A Necessary Evil

I was struck by some of the similarities that I found in The Wood Beyond the World to Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Both have medieval settings, both have fantastic elements of magic, both deal with chivalry and valor, both deal with seduction and temptation, and both are romances. Only one of these stories, however, is considered a work of fantasy. The difference in category is surprising.

We discussed in class the role of prohibition in fantasy. I believe it is in some degree essential to fantasy, but surely not the defining element. Both Sir Gawain and Golden Walter were warned to not go on the perilous quest before them but went on regardless (but admittedly for very different reasons). The difference must therefore be caused by something more than prohibition.

Something else about this story took me by surprise. I started off reading it in much the same manner that I read Phantastes -- I was bored. In no way did it have the same appeal that The Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter has for me. What separated my experience with Phantastes from The Wood beyond the World was the introduction of the Mistress.

In some strange way, I would argue that it is the witch Mistress who is the real hero of the story, for it was she that gave Walter purpose. "And therewith she put her hands to her face, and wept, and murmured: 'Who shall deliver me from this death in life?' But Walter cried out: 'For what else am I come hither, I, I?'" (Morris 82). Without this figure of the enchantress, the story would prove to be very similar to Phantastes: pathless and purposeless.

It is also the Mistress that ultimately brings about the "happily ever after" in this story by her defeat. After the Maiden outsmarts the Enchantress, she and Walter are finally able to escape and be together. They first must face the land of the Children of the Bears, however, but their victory of that seems inevitable. The are happy in the end when Walter is made king because the have defeated the Enchantress -- they have defeated evil.

I would argue that evil is what sets this story apart from Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and makes it a true piece of fantasy literature. The hope to defeat evil is the driving purpose in this story. It's what gives it purpose and, most importantly, a genuine impression of importance.