This is part one of a series of opinions about fantasy fiction and my struggles with it lately. It’s long, so long that it now has a part two it wasn’t supposed to have, but I’ve been thinking about this for a while, and I wanted to put it out into the Tumblr void in the hopes of hearing other opinions, or possibily further articulations or issues. I thrive on academic conversation, so feel free to reblog with your own points, rebuttals, or message me to vent or rant. I’m putting in a read more because it’s pretty long, but hopefully that won’t discourage you from reading it.
I’m also shamelessly mentioning/promoting the book blogs I follow, @takemetoneverlandhp, @books-and-cookies, @booksnthoughts, @bookwormwholovesteenwolf, and @ya-bookblr, because you should follow them as well. (If they comment, even to tear it to shreds, I’ll feel very chuffed/emotionally destroyed). Also, @alecsangryface, @citythatforgotyou, and @kinelea, because I’ve been ranting to them about this, so they can finally see it in print form.
I’ve been trying to get back into fantasy fiction lately, since I’ve been having what I thought was simply a string of bad luck when it came to picking novels, but now I’m beginning to suspect that I’m running up against more than just luck. I’m not sure if the trends that bother me so much have always been so prevalent and I’m only starting to notice how problematic they are, or if there’s a new surge due to changing reading tastes and the move towards YA. Either way, I’ve stopped reading a lot of books lately before I finished simply because I was so frustrated or bored that I couldn’t even be bothered to find out how they ended, which is unusual for me, because even if I hate a book, I’ll usually still skip the end to read the last bits, if only to solidify my hate. Maybe it’s that I’ve read so many of the same stories I can now predict how they’re going to end, I’m not sure.
1. Thank you so much for mentioning me omg???
2. While I totally agree with most what you’ve pointed out, there are a few things I have to say (not exactly arguing, more just adding my own opinions):
Firstly: Yes, the whole rags to riches storyline for the female lead is boring and overused but, there are cases when this doesn’t happen, or it is flipped around. For example, a book I recently read (and enjoyed, but I still have complaints about) is Red Queen. The prince, through various means, ends up being turned into a commoner, as opposed to the girl become a princess. While also cliché, it’s nice because he is forced to give up his position and doesn’t do it out of love (”Oh girl I met a week ago, I will give up everything for you” tends to frustrate me).
Secondly: Sometimes all I want is something cheesy and cringey, but that simultaneously makes my heart melt and puts butterflies in my tummy. Although I usually get this from TV shows, sometimes I just want to read it. While this is personal, I feel like everyone has that little bit inside of them that just swoons for princes. Especially a prince that is head over heels in love with you.
Thirdly: I totally agree with the point about having a monarchy for the sake of having a monarchy, but certain plots, even without a monarch, have a dictator taking up the same mantel as a corrupt monarch ( e.g. President Snow from The Hunger Games). Honestly though, the reason this happens (so far as I can tell) is that the protagonist needs someone to defeat and having a single person (or two people in the case of an evil king and queen) is a much nicer story to tie up. Destroying an entire government causes chaos and too many seats to fill, while overturning monarchs is much simpler (kick out the old ones, say you are the ruler, change around some evil people in the palace workforce and bingo). It also creates the “happily ever after” storyline which (pretty much) everyone wants for their favourite character.
3. Are princes overused? Most definitely.
Are there tons of other ways to portray the same story? Yes. I would love a story about a PM or President falling in love with one of their campaign staff and the social barriers that creates. Or even an arranged royal marriage where instead of falling in love, the king and queen fall in love with other people, all the time the king and queen remaining best of friends and creating a prosperous kingdom. Or a tale about a king helping two servants from different quarters be together. Just something with a twist.
But, to conclude, I will say this: if a story has a great plot and/or great characters or writing style, I will bear through all the princes in the world to read it.
Yay! You responded! So, I too shall respond, because literary conversation is the best thing ever, I think we can all agree.
In the case of Red Queen, my issue with it was actually that I found the prince unbelievably nice. Not like, “Gosh, he’s nice!” but like, “Really?” Maybe I’m naturally cynical or suspicious, or I just kind of like my romantic interests a little more salty, but he just sort of put me off. He felt a bit milquetoast. That’s not necessarily a criticism of the work as problematic, just that he really didn’t engage me and thus the romantic subplot kind of left me cold.
I totally understand the desire for cheesiness! But I would argue that princes are still overdone, and one can have cheesy, romantic, swoonworthy romance without a prince! In fact, I would say that there are a lot more characters that are much MORE swoonworthy. Cuz let’s be real, anyone who’s head over heels in love with the protagonist is nice, it’s the calibre of the man that determines how swoonworthy it is. I would put forward that a knight is much more swoonworthy than a prince. For one, he has a real job that involves him regularly risking his life. Two, rescue opportunities, or reversed rescue opportunities, or even reverse reversed rescue opportunities. ALL THE RESCUING. If he’s working for an evil/despotic king, there’s being torn between duty and love, being trained your whole career to obey orders only to meet the one person that makes you really start to question them, or even realizing you had questions all the time and that you’ve been lying to yourself. EXISTENTIAL CRISES GALORE! (as my friend @alecsangryface would say). But there are noble and brave doctors who gave up their upper class lifestyle to try and save underprivileged children in the slums where our protagonist lives, there are cowboy troubadours with tragic backstories who plink on their lutes and sing sad songs about love because they know it’s all going to end in pain, but still can’t help loving our protagonist. There are farm boys who become pirates (hello Wesley!) or heroes, or who just decide they have to do the right thing, even though it’s hard and they’re probably going to die, because they can’t bear to live with themselves if they don’t help. What I would argue all these characters have that princes either lack or perhaps just have to a lesser degree is a serious risk to their lives or livelihoods. They’re more vulnerable because they’re not rich and famous, or the symbol of something for people. They’re just men, or women, who put stuff on the line. They’re worthy of being loved for their deeds, not for their status.
My next post deals with monarchies in fantasy, but I totally take your point that it’s about having a face on the evil because corporations are hard to fight. But I would say that for me, happy ever after means so much more when it feels like it’s been earned. When no one waves a wand to make everything better, when the happy ending is, “it’s going to be hard as hell but it’ll be better and I’ll have you, and that’s enough for me.” Endings, for me, are more happy when they’re less perfect. Because, as Peter S. Beagle points out, there are no happy endings, because nothing really ends. Leave our heroes at a good place, but let their story continue on later, in the minds of the readers.
I love every single one of those possibilities! Like I said, I don’t hate princes, I just want something different! There can be princes doing princey things, I just want something more than prince charming.
Saying no to troubling fantasy tropes
Published
A Middleground 