Negotiating selfhood: historical societies and identity in young adult fantasy fiction

Fantasy literature has occupied an ambivalent position in literary criticism. Hunt describes it as having been either enthusiastically defended or seriously rejected. One of the most derided genres of fantasy is that of 'sword and sorcery', alternatively labelled 'high', 'immersive' or 'marvellous' fantasy; the genre is criticised for the nostalgia apparently typified by its 'historical' or 'pseudo-mediaeval' setting. This thesis seeks to re-examine 'immersive' fantasy that utilises pseudo-mediaeval settings through three modern young adult texts: Finnikin of the rock by Melina Marchetta, Rebel spring by Morgan Rhodes, and Touch of power by Maria Snyder. Of particular interest is the implicit claim that 'immersive fantasy' lacks sophistication and that the pseudo-historical setting is simply an expression of nostalgia rather than representative of any greater textual significance. Focussing particularly on the 'medieval' constructions of gender and class within the fantasy society, the thesis aims to demonstrate the way that these fantasy texts utilise historical motifs in order to articulate models of agentic subjectivity to their young adult readers. In doing so the thesis will attempt to contribute to the literary discussion of fantasy and further suggest the need for the re-examination and re-entry of 'immersive' or 'high' fantasy into critical discussion through examining the implications pseudo-historical settings have for the way that the genre models the construction of identity and the subject's interaction with society.