Microsoft Word final-current Developments at the Intersection of British Children-online-version doc

5.3.2
 
New elements and aims of the quest 
Having defined the basic elements of the traditional quest we can now take a look at 
new quest elements in current British fantasy novels for children. The traditional ones are still 
widespread, popular and a reliable and effective stylistic device, since they have retained their 
universality and timelessness throughout the centuries. Yet, as time went on, new elements 
have emerged on the basis of the traditional ones in order to take new social developments 
and the changing spirit of the time into consideration. Both old and new, often inseparably 
linked, coexist in current British fantasy literature for children.
It can be observed that the traditional quest focuses more on general human primordial 
fears, desires, behaviour, socialisation and the rites, tests and challenges involved. One or 
several tasks and their successful completion stand in the foreground, i.e. the external journey. 
By contrast, new elements of the quest reveal a shifting of its priorities from predominantly 
external to internal values. With the psychological, internal journey of the hero becoming 
more important than the external one, the focus lies on the development and maturation of 
individual characters. Although the journey as well as the successful completion of tasks are 
still of interest, adventures and tests are interpreted as challenges for the development of 
specific and complex characters, not primarily as selfless attempts at saving the world. Much 
is to be gained for the individual, whose personal psychological development, not that of 
physical strength, enables them to devote their attention to problems of general interest. In 
213
Schulz, Suche und Abenteuer, p. 8.
214
For the internal and the external quest see Clute; Grant, The Encyclopedia of Fantasy, p. 796; Joseph 
Campbell. Der Heros in Tausend Gestalten. Frankfurt/ Main: Fischer, 1953. 
215
Compare Schulz, Suche, p. 9.

---

171 
current British fantasy literature for children this pronounced individualisation in favour of 
the salvation of mankind may appear to be a contradiction in terms at first glance. However, 
at second glance, distinct, mature and complex personalities are much more convincing and 
plausible and their actions become more understandable if their motivation is transparent 
compared to those heroes who simply seem to function and whose psychological inner self is 
kept under lock and key.
A different interpretation of “saving the world” is one new element of the quest. 
Whereas the traditional quest understands by this motto that a world and/ or a society has to 
be freed from harmful influences such as war, power-hungry tyrants or dangerous beasts such 
as dragons, its new element is the fight against the total destruction of the planet, world or 
society. The public awareness of a progressive destruction of the environment – in the worst 
case ecocide - through pollution and ruthless overexploitation of nature is reflected by the 
growing importance of the aspect of pollution control and environmental awareness in current 
publications. It is in The Lord of the Rings that Tolkien urgently and repeatedly places 
particular emphasis on the irretrievable loss of the old harmony and order. The elves leave 
Middle-earth forever, Saruman destroys all nature around Isengard, and Mordor, hostile to 
life, symbolises hell itself. With the disappearance of the elves and the dawning of the age of 
man Tolkien mourns past glory, as he knows what will follow. Outstanding publications from 
our corpus that take up this view are for example Colfer’s Artemis Fowl series and Tyler’s 
The Secret Valley
. Both authors take up the cudgels for the protection of the environment and 
denounce the thoughtless destruction of nature. Whereas Colfer lets the elves make ironic 
sideswipes at humankind and their careless behaviour, Tyler openly pillories the irresponsible 
clearing of the Amazonian rain forest. In both cases, today’s profit-seeking entails severe 
consequences for nature, not least because future generations are deprived of a healthy and 
intact environment. Considering this acute and serious problem, “saving the world” as an aim 
for a successful quest in current British fantasy novels for children
has reached a more 
specific, complex, immediate and urgent dimension than the traditional quest.
From this shift of prioritisation of the aspect of environment arise further new 
elements of the quest. Against a backdrop of an impending total destruction of the world – be 
it primary, secondary or both – and the basis for a quest, but also its external circumstances 
alter significantly. For one, this has implications for the character and motifs of adversaries as 
well as the threat they pose. It can be observed that a considerable number of villains from the 
corpus novels strive for absolute power, showing an increasing emotional coldness and stand 
not just for the ruin, but for the total destruction of the respective world. As Tolkien has 

---

172 
already warned, evil, personified by the villains, is no longer restricted to local areas or 
communities but has assumed global dimensions. This development
reflects the current 
globalisation of the real world, which does not only bring advantages. Conflicts which used to 
be limited to one or several areas of the world can now spread easily across entire continents 
and not only deeply disturb the delicate balance but even destroy it completely. The fear of 
such a maximum credible accident underlies more or less directly the majority of our corpus 
novels. So it is not surprising that new elements of the quest frequently involve a threat of a 
tremendous magnitude which, in its intensity, surpasses that of the traditional quest by far.
Accordingly, the kinds of obstacles change which the hero has to overcome on their 
way to a successful completion of the quest. The obstacles too are no longer local and 
relatively calculable. Instead, they can
stretch over the entire globe, so that the journey of the 
hero can easily and quite literally become a world-tour. As Pullman’s His Dark Materials 
demonstrate, such a journey can encompass several worlds, turning the hero(es) into world-
trotters. With the dimensions shifting, the events take place on a larger scale and tend to 
become more complex and less lucid. However, not only the obstacles and the adversaries are 
influenced by the new elements of the quest. The hero too has to adapt to the new 
circumstances. For this reason, the heroes of current British fantasy literature for children turn 
their minds back to their inner strengths, since physical strength alone does not suffice in 
order to take on and deal with the challenges. A different initial situation, a quest with new 
elements, evolving enemies and obstacles require adjustments on the part of the hero, too.
With the quest shifting more towards the internal, psychological and spiritual aspect, 
the external journey graphically symbolises its inner counterpart. The new elements of the 
extended, longer journey with its increasing difficulties represent the more and more complex 
inner conflicts the hero is exposed to. A further innovation is a marked tendency towards a 
plurality of worlds. The more different and numerous the worlds are that the hero passes 
through on his journey, the more he can broaden his horizon. New impressions and findings 
gathered can lead to comparisons, conclusions and new impulses. Authors like Paolini, Nix 
and Pullman demonstrate how the journey can be the goal. Observing that the external quest 
increasingly becomes a global one and the internal one of the hero a more and more personal 
and individual one might seem rather paradox at first. However, this is to be explained by the 
fact that these two extremes are opposites and countermovements; individualisation being the 
answer to the progressive globalisation. As distinct borders – and with them clear 
categorisation, order and structure decrease and blur, inner structures on an individual level 

---

173 
are reinforced and developed in order to counterbalance this phenomenon and not to lose 
important reference points – and with them all orientation.
Even though many current publications still rely mainly on the traditional quest, the 
trend goes towards a fruitful conscious combination of external and internal quest, of 
traditional and new elements. In Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, Frodo’s quest is a prime 
example for the duality of inner and outer journey, where the physical agony mirrors the 
mental anguish and vice versa. Even today demanding novels are modelled on this profound 
duality of the quest.