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

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In Foreman’s Keepers and Seekers series, good and evil adhere to traditional concepts 
at first sight. Yet, like the Malfoys, Odin and his minions deviate from them in several ways. 
Firstly, they are blond and have blue eyes. Furthermore, they seem to have eternal life and, 
throughout history, are always on the highest technological level as far as their weapons are 
concerned. Although their goal, world dominion, is a traditional one, their means are not: 
New high-tech weapons render them invincible, which aggravates the treat.
In Pullman’s His Dark Materials, evil is shown as being ambiguous. Whereas the 
Oblation Board and Father Gomez correspond to traditional roles of evil, Lord Asriel and Mrs 
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David Almond. Clay. London: Hodder Children’s Books, 2006. [2005] 

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Coulter are highly complex characters who have various facets, just like the heroes Lyra and 
Will. Here, the dissolution of borders becomes apparent again. An increasing number of 
villains can no longer be judged as either fully good or fully evil. Rather, villains and heroes 
alike distinguish themselves by complex, three-dimensional characters that do no longer 
permit sweeping judgement. It can be observed that the younger the date of the publication, 
the more refined and intricate the composition of the characters, villains and heroes alike, 
becomes. Roles of good and evil merge.
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4.2.3
 
Evaluation 
Current British fantasy novels for children cover the entire spectrum of available roles 
of evil. The traditional villain is still a widely accepted since well-tried concept, since its 
frequent and long-term use has the advantage of being a familiar and “safe” since unerring 
element of narration due to its clear outlines. Current traditional roles of evil therefore take 
their place
in a long genealogy of villains. In spite of the mentioned merits, a major 
disadvantage has crystallised though: With both his external and internal features ossified into 
restricted, two-dimensional and general stereotypes, the concept of the traditional villain is 
prone to repetition and stagnation.
Progress, by contrast, in form of changes and innovations, allows for development and 
creativity. Spurred by the challenge, the majority of the corpus authors thus take a sincere 
interest in dynamic new roles of evil. Whereas the aims of the villain might not have changed 
too much,
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his personality certainly has. As the examination of the corpus novels revealed, a 
clear trend can be discerned in British children’s fantasy. There exists a decisive movement 
away from traditional two-dimensionality, tainted with flatness of character and often cliché-
laden, towards a complex and psychologically demanding three-dimensionality of the villain.
With the villain as well as the hero developing complex since multi-layered 
personalities,
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their conventional transparency is clouded by the emerging ambiguities and 
inconsistencies for which there is now room. More enigmatic, the character of the villain 
gains in attraction. In their quality as counterbalance to the hero, the villains are indispensable 
for the equilibrium of the two forces. Ever since, personifications in form of a specific villain 
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The analysis of such ambiguous characters must be subject of future studies, as it is far too extensive for the 
present study.
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More often than not, the representatives of evil strive for absolute power, its attainment, stabilisation and 
expansion either on a micro scale (i.e. regional) or macro scale (i.e. world domination) and/ or immortality.
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For the development of the hero in current British fantasy for children see chapter 5.4.

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have provided the required plasticity for the impersonal and abstract overall concept of evil. 
Individual adaptations over time, concerning political or social situations and the zeitgeist of 
the different periods, may be made, yet the concept of a tangible representative of evil 
remains universal.
Especially in times of global terror, which has reached new, so far unknown 
dimensions,
one feels an even stronger need to pinpoint the aggressors of impersonal and 
abstract violence. In real life as well as in literature arises the need to channel one’s feelings. 
For this purpose, a concrete threat in form of individual persons is identified, who then give 
terror a face. Naturally, these developments do not leave British fantasy for children 
untouched. In the aftermath of the 11
th
of September 2001 humanity has lost its basic trust as 
well as its sense of security. It goes without saying that these far-reaching developments make 
themselves felt in children’s fantasy. A case in point is for instance Rowling’s Harry Potter. 
Not without reason does the series drift towards an atmosphere of gloom and doom, heralding 
a last battle reminiscent of Lewis’ ending of The Chronicles of Narnia, conceived after the 
traumatic experience of the Second World War. The world is at stake, not just for adults but 
also for children.
It would appear that in the future terror and its dangers will influence the shaping and 
confrontation with evil decisively. Parallel to its dynamic development in reality, literary evil 
will eventually shift from
its selective, either regionally or temporally limited, often isolated 
occurrence towards a more general and seemingly more timeless phenomenon. Accordingly, 
its new roles will involve threats on a global rather than a more individual scale. From the 
point of view of its magnitude and implications for humanity, new roles of evil in children’s 
fantasy will orientate themselves even stronger at models and panoramas that Tolkien or Le 
Guin have drawn.
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Thus, the topic focuses increasingly on recurrent or resident evil. Its 
challenge consists of a new slipperiness caused by its strong, paralysing since overpowering 
presence. The latter either results from its numerical superiority or from the abnormal power 
of a single individual. Also, threats to humanity in form of political or social terror or 
ecological catastrophes range among potential roles of evil. With the menace becoming 
universal, resistance must adapt to this new situation. The hero, instead of remaining largely a 
single combatant, has to organise and mobilise a group of allies. Just as the trauma of evil is a 
global one,
its digestion is, too.
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In The Lord of the Rings and Earthsea respectively.

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