de di e sos po ais em á ias ob as de
an asia. O e cei o capí ulo comp eende á a análise de The Wheel o Time e o qua o
capí ulo, seguindo uma es a égia semelhan e, a análise de Un Lun Dun. Es a análise ai e
em conside ação aspec os que se p endem com o he ói e o des ino, a p o ecia, o po al, a
demanda, bem como aspec os elacionados com as écnicas na a i as usadas pelos au o es
pa a desc e e em o mundo.
This disse a ion consis s o an analysis o wo wo ks belonging o he an asy gen e in ligh
o a heo y de eloped by Fa ah Mendlesohn in Rhe o ics o Fan asy (2008) which en ails
he di ision o mul iple wo ks o an asy in ou dis inc ca ego ies. The au ho s in
ques ion, Robe Jo dan and China Mié ille, p esen woks ha , in a i s analysis, can be
placed in he same ca ego y o an asy. Howe e , a s udy ha akes in o conside a ion
Mendlesohn’s axonomy concludes ha , while Jo dan’s The Wheel o Time (1990-2013) is
posi ioned, o he mos pa , inside he bounda ies o he po al-ques an asy ca ego y,
Mié ille’s Un Lun Dun (2007) p esen s cha ac e is ics om all ca ego ies. The di icul y o
placing Un Lun Dun inside one g oup se es as basis o he c ea ion o a ca ego y ha
includes wo ks ha sub e he pa adigms o he o he ca ego ies.
This disse a ion, di ided in ou chap e s, will s a wi h a s udy o se e al
de ini ions o an asy p o ided h oughou he imes, om Tolkien o he mos ecen
academics. F om hese de ini ions, a mo e gene al explana ion o wha an asy en ails will
be o mula ed. A ca alogue o an asy wo ks published om he nine een h cen u y un il
mode n imes will also be p o ided, as well as a de ailed analysis o Mendlesohn’s
axonomy. The second chap e will ocus on po als, which a e a undamen al elemen in
he po al-ques an asy. This chap e will comp ehend an analysis o a ious po als in
di e en wo ks o an asy. The hi d chap e will comp ise he s udy o The Wheel o Time
and he ou h, ollowing a simila s a egy, he s udy o Un Lun Dun. This analysis will
ake in o conside a ion aspec s ela ing o he he o and des iny, p ophecy, he po al, he
ques , as well as aspec s ela ed o he na a i e echniques used by he au ho s o desc ibe
he wo ld.
Con en s
In oduc ion ............................................................................................................................ 1
I – Inside Fan asy: Limi s, His o y, and In luences ................................................................ 5
1.1. D awing he Bo de s o Fan asy ................................................................................ 5
1.2. The Genealogy, Di usion, and In luences o he Gen e ...................................... 14
1.3. Ca ego ies o Fan asy: A Taxonomy P esen ed by Fa ah Mendlesohn .............. 23
1.4. S udies o Fan asy: S a e o he A ......................................................................... 29
II – Po als o Fan asy ........................................................................................................... 36
III – Reading Robe Jo dan’s The Wheel o Time as a Po al-Ques Fan asy...................... 46
3.1. The Wo ld o he Wheel and Na a i e Techniques .............................................. 46
3.2. The Wheel o Time and he Bounda ies o Po al-Ques Fan asy ........................ 53
IV – De ying Ca ego iza ion wi h China Mié ille’s Un Lun Dun ....................................... 65
4.1. The S o y and he Abci y ........................................................................................... 65
4.2. B eaking he Bounda ies o Po al-Ques Fan asy ................................................. 69
Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 80
Re e ences ............................................................................................................................ 84
Appendices ........................................................................................................................... 91
1
In oduc ion
The gen e o an asy has been s eadily inc easing in he ield o li e a u e o a long ime,
and since J. R. R. Tolkien published The Lo d o he Rings (1954-1955) and C. S. Lewis
published The Lion, he Wi ch and he Wa d obe (1950), he gen e has known a pe iod o
expansion ha has been con inuous h oughou he decades and ha has sp ead o o he
media. Bo h au ho s we e ex emely in luen ial o subsequen w i e s in he gen e and hei
no els ha e se he pa ame e s o wha can be e med mode n an asy.
The gen e gi es pa icula emphasis o he imagina y and he imp obable, ea u ing
seconda y wo lds, c ea ed by he au ho s’ own imagina ion, magic, supe na u al c ea u es,
magical po als ha anspo he cha ac e s om one se ing o ano he , o da k lo ds ben
on con olling o des oying he wo ld.
Wi h he ex en o such impossible o e y unlikely elemen s, he bo de s o an asy
ha e been e y di icul o es ablish, especially aking in o conside a ion how wide he
gen e can become. Simila ly, de eloping a p ope de ini ion o an asy ha includes all he
p inciples, ules, and elemen s o he gen e has been e y di icul o he mul iple
academics ha ha e a emp ed o s udy he a ea.
The aim o his disse a ion is o analyze wo wo ks o an asy in ligh o a heo y
de eloped by he B i ish academic Fa ah Mendlesohn in Rhe o ics o Fan asy (2008),
which so s an asy wo ks h oughou ou e y dis inc ca ego ies. The i s ca ego y is ha
o po al-ques an asy, which can be desc ibed as a ype o an asy ha implies he
exis ence o a po al ha is c ossed by he p o agonis as pa o a ques , which can be, o
ins ance, a sea ch o an objec o a jou ney o anquish a h ea . The o he ca ego ies,
imme si e an asy, in usion an asy, and liminal an asy, ha e ules o hei own and hey
di e en ia e hemsel es acco ding o he way he an as ic en e s he na a i e (c .
Mendlesohn 2002, 171). The cen al ca ego y in his disse a ion is he po al-ques an asy.
The wo ks chosen o his analysis a e The Wheel o Time se ies (1990-2013) by he
Ame ican no elis Robe Jo dan and Un Lun Dun (2007) by B i ish an asy and
science- ic ion w i e China Mié ille. Due o he ex en o The Wheel o Time, which
comp ises ou een olumes and a p equel, he analysis will be ocused mos ly on he i s
2
olume, The Eye o he Wo ld (1990). The e o e, he esea ch ques ion is he ollowing:
how s able is he pa adigm o po al-ques an asy? The in en o his ques ion is o
unde s and how wo ks ha appa en ly i wi hin he bo de s o his ca ego y can sub e i
and s ay o he o he ca ego ies. Tha is he eason he co pus o analysis is so di e en .
Wi h he analysis o Robe Jo dan’s se ies, i will be shown how he po al-ques an asy
has i mly es ablished ules, while he analysis o Mié ille’s no el will p o e ha he
ca ego y can be sub e ed by a wo k ha is in e e y ou wa d aspec a po al-ques an asy.
The eason o he choice o hese no els is ha The Wheel o Time is he pe ec
embodimen o he po al-ques an asy, e en i i di e ges in some mino aspec s om i ,
while Un Lun Dun only seems o i in he ca ego y bu sub e s some o i s mos impo an
ules. In addi ion, he e ha e been e y ew heo e ical eadings o a se ies such as The
Wheel o Time. The e o e, his is an oppo uni y o inse i in he academic deba e.
This disse a ion will be di ided in o ou chap e s. The i s chap e will expound
on he p inciples o an asy, s a ing wi h a desc ip ion o how Tolkien’s ideas, de eloped
in his essay “On Fai y S o ies” (1947), ha e in luenced subsequen an asy au ho s. Wi h
ha in mind, o he heo ies p oposed by mul iple academics, like B ian A ebe y, Tz e an
Todo o , Ga y K. Wol e, Fa ah Mendlesohn, among o he s, will con ibu e o a gene al
idea o wha he gen e’s main ideologies a e as well as o concei e a de ini ion o an asy
ha sui s he pu poses o his disse a ion. One sec ion o he chap e will ocus on he
s udies ha ha e been done so a in he ield. An accoun o hese s udies will con ibu e o
a be e unde s anding o how he gen e has e ol ed and wha heo ies a e mos p ominen
in his a ea.
In he same chap e he e will be wha can be called a “genealogy o an asy” wi h
he objec i e o ying o ind some o he ea lies accoun s o an asy li e a u e, e en
hough he disse a ion will s ess he wo ks ha came a e Tolkien and Lewis. The in en
o his sec ion is o p oduce a imeline o he gen e, which will include an accoun o how
an asy is o ganized in e ms o di usion and p oduc ion, as well as wha he ield’s main
sou ces o in luence a e.
Las ly, he i s chap e will also include a sec ion consis ing o an explana ion and
analysis o Fa ah Mendlesohn’s axonomy o an asy, desc ibing he ou ca ego ies in
9
Escape o e s, acco ding o Tolkien, consola ion. He calls his he “Consola ion o
he Happy Ending” o “euca as ophe” (2006, 153). This mus con as wi h ano he e m,
“dysca as ophe”, which means sadness and, ul ima ely, ailu e. Only wi h he possibili y
o ailu e can he ending be uly joyous. Ins ead o he decline o he ca as ophe, he
euca as ophe is he poin in he plo in which he he o has a clea pa h o success. In The
Hobbi (1937), his poin is ep esen ed by he coming o he Eagles ha u n he ide in he
ba le o he i e a mies and, in The Lo d o he Rings, Gollum’s all on Moun Doom.
Tolkien’s ake on an asy inspi ed many academics in he ollowing decades o
expand and o e new de elopmen s in de ining an asy. This helped c ea e a b oade ield
ha includes many subgen es, as au ho s en u ed in o manipula ing he opes o an asy.
None heless, Tolkien’s essay is an essen ial s a ing poin in he s udies o he gen e
because o i s supe la i e in luence.
De e mining he di e ence be ween he e ms an asy and an as ic is also impo an
when s udying he gen e.
5
Tz e an Todo o a icula ed a heo y asse ing ha he an as ic
is di ec ly ela ed o he supe na u al. He e e s o he e en s ha a e no in acco dance o
he laws o na u e o he wo ld ei he as illusions o as eali y. Todo o s a es ha he
an as ic is: “ ha hesi a ion expe ienced by a pe son who knows only he laws o na u e,
con on ing an appa en ly supe na u al e en ” (q d. in Bould 2002, 54) The e o e, i is a
momen o unce ain y be ween he uncanny, whe e s ange happenings ha e na u al causes
o explana ions, and he ma elous, whe e hings ha e supe na u al jus i ica ions.
Todo o ’s sugges ion, which was de eloped in he 1970s, seems o ha e been well
ecei ed by mode n c i ics and academics. Howe e , he e m an as ic i s appea ed wi h a
much b oade meaning. Ini ially, i was used as a e m o bo h an asy and science ic ion
and la e “ o all o ms o human exp ession ha a e no ealis ic, including an asy and
sci- i,
6
magic ealism,
7
abula ion,
8
su ealism,
9
e c” (Clu e and G an , “Fan as ic” 1999,
335).
5
In his disse a ion he e m an as ic will be used as he adjec i e o an asy.
6
John Clu e’s The Encyclopedia o Fan asy (1997) de e mines ha science ic ion is a gen e ha is dis inc
om an asy bu one ha also has some co espondence. In science ic ion he e is space o specula e on he
plausibili y o i s con en s, while in an asy, some elemen s a e ina guably impossible.
7
When eali y is in aded by elemen s o an as ic na u e. Howe e , hese elemen s seem o be ega ded in a
ealis ic way.

10
The con inual associa ion o an asy o science ic ion is impo an enough o me i a
longe explana ion. The main p emise ha sepa a es bo h gen es is ha , while an asy deals
wi h ha which is imp obable, science ic ion e e s o wha is plausible. A e y ea ly and
basic de ini ion o science ic ion by Hugo Ge nsback is p esen ed in The Encyclopedia o
Science Fic ion (1979). He e e s o i as “scien i ic ion” and desc ibes i as “’a cha ming
omance in e mingled wi h scien i ic ac and p ophe ic ision’” (311). Ge nsback includes
in his de ini ion au ho s such as H. G. Wells and Jules Ve ne.
Ano he p emise was la e es ablished ega ding he gen e - he ac ha i should
include he p inciple o a disco e y ha would be concei able o science. So, he e a e wo
basic g ounds i e ocably essen ial o science ic ion: science and possibili y. This place is,
acco ding o Da ko Su in, a no um.
10
Su in de ined science ic ion as “a li e a y gen e
whose necessa y and su icien condi ions a e he p esence o in e ac ion o es angemen
and cogni ion, and whose main o mal de ice is an imagina i e amewo k al e na i e o
he au ho ’s empi ical en i onmen ” (q d. in Reed 1981, 338), which is, again, he no um.
When e e ing o cogni ion, Su in appea s o mean a ional hinking; and es angemen is a
ce ain dis ancing om some hing so ha i seems ecognizable bu un amilia a he same
ime (c . Clu e and Nichols “De ini ions o SF” 1999, 313).
Some imes, he e m science an asy appea s o desc ibe science ic ion as pa o
an asy. This e m was i s used by science ic ion w i e Judi h Me il. Ga y K. Wol e
desc ibes i as a se ies o an asy elemen s ha occu in a science ic ion con ex (c .
“Science Fan asy” 1999, 843). Clu e s a es ha i is in science an asy ha “SF and an asy
as a whole a e closes ” (“Science Fan asy” 1999, 844).
Wol e e ms science ic ion as an asy’s sis e gen e. Acco ding o he au ho , he
in en was o ea an asy “as a kind o al e na i e science, wi h i s own igo ous bu
in e nally consis en ules and a minimum o my hological supe na u alism” (Wol e 2011,
44).
8
Wi h some connec ion o magic ealism, abula ion o en seems o ques ion he eali y o a gi en wo ld. I
c osses he line be ween an asy and eali y in o de o make he dis inc ion mo e di icul .
9
Su ealism can be desc ibed as he mo emen o he unconscious, which, acco ding o John Clu e, achie es
“i s cha ac e is ic e ec s h ough he appa en ly i a ional and unmo i a ed jux aposi ion o ealis ic and
an as ic images” (“Su ealism” 1999, 910). The e o e, i can be easily associa ed wi h magic ealism.
10
Academic known o his a emp o de ine science- ic ion as a li e a y gen e. He also “in oduced he e m
‘cogni ion’ o s c i icism” (Clu e and Nichols “Su in, Da ko” 1999, 1190).
11
E en i he line be ween science ic ion and an asy seems blu ed some imes, i can
be asse ed ha an asy begins when he p obabili y o i s elemen s being eal a e e y low.
In science ic ion he deg ee o un eali y should be kep o a minimum and wha is possible
should be jus i ied as scien i ic. No els in which hese cha ac e is ics o e lap should be
e med science an asy.
Many heo is s who unde ook he ask o de ining an asy ha e p esen ed e y
di e en iews. In one o he heo ies Rosema y Jackson a gues ha an asies, namely
seconda y wo ld an asies, a e ela ed o he p ima y wo ld h ough me apho s. So, he eal
wo ld is only disloca ed. The esul is, as she calls i , a pa axial ealm, a place ha she says
is “’nei he en i ely ‘ eal’ (objec ) no en i ely ‘un eal’ (image)”, bu some hing in be ween
(1981, 19). By “pa axis”, Jackson means some hing ha is disloca ed and ha “lies on
ei he side o he p inciple axis, ha which lies alongside he main body” (19). The alidi y
o his heo y can be con i med by checking he abundan in luences p ima y wo lds ha e
on he c ea ion o seconda y wo lds.
11
One heo y p oposed by Diana Waggone sugges s ha he supe na u al is and
should be he “p ima y classi ying ca ego y in any discussions o he [ an as ic] gen e”
(Oziewicz 2008, 81). She inse s an asy in a b oade gen e called specula i e ic ion and
a gues ha an asy es ablishes “ ealis ic c eden ials […] o he supe na u al” (q d. in 81).
Fo Waggone , my hopoeic an asy is one o he esul s o se e al au ho ’s
pe spec i es conce ning he supe na u al. This o m o an asy can be desc ibed, in a b oad
sense, as a ec ea ion o my h wi h an “in e ac ion o mo al p o agonis s wi h he
supe na u al” (82), as well as a sense o se iousness, whe e he supe na u al is o be
belie ed because i is explained. One way Waggone desc ibes his o m is h ough he
example o a s o y ha po ays “a jou ney o a spi i ual goal, pa o which is a s uggle
agains he powe s o e il” (82). The e e se, howe e , is also possible, bu Waggone
labels i as he oic an asy. Inspi a ion
11
Fo ins ance, Tolkien’s Shi e was inspi ed by ce ain pa s o England; and my hological cha ac e s se ed
as inspi a ion o some o his p o agonis s, like Gandal , who was inspi ed by Odin.
12
Ma ek Oziewicz does no ind he dis inc ion be ween hese wo o ms (my hopoeic
an asy and he oic an asy) iable because hei cha ac e is ics can be blended. The ac is
ha hese o ms seem e y close and i is possible ha one does no exis wi hou he o he .
The s ong p esence o my h in he wo ks o Tolkien and Lewis leads Oziewicz o
e e o hem as “ he ounde s o my hopoeic an asy” (66). This is one o he di e ences
be ween hem and some o hei p edecesso s, such as William Mo is o Geo ge
MacDonald. The no ion o my hopoeic an asy is applied o se e al o he au ho s like
U sula K. Le Guin o Lloyd Alexande .
E en hough an asy has g ea p oximi y o my h, when de ining he gen e one o
he hings ha should be made clea is ha an asy is no he same as my h. In a gi en
cul u e, many legends we e pa o he eligion and, he e o e, we e belie ed and seen as
possible. Wha is conside ed my h should no be conside ed an asy bu , because i con ains
he an as ic, i should be ega ded as a ap oo ex ins ead.
12
A heo y ha p oposes ha he an asy gen e’s ules ha e become clea e o e ime
and ha i b ings abou he a emp o c ea e mo e ex s ha y o sub e and b eak hese
ules was o e ed by B ian A ebe y in S a egies o Fan asy (1992). Howe e , he s a es
ha he e is a “ emp a ion o accep as o mula some p io an asis ’s con ibu ions” (11).
This s a emen is help ul in explaining he huge amoun o an asy ha de i ed om he
Tolkien-Lewis in luence.
Fo A ebe y, an asy ocuses on a cen e ha de ines he gen e and no i s bo de s.
He e e s o an asy as a uzzy se , which he explains in his expe imen , which consis ed on
a ing wo ks on a scale o one o se en in which one was pu e an asy and se en no an asy
a all.
13
The esul placed The Lo d o he Rings a he e y cen e . E en hough he claims
no scien i ic alue o his expe imen , A ebe y shows ha he e is a gene al accep ance o
Tolkien’s wo ks as a cen e . Addi ionally, i helps o p o e ha he e a e no clea bo de s in
an asy and ha i is a gen e ha expands and ul ima ely o e laps wi h o he gen es.
12
Tap oo ex s a e no conside ed an asy by mode n-day s anda ds bu hey con ain elemen s o he
an as ic. Howe e , he p esence o he an as ic was no he main d i e o a ap oo ex . They can be ound
anywhe e om Home o Jona han Swi .
13
The lis included wo ks by Ray B adbu y, Aldous Huxley, Ma y Shelley, U sula Le Guin, C. S. Lewis,
Tolkien, Isaac Asimo , Lewis Ca ol, and many o he s.
13
The Encyclopedia o Fan asy e ms hese unclea bo de s as wa e ma gins. They
designa e “ he unmapped and ul ima ely unmappable egions” and “su ound a cen al land
o eali y, and ade inde ini ely in o he dis ance, beyond he edges o any map” (“Wa e
Ma gins” 1999, 997). Tex s ha a e no an asy bu a e closely ela ed o i can be ound in
he wa e ma gins. My hs and ap oo ex s, as well as science an asy and science ic ion,
can be ound in his place.
On occasion o a e iew o “The Yea ’s Bes Fan asy and Ho o ” Ga y K. Wol e
w o e ha “ an asy is e apo a ing” (q d. in 2011, 50). The au ho goes on o explain in his
wo k i led E apo a ing Gen es (2011) ha his only mean ha an asy has g own o a
s a e o g ea di e si y, sp eading om li e a u e o o he a s, becoming “a cen al pa o
he ab ic o con empo a y cul u e” (51).
The e apo a ion o he gen e seems like a e y in e es ing way o desc ibing i s
changing s a us. Ac ually, i e e s o he sp eading bounda ies o an asy as well as science
ic ion and ho o . Many au ho s a emp o sub e gi en o mulas o o s ay om he
adi ional pa adigm o an asy. Tha is one way o s imula ing he gen e. Some au ho s
ha e been known o des abilize i , like Jona han Le hem, who mixes an asy, dys opia, and
ho o , S e e Cockayne and Rode ick Townley, who sub e Fa ah Mendlesohn’s p oposal
o axonomy.
14
China Mié ille also does his by combining elemen s o science ic ion wi h
an asy, some imes sepa a ely and o he imes in he same ex , p oducing wo ks ha can be
inse ed in a gen e called New Wei d, which unde mines he p inciples o adi ional
an asy.
Wol e places an asy w i e s in h ee di e en g oups. In one a e he au ho s who
obey he “ ules” o he gen e, a oiding s aying oo much. In ano he g oup a e w i e s who
use he gen e only as e e ence. Finally, in he las g oup, a e hose who y o b eak om
he limi a ions o he gen e. Fan asy and science ic ion, he e o e, ha e b oadened hei
limi s o such an ex en ha hey “ anscend o supe sede he old no ions o gen e” (53).
Wol e’s and A ebe y’s ideas a e e y cu en and i he p esen -day si ua ion o
mode n an asy. E en hough bo h academics eached di e en conclusions, he e is a
14
The axonomy de eloped by Mendlesohn will be discussed in u u e sec ions.
14
simila i y in hem and a gene al ag eemen ha i is di icul o es ablish a clea and de ined
bo de o an asy, asse ing ins ead ha he gen e o e laps wi h o he s.
This sec ion demons a es he mul iple iews academics ha e p oposed ega ding
he an asy gen e. E en hough he e a e many de ini ions o he gen e and di e en
heo ies, he ones p esen ed he e show how he gen e has de eloped. Tolkien’s ou line o
an asy wi h he c ea ion o a seconda y wo ld whe e all he elemen s o Fai y a e placed,
along wi h he idea o he healing ha occu s in he end, cons i u e one o he main
cha ac e is ics o mode n an asy, ollowed by nume ous au ho s.
The uzzy se heo y p esen ed by B ian A ebe y is also a e y iable heo y, o i
p o es how di icul i is o build bo de s o an asy, especially because he gen e has
become so widesp ead o la e. In addi ion, i helps o es ablish a close ela ion o science
ic ion by assuming he exis ence o an o e lap be ween he wo, e med science an asy.
Las ly, Fa ah Mendlesohn makes a undamen al poin in he s udies o he gen e by
so ing an asy in o ca ego ies ha ocus on he way he an as ic en e s in he na a i e.
This way, ins ead o accep ing he uzzy se heo y, i de ies i by p o ing ha wo ks ha
can be ound in di e en sides o he se can ac ually i in he same ca ego y. An analysis
o Mendlesohn’s heo y will be de eloped la e in his chap e .
Because an asy has become a ied o e he yea s, he e seems o be a endency o
ollow ce ain heo ies in de imen o o he s. This is due, in pa , o he a ea o an asy one
is wo king wi h. This is one o he easons many heo ies ha e no been de eloped in his
sec ion, because he ype o an asy in analysis in his disse a ion is he an asy o po al
and ques .
The e olu ion o an asy h oughou he yea s has made i impo an o an accoun
o wha has been published in he gen e so a and how i s dis ibu ion in luenced o he
au ho s o ollow in he same s eps. Tha is, he e o e, he subjec o he nex sec ion.
1.2. The Genealogy, Di usion, and In luences o he Gen e

15
Descending om mul iple ypes o na a i e om ai y ale o he li e a u e o he
supe na u al, an asy’s his o y, e en hough qui e ecen , is al eady ex ensi e. The main
pu pose o his sec ion is o ind a s a ing poin in he gen e and de e mine how i
de eloped h ough he decades. Simul aneously, his sec ion will also con ain an accoun o
some o he in luences ha inspi ed he ea lies mode n an asy au ho s. I is also essen ial
o expand on he a ious o ma s in which an asy has appea ed h oughou he decades, as
well as he ype o di usion i ecei ed.
As s a ed be o e, J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis had an impo an ole in he
ounding o mode n an asy. In ac , The Lo d o he Rings con ains mos o he elemen s
ha a e ep esen a i e o he ield.
15
Howe e , an asy al eady had an es ablished g ound p io o Tolkien and Lewis.
Among some o he mos impo an a e Geo ge MacDonald and William Mo is.
MacDonald is conside ed o be an inno a o in he ield o an asy li e a u e, and in his
no el Phan as es, A Fae ie Romance o Men and Women (1858) he is con empla ed by
John Clu e as an au ho “ e elling in he li e a y eedom o an asy” (“MacDonald,
Geo ge” 1999, 603). O he no els by MacDonald ha a e o impo ance o he gen e a e
The P incess and he Goblin (1872) and Lili h (1895), bo h o which a e se in seconda y
wo lds and include, in he i s case, a ques , and in he second, a po al.
16
Wha makes William Mo is’s no els impo an con ibu ions o he gen e is he
elemen o he landscape,
17
which is an essen ial pa o he ques . The Well a he Wo ld’s
End (1896) is one o Mo is’s mos celeb a ed an asy no els and Clu e asse s ha he plo
“sugges s ai y ale simplici y” (“Mo is, William” 1999, 665), po aying a ques o he
oun ain o you h,
18
he ma iage in he end, and he ic o y o e mul iple e ils ha he ald
be e imes ahead. The Wa e o he Wond ous Islands (1897) and The Sunde ing Flood
15
The he o-ques in a seconda y wo ld, he p esence o a Da k Lo d who h ea ens he es ablished o de o he
wo ld, he companion who se es as a guide, and he exis ence o an objec o powe a e some o he elemen s
ha o m he gen e.
16
The po al is an elemen almos e e p esen in an asy.
17
Landscape is as impo an o an asy as a cha ac e . The main goal o landscape is o g an meaning o a
place. Depending on i s desc ip ion, i can be guessed wha ype o mood he place ies o con ey. A
landscape con aining h i ing li e may indica e an idyllic place whe eas a place de oid o any animal o
ege al li e can mean a da k and e il place.
18
The oun ain o you h con ains he elixi o li e, which g an s he d inke an ex ension o his o he li espan
o i may es o e he d inke ’s you h.
16
(1897), like The Well a he Wo ld’s End, emb ace he idea o he in en ed wo ld, which
Tolkien la e e med as seconda y wo lds and would use o The Lo d o he Rings.
Be o e Mo is and MacDonald he e we e some no els ha could be seen as
an asy. One o he i s is om he la e se en een h cen u y: John Bunyan’s The Pilg im’s
P og ess (1678). In he analysis o he di e en ca ego ies o an asy, Fa ah Mendlesohn
conside s Bunyan’s no el o be one o he ea lies po al-ques an asies. The au ho uses a
biblical allego y h ough he use o a ision ha can be pe cei ed as a d eam. This does no
con ey he idea o he d eam as un eal, like some an asies o la e imes.
Like Bunyan’s no el, many an asies o he la e nine een h and ea ly wen ie h
cen u ies we e based on he idea o he c ossing o he po al. This was, he e o e, one o
he mos impo an elemen s in an asy o a long ime, and s ill is. Among he no els
which employ his me hod a e Lewis Ca ol’s Alice’s Ad en u es in Wonde land (1865) and
Th ough he Looking Glass (1871), MacDonald’s Lili h: a Romance, F ank L. Baum’s The
Wonde ul Wiza d o Oz (1900), Da id Lindsey’s Voyage o A c u us (1922), among many
o he s. The Lion, he Wi ch, and he Wa d obe, howe e , became he p o o ypical po al
an asy no el.
The di e ence be ween Lewis’s no el and he p e ious ones, wi h he excep ion o
Baum’s, is ha he wo ld in which he p o agonis s en e needs es o a ion; he e is a sense
o w ongness
19
in he wo ld (c . Mendlesohn 2008, 30). Fa ah Mendlesohn desc ibes ha
The Lion, he Wi ch and he Wa d obe and The Lo d o he Rings “se he pa e n o wha
Clu e desc ibes as he ull an asy: he no els p esume a hinned wo ld” (30). The concep
o hinning ela es o he idea o w ongness in he sense ha i in ol es he ac ion o an
agen who causes he land o decay. Clu e illus a es his wi h he example o “local
hinning” in The Lo d o he Rings when he el es s a abandoning Middle-ea h and wi h
hem, hei magic (c . “Thinning” 1999, 942).
The e o e, i is sa e o assume ha he e has been a change in he pa adigm o
an asy wi h Tolkien’s The Lo d o he Rings and Lewis’s The Lion, he Wi ch and he
Wa d obe. These ha e es ablished he g ounds o mode n an asy and ha e in luenced
19
Acco ding o Clu e, w ongness “is a ecogni ion ha he wo ld is – o is abou o become – no longe igh ”
(“W ongness” 1999, 1038).
17
many subsequen au ho s. Thei success no only inc eased he p oduc ion o mo e an asy
wo ks, bu also b ough back he w i ings o classic an asy no elis s like William Mo is,
Lo d Dunsany, Me yn Peake, and Da id Lindsay.
The explosion o an asy ha occu ed in he ollowing decades led o he
de elopmen o he gen e in mul iple ways. One o he ways in which i has b anched is he
ca ego iza ion o an asy in o subgen es. Some o hese include, among many o he s, u ban
an asy, child en’s an asy, o his o ical an asy. The ele ance o u ban and child en’s
an asy o he pu pose o his disse a ion makes i necessa y o ha e hem de eloped
u he in he ollowing pa ag aphs.
Be o e he ad en o u ban an asy, he ci y had always been associa ed wi h science
ic ion and ho o . Bu his subgen e, in luenced by Ho ace Walpole’s The Cas le o
O an o (1765) wi h he concep o he edi ice, has g own in he pas decades (c . Clu e and
G an “U ban Fan asy” 1999, 975). Also o ex eme in luence o au ho s, c i ics, and
eade s is H. P. Lo ec a ’s no ella The D eam-Ques o Unknown Kada h (1943).
Alexande C. I ine e e s o u ban an asy as “a g oup o ex s […] in which he
opes o pas o al o he oic an asy we e b ough in o an u ban se ing” (2012, 200). I
expanded o he poin o including “e e y wo k o he an as ic ha akes place in a ci y o
has a con empo a y se ing ha occasionally inco po a es a ci y” (200).
The e o e, he e a e wo ypes o an asy cen e ed on he ci y. In one, he an as ic
has a connec ion o a ci y o he p ima y wo ld o a ep esen a ion o i in a seconda y one.
He e, he an as ic is independen om he me opolis and collides wi h i . Such cases
include Neil Gaiman’s Ne e whe e (1996), China Mié ille’s Un Lun Dun, Jim Bu che ’s
S o m F on (2000), o Cha les de Lin ’s books se in New o d. In he o he ype, an asies
a e se in ic ional ci ies and he an as ic is an expec ed p esence. This ype can be ound in
such no els as Mié ille’s Pe dido S ee S a ion and I on Council (2004), B andon
Sande son’s The Final Empi e (2006), o K. J. Bishop’s The E ched Ci y (2003).
2021
20
U ban an asy should no include no els ha only ake place in ci ies o a b ie pe iod, like Tolkien’s The
Lo d o he Rings o Le Guin’s Ea hsea books (1968-2001).
21
E en hough i may no be pe cei ed en i ely as u ban an asy, a g ea pa o Robe Jo dan’s The Wheel o
Time se ies is se in he ci y.
18
Ha ing had i s o igin some cen u ies ago, child en’s an asy has had a e y i m ole
in li e a u e. Unless hey po ayed a mo al message, his ype o s o y was no well
ecei ed and was hough o as sub e si e (c . Clu e and G an “Child en’s Fan asy” 1999,
184).
In John Clu e’s The Encyclopedia o Fan asy, Sa a Cole idge’s Phan asmion (1837)
is ega ded as he “ i s o iginal CF in no el o m in English” (“Child en’s Fan asy” 1999,
184). The no el is se in a wo ld simila o Faë ie and is ega ded by c i ics as a ai y ale.
No els by Geo ge MacDonald, Edi h Nesbi , F ances Hodgson, J. M. Ba ow ha e also
been e y in luen o subsequen au ho s.
Mains eam mode n child en’s an asy includes, among o he s, C. S. Lewis’s Na nia
books (1950-1956), U sula Le Guin’s Ea hsea se ies, J. K Rowling’s Ha y Po e (1997-
2007), and Phillip Pullman’s His Da k Ma e ials (1995-2000). The heme in mos o hese
is he passage om childhood in o adul hood.
22
Du ing he 1960s child en’s an asy main ained he use o he ollowing o mula:
he child would be o he middle-class who a i es a he ad en u e by con ac ing “wi h a
mys e ious place, objec o pe son” (Bu le 2012, 224). No mally, he e would be a
p oblem h ea ening he es ablished o de and i was he p o agonis ’s mission o es o e i
(c . Bu le 2012, 224). This is he case wi h Alan Ga ne ’s The Wei ds one o B isingamen
(1960) o , mo e ecen ly, Te y B ook’s sho s o y “Imagina y F iends”, ea u ed in Once
Upon a Time: A T easu y o Mode n Fai y Tales (1991), edi ed by Les e Del Rey and Ri a
Kessle .
Social changes ope a ed since he 1960s ha e led o a change in hinking and, hus,
in he mode o cons uc ing child en’s an asy. Fan asies se in seconda y wo lds
exclusi ely o in which he p o agonis s a e anspo ed o hem ha e become mo e
common. Se e al o hese examples include N. M. B owne’s Wa io s o Ala na (2000),
Ca he ine Fishe ’s Da khenge (2005), o Diana Wynne Jones’s A che ’s Goon (1984).
22
The i s wo Ea hsea no els a e illus a i e o his case. In he i s no el Ged is only a you h, and when
he is ound by Tena in he Tombs o A uan he is al eady a ully g own man. Ha y Po e is only ele en yea s
old in The Philisophe ’s S one and se en een, when wiza ds come o age, in The Dea hly Hallows (2007).
25
In his ega d, bo h Tolkien’s and Jo dan’s no els a e once mo e he pe ec
embodimen o ques an asies. Mo do , Sau on’s ealm, loca ed in he eas o Middle-ea h,
is su ounded by almos imp egnable moun ains and he land i sel is d y: “all seemed
uinous and dead, a dese bu ned and choked” (Tolkien 1993, 958).
34
Shayol Ghul, whe e he Da k One’s p ison is si ua ed, is su ounded by he Blas ed
Lands, a dese whe e no hing g ows, and he G ea Bligh , whe e he lo a is deadly and
he c ea u es o he Shadow abound. This a ea is posi ioned o he no h o he Wes lands.
While Sau on in ends o ule o e he wo ld, he Da k One wan s i des oyed so he can
ashion a new one.
The e a e cases in which his pa adigm is sub e ed. In B andon Sande son’s The
Final Empi e he Lo d Rule ’s palace is in a ci y in he cen e o he land. I is no
geog aphically impene able; on he con a y, he ci y is he capi al o he Final Empi e.
The ash alling om he a ious olcanoes a ound he ci y makes he land look so dead ha
people do no belie e ha plan s can g ow g een lea es (c . Sande son 2009b, 162).
Ques an asies no mally end wi h a di ec con on a ion be ween he he o and he
Da k Lo d, and i is equen ly accompanied by a g ea ba le which is di ec ly linked wi h
he encoun e be ween p o agonis and an agonis . The he o’s ic o y o e he Da k Lo d
assu es he ou come o he accompanying ba le.
This link be ween he wo ba les is especially isible in Robe Jo dan’s The G ea
Hun (1990). Rand al’Tho ’s duel agains Ishamael, which can be wi nessed in he sky
abo e he ci y o Falme, also e lec s on he ou come o he ba le happening below:
“[s]uddenly he knew ha he wo ba les we e linked. When he ad anced, he he oes called
by he Ho n d o e he Seanchan back; when he ell back, he Seanchan ose up” (665).
35
Senio also enume a es he elemen s ha can be ound in a ques an asy, some o
which include he eluc an he o, he p esence o a guide and he jou ney o a wo ld illed
wi h hings unknown o he he o and whe e he in luence o he Da k Lo d is much mo e
34
Mo do also means da k land in Sinda in, one o Tolkien’s in en ed languages.
35
I should be no ed ha Ishamael is only a ep esen a i e o he Da k One and ha he Seanchan, who a e
conque o s om a di e en con inen on he o he side o he ocean, a e no in he se ice o he Shadow.

26
in ense. Again, The Lo d o he Rings i s hese cha ac e is ics, and e en mo e so because
he p o agonis , F odo, comes om a place o sa e y o a wo ld ha is o e whelming.
Imme si e an asies di e om po al an asies in he sense ha he e is no po al o
c oss because he p o agonis is al eady pa o he an as ic wo ld. Any an as ic elemen
encoun e ed by he eade in an imme si e an asy is seldom explained because he
cha ac e s, h ough whose eyes he eade obse es he wo ld, a e al eady amilia wi h i .
The e o e, he eade mus y o sense he meaning o hings as he na a i e goes on.
36
This ca ego y is e y close o science ic ion. Wha es ablishes a di e ence is he
ac ha some o hese an asies ake place in seconda y wo lds ha ha e medie al
cha ac e is ics. (c . Mendlesohn 2002, 176). One o he hing ha helps dis inguish po al-
ques an asy om imme si e an asy is he pa hinning plays in a ce ain wo k. Fo
ins ance, The Lo d o he Rings shows he eade a hinned wo ld in which he main goal is
o heal and es o e i . In an imme si e an asy hinning is “ he dominan mood”
(Mendlesohn 2008, 61).
Mendlesohn conside s China Mié ille’s Pe dido S ee S a ion (2000) an imme si e
an asy ha bo de s on science ic ion because o he ela ion be ween magic and science.
In ac , one o he opics in Mié ille’s wo k is he c ea ion o a science o he an as ic. This
seems like an a emp o make an asy a ional and o imme se he eade s e en mo e in he
wo ld hey a e eading abou . One aspec o his ype o an asy is he abili y he cha ac e s
ha e o ques ion he wo ld hey a e in by asking why some hing has o be he way i is. I is
e y unlike po al-ques an asies, whe e he p o agonis s only explo e he wo ld in o de o
disco e i s ules, and ul ima ely, hey only sc a ch he su ace.
In cases whe e cha ac e s ha e enough knowledge o hei own wo ld o ques ion i s
ules and y o al e hem o some ex en , hese cha ac e s may become an agonis s.
Acco ding o Mendlesohn, his can occu in di e en le els; i could be “abou he na u e o
poli ics o abou he na u e o physics” (68). Mendlesohn e u ns o Tolkien o illus a e
his, asse ing ha he hobbi s ha e enough knowledge o he Shi e o de y some o i s ules
(c . 68).
36
“Imme si e an asy […] mus assume ha he eade is as much a pa o he wo ld as a e hose being ead
abou ” (Mendlesohn 2008, 59).
27
The hi d ca ego y ha Mendlesohn p oposes is ha o in usion an asy. These
an asies o en ake pa in he p ima y wo ld. As he name sugges s, an asy is an in ude
in his wo ld and he e is a e y clea dis inc ion be ween he an as ic and eali y.
No mally, i dis up s he o de o hings and, he e o e, he ul ima e goal o an in usion
an asy is es o a ion.
One in e es ing aspec aised by Mendlesohn ega ding his speci ic ca ego y is he
possibili y ha Da k Lo ds ea u ed in an asy a e in ude s (c . 114). Fo ins ance,
Tolkien’s Sau on is no o iginally om Middle-ea h; he is one o he Maia , and abou
hem, Tolkien w i es: “[w]i h he Vala came o he spi i s whose being also began be o e
he Wo ld, o he same o de as he Vala bu o less deg ee. These a e he Maia , he
people o he Vala , and hei se an s and helpe s” (Tolkien 1999, 48). The same is ue o
C. S. Lewis’s Whi e Wi ch. She is o iginally om a di e en wo ld and was b ough by
Digo y Ki ke o Na nia in The Magician’s Nephew (1955). So, by associa ion, i can be
expec ed ha all e il ela ed o Da k Lo ds can be in usions.
The in usion is some hing ha canno be igno ed and mus “be nego ia ed wi h o
de ea ed, sen back o whe e i came om, o con olled” (Mendlesohn 2008, 115). In
addi ion, he way he eade s deal wi h he an as ic ollows a ce ain ajec o y; i goes
om a e usal o an acknowledgemen o an accep ance o i s exis ence. As he in usion
goes on, i escala es. Fo ins ance, and going back o The Magician’s Nephew, when Jadis
a i es in London she dis up s hings in Digo y’s house by a acking Miss Ke e ley. By he
ime she comes back o he house, hings ha e escala ed o a io ous poin , which in ol ed
he police and Jadis con on ing and a acking people.
In usion an asies can also imply a e u n o he an as ic a e no mali y is
ees ablished. In The Philosophe ’s S one (1997) Voldemo can be conside ed an in ude
in Hogwa s. Taking a close look a how hings escala e, i s a s wi h Ha y’s sca hu ing
du ing he so ing ce emony, hen he T oll in he dungeons du ing he Halloween eas , and
ul ima ely wi h Voldemo , making use o P o esso Qui ell’s body, ying o s eal he
Philosophe ’s S one.
37
Voldemo is de ea ed in he end and he in usion seems o ha e
37
An escala ion o bigge dimensions can also be ound in he whole sequence. In he i s book he e a e no
appa en consequences, excep he des uc ion o he S one and, he e o e, he dea hs o Nicholas Flamel and
28
been deal wi h. Howe e , a second a emp is made in The Chambe o Sec e s (1998), as
Voldemo makes use o a dia y o y and gain new li e, and no mali y is again dis up ed.
So, wha happens he e is ha “ he an as ic is [successi ely] sen back o i s own wo ld, i
only empo a ily” (Mendlesohn 2008, 148).
The ou h ca ego y in Mendlesohn’s axonomy is liminal an asy, also called
es anged an asy. Jus like in usion an asies, hey usually ake place in he p ima y wo ld,
as opposed o po al-ques and imme si e an asies. Mendlesohn says ha his dis inc ion
be ween ca ego ies “clea ly map on o he con en ional di isions o high and low an asy”
(2002, 172). The e o e, in usion and liminal an asies a e conside ed low an asy, o hey
a e se in he p ima y wo ld, while po al-ques and imme si e, loca ed in seconda y
wo lds, a e high an asy.
The e is a simila i y be ween liminal and in usion an asies in he sense ha he
an as ic is ega ded as an in usion. Howe e , i s p esence is e y ain o is ega ded as
casual; he e is no sense o w ongness i an asy in udes. This is also a an asy o e usal
whe e “ he an as ical is o en denied” (180). While in ques an asies he e is no choice o
he p o agonis , in his ca ego y he e is space o choice and ejec ion o he ques .
The ac ha he an as ic is seen he e wi h some deg ee o no mali y app oxima es
his ca ego y o imme si e an asy. S ill, i is he ela ionship he p o agonis has o he
an as ic ha makes a dis inc ion, especially because i con as s wi h he way he eade
sees magic. Mendlesohn demons a es his wi h a s o y called “Yes, Bu Today is Tuesday”
(1953) whe e “[w]e place he absu d in di e en momen s, bu doub because he amily
seems o ques ion whe he any hing uly an as ical has happened a all” (2008, 182).
The e a e o he cha ac e is ics ha desc ibe liminal an asy, bu his will be discussed in
mo e p ac ical e ms in chap e ou o his disse a ion, along wi h he o he ca ego ies.
Because he e a e wo ks o an asy ha do no i he cha ac e is ics o he ou
ca ego ies, Mendlesohn p e en s he impossibili y o ca ego ize hese no els by ha ing a
i h ca ego y, which she e ms “ he i egula s.” The e o e, his ca ego y includes an asies
his wi e. In he second book mul iple s uden s a e pe i ied, almos causing he school’s closu e. Finally, he
in usion eaches i s peak wi h Voldemo assuming physical o m and, la e , wi h he ba le a Hogwa s.
29
ha do no obey he p inciples o he po al-ques , he imme sion, he in usion, and he
liminal an asies, o e en hose wo ks which could be placed in mo e han one ca ego y.
This summa izes somewha he axonomy p ojec ed by Fa ah Mendlesohn in
Rhe o ics o Fan asy. As his sec ion was dedica ed o he s udy o he axonomy o an asy,
he nex pa will be ocused on o he s udies ha ha e been ele an o he gen e.
1.4. S udies o Fan asy: S a e o he A
Tolkien’s con ibu ion o he ield o an asy makes him a g ea in luence o o he
academics who decided o s udy his li e a y gen e. I is in his essay “On Fai y S o ies” ha
he au ho o he Lo d o he Rings de elops his de ini ion o an asy. Tolkien desc ibes
how an asy is an elemen o ai y-s o ies, based on he idea ha i is synonymous wi h
imagina ion and hus, he ac o sub-c ea ing. The essay is desc ibed by c i ics as an
impo an wo k ha “should be placed i s on any equi ed eading lis o s uden s o he
gen e” (Zaho ski and Boye 1982, 57).
The idea o imagina ion and ancy, e ms ha Tolkien wo ked wi h, had al eady
been ackled by Samuel Taylo Cole idge in his Biog aphia Li e a ia (1817). The poe
ede ined he concep o imagina ion and e e ed o i as “ he li ing Powe and p ime
Agen o all human pe cep ion” (q d. in Wol e 2012, 9), and ancy was only a mode o
memo y. La e , Geo ge MacDonald e u ned o his di e ence and ga e i a new
pe spec i e: imagina ion is he p oduc esul ing om “new embodimen s o old u hs” and
ancy is wha comes om in en ions (9).
P io o his, in he ea ly eigh een h cen u y, Joseph Addison men ioned imagina ion
and ancy when e e ing o poe y and d ama. Da id Sandne , au ho o an asy no els and
a c i ic o he gen e, “has a gued ha Addison could be ega ded as he ‘ i s an asy c i ic
o he an as ic’” (7), e en hough he wasn’ discussing ic ion.
These ea lie ideas ha cons i u ed he an asy gen e ha e been eco e ed by
Tolkien o de elop hem u he . The e o e, his main no ions conce ning an asy a e ha i
akes place in a Seconda y Wo ld and ha i o e s escapism and consola ion. C. S. Lewis,
30
Tolkien’s con empo a y, and U sula K. Le Guin, who came in he ollowing decade, also
s udied he gen e.
Le Guin’s The Language o he Nigh : Essays on Fan asy and Science Fic ion
(1979) ela es, among o he hings, he impo ance o he imagina ion and he easons why
an asy should no be downg aded. She also c i icizes wha she calls “commodi ied
an asy” by saying ha “i in en s no hing, bu imi a es and i ializes” (2012a, XV).
The e o e, he e is no change. Bu she claims ha as ime changes he au ho s’ and eade s’
minds, so do he in en ed wo lds o an asy.
38
Be o e McDonald had his ake on an asy he gen e was ega ded as supe s i ious
and lacking in mo ali y. E en hough he e was a gene al change o opinion, his nega i i y
las ed h ough he wen ie h cen u y and onwa ds wi h ce ain heo is s ega ding an asy as
lacking any social, economic, o his o ical ele ance. Such ideas came om Ma xis
academics and ha e been de eloped by Da ko Su in in his wo k Me amo phoses o Science
Fic ion: On he Poe ics and His o y o a Li e a y Gen e (1979). A guing ha an asy lacks
any educa ional unc ion, Su in p aises science ic ion ins ead, e e ing o i s impo ance
in e ms o social de elopmen .
Fan asy has also been discussed in he symposium Ma xism and Fan asy as pa o
he jou nal His o ical Ma e ialism. In some o he essays published, an asy is ende ed
useless in con as o science ic ion and i is a gued ha he c ea ion o wo lds o an asy,
using Tolkien’s as an example, is poo ly done. Ca l F eedman calls Middle-ea h “a hin
and impo e ished wo ld: i is miles wide bu only inches deep” (2002, 263). I is his
unde s anding ha elemen s o in e es o Ma xis heo y, poli ics, economy, ideology, a e
“silen ly e ased, o be eplaced by he dominan obsession o he […] abs ac and
essen ially acuous me aphysical ba le be ween good and e il (263-264).
By he ea ly 1980s, an asy s udies we e unde way and he e was al eady an
unde s anding be ween schola s on wha he gen e en ailed exac ly: i was ag eed ha i
was “ he li e a u e o he impossible” (q d. in Wol e 1982, 1). Among he schola s ha
38
This was pa o he au ho ’s explana ion on why she w o e Tales om Ea hsea (2001): o p o e ha ime
passes by in seconda y wo lds jus as much as i passes in p ima y wo lds.

31
endo sed his p oposal we e W. R. I win, E ic S. Rabkin, C. N. Manlo e, and Roge C.
Schlobin. Howe e , each o hese academics pu sued hei own isions o he an as ic.
The di icul y o li e a y heo is s o de ine an asy has been illus a ed by Ga y K,
Wol e, who used as an example Me yn Peake’s Ti us G oan (1946). Peake’s no el,
al eady conside ed a canonical an asy wo k, iola es he p inciple o he impossible. Wol e
says ha “i is no explici ly an impossible wo ld, and he e en s o he no el a e no
explici ly supe na u al e en s” (2011, 32). Subsequen ly, he says ha he “ ac ha ew
eade s seem o no ice his, o be bo he ed by i , sugges s ha he o e whelming one o he
no el ca ies enough o he an asy a ec o o e ide me e conce ns and plo se ing” (32).
Dis inguishing an asy om he an as ic and di e en ia ing i e classes wi hin
an asy,
39
I win, in his wo k The Game o he Impossible: A Rhe o ic o Fan asy (1976) has
also de ined he gen e and excluded he Seconda y Wo ld om i . Colin Manlo e has
published Mode n Fan asy: Fi e S udies (1975), The Impulse o Fan asy Li e a u e (1982),
The Fan asy Li e a u e o England (1999), among o he s. He has s udied an asy au ho s
such as Tolkien, Lewis, and MacDonald o sus ain his heo y o he an as ic, which, he
claims, needs “an i educible elemen o supe na u al o impossible wo lds, beings, o
objec s” (q d. in 1).
A heo y ha in e p e s an asy as “p o oca i e bu no always igo ous” has been
p esen ed by Rabkin in The Fan as ic in Li e a u e (1976) (Nicholls “Rabkin, E ic S.”
2017, 987). Rabkin has con ibu ed o he ield wi h se e al wo ks ela ed o an asy and
science ic ion. In addi ion, he e e s o how an asy ies o escape ce ain social no ms
and, by iden i ying which ules an au ho ies o iola e, he can lea n om he au ho ’s
own socie y. Howe e , his wo k is seen as “ hin and ske chy” as a esul o ying o
include a g ea a ie y o opics (Ma shall 1977, 83). In Fan as ic Wo lds: My hs, Tales and
S o ies (1979), an an hology comp ising o a ious o ms o an asy, as well as science
ic ion and ho o , Rabkin demons a es how an asy ul ills he eade ’s need o de ach
him/he sel om he eal wo ld.
Se e al de ini ions o an asy can be ound in Roge Shclobin’s The Aes he ics o
Fan asy in Li e a u e and A (1982). Some o he essays se le on he p inciple ha an asy
39
Me amo phosis, impossible socie ies, o ganized innocence, pa ody and adap a ion, and he supe na u al.
32
is a gen e ha ep esen s he impossible, like Wol e’s “The Encoun e wi h Fan asy” and
Manlo e’s “On he Na u e o Fan asy.” Zaho ski and Boye add ess he heme o he
seconda y wo ld in “The Seconda y Wo lds o High Fan asy,” desc ibing he di e ences
and simila i ies “be ween wha Tolkien has called p ima y wo lds (li e a y mi o s o ou
own amilia eali y) and seconda y wo lds ( he exo ic o he wo lds o an asy)” (Ta a
1984, 692).
O ex eme in luence o he a o emen ioned academics is Tz e an Todo o ’s The
Fan as ic: A S uc u al App oach o a Li e a y Gen e (1973), labeled by Rosema y Jackson
as “ he mos impo an and in luen ial c i ical s udy o an asy o his pos -Roman ic
pe iod” (Jackson 1981, 5).
40
Todo o se some pa ame e s which he an as ic
41
mus
accomplish, and he mos impo an is p obably i s posi ioning be ween he ma elous and
he uncanny.
The e has also been an a emp o con inue Todo o ’s heo y in Jackson’s Fan asy:
The Li e a u e o Sub e sion (1981) (c . Jackson 1981, 5). The s udy consis s o a
heo e ical pa conce ning he an as ic as a mode and an analysis o an asy wo ks
acco ding o he heo y she de elops. Jackson claims ha seconda y wo lds a e me apho s
o he eal wo ld and ha an asy is “a li e a u e o desi e, which seeks ha which is
expe ienced as absence and loss” (q d. in Bould 2002, 60).
42
Some c i icism o an asy includes he gen e’s ela ion wi h my h. And as Sando ’s
a icle “My hs and he Fan as ic” (1991) e lec s on he close ela ion o my h and an asies,
as i he la e was a ollow-up o he o me . In a somewha simila pe spec i e, Ma ek
Oziewicz’s One Ea h, One People: The My hopoe ic Fan asy Se ies o U sula K. Le Guin,
Lloyd Alexande , Madeleine L’Engle and O son Sco Ca d (2008) e e s o my hopoeic
an asy as a gen e which laid i s ounda ions upon my hic adi ion. E en hough some
c i ics include wo ks such as my hs o c ea ion (Hesiod’s Theogony o he Edda) wi hin
40
By pos -Roman ic pe iod, Jackson e e s o li e a u e om he nine een h and wen ie h cen u ies.
41
C i ics ha e ans o med Todo o ’s e m an as ic in o an asy, making i seem as i one was synonymous
wi h he o he (c . Bould 2002, 56). In ac , some heo ies de elop a ound he di e ence be ween bo h e ms.
42
Tolkien’s Shi e e lec s, o some ex en , Jackson’s idea. The indus ializa ion ha occu ed he e by he end
o he Thi d Age was inspi ed by he expansion o indus y o some pa s o u al England. Thus, i
symbolizes Tolkien’s loss o some o his childhood places and also an a emp o es o e hem.
33
mode n an asy, o he s make clea ha my h co esponds o belie , and he e o e, o hose
belie e s, eali y, and an asy should be connec ed wi h he un eal.
One o he mos impo an academics in he ield o mode n an asy is B ian
A ebe y, who p oposed he heo y o he uzzy se , ega ding he bo de s o he gen e.
Despi e main aining ha his heo y lacks scien i ic alue, i is s ill a sou ce o in luence o
o he esea che s. The uzzy se was de eloped in A ebe y’s S a egies o Fan asy and also
b ings in o he discussion he ma e o he o e lap be ween an asy and science ic ion.
43
Being an admi e o Tolkien’s wo k, A ebe y uses The Lo d o he Rings o apply
mode n heo ies o he gen e. The e o e, A be y p o es ha Tolkien’s wo k is
g oundb eaking in he gen e by showing i is di e en om ea lie wo ks. Ano he aspec
o A ebe y’s wo k conce ns his ake on women w i e s and he oines, whe e he shows how
di e en he emale p o agonis s in an asy a e om o he wo ks o mo e ealis ic ic ion.
44
The Encyclopedia o Fan asy, edi ed by John Clu e and John G an , con ains
de ini ions o a ious ypes o an asy as well as a as amoun o e ms ela ed o he
gen e. In addi ion, i has in o ma ion on mul iple au ho s and hei wo ks, magazines and
an hologies o an asy, in o ma ion on comic-book magazines as well as many en ies on
mo ies ela ed o he gen e. F om his encyclopedia, i is possible o ind some o he mos
ancien oo s o an asy wi h en ies ela ed o my hology, ai y ales, and o he ap oo ex s.
The e’s also a as amoun o ma e ial ega ding gen es connec ed wi h an asy, such as
ho o and science ic ion.
45
Mo e ecen s udies include The Camb idge Companion o Fan asy (2012), edi ed
by Fa ah Mendlesohn and Edwa d James. This compila ion o essays add esses mode n
an asy, an asy be o e he nine een h cen u y, and mul iple subgen es, om u ban an asy
o child en’s, o his o ical an asy. An en i e chap e is dedica ed o Tolkien and Lewis and
how he gen e exploded and in luenced subsequen gene a ions o au ho s.
43
This is a esul o he uzzy se heo y.
44
The he oine in an asy expe iences a coming o age ha esul s in he becoming a ole model, ins ead o he
ype o he oine who “o en descends o madness, commi s suicide, o emains in despai (Pa kin-Spee 1992,
223). Tena om The Tombs o A uan is an example o he an asy he oine desc ibed abo e.
45
Conce ning science ic ion, he e is The Encyclopedia o Science Fic ion (1997), edi ed by John Clu e and
Pe e Nicholls.
34
Also by Fa ah Mendlesohn is Rhe o ics o Fan asy, which explains he au ho ’s
axonomy o an asy. Ins ead o ying o de ine he gen e, Mendlesohn places di e en
an asy wo ks in o ou dis inc ca ego ies. These a e: po al-ques an asy, liminal an asy,
in usion an asy, and imme si e an asy. Each has i s own cha ac e is ics and Mendlesohn
desc ibes hem by ocusing on how he an as ic is app oached in he na a ed wo ld.
In his wo k, E apo a ing Gen es, Ga y K. Wol e commen s on he inclina ion o
an asy o ex inguish i s bounda ies because i became so di e se o e he yea s. Wol e also
e e s o au ho s who y o sub e he ules o he gen e and places hem in h ee di e en
g oups: hose who ollow he pa adigm ins alled by Tolkien,
46
hose who go agains i , and
hose who only use i as a e e ence. In ac , he e apo a ion o he gen e can be seen in
close ela ion wi h he uzzy se heo y applied by A ebe y, o bo h academics seem o
ag ee ha he e is an expansion o an asy ha o e laps wi h o he gen es.
On wha conce ns po als, he e ha e been some s udies ocused on i since Lewis
published The Lion, he Wi ch and he Wa d obe, o his is ega ded as he a che ype o he
po al an asy. Howe e , and un ela ed o Lewis bu mo e ocused on my h and ai y ales is
Joseph Campbell’s The He o Wi h a Thousand Faces (1949), which e lec s he changes
ope a ed in he landscape and he na a i e when he he o c osses a po al, mo e commonly
e e ed by Campbell as h esholds.
The essay by Zaho ski and Boye ea u ed on The Aes he ics o Fan asy Li e a u e
and A also discou ses on he a ious ypes o po als ha make he c ossing be ween
p ima y and seconda y wo lds. The au ho s men ion some o he po als ha lead o Na nia
bu poin ou ha one shouldn’ hink “ ha all con en ional po als lead in o a ac i e
seconda y wo lds” (65).
Fa ah Mendlesohn’s s udy o po al-ques an asies also emphasizes he impo ance
o po als and hei mechanics and es ablishes a se o cha ac e is ics ha de ine hei
na u e. Fo ins ance, in a po al-ques an asy, he po al mus no le he an as ic leak in o
he p ima y wo ld; o he wise i would be an in usion.
Wha can be de e mined om he ongoing s udies o an asy is ha he e is al eady
a la ge amoun o ma e ial a emp ing o de ine he gen e, which is becoming mo e di icul
46
A ebe y had al eady e e ed o Tolkien’s o m o an asy as a model o be ollowed by o he au ho s.
41
The Shi e in J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lo d o he Rings can be conside ed a
“wo ld-wi hin-a-wo ld.”
55
As pa o Middle-ea h, he Shi e bea s some esemblance o
England, as p e iously men ioned. Howe e , he hobbi s li e de ached li es om he es o
Middle-ea h: hey don’ wo y wi h ou side p oblems and a ely do hey ecei e isi s om
ou side s, excep Gandal and a ew o he s. They ge li le news om he ou side and hei
bo de s a e p o ec ed by he Range s o he No h.
I can be a gued ha Bilbo Baggins’s expedi ion in The Hobbi may ha e been he
cause o he ins abili y ha he Shi e expe ienced la e . By b inging he One Ring wi h
him, Bilbo c ea ed an ine i able link wi h he sa e “wo ld-wi hin-a-wo ld,” ha was he
Shi e, and he seconda y wo ld, ha is Middle-ea h. I is hen h ough he One Ring, and
wi h he aid o Gandal , ha magic awakes in he Shi e, and he bo de s, which could be
ega ded as a po al, a e open o hose who wish o en e . The coming o Sa uman, unde
he guise o Sha key, p o es ha he Shi e is no longe a “wo ld-wi hin-a-wo ld” bu pa o
he seconda y wo ld al oge he .
Howe e , he healing o he Shi e and he plan ing o he ees, whose seeds we e
gi en o Sam Gamgee by he Lady Galad iel, sees he e u n o magic o he ealm o he
hobbi s:
So Sam plan ed saplings in all he places whe e specially beau i ul o
belo ed ees had been des oyed, and he pu a g ain o he p ecious dus in he
soil a he oo o each. […] The li le sil e nu he plan ed in he Pa y Field
whe e he ee had once been; and he wonde ed wha would come o i . […]
Sp ing su passed his wildes hopes. His ees began o sp ou and g ow, as i ime
was in a hu y and wished o make one yea do o wen y. In he Pa y Field a
beau i ul young sapling leaped up: i had sil e ba k and long lea es and bu s
in o golden lowe s in Ap il. I was indeed a mallo n, and i was he wonde o
he neighbou hood. In a e yea s, as i g ew in g ace and beau y, i was known
a and wide and people would come long jou neys o see i : he only mallo n
wes o he Moun ains and eas o he Sea, and one o he ines in he wo ld.
(Tolkien 1993, 1061)
In addi ion, King Elessa ’s o e o he Shi e as a gi o he hobbi s ees ablishes his place
as a “wo ld-wi hin-a-wo ld.”
55
The exp ession is used by Zaho ski and Boye .

42
The magical agen s in he Shi e, which a e Gandal and he One Ring, open a po al
ha widens he connec ion be ween wo lds. The depa u e o he cha ac e s om his sa e
ha en es o es, o some ex en , he sepa a ion ha exis ed be o e he a i al o he agen s. I
should be no ed, hough, ha he e whe e epe cussions in he Shi e wi h he coming o
Sa uman.
Simila o he Shi e is he Two Ri e s in The Wheel o Time. The geog aphical
isola ion o he egion makes i a pe ec place o a “wo ld-wi hin-a-wo ld.”
56
The only
ou side s ha go in o he Two Ri e s a e he occasional peddle s, and he na i es a ely
lea e. Much like he hobbi s, he Two Ri e s people li e apa om wo ld p oblems. Bu ,
jus like he Shi e, he e is hinning, hough much less accen ua ed. Bu his pa icula po al
will be analyzed in chap e h ee mo e ho oughly.
A po al ha is bo h simila and di e en can be ound in he Ha y Po e
sequence. The di e ence is ha i is loca ed in he p ima y wo ld bu does no lead en i ely
o a seconda y one, as Hogwa s is loca ed in he Uni ed Kingdom. Hogwa s is, o some
ex en , a e sion o he Shi e and he Two Ri e s se in he p ima y wo ld, and he e lies he
simila i y be ween hem. Wha could be conside ed a po al in he Ha y Po e books is he
pla o m nine and h ee-qua e s in King’s C oss s a ion in London. Hidden in a s one pilla
be ween pla o ms nine and en, wiza ds c oss his po al o ge o he Hogwa s Exp ess,
and hus, o he school.
E en hough he magical communi y coexis s wi h he non-magical communi y in
he same wo ld, he lines ha sepa a e hem is some imes e y hin and Muggles can
become in ol ed wi h magic, whe he h ough ma iage o bi h. Fo he mos pa Muggles
do no no ice magic he same as wiza ds do. Hogwa s is such an example, as He mione
G ange explains:
‘Bu Hogwa s is hidden,’ said He mione, in su p ise. ‘e e yone knows ha
… well, e e yone who’s ead Hogwa s: A His o y, anyway.’
56
The Moun ains o Mis o he Wes , he Mi e o he Eas , he Fo es o Shadows o he Sou h, and he i e
Ta en lowing in he No h and Eas cons i u e he bo de s o he Two Ri e s. The only way o en e o lea e
he egion is by c ossing he Ta en in he illage o Ta en Fe y (c . Eye, 55).
43
‘Jus you, hen,’ said Ron. ‘So go on — how d’you hide a place like
Hogwa s?’
‘I ’s bewi ched,’ said He mione. ‘I a Muggle looks a i , all hey see is a
moulde ing old uin wi h a sign o e he en ance saying DANGER, DO NOT
ENTER, UNSAFE.’ (Rowling 2014, 141)
F om his exce p , one could conside ha Hogwa s is a so o polde . And i may
be so. A some poin , he school is p o ec ed by cha ms agains he ollowe s o Lo d
Voldemo , ma king he sa e y o a place p o ec ed agains hinning. In addi ion o wiza ds
no being able o Appa a e o Disappa a e in any pa o Hogwa s,
57
any elec onical
de ices ail wi hin he ange o he school:
‘All hose subs i u es o magic Muggles use — elec ici y, and
compu e s and ada , and all hose hings — hey all go haywi e a ound
Hogwa s, he e’s oo much magic in he ai .’ (Rowling 2014, 462)
So, Rowling’s books in ol e a po al ha le s one in o and ou o di e en
dimensions o he same wo ld, as well as a polde ha has a magical h eshold ep esen ed
by enchan men s ha hide i and p o ec i om hose who should no en e o see i .
Ano he po al as simila and disc e e as he passage in o pla o m nine and h ee-
qua e s can be ound in China Mié ille’s Un Lun Dun. The cha ac e s Zanna and Deeba
a e lu ed by an umb ella o he po al ha akes hem bo h om London o UnLondon. This
po al hey c oss is qui e mechanical o i does no wo k on i s own, like he po als seen
abo e, e en hough Zanna seems o wo k i unconsciously: “[b]u slowly Zanna shu led
o wa d. She looked like a sleepwalke ” (Un Lun Dun, 26).
The con ap ion ha makes he po al wo k consis s o pipes and gauges in which
he needles mo e and wheels can be o a ed (c . 26). Unlike he po als al eady analyzed
abo e, his one mo es om London o UnLondon ac oss he Odd, which is “ he memb ane
be ween he ci y and he abci y” (406).
E en hough he e is a di ec ela ion be ween London and UnLondon, he e seems
o be a ime wa p ha causes he “phlegm e ec .” Deeba lea ned ha “[ ]he phlegm e ec
57
“’you can’ Appa a e anywhe e inside he buildings o g ounds’” (Rowling 2005, 52).
44
was why when he mo he and a he s umbled sleepily in o b eak as , hey chee ully
g ee ed Deeba as i she hadn’ been missing o h ee days” (160-161). Howe e , his e ec
ge s s onge a e one s ays oo long ei he in London o in UnLondon. A e a pe iod o
nine days in UnLondon, he e is he isk o a pe son being o go en in London (c . 278).
The p ophecies in UnLondon demand he p esence o a he oine called he Shwazzy
(Chosen), so i is na u al ha Zanna and Deeba ound i and wo ked hei way o he abci y,
jus like Deeba managed o do la e wi h a di e en po al. The po al used i s no longe
wo ked o Deeba, so i can be assumed ha , like he wa d obe o Na nia, i only wo ks
once.
On he second ip o UnLondon Deeba climbed a bookshel in he school lib a y in
London ha led o he Wo dhoa d Pi o UnLondon. In he dialogue be ween Deeba and
Ma ga i a S aples i is implied ha he bookshel es a e pa hs o many o he places (c .
189).
The book ha con ains he p ophecies o UnLondon gi es Deeba he clues o ind
he po al h ough a no e wi h a ew wo ds.
58
The e o e, p ophecy is again a wo k and,
e en hough Deeba inds he po al, i is he po al ha ac ually inds he . This also
happened he i s ime; he po al had a way o being ound. A he same ime, he second
po al was a ial o es he he oine’s wo hiness o en e ing UnLondon again, e en i
Deeba is no he Shwazzy.
A po al also symbolizes a i e o passage om childhood o adul hood (c .
Mendlesohn 2008, 1). Many an asy no els ha in ol e child en o adolescen s ha e
h esholds o po als ha ep esen an unde s anding and g ow h. In U sula Le Guin’s The
Tombs o A uan one can ind a po al ha co esponds o a i e o passage. When Ged is
wi h Ah a in he Laby in h o he Tombs o A uan he gi es he a choice:
‘You mus make a choice. Ei he you mus lea e me, lock he doo […]
o , you mus unlock he doo , and go ou o i , wi h me. Lea e he Tombs, lea e
A uan, and come wi h me o e sea. And his is he beginning o he s o y. You
mus be Ah a, o you mus be Tena . You canno be bo h.’ (Guin 2012b, 272)
58
“B ick wiza d y and he pigeons a all, bu only o eg e i icul o ge in, and no easi en e by books eps,
on s o yladde s unlike any o he ” (Un Lun Dun, 162).
45
When Ah a decides o accep and lea e he laby in h wi h Ged she becomes Tena .
The c ossing ep esen s a coming o age o he child Ah a, who becomes he adul Tena .
Lea ing he Tombs also ma ks he beginning o a new li e o he ; she is no longe
p ies ess, he emple is des oyed by an ea hquake and she lea es A uan and he Ka gad
Lands. When she is seen nex she is al eady a middle-aged woman li ing in Gon . The Ring
o E e h-Akbe may ha e wo ked some so o ascina ion on Tena and may ha e
in luenced he decision o lea e.
59
I was said ha when he Ring o E e h-Akbe was
es o ed and b ough o he ci y o Ha no he lands in Ea hsea would know peace.
This analysis o po als, h esholds, and polde s shows how di e en kinds exis in
an asy li e a u e and, o some ex en , how in luenced hey we e by my hology. These
c ossings can assume di e en o ms, be loca ed and hidden in he mos unlikely places,
and be c ossed in e y di e en ci cums ances. Howe e , he e seems o be some hing
connec ing hese passages, and i can be na owed down o he wo d need. In he no els
seen abo e he e was a sense o need behind each po al: he need o deli e Na nia om
he e il o he Whi e Wi ch, he need o ake he One Ring om he Shi e in o de o sa e i ,
o he need o sa e UnLondon agains he Smog.
Addi ionally, each po al has a s ong symbolic na u e o hose who c oss i . Fo
ins ance, Ha y Po e lea ns his ue o igins and Tena lea ns wha lies ha e been ed o he
all he li e. Fo hese cha ac e s, c ossing a po al in ol es an awa eness o hemsel es ha
hey didn’ ha e be o e. So, he po al ep esen s bo h a physical and a spi i ual c ossing,
and ha is one o he easons hey a e so equen in he o-ques an asies.
59
Tena la e became known as Tena o he Ring, o she was he one who deli e ed i in Ha no .
46
III – Reading Robe Jo dan’s The Wheel o Time as a Po al-Ques
Fan asy
3.1. The Wo ld o he Wheel and Na a i e Techniques
The ca ego ies o an asy de eloped by Fa ah Mendlesohn in Rhe o ics o Fan asy p esen
a ious aspec s associa ed wi h di e en ypes o an asy. Taking in o conside a ion he
axonomy, his chap e aims a unde s anding how he cha ac e is ics o Robe Jo dan’s
The Wheel o Time a e in acco dance wi h Mendlesohn’s model o po al-ques an asy.
This chap e , di ided in wo sec ions, will i s in oduce he wo k and he au ho in
ques ion. I will be impo an o comp ehend how he na a i e is de eloped in e ms o he
cons uc ion o he wo ld and he cha ac e s in o de o make a be e in e p e a ion o he
wo ks in ligh o Mendlesohn’s axonomy. The i s sec ion will also ocus on he na a i e
echniques used by he au ho o desc ibe he wo ld o he eade . Due o he ex en o
Jo dan’s se ies, The Eye o he Wo ld will be he main sou ce o he analysis. Howe e ,
because he na a i e o his olume is e y cons ic ed, o he wo ks will also be used, e en
hough o a lesse deg ee.
The second sec ion and main bulk o he chap e will concen a e on he analysis o
The Wheel o Time acco ding o Mendlesohn’s axonomy. The analysis ega ding he i s
ca ego y in Rhe o ics o Fan asy will ocus on i s mos essen ial aspec s, speci ically he
po al and he ques , and he aspec s ela ing o he ype o he o in such o ms o an asy.
Robe Jo dan was bo n James Oli e Rigney J . in Sou h Ca olina in 1948. He was
an Ame ican au ho bes known o The Wheel o Time se ies and o ha ing w i en se en
no els o Conan he Ba ba ian, be ween 1982 and 1984. He died in 2007, a e he
publica ion o Kni e o D eams (2005), he ele en h book in he se ies. The Wheel o Time
was published be ween 1990 and 2013 and consis s o ou een olumes and a p equel.
A e he au ho ’s dea h, B andon Sande son, known o his Mis bo n se ies and he
S o mligh A chi e, was chosen by Jo dan’s widow, Ha ie McDougal, o comple e he
se ies, co-au ho ing he las h ee no els. All books since The Pa h o Dagge s (1998), he
eigh h olume, we e numbe one in he New Yo k Times Bes Selle lis and he ull se ies
was nomina ed o a Hugo Awa d in 2014.

47
Known his o y in The Wheel o Time s a s wi h he d illing o he Bo e du ing he
Age o Legends.
60
The ollowing is said abou his e en : “[w]hen he Bo e was d illed in o
a place ou side he Pa e n, a da k p esence used he opening o ouch he wo ld. This
p esence, which named i sel Shai’ an, had been imp isoned ou side o ime and c ea ion by
he C ea o o he uni e se” (Jo dan and Pa e son 1998, 59). This was ollowed by he Wa
o Powe , which led o he assaul on Shayol Ghul and he imp isoning o he Da k One
61
and he Fo saken
62
a he hands o Lews The in Telamon.
63
This esul ed in he ain ing o
saidin and he beginning o he Time o Madness and he B eaking o he Wo ld.
64
F om
he econs uc ion a e he B eaking ose he Ten Na ions, all o which ell one housand
yea s la e , du ing he T olloc Wa s. New coun ies we e o med and we e uni ied unde
A u Hawkwing a e ano he housand yea s. The dea h o Hawkwing esul ed in he
di ision o he empi e and he o ma ion o he cu en na ions, which a e s ill s anding a e
a housand yea s. The ci y o Ta Valon, ounded igh a e he B eaking by he emaining
Aes Sedai
65
in he land, is one o he only places in he Wes lands o ha e su i ed he pas
h ee housand yea s. The e o e, he Whi e Towe is one o he mos impo an ins i u ions
in he Wes lands and he Amy lin Sea he mos powe ul pe son in he known wo ld.
The s o y o The Eye o he Wo ld s a s wi h an a ack o de ed by he Da k One on
he illage o Emond’s Field, in he Two Ri e s. A e his, Rand al’Tho , he main
p o agonis inds ou ha he, along wi h his iends Ma Cau hon and Pe in Ayba a, a e
being hun ed down by he Da k One himsel , o easons unknown o all. Rand and his wo
iends depa he Two Ri e s in he company o Moi aine and Lan, an Aes Sedai and he
Wa de , espec i ely, Thom Me ilin, a gleeman who had come o he sp ing es i al, and
60
The second age o he wo ld. I was a ime o peace and g ea echnological ad ance. Mos knowledge
abou his ime was e en ually los .
61
The Da k One is he an agonis and symbolizes all ha is e il. His ue name is Shai’ an bu he is known by
many di e en names.
62
The Fo saken we e Aes Sedai ha se ed he Da k One. The hi een mos powe ul o he Fo saken we e
apped in Shayol Ghul when Lews The in led he assaul agains he Da k One, in an a emp o seal him o
good.
63
Lews The in was a man known as he D agon and who einca na ed as Rand al’Tho .
64
The ain on saidin caused all men who could use he One Powe o go mad and s a des oying he wo ld
h ough na u al ca as ophes and almos wiping ou any aces o ci iliza ion. All male channele s ha e o be
ound and se e ed om hei con ac wi h he One Powe .
65
Aes Sedai a e one o he g oups o people who use he One Powe . Du ing he Age o Legends, Aes Sedai
we e bo h men and women. Bu wi h he ain on saidin, all emaining Aes Sedai a e women. Thei sea o
powe is he Whi e Towe , in he ci y o Ta Valon, and hei head o s a e is he Amy lin Sea .
48
Egwene al’Ve e. They a e joined la e by Nynae e al’Mea a, he illage Wisdom
66
who
a emp s o ake he youngs e s back home. E en s in he i s no el e eal Rand as he
D agon Rebo n, he he o o p ophecy who is mean o ace he Da k One in he Las Ba le.
The es o he se ies e ol es a ound he i e people om Emond’s Field, Rand,
Ma , Pe in, Egwene, and Nynae e, who ollow seemingly independen cou ses, bu whose
ad en u es a e connec ed by he need o uni e he na ions o he Wes lands agains he Da k
One’s imminen a ack.
As he na a i e d aws o a close, he g oup is euni ed and eady o he Las Ba le.
Rand, wi h Moi aine and Nynae e, con on s he Da k One in Shayol Ghul, while Pe in
p o ec s he en ance o he moun ain in a di e en plain.
67
Ma , as he gene al o he o ces
o he Ligh , sees o he ba le s a egy in he Field o Me ilo , while Egwene, as he
Amy lin Sea , leads he Whi e Towe agains he a my o D eadlo ds
68
ha cause
de as a ion on he ba le ield. The s uggle inishes wi h Rand esealing he Da k One in his
p ison pe manen ly.
The wo ld o The Wheel o Time was cons uc ed based on he idea ha i is se in
he p ima y wo ld and no in a seconda y wo ld. The au ho explains he ollowing abou
his wo ld:
I exis s in ou pas and ou u u e. These we e ou legends, bu because
ime is a wheel—acco ding o Hindu legend—we a e he seeds o hei my hs.
Because i is a eal wo ld in my books, hey ha e ce ain deg ees o echnology.
The ime in which he cha ac e s li e is ou u u e and ou pas . Pa o wha I'm
explo ing he e is wha he na u e and sou ce o ou my hs migh be. (Jo dan.
“S a log In e iew,” Jan. 1991)
66
A Wisdom is a woman who deals wi h ma e s o healing and knowledge o he wea he , among o he
hings. Fo each illage he e is a Wisdom and he powe is equal o ha o he Mayo , a leas in he Two
Ri e s.
67
This is he Wo ld o D eams, a place ha is a mi o o he waking wo ld. A he ime o he Las Ba le he
laye ha sepa a ed bo h wo lds was so hin ha Pe in, om he Wo ld o D eams, could see Rand in he
waking wo ld.
68
The designa ion gi en o channele s swo n o he Shadow a e he B eaking o he Wo ld.
49
Taking his in o conside a ion, i is na u al ha he wo ld o he Wheel
69
is so cul u ally
di e se because i encapsula es a as numbe o wo ld adi ions. These include, o
ins ance, an Asian-based cul u e ound in he Seanchan con inen and in he Bo de lands, a
s ong in luence o he B i ish adi ion in he na ion o Ando , he Aiel, inspi ed by
Apache, Bedouin and Zulu cul u es, and many o he s. Howe e , as his is a ma e o
specula ion and hypo hesizing, his will be conside ed a seconda y wo ld.
Geog aphically, he wo ld is made o h ee main landmasses: he la ges includes
he Wes lands, he Aiel Was e,
70
and Sha a, he second is he Seanchan con inen , and he
hi d is an island o he sou h, o which e y li le is known. The Wes lands, he mos
impo an po ion o land is di ided in o ou een e y dis inc na ions and a e bo de ed by
he A y h Ocean o he wes and he Sea o S o ms o he sou h. In hese seas a e also
loca ed he islands o he Sea Folk. To he no h, his land is bo de ed by he G ea Bligh ,
whe e he Da k One’s ouch is s ong, and o he eas by he Spine o he Wo ld. Beyond
he Bligh is Shayol Ghul.
Aside om humans, he land is popula ed by a ace called he Ogie , who a e
paci is s and li e apa om o he people in places called s edding. In he Bligh also dwell
he c ea u es o he Da k One, he majo i y consis ing o T ollocs,
71
My dd aal,
72
and
D aghka .
73
Th oughou The Wheel o Time he e a e mul iple ways in which in o ma ion is
ga he ed, allowing he eade o choose wha o belie e o no , depending on he sou ce.
One o he echniques employed is he use o cha ac e s ha deli e g ea amoun s o
in o ma ion, which a e, mos o he ime, his o ies om he dis an pas o in o ma ion
con ained in p ophecy. In The Eye o he Wo ld his in o ma ion is p o ided by Moi aine,
especially when she ells he illage s o Emond’s Field abou he na ion o Mane he en o
when she alks abou he all o A idhol, he ci y ha became Shada Logo h. Mane he en
and A idhol we e wo o he Ten Na ions men ioned abo e.
69
Wo ld o he Wheel is a e m commonly used o e e o he wo ld c ea ed by Robe Jo dan.
70
This dese is inhabi ed by he Aiel, a wa io people om whom he D agon Rebo n descends.
71
Hal -human and hal -animal c ea u es used o wa .
72
Eyeless c ea u es ha con ol he T ollocs.
73
The D aghka a e ba -like beings who, wi h hei c ooning, a ac people and consume hei souls.
50
This echnique is also isible, o example, when Moi aine explains o Egwene how
he One Powe wo ks:
‘The One Powe […] comes om he T ue Sou ce, he d i ing o ce o
C ea ion, he o ce he C ea o made o u n he Wheel o Time.” […] “Saidin,
he male hal o he T ue Sou ce, and saida , he emale hal , wo k agains each
o he and a he same ime oge he o p o ide ha o ce. Saidin […] is ouled by
he ouch o he Da k One, like wa e wi h a hin slick o ancid oil loa ing on
op. The wa e is s ill pu e, bu i canno be ouched wi hou ouching he
oulness. Only saida is s ill sa e o be used.’ (Eye, 168)
F om his dialogue and om clues ga he ed along he ex , he eade pe cei es ha he
Da k One ain ed saidin when an a emp was made o seal he Bo e and cu he link
be ween he Shadow and he wo ld made by he C ea o .
The e is also a common saying people o en use when e e ing o he Da k One:
“[ ]he Da k One and all o he Fo saken a e bound in Shayol Ghul, beyond he G ea Bligh ,
bound by he C ea o a he momen o C ea ion, bound un il he end o ime. The hand o
he C ea o shel e s he wo ld, and he Ligh shines on us all” (14). E en hough i is
inaccu a e ega ding he Fo saken, i is known ha he C ea o locked he Da k One in a
place beyond c ea ion.
So, he deli e y o such amoun s o in o ma ion happens h ough wha Mendlesohn
e ms a “download” (c . 2008, 13). These deli e ies occu o en enough in he na a i e and
ha e he pu pose o p esen ing he wo ld o he eade s.
Ano he way o showing he wo ld is h ough he use o he map. This is an
ex emely common elemen in an asy. Acco ding o Mendlesohn, “ he e y p esence o
maps a he on o many an asies implies ha he des ina ion and i s meaning a e known”
(2008, 4). Rand’s in ended des ina ion is he ci y o Ta Valon o seek p o ec ion among he
Aes Sedai. Bu , as Mendlesohn poin s ou , i is only an implica ion. The e o e, he
de ia ion om he o iginal a ge can only be seen as common. S ill, he map unc ions as a
ool o delinea e a cou se o o lis places ha will ce ainly be isi ed (c . Clu e and G an
1999, 624). The map in The Wheel o Time i s his desc ip ion, o he as majo i y o
places ea u ed in i a e isi ed a some poin . The map o he Wes lands seen in he
57
An impo an pa o po al-ques an asy is he exis ence o a guide who leads he
he o h ough se e al s ages o he ad en u e. Moi aine, as he g oup’s guide, e eals a g ea
deal o sec ecy h oughou he na a i e. Because he eade does no ge o see he wo ld
h ough Moi aine du ing he majo i y o he i s book o he se ies, he mys e y seems o
inc ease. Th oughou The Eye o he Wo ld he pa y is dis us ul o Moi aine because she
seems o be hiding some hing, which she eally is.
86
Only when she disco e s Rand’s
abili y o channel he One Powe does she e eal he ex en o he plans. Howe e , Tam’s
wo ds abou Aes Sedai: “[ hey] a e icksome. They don’ lie, no igh ou , bu he u h an
Aes Sedai ells you is no always he u h you hink i is” (Eye, 126) and Thom’s mis us
o hem add o a comple e suspicion owa ds hem, especially in he h ee boys’ opinions.
87
Howe e , Moi aine does b ing p o ec ion agains he Shadow, h ough he use o he One
Powe , and he knowledge o he wo ld e eals g ea wisdom and leade ship.
Mendlesohn’s heo y conce ning he ype o guide in his ca ego y is e y simila o
how Jo dan desc ibes Moi aine. The guide “al hough […] mys e ious, […] is usually
com o ing, o e ing guidance and wisdom” (Mendlesohn 2008, 24). The mee ing wi h he
guide in The Eye o he Wo ld is one o he e y i s encoun e s and i occu s be o e he
depa u e om he Two Ri e s. This is a cha ac e is ic o en ound in ques an asies and is
impo an o he nex pa o he ques , he call o ad en u e.
When Rand is asked wi h lea ing he Two Ri e s and jou ney o Ta Valon, he e
isn’ any possibili y o a gumen , as Moi aine makes clea : “[y]ou will no doub lea e a
he same ime we do” (Eye, 111). I is also no happens ance ha he Aes Sedai decides o
ell Rand his when he e is no one else p esen , o he han Lan, and ha he ells no one. By
ha ing no one else o coun e -a gue Moi aine, Rand is unable o ques ion he Aes Sedai’s
wo ds.
When Nynae e inds he g oup in Bae lon and ies o coun e Moi aine’s ea lie
discou se on he ques i ’s al eady oo la e and e en he Wisdom is pulled in o i . Thom also
gi es Rand and Ma an oppo uni y o s ay om he mission:
86
Moi aine has knowledge ha he D agon is ebo n and ha he may be one o he h ee Two Ri e s men.
87
E en Nynae e and Egwene, who la e become Aes Sedai, a e ega ded wi h suspicion by hose who ha e
always known hem.

58
‘Things ha e changed. You lis en o me. No ma e wha his innkeepe
says, when a My dd aal s a es a him, he’ll ell all abou us down o wha we had
o d ink and how much dus we had on ou boo s.’ Rand shi e ed, emembe ing
he Fade’s eyeless s a e. ‘As o Caemlyn.... You hink he Hal men don’ know
you wan o ge o Ta Valon? I ’s a good ime o be on a boa headed sou h.’ […]
‘Think, boy. Illian! The e isn’ a g ande ci y on he ace o he ea h. And he
G ea Hun o he Ho n!’ (392)
Howe e , nei he o hem accep s he o e .
Mendlesohn s a es ha “po al-ques an asy by i s e y na u e needs o deny he
possibili y o a polysemic discou se in o de o alida e he ‘ques .’ The e can be only one
unde s anding o he wo ld: an unde s anding ha alida es he ques ” (2008, 12-13), which
is, in his case, Moi aine’s. Rand’s impossibili y o ques ion he eliabili y o he Aes
Sedai’s wo ds can also show how “in he po al an asy [ he he o] accep s wha e e he is
old (especially when i con adic s wha he has been old be o e)” (26). Rand does accep
wha he is old by Moi aine, bu ce ain hings he is old by Ba’alzamon make him ques ion
he Aes Sedai’s in en ions, e en i only sligh ly.
The ac ha Rand and he o he s e use any way ou o he ques can be ela ed o
he idea o he ype o he o om po al-ques an asy and how des iny plays an impo an
ole. In The Eye o he Wo ld he he o is condi ioned by des iny, which has o do wi h
Rand, Ma , and Pe in’s na u e as a’ e en.
88
Moi aine’s common saying “[ ]he Wheel
wea es as he Wheel wills” (Eye, 418) illus a es his si ua ion pe ec ly; i ’s he Wheel o
Time ha wea es each pe son’s des iny and i is impossible o a oid i .
In The Wheel o Time i is seen se e al imes how he he o canno escape his
des iny. Ma ’s case is he mos e iden because o his many a emp s o e ade a e. On In
one occasion, he is ound ying o escape a ba le ou side he ci y o Cai hien. By he ime
he ba le is ended, Ma had slain he enemy commande and had become he leade o an
a my. This is, he e o e, one ype o an asy ha does no allow he he o o oam eely.
In Rhe o ics o Fan asy Mendlesohn desc ibes his idea o a e in po al-ques
an asy as some hing ha condi ions he p o agonis ’s ac ions and decisions, s ealing his
88
Being a’ e en means ha he mos impo an e en s e ol e and un old a ound such people. Rand, as he
D agon Rebo n, is a e y s ong a’ e en because he is ied o he a e o he wo ld.
59
ee will. She s a es ha he “he o does no ha e ee will in a na a i e d i en by
p ophecy” (2008, 42).
This ollows mo e o less wha Mendlesohn has s a ed, p ophecy is hea ily
sh ouded in mys e y because i is so enigma ic. S ill, he e a e cases in which some ypes o
p ophecy a e unde s ood in ull. Some, like hose ound in The Ka ae hon Cycle,
89
make
he goal known bu he p ocess and he ou come mys e ious and ex emely ambiguous.
O he s, like D eams
90
and Fo e ellings, may be e y clea . Fo ins ance, some o Egwene’s
D eams a e easy o he o unde s and and he e is no hidden meaning in ol ed, while
Elaida’s
91
Fo e elling in Rand’s p esence only ocuses on his impo ance, bu doesn’ gi e
any de ailed in o ma ion. So, p ophecies and o he p edic i e abili ies gi e p ecious bi s o
in o ma ion abou he objec i e, “so ha in ac he goal is ‘known’ e en hough i s
meaning is no unde s ood” (Mendlesohn 2008, 41-42).
In The Wheel o Time Rand seems o monopolize he ole o he o, no ou o
a ogance, bu as a sac i ice, so he can lea e a be e wo ld o humani y. Howe e , a some
poin , he e is a iendly discussion be ween him and Ma o de e mine which o he wo is a
be e he o. Ha ing unwillingly escued Moi aine,
92
Ma wins he con es , and Rand e lec s
on Ma ’s he oism la e : “[i] was abou a he o who insis ed wi h e e y b ea h ha he was
any hing bu a he o” (Memo y, 897). A simila si ua ion happens when Egwene scolds
Rand o s ealing he ole o he o om o he s, as she says “’[a]m I no allowed o be a he o,
oo?’” (892).
The e o e, i can be de e mined ha he ole o he o is pe o med by mul iple
cha ac e s and ha change is ope a ed by all o hem, b eaking he s uggle o p ese e he
pas . This is due, in pa , because o he in icacy o he plo and he numbe o cha ac e s in
he na a i e. Fo example, in he Whi e Towe cus om is some imes said o be s onge
han law (c . New, 104). When Egwene is aised Amy lin she opens he no ice book o all
89
The book ha con ains he P ophecies o he D agon.
90
Fo some people, called D eame s o D eamwalke s, D eams ha e p ophe ic meaning. Ve y ew people
possess his alen , bu Pe in and Egwene do.
91
Elaida was he Aes Sedai ad iso o queen Mo gase. Elaida led a ebellion agains Siuan Sanche, he
Amy lin Sea , and usu ped he posi ion, causing a di ision in he Whi e Towe ha led o he elec ion o
Egwene as Amy lin in exile.
92
A he end o The Fi es o Hea en, Moi aine disappea s h ough a po al o a di e en wo ld, whe e she is
apped. She is escued by Ma , Thom, and he legenda y Jain Fa s ide , he au ho o a book abou his
ad en u es. T ying o deny a all imes ha he is a he o, Ma eluc an ly escued he Aes Sedai.
60
women,
93
b eaking wi h Whi e Towe adi ion held o millennia. This is iewed by many
Aes Sedai as unna u al:
The e was no hing dis espec ul in Sha ina’s demeano , bu despi e
no ice whi e, wi h he c eased ace and g ay hai in a igh bun on he back o he
head, she looked exac ly wha she was, a g andmo he . […] Six y-se en and a
no ice! […] [He name] should ne e ha e been allowed in he no ice book in
he i s place. (Kni e, 501-503)
94
So, p ese a ion o he cus oma y pas is no main ained. I could be a gued ha hese
changes accompany he ci cums ances o p esen imes and he necessi y o change. Fo
ins ance, A iendha’s second es o become a Wise One
95
plays an essen ial ole conce ning
he u u e o he Aiel. A e seeing he pas , A iendha goes h ough he es again and sees
he li es o he descendan s and he all o he Aiel. This knowledge leads he Aiel o
o sake hei na u e as a igh ing people and o sign he D agon’s Peace.
96
E en hough hese changes a e no di ec ly connec ed o he Da k One’s de ea , hey
demons a e he changes ha can dis up adi ion. Howe e , Moi aine, as a side cha ac e ,
is di ec ly in ol ed in he sealing o he Bo e and he ic o y o he Ligh ;
97
an e en less
signi ican cha ac e , he schola He id Fel, disco e ed he solu ion o emake he Da k
One’s p ison.
98
S ill, he g ea es change is ha pe o med by Rand when he de ea s he
Da k One.
Mendlesohn s a es ha “[ ]his kind o an asy is essen ially impe ialis : only he
he o is capable o change” (2008, 9) and ha change ope a es agains a s uggle o p ese e
93
No women o e eigh een we e allowed o en oll as no ices in he Whi e Towe .
94
Be o e his, women o e eigh een could no be en olled as no ices. Because Aes Sedai show e y li le
signs o aging, Sha ina, a six y-se en, looks olde han some o he oldes Aes Sedai, who a e well o e wo
hund ed yea s old.
95
A iendha is an Aiel wi h he channeling abili y. All emale channele s among he Aiel become Wise Ones
and ha e o go h ough wo es s. In one, hey a e p esen ed wi h he ou come o hei u u e ac ions. In he
second, hey eli e momen s o some o hei ances o s in o de o lea n hei own his o y. Only he clan
chie s and Wise Ones know he ue o igins o he Aiel.
96
The D agon’s Peace is a documen de ised by he D agon Rebo n jus be o e he Las Ba le ha equi es
all na ions o he Wes lands o hold hei cu en bo de s o one hund ed yea s a e he Las Ba le and no o
make wa .
97
Linked in a ci cle wi h Rand, he wo Aes Sedai p o ide he needed amoun o saida o de ea he Da k
One.
98
Fel disco e ed ha o eseal he Da k One he seals made by Lews The in mus be des oyed: “Ha e o
clea ubble be o e you can build.” (Lo d, 901)
61
he pas (c . 9). Fo ins ance, he appea ance o he D agon Rebo n is a ac o ha causes
g ea changes in he wo ld, as can be obse ed in a bi o p ophecy e ealed by Moi aine:
“‘The uns ained owe b eaks and bends knee o he o go en sign. […]
The e can be no heal h in us, no any good hing g ow,’” Moi aine quo ed, “‘ o
he land is one wi h he D agon Rebo n, and he one wi h he land. Soul o i e,
hea o s one. […] In p ide he conque s, o cing he p oud o yield. […] He calls
upon he moun ains o kneel […] and he seas o gi e way […] and he e y skies
o bow. […] P ay ha he hea o s one emembe s ea s […] and he soul o
i e, lo e.’” (Memo y, 177-178)
None heless, he o he main cha ac e s, namely Ma and Pe in, who a e a’ e en,
a e as impo an as Rand in in luencing wo ld e en s. The e o e, The Wheel o Time is in
acco dance wi h Mendlesohn’s idea ha he na a i e is impe ialis , bu does so by ha ing
i e main he oes, ins ead o one.
The cha ac e s in The Eye o he Wo ld, pa icula ly Rand, Egwene, and Nynae e,
become expe ienced enough in he seconda y wo ld o ha e he abili y o con ol i in la e
s ages o he se ies. Egwene edisco e s he way o make cuendilla ,
99
becomes he
Amy lin Sea and c ea es a wea e o coun e bale i e.
100
Rand’s unde s anding o he One
Powe and o he wo ld enable him o cleanse he ain on saidin wi h he help o Nynae e,
o ind he song sough by he Tua ha’an, and o ind he solu ion o de ea he Da k One.
Nynae e has also had su icien p ac ice wi h he saida o be able o heal Siuan Sanche’s
and Leane Sha i ’s
101
s illings and Logain Abla ’s gen ling.
102
Addi ionally, she was able o
heal he madness caused by he ain on saidin.
So, a e a long ime ou side he “wo ld-wi hin-a-wo ld,” hese cha ac e s a e in
pe ec con ol o hei abili ies and a e no longe dependen on guides. Thei i ing ou side
99
An indes uc ible subs ance ha is only made s onge i anyone ies o b eak i . The seals holding he Da k
One’s p ison a e made o cuendilla , also known as hea s one.
100
Bale i e is a wea e o he One Powe ha e ases he a ge comple ely om he Pa e n, as i i ne e
exis ed. The wea e ha coun e s i is called The Flame o Ta Valon. (c . Memo y, 877)
101
Siuan and Leane we e illegally deposed om he posi ions o Amy lin Sea and Keepe o he Ch onicles,
espec i ely.
102
S illing and gen ling a e he e ms used o women and men who we e se e ed om he T ue Sou ce (One
Powe ). This ea is especially ema kable since no e en du ing he Age o Legends his was hough
possible. Logain Abla , a man who claimed o be he D agon Rebo n, was gen led by he Aes Sedai.
62
he Two Ri e s is such ha going back is no longe an op ion. Rand is aced wi h ha ac
no long a e he depa ed Emond’s Field, when Bayle Domon
103
ells him ha “’[ ]he
wo ld will pu a hook in you mou h. You’ll se o chasing he sunse , you wai and see . . .
and i you e e go back, you illage’ll no be big enough o hold you’” (Eye, 357). This
also implies he unwillingness o he cha ac e s o e u n home.
One o he cha ac e is ics o po al-ques an asy e e s o his con ol he cha ac e s
ha e o e he seconda y wo ld gained om expe ience. The cons an con ac wi h he
an as ic enables hem o manipula e he wo ld and ha e a g ea e independence in
compa ison wi h hei o me mundane li es (c . Mendlesohn 2008, 2).
A e y isible cha ac e is ic in The Wheel o Time is he g adual escala ion o
dange . In The Eye o he Wo ld i s a s wi h an a ack on Rand’s a m and he illage o
Emond’s Field, which is se ious enough, conside ing Lan’s wo ds abou he T olloc a ack:
“’[ ]ha was as ho a aid las nigh as I’d expec o see in Shiena , o any o he
Bo de lands’” (Eye, 113). La e , a e he g oup is sepa a ed, Pe in and Egwene a e
pu sued by a lock o a ens
104
and cap u ed by Whi ecloaks, a socie y ben on cap u ing
associa es o he Shadow. Rand and Ma a e ailed mul iple imes by Da k iends who y
o mu de o cap u e hem. Howe e , when hey a e euni ed and he news abou he Da k
One’s in en ions ega ding he Eye o he Wo ld is e ealed, he dange in ensi ies, o i
migh mean he Da k One’s elease om his p ison.
105
The jou ney h ough he Ways and
hen he Bligh p esen new dange s ha each a peak when he g oup is con on ed by wo
o he Fo saken, Agino and Bal hamel. Thei de ea and Rand’s ic o y o e Ba’alzamon
a e wa ds also decides he cou se o he ba le occu ing in Ta win’s Gap a he same ime.
Th oughou he se ies, dange is seen in a much la ge scale as he land de e io a es
due o he Da k One’s in luence. This decay can be obse ed in he wea he o in he ood
ha is e y easily spoiled. In addi ion, he weakening o he Da k One’s p ison has allowed
103
The owne o a ship who shel e ed Rand, Ma , and Thom a e e en s in Shada Logo h.
104
Ra ens a e said o be se an s o he Da k One, hus he impo ance o i .
105
The impo ance o his dange can be seen in he sudden change o Moi aine’s plans: “‘This news
conce ning he Eye o he Wo ld changes much. […] We canno emain in Caemlyn. […] Whe he his is a
ap o a imely wa ning, we mus do wha we mus , and ha is o each he Eye o he Wo ld quickly. The
G een Man mus know o his h ea .’” (Eye, 644-645)

63
he Fo saken o escape and cause dissidence in he Wes lands and ci il wa ac oss he en i e
Seanchan con inen .
In Jo dan’s no els dange is e idenced as a se ies o e en s ha p og ess un il hey
each a climax. This is also common in an asies o his ype. This has been explained by
ano he heo is , W. A. Senio , in an essay called “Ques Fan asies”. This con ibu es o he
no ion ha he e a e o he cha ac e is ics essen ial o po al-ques an asies aside om hose
p oposed by Fa ah Mendlesohn.
The p o agonis ’s ic o y b ings a ewa d ha is mo al a he ma e ial, which is e y
common in po al-ques an asy. In The Eye o he Wo ld Rand is ewa ded wi h conscious
con ol o he One Powe , which is in i sel a ma e ial gi . Aside om his, he ewa d is
undamen ally an imma e ial one. The empo a y de ea o he Shadow, which ends he
Da k One’s hold o e he wea he , seems o be he mos impo an ecompense o he
ques . Only his down all in he end can symbolize he healing inhe en in a po al-ques
an asy. In The Wheel o Time he Da k One ep esen s one aspec o powe , which is, in
essence, he T ue Powe .
106
Rand’s access o he One Powe in he end o The Eye o he
Wo ld gi es he appea ance ha his jou ney had been a ques o powe . Howe e , he is
ul ima ely ee o i in he end o he se ies (c . Memo y, 1003-1004). The e o e,
Mendlesohn’s s a emen ha “The Lo d o he Rings is no a ques o powe , bu a jou ney
o des oy powe ” (2008, 4), can be applied o Rand’s ques as well.
A his poin , i is undeniable ha Robe Jo dan’s The Wheel o Time co esponds o
he pa adigm o po al-ques an asy delinea ed by Fa ah Mendlesohn. E en hough he e
a e mo e cha ac e is ics ha cons i u e his ca ego y, some o he mos impo an a e
desc ibed abo e. I is ema kable ha wi h he ange o Jo dan’s sequence, spanning
mul iple olumes and including hund eds o cha ac e s, he s o y does no seem o di e ge
om he main p ecep s o Mendlesohn’s heo y.
Howe e , he e a e aspec s ha cons i u e an inno a ion on Jo dan’s pa . Fo
ins ance, he Da k One can be conside ed an in usion, and, he e o e, s ay om he main
106
While saidin and saida come om he T ue Sou ce, he T ue Powe comes om he Da k One himsel .
This sou ce o powe can only be accessed by he Da k One’s pe mission and i has dange ous e ec s.
Ba’alzamon’s eyes and ace when he appea s be o e Rand is a esul o he use o he T ue Powe . (c . Jo dan,
e al 2015, 763)
64
idea ha The Wheel o Time belongs in he ca ego y o po al-ques an asy. The Da k One
is e y unlike o he Da k Lo ds, such as Sau on, especially because, while he la e
belongs o A da, he wo ld c ea ed by Ilú a a , he o me does no belong o he wo ld
made by he C ea o . This is e idenced in The Wo ld o Robe Jo dan’s The Wheel o
Time, whe e i is men ioned ha he Da k One is a o ce om ou side o he Pa e n and,
hus, he wo ld. The e o e, he Da k One, and he T ue Powe by associa ion, is an in ude
in he wo ld, causing a dis up ion ha mus be healed. Acco ding o Fa ah Mendlesohn, he
p inciples o an in usion an asy de end ha when an in usion akes place, “ he wo ld is
up u ed by he in usion, which dis up s no mali y and has o be nego ia ed wi h o
de ea ed, sen back whence i came, o con olled” (2008, 115).
Rand’s ini ial plan had been o kill he Da k One and ge id o he in usion o
good. Howe e , he lea ned ha he bes way o deal wi h i would be o send i back. So,
ha ’s wha he does when he seals he Bo e; he hole ha sepa a es he wo ld made by he
C ea o om he Da k One is closed and he is locked again ou side o ime wi h no
in luence wha soe e o e he physical wo ld.
I can be concluded ha The Wheel o Time ollows a ce ain se o cha ac e is ics
ha ha e al eady been in use since be o e Tolkien and ha cons i u es wha Mendlesohn
calls po al-ques an asy. The e a e ways in which he no els s ay om his ca ego y, as
can be seen in he las example gi en. The aim o his example is o unde s and ha
Jo dan’s no els can sub e he axonomy and ind cha ac e is ics om o he ca ego ies.
This chap e shows ha his wo k is undeniably a po al-ques an asy by Mendlesohn’s
s anda ds. In addi ion, he e a e o he heo is s whose app oach in oduces o he
cha ac e is ics o ques an asies.
E en hough he e a e cha ac e is ics ha seem o place The Wheel o Time beyond
he p inciples o a po al-ques an asy, he se ies is s ongly posi ioned wi hin he
bounda ies o his ca ego y.
65
IV – De ying Ca ego iza ion wi h China Mié ille’s Un Lun Dun
4.1. The S o y and he Abci y
While he objec i e in chap e h ee was o unde s and how Robe Jo dan’s The Wheel o
Time i in o he pa adigm o po al-ques an asy de eloped by Fa ah Mendlesohn, in his
chap e he aim is o see how China Mié ille’s Un Lun Dun de ies he same pa adigm.
Seemingly belonging o he po al-ques an asy, Mié ille’s no el sub e s he axonomy
and s ays om his ca ego y. Bu doing so doesn’ mean ha i i s ully in o any o he
o he o Mendlesohn’s ca ego ies. The e o e, his chap e will p o ide an analysis o how
Un Lun Dun can be inse ed in he ou g oups and how i sub e s he po al-ques an asy.
Following he same s a egy as in chap e h ee, his chap e , also di ided in wo
sec ions, will s a wi h a b ie in oduc ion o he au ho in ques ion and his wo ks, wi h
pa icula ocus on Un Lun Dun, as well as an explana ion o he no el as an imagina y
wo ld and how i was c ea ed.
The second sec ion will ocus on he analysis o Un Lun Dun in ligh o
Mendlesohn’s axonomy. Fi s , he e will be an examina ion o he aspec s ha ela e o he
ca ego y o po al-ques an asy, since, a i s sigh , i migh be seen as one. Only hen will
he in es iga ion o Mié ille’s no el be ocused on he aspec s in which he na a i e
de ia es om he p inciples o he po al-ques . The s udy will ega d ce ain cha ac e is ics
ela ed o he na u e o p ophecy and how i ela es o he he oines and he ques , as well as
an analysis o he na u e o e il, po ayed by he Smog.
China Mié ille, bo n in 1972, is an English w i e bes known o Pe dido S ee
S a ion, The Sca (2002), The Ci y & he Ci y (2009), Embassy own (2011), among o he s.
The Ci y & he Ci y ecei ed a Hugo Awa d o Bes No el, one o he mos impo an
awa ds in an asy and science ic ion. Ano he ou o his books we e nomina ed o he
same ca ego y. Un Lun Dun was published in 2007 and ecei ed he Locus Awa d o bes
Young Adul Book.
107
107
As pa o his poli ical ac i ism, Mié ille has also w i en some wo ks, namely Be ween Equal Righ s: A
Ma xis Theo y o In e na ional Law (2005) and Oc obe : The S o y o he Russian Re olu ion (2017).
66
The s o y o Un Lun Dun ela es he ad en u es o he eenage Deeba Resham in a
place called UnLondon. When s ange signs lead he and he iend Zanna o he abci y
108
o UnLondon, he coun e pa o London, Zanna disco e s ha she is he p ophesied he o
who mus sa e UnLondon agains he Smog, a cloud o smoke ha is h ea ening all li e in
he abci y. Howe e , upon inding ou ha he p ophecies a e w ong and ha Zanna, known
as he Shwazzy, will no be igh ing in he wa ha h ea ens UnLondon, i is Deeba who
asks he sel wi h he ole o he he oine and he bu den o de ea ing he Smog. Deeba
disco e s ha B okkenb oll,
109
one o he supposed allies o he P ophesee s, who a e
o e seeing he wa agains he Smog, is in league wi h he enemy. She lees om bo h
B okkenb oll and he P ophesee s, who do no belie e Deeba, and ies o ind a way o
de ea he Smog. Skipping he s eps equi ed o ge o he weapon ha will o e powe he
Smog, called he UnGun, Deeba employs he help o an a ay o cha ac e s ha include, o
example, Hemi, a hal -ghos boy, Yo ick Ca ea,
110
a man wi h a bi dcage o a head, and a
book o p ophecy ha no longe has any eliable in o ma ion in i . When he wa is
eaching a peak and wi h e y li le ime o sa e he abc iy and he wo ld, Deeba e ie es
he UnGun and imp isons he Smog inside i , assu ing he ic o y o an unchosen he oine.
One o he cha ac e is ics o a po al-ques an asy ha has been add essed in
chap e h ee is he p esence o he map. Un Lun Dun lacks one, and, he e o e, he e is no
known des ina ion and he eade does no ha e a sense o whe e he p o agonis migh go.
Al e na i ely, Mié ille’s wo k ea u es a ious illus a ions o mul iple elemen s. These
could wo k as a map o , a leas , as clues, so he eade can g asp he sense o he place. Fo
ins ance, mos illus a ions appea when he p o agonis s a e in con ac wi h he elemen s
po ayed in hem. In ce ain no els o The Wheel o Time, he e is a map o a ci y o a ea
ha signals impo an e en s happening in ha place in ha pa icula no el. In A Memo y
o Ligh , i is he Field o Me ilo , which is whe e he majo i y o he na a i e akes place.
The illus a ions in Un Lun Dun can be seen as ha ing he same unc ion, ha o mapping
he a ea whe e an e en is aking place, which seems a a he uncommon ea u e o
adi ional po al-ques an asies.
108
The abci y o UnLondon is an al e na i e place ha coexis s wi h London, bu i ’s unce ain whe e i ’s
loca ed in ela ion o he ci y (c . Un Lun Dun, 60).
109
B okkenb oll is he c ea o o he unb ella, who can de end UnLondone s agains he Smog’s a acks.
110
See Appendix C.
73
mou h and no hing came ou ; a look o g ea ala m, e en ea , c ossed he ace and she
began o cough iolen ly. She doesn’ wan o emembe , Deeba ealized, pa ing he
iend’s back” (Un Lun Dun, 163). Wha is in e es ing abou Zanna’s eac ion is he ac
ha i is he Smog ha made he o ge all abou UnLondon in o de o keep he om going
back. I seems ha Zanna’s ela ion o he an as ic a his poin is one o aliena ion.
So, wi h he in en ion o sub e ing he ca ego y o po al-ques an asy, i is na u al
ha Un Lun Dun will no obey Mendlesohn’s p inciple o a he o who “does no ha e ee
will in a na a i e d i en by p ophecy” (2008, 42). The e o e, ins ead o a he oine chosen
by p ophecy, UnLondon ge s a he oine who is singula in e e y aspec . Fi s , he book only
e e s o Deeba as a companion o he Shwazzy, mo e speci ically, “ he unny sidekick”
(Mié ille 2001, 275). Bu because he p ophecies abou Zanna we e w ong and he e a e
none conce ning Deeba, he u u e is unknown, which gi es Deeba a ce ain leeway o
manipula e e en s as she wills. Second, Deeba seems much mo e p edisposed o be he
he oine han Zanna.
128
One he one hand, she is able o disclose he message in he glo e
sewn by Obaday Fing
129
(c . 162). On he o he hand, Deeba olun ee s o he ask o
helping UnLondon sa e i sel , which shows ha she is no condi ioned o o ced by
p ophecy like o he he oes, such as Rand al’Tho .
Deeba is comple ely independen o ha e he own ques , delinea ed by he own
pa ame e s. This, acco ding o Cassand a Bausman, “ ep esen s a signi ican b eak wi h
bo h he expec a ion o he Shwazzy na a i e as ep esen ed by he Book and i s
P ophesee s and […] wi h he gene ic expec a ions o o mulaic po al an asies” (2014,
38). Wi h his ole, Deeba is able o ques ion he discou se p o e ed by he book ega ding
he s eps o ge he UnGun, he weapon ha will de ea he Smog:
‘Well, as I say, he squid-beak clippe ’s supposed o hold on o some hing
in he ea oom—‘
‘Fo ge i ,’ Deeba said.
The book hesi a ed, hen con inued. ‘The bone ea’s e eshing—‘
‘No.’
128
I should be no ed, hough, ha Zanna is s ill a he oine. She is, a e all, UnLondon’s Shwazzy. And Deeba
did no usu p he posi ion, becoming, ins ead, he Unchosen One.
129
One o UnLondon’s cou u ie s who o e s Deeba and Zanna some guidance.

74
‘Bu …we need i o gi e o he aleac o , o send him o sleep when we
play ludo, so we can ake he ee h-dice—‘
‘I said no.’ (Un Lun Dun, 332-333)
Since he e a e no p ophecies abou Deeba, she can bend he only exis ing ones o he will,
showing how he p o agonis condi ions p ophecy and no he o he way a ound. Deeba is
old by he book ha she “can’ pick and choose bi s om a p ophecy” (335). The ac ha
she does i also ema ks on how p ophecy has o adap o he ci cums ances, b eaking he
he o om he es ain s o a e. The e o e, he choices ep esen g ea e au onomy.
One o Mendlesohn’s ideas is ha “po al-ques an asy by i s e y na u e needs o
deny he possibili y o a polysemic discou se in o de o alida e he ‘ques .’ The e can be
only one unde s anding o he wo ld: an unde s anding ha alida es he ques ” (2008, 12-
13). Deeba is seen he e gi ing a new al e na i e o he s anda d ques :
‘Al igh . Righ now we ha en’ go much o igh he Smog wi h. We
need a weapon, and he Smog’s ob iously sca ed o his one.
‘So ha ’s wha we’ e going o do,’ Deeba said. ‘We’ll skip he es o he
s u . Sa e us some ime. We’ll go s aigh o he las s age o he ques . Le ’s go
ge he UnGun. Then we can deal wi h he Smog, and I can go home.’ (Un Lun
Dun, 334)
The e seems o be an implica ion ha i he book was w ong abou he Shwazzy, i
would also be w ong abou many o he hings. As an impo an pa o he ques , he
knowledge con ained in he book can s ill be impo an , as Deeba easons (c . 258).
Howe e , i ’s he inexac ness o he book ha gi es Deeba eedom o bend p ophecy and
skip he s eps o ge he UnGun. I ’s i onic ha a e he book inds ou i ’s w ong, i admi s
ha he e is a mis ake in i ha was ound be o e, as can be ead in his passage:
‘I says in me, ‘The Smog’s a aid o no hing bu he UnGun.’ […] ‘Well
o be hones i ac ually says ‘no hing and he UnGun,’ bu we ealized ha mus
be a misp in .’
‘You’ e kidding me,’ Deeba snapped. ‘So you did know he e could be
mis akes in you?’
‘I was h ee le e s,’ he book said o lo nly. ‘We didn’ hink any hing o
i …’ (333-334)
75
The i ony es s wi h he ac ha , e en be o e inding ou he ull ex en o i s mis akes, he
book ecognized ha i had some hing w ong in i and ha ha mis ake u ned ou o be he
u h: “I ’s no mis ake! she hough . In he book! I ’s no ‘No hing bu he UnGun’ he
Smog’s sca ed o , i is supposed o be ‘No hing and he UnGun’” (495).
The idea ha he guide is bo h mys e ious and com o ing (c . Mendlesohn 2008,
24), which has al eady been e e ed in chap e h ee, does no seem o apply o Un Lun
Dun. I ’s e y possible o ind ha in Mié ille’s wo k he guides a e less mys e ious, less
com o ing, and less wise han he ones in The Wheel o Time. Obaday Fing and conduc o
Jones do o e com o o bo h Deeba and Zanna and hey a e e y sec e i e un il he
p o agonis s each he P ophesee s and he book. All ha is e ealed is ha Zanna is he
Shwazzy and ha she is in dange . The book and he P ophesee s should become he eal
guides. Thei only unc ion, hough, is o p o ide he Smog’s backs o y using he
“download” s a egy.
130
And because hei knowledge and belie s o hei wo ld a e so clea
and i mly es ablished, when hey ind mos o i is w ong, hey become less wise and less
com o ing, bu hen he na a i e acqui es an enigma ic one because no one knows wha is
igh and w ong anymo e: “[n]o e e y hing wen how i was supposed o, bu ha doesn’
mean he e’s no hing use ul in you” (Un Lun Dun, 258). This p o es o be ue as he book
con ains in o ma ion on how o na iga e h ough he abci y and how o de ea he Smog.
No mally, i is he guide ha p opels he he o in o he ques . Howe e , he book was
o ced in o he ole o guide by Deeba, and i showed ou age a ha ing been s olen: “’You
had no igh o ake me,’ i eplied. ‘This is booknapping!’” (269). The ac ha he book
does no con ain e y eliable in o ma ion also seems o de y he idea ha : [i]n he
hie a chy o ques an asy […] in o ma ion gi en by a guide is e y eliable (Mendlesohn
2008, 44). Addi ionally, he book’s “booknapping” shows again Deeba’s con ol o e he
na a i e.
130
The in o ma ion in po al-ques an asy is gi en in wo ways: “[w]hile much in o ma ion abou he wo ld is
culled om wha he p o agonis can see (wi h a consequen denial o polysemic in e p e a ion), his o y o
analysis is o en p o ided by he s o y elle who is d awn in he ole o sage, magician, o guide”
(Mendlesohn 2008, 7). This has been seen in The Wheel o Time, whe e hese wo ypes o deli e y a e mos
p e alen , e en conside ing he o he s echniques ha we e men ioned in chap e h ee. In Un Lun Dun he
illus a ion p ocess also adds o hese wo o ms desc ibed by Mendlesohn.
76
Mos po als o an asy a e e y singula and peculia , and he one ha leads Deeba
and Zanna o UnLondon is much mo e so. While mos ha we e obse ed in chap e wo do
no need o be ope a ed, he one in he basemen wi h he al es and wheels needs he
cha ac e s o ac i a e i , bu , once s a ed, seems o mo e on i s own, anspo ing he gi ls
o he seconda y wo ld, which can be seen by Deeba’s obse a ion ha
[ ]he noise o ca s and ans and mo o bikes ou side g ew inny, like a
eco ding, o as i i came om a ele ision in he nex oom. The sound o he
ehicles aded along wi h he glow o he main oad. Zanna was u ning o he
a ic. The spigo u ned o all he ca s and u ned o he lamps. I was u ning
o London. (Un Lun Dun, 27-28)
I is a he uncon en ional o ind a po al his mechanical in a po al-ques an asy.
Howe e , he e a e mul iple means o inding one’s way o UnLondon. Deeba’s second ip
o he abci y shows a less complica ed po al. Con e sely, i is h ough wi ha Deeba ge s
o UnLondon, when she deciphe ed he message in he glo e, as seen abo e.
In addi ion o hese wo passages, he e a e many o he s. One way o go h ough he
Odd
131
is o hings o become moil, which means “Mildly Obsole e in London” (64).
Wha e e is disca ded in London as ubbish may ind i s way o UnLondon, jus like he
umb ellas ha became unb ellas. Conduc o Jones also s a es ha “[i] you ind jus he
igh manhole you can ge he e” (64), which seems o imply ha he e a e a numbe o
en ances o UnLondon. The b idge o he Pons Abscondi us also ep esen s a po al, as i
was used o ge Deeba and Zanna home du ing hei i s ip o he abci y. Las ly, he e is
he ele a o in he En i onmen minis e ’s o ice, which se es as a way o communica e
wi h UnLondon.
So, he e seems o be many mo e po als ha connec he p ima y wo ld and he
seconda y wo ld. Tha is possibly one o he easons bo h wo lds a e so alike in ce ain
aspec s, like he names o places, o example. Jones ema ks on he connec ion be ween
bo h wo lds wi h he UnLondon-I and he UnSun: “‘Some people say,’ Jones said, ‘ ha he
131
The laye ha sepa a es he ci y om he abci y.
77
bi missing om he middle o he UnSun was wha became he sun o London. Tha wha
ligh s you days go plucked ou o wha ligh s ou s.’” (72-73)
The book also sheds some ligh on his, saying ha “’[a]bci ies ha e exis ed a leas
as long as he ci ies,’ i said. ‘Each d eams he o he ’” (109). Such an open connec ion
would p obably allow he an as ic o leak o London. The Smog is, undoub edly, he
an as ic elemen in Un Lun Dun.
In he i s ew chap e s o he book he Smog “eme ged in d i s and end ils,
eaching h ough he me al g illes o he d ains like g owing ines o oc opus legs” (16). I
is disco e ed la e ha he Smog a acked and killed Benjamin Uns ible in London and he
Smog i sel h ea ens o in ade all he abci ies and ci ies o he wo ld, p o ing ha i can
mo e ac oss he Odd. This clea ly iola es one o he p inciples o po al-ques an asy,
which s a es ha “[a]l hough indi iduals may c oss bo h ways, he an as ic does no ”
(Mendlesohn 2008, 2). Con inuing in he same line o hough , Mendlesohn s a es ha
“[s]uch an e ec would mo e he an asy in o he ca ego y o in usion” (2).
Howe e , he Smog is e e ed o as ha ing been c ea ed in he p ima y wo ld; a
consequence o indus ializa ion in London, whe e “ ac o ies we e bu ning e e y hing and
le ing o smoke om chemicals and poisons” (Un Lun Dun, 109). E en ually, he smoke
gained a mind o i s own and s a ed o hink and kill. When London de ea ed he Smog
wi h he Klinne ac he Smog ound i s way o UnLondon. This is in acco dance wi h he
idea ha a Da k Lo d can be an in ude and, like Robe Jo dan’s Da k One, he Smog in
Un Lun Dun can be ega ded as an ou side in he abci y, o i o igina ed in he p ima y
wo ld.
Ei he om London o UnLondon, he Smog is an in ude as i in aded UnLondon
once, and is also able o ind i s way o London o kill Uns ible and a ack Zanna, Deeba,
and hei iends. Mendlesohn speci ies ha “[i]n a ew cases he in usion wins bu he e is
always a e u n o some kind” (2008, 115). The Smog does no win, bu he possibili y o a
e u n is no disca ded. This is due o he na u e o he UnGun, which sucks he Smog in o
he chambe s whe e bulle s should go. I i does so, hen i ing he UnGun will possibly
elease he Smog. This possibili y can be obse ed when some conce n a ises abou wha o
do wi h he UnGun (c . Un Lun Dun, 508-509).
78
By c ea ing a he oine only in name, Mié ille s ays om Mendlesohn’s no ion ha
he he oes in po al-ques an asy a e he only ones skilled enough o pe o m change (c .
2008, 9). This could only ha e happened i Zanna had accomplished he ole as Shwazzy.
She can s ill be conside ed a he o because she s ill emains he Shwazzy, bu Deeba, as he
Unchosen One, is he one ha ac ually implemen s change. Wha Mié ille shows wi h his
na a i e is ha i does no ake a he o chosen by p ophecy o sa e he wo ld and ha i can
be sa ed by hose mos willing o do so, which is Deeba’s case, who decided o olun ee
o he ques ou o lo e and conce n o he iends in bo h London and UnLondon.
Ul ima ely, Deeba’s success in he ques seems much mo e ul illing han Zanna’s
would ha e been because, on he one hand, Zanna’s ques was p ew i en, and on he o he ,
Deeba did no need o ollow he ules imposed by p ophecy. Deeba was success ul in he
ques due, in pa , o he dis ega d o he book’s guidance. He skipping o asks buys he
ime ha , spen o he wise, would p obably ha e g an ed he Smog ic o y be o e she could
ind he UnGun. This co esponds o he idea ha he “jou neyman succeeds o ails o he
ex en he lis ens o hose wise o mo e knowledgeable han him (Mendlesohn 2008, 4).
Deeba can make a dis inc ion be ween he use ul bi s o in o ma ion gi en by he book and
hose she hinks a e no as eliable.
In conclusion, i can be a gued ha he elemen o dis up ion comes om London,
and no UnLondon. In ac , i can be said ha his elemen is Deeba he sel . E en wi h
p ophecy in UnLondon no ollowing he mys e ious cha ac e is ics i usually does in o he
an asies, he sub e sion s ill comes om Deeba’s pa . He ac ions in ci cum en ing he
book’s di ec ions and he s eps o acqui e he UnGun we e des abilizing in a na a i e ha
would ha e ollowed he p o ocol o a ue po al-ques an asy had Zanna no been
knocked ou du ing he igh in he b idge. The e o e, i can be asse ed ha he ci y o
UnLondon ollows ce ain p inciples o po al-ques an asy, bu Deeba doesn’ .
In ac , ins ead o o e lapping he ou ca ego ies o Mendlesohn’s axonomy, Un
Lun Dun is based, especially, on a sub e sion o he pa adigm o he po al-ques an asy,
e en i some o i s cha ac e is ics a e ound in he emaining h ee g oupings. S ill, he e
a e many ea u es in he na a i e ha place Mié ille’s wo k in he po al-ques . Bu his
seems o be a uzzy se as well, since he no el canno be placed a he cen e o he

79
ca ego y, bu e y nea he on ie . I Mendlesohn’s ou ca ego ies o an asy we e o be
conside ed as eigh di e en cen e s o a uzzy se , one o each ca ego y and ou mo e o
hei espec i e sub e sions, hen Un Lun Dun would be placed equidis an ly be ween he
po al-ques and i s sub e sion.
E en hough he e a e many aces o imme sion, especially when he eade is
g oping o he meaning o some hing le unexplained, o in usion, wi h he Smog
in ading London and a acking Zanna and he iends, he no el is, in gene al, much close
o po al-ques , e en i i ends by sub e ing he pa adigm. Zanna’s e usal o acknowledge
he an as ic can also show some hin s o a liminal an asy, which aliena es he p o agonis
om an as ic elemen s.
E en i i seems a po al-ques an asy, Mendlesohn’s axonomy p o ides he
al e na i e ca ego y, “ he i egula s,” o an asies which a e no limi ed by he bounda ies
o he o he ca ego ies. This g oup desc ibes an asies ha “do no i com o ably in o
[Mendlesohn’s] design (2008, 246). Fo a s o y such as Un Lun Dun, “ he i egula s” seems
o be an adequa e classi ica ion, bu because his ype shows only how he ules a e b oken,
i is ha d o ind a ue ca ego iza ion o Mié ille’s wo k. So, Un Lun Dun can ha e many
eadings acco ding o Mendlesohn’s axonomy, jou neying h ough all ca ego ies, bu
inding a s ong oo ing in he po al-ques while sub e ing i a he same ime.
80
Conclusion
This disse a ion had he objec i e o answe ing he ques ion o whe he he ca ego y o
po al-ques an asy had s able bounda ies. Taking in o accoun he analysis o he selec ed
no els, i can be concluded ha he pa adigm is indeed s able. Howe e , he esul o he
analysis o Mié ille’s Un Lun Dun also es ablishes ha he po al-ques an asy can be
sub e ed and i s ules ben .
The in es iga ion done h oughou he cou se o his disse a ion helped demons a e
how he ield o an asy li e a u e has e ol ed o e he yea s and how, in ecen yea s, ha
expansion has ans o med in an inc easing p oduc ion o an asy ic ion, which has also
been augmen ed wi h he help o o he media.
In e ms o a de ini ion o he gen e, i can be concluded ha wi h an a ea whe e
he imagina ion h i es and wi h he enla ged scope he gen e encompasses, i becomes
di icul o es ablish a clea de ini ion. Howe e , he di ision o an asy in di e en
subgen es has been aluable in o de o y and achie e a be e unde s anding o he gen e
in gene al. The e o e, aking in o accoun he se e al de ini ions o a ious academics and
expe s in he ield ha we e p esen ed in he i s pa o chap e one, i should be easie o
es ablish some bo de s o an asy, which, some imes, ends o o e lap wi h o he gen es.
So, in gene al e ms, an asy comp ehends ha which is implausible, o e y nea ly
impossible, especially wi h an asies ha ake place in a seconda y wo ld.
The ange o he gen e has also helped de e mine ha he e a e many di e en
app oaches o he s udies o an asy, which gi es ise o mul iple disag eemen s conce ning
he de elopmen o de ini ions o comp ise he la ge pa o i , which is, in i sel , al eady
e y ex ensi e.
Wi h Fa ah Mendlesohn’s axonomy o he gen e, de eloped in Rhe o cis o
Fan asy, a new p oposal o he ca ego iza ion o he ield has con ibu ed o a g ouping o
a e y la ge sec ion o he ield, which includes a long lis o an asy wo ks sca e ed
h oughou ou dis inc ca ego ies. This ca ego iza ion assembles he no els acco ding o
se s o cha ac e is ics ha a y acco ding o he way he an as ic en e s he na a i e.
81
The e o e, i can be seen how appa en ly e y di e en wo ks can be g ouped in he same
ca ego y, as is he case o The Wheel o Time and Un Lun Dun.
The analysis o he po als in chap e wo se ed as a basis o unde s anding how
di e en ly hey can be p esen ed in an asy. Addi ionally, chap e wo con ibu ed o
comp ehending how po als in luence he way in which he an as ic a els in ei he he
p ima y o he seconda y wo lds, which helps o de e mine he na u e o a ce ain an asy
acco ding o Mendlesohn’s axonomy, which elies hea ily on po als and hei unc ion.
Fo ins ance, i he no el is a po al-ques an asy, he cha ac e s a el om a p ima y o a
seconda y wo ld, whe e magic is i mly apped, like in The Lion, he Wi ch and he
Wa d obe, o in no els ha con ain an in usion, like Un Lun Dun, he an as ic can in ade
he p ima y wo ld h ough a po al.
S udies o po als in an asy a e al eady an es ablished ield o esea ch. Bu i is an
a ea ha could p o i om mo e in es iga ion in o he an asies, bu ins ead ocuses on
mo e classic wo ks like he Na nia books, The Wiza d o Oz, o Alice in Wonde land, o
The Lo d o he Rings. A s udy o po als in mo e mode n wo ks would con ibu e o a
mo e di e si ied idea o wha po als en ail and how ques s in an asy can be shaped and
limi ed by he exis ence o a po al.
Chap e h ee p esen ed an analysis ha places The Wheel o Time i mly wi hin he
bounda ies o he po al-ques an asy ca ego y, e en i Robe Jo dan seems o slip sligh ly
o o he ca ego ies, like in usion. Taking his in o conside a ion, Mendlesohn’s axonomy
and he ou line o he cha ac e is ics o his ca ego y seems o ha e s ong p ecep s
ega ding an asies ha ollow he same s uc u e as Jo dan’s no els.
On he one hand, he i ing o Jo dan’s no els in o he po al-ques ca ego y
demons a es he accu acy o Mendlesohn’s heo y ega ding he axonomy. On he o he
hand, i shows how The Wheel o Time ollows he line o an asy s a ed by J. R. R.
Tolkien and C. S. Lewis, p ecu so s o he gen e, in he 1950s, which is now ega ded as a
classical ype o an asy, as opposed o an asies which sub e his pa adigm.
A u he line o in es iga ion ega ding Jo dan’s se ies could in ol e he na u e o
he Da k One as an ou side , and he e o e, an in ude , and expand he analysis o he
no els in o de o see mo e aspec s o he in usion an asy, which was mo e limi ed in his
82
disse a ion. Fu he mo e he Da k One’s ela ion wi h he c ea ed wo ld should be aken
in o accoun and how ha ela ion can in luence e en s and people, inc easing he
an agonis ’s likelihood o achie e ic o y, as opposed o hose who belong o he wo ld o
he Wheel.
The analysis o China Mié ille’s Un Lun Dun in chap e ou demons a es ha i ’s
e y di icul o ca ego ize i in ligh o Mendlesohn’s axonomy. A one poin , i seems a
e y good example o a po al-ques only o ha e ha heo y comple ely des oyed by a
sub e sion ha sees bo h he eade and he cha ac e s no knowing wha happened exac ly,
demons a ing ha he e a e essen ial pa s o he no el belonging o imme sion an asy.
This shows how as u e Mié ille can be in ying o s ay away om he so o an asy ha
has been es ablished by an asis s such as Tolkien and Lewis. Addi ionally, Mié ille’s
sub e sion o he ules has o ake in o conside a ion he ules hemsel es. Only by being
awa e o how a ce ain pa adigm wo ks can he au ho consciously c ea e a wo k ha
des abilizes he p inciples o he same pa adigm.
Simila o The Wheel o Time, he analysis o Un Lun Dun can also b ing u he
lines o in es iga ion. One can ela e o he connec ions be ween he ci y and he abci y in
e ms o language and how impo an his is in an asy. This ela ion could also es ablish a
compa ison be ween Un Lun Dun and o he wo ks o an asy which ely much on p ophe ic
speech. In addi ion, he ype o he oine ound in he no el, he unchosen he oine, can be
analyzed and compa ed o o he he oes o an asy o ai y- ales, which could con ibu e o a
di e en pe spec i e om he one p oposed by Joseph Campbell in The He o wi h a
Thousand Faces, which o ms an a che ype o he he o.
The exis ence o a ca ego y such as “ he i egula s” in Rhe o ics o Fan asy aises
he ques ion o whe he he whole axonomy should be eimagined in o de o
accommoda e a la ge numbe o wo ks, o whe he he c ea ion o new ca ego ies should
be included in he axonomy. The u h is ha he gen e will always de y ca ego iza ions
such as Mendlesohn’s o A ebe y’s because o he scope an asy s o ies can each. Wo ks
like Un Lun Dun do no exac ly ques ion o sub e Mendlesohn’s whole axonomy, as “ he
i egula s” p o ides a solu ion ha o esees such sub e sions. Howe e , i should be no ed
ha such a ca ego y is expec ed o include a g ea numbe o no els.
89
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Appendices
Appendix A ........................................................................................................................... 90
Appendix B ........................................................................................................................... 91
Appendix C............................................................................................................................ 92
Appendix D ........................................................................................................................... 93
Appendix E ............................................................................................................................ 94
Appendix F ............................................................................................................................ 95
92
Appendix A
Map o he Wes lands (Jo dan and Pa e son 2000, 286-287)
93
Appendix B
Wo ld Map a e he B eaking o he Wo ld (Jo dan and Pa e son 2000, 188-189)
94
Appendix C
Yo ick Ca ea (Mié ille 2011, 304)

95
Appendix D
Buildings made o moil (Mié ille 2011, 54-55)
96
Appendix E
Binja (Mié ille 2011, 101)
97
Appendix F
Unb ella (Mié ille 2011, 22)