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Family in Modern Fantasy: A Blessing or a Curse?
TÝMALOVÁ, Monika
This thesis aims to provide a comparative analysis of selected works of Anglo-American fantasy literature: Neil Gaiman's Coraline, Neverwhere and The Ocean at the End of the Lane, Amanda Stevens's The Restorer and The Kingdom and Melissa Albert's The Hazel Wood. In the theoretical part, the thesis briefly introduces fantasy and urban fantasy genres and their relation to family stories, along with authors and their respective works. Then the theoretical part focuses on the topic of Bildungsroman, dealing with the liminal phase of a journey from childhood to adulthood. In this context, the thesis alludes to the importance of Bruno Bettelheim's psychoanalytical approach in studying fairytales to understand children's fantasy further. It highlights the significant function of a trial, described via the structuralist study. The analysis itself draws on the following thematic areas: dream and disillusion, threat and hidden danger, will to survive, temptation and destruction, fear of nothingness, the role of mother and father, the power of words, helplessness and help, the temporality of beauty, recovery and rebirth. Based on the analysis results, the work tries to describe the function of the family in individual stories, how relationships between children and adult characters influence the development of the main heroes and heroines and whether the family represents a blessing or a curse.
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A Fairy-Tale Fantasy in Victorian Children´s Literature: Lewis Carroll´s Alice in Wonderland and Charles Kingsley´s Water Babies
TÝMALOVÁ, Monika
The aim of this thesis is a comparative analysis of two popular novels of English children's literature, Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through The Looking-Glass and Charles Kingsley's The Water Babies. In the theoretical part the thesis gives information about the life and work of these two authors, and about the general development and particular features of fantastic children's literature. The interpretation draws on Tolkien's essay On Fairy-Stories, which focuses on three primary features: escape, renewal and consolation. The analysis itself deals with the following themes: children and adults, the picture of the other world, danger and violence, friendship and return. In this respect, the thesis outlines the similarities and differences in both authors' attitudes to fantasy genre.
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