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

5.4.3
 
Their background
In British fantasy for children, the background of the traditional hero is determined by 
a stable family as well as the social fabric. As a rule, families are intact.
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Due to the still 
strict and clearly defined morals and values separated or even divorced parents are a 
scandalous, hardly tolerable peripheral phenomenon of conservative Western European 
society. Within a functioning network of family and friends, traditional middle-class child 
heroes need to find room for their adventures, in which they tend to get involved in by 
accident. Alice falls into the hole when following the rabbit, Tom unintentionally into the 
chimney and then into the river and the children in Nesbit’s novel dig up the Psammead 
whilst playing outside. As we will see in the following, those adventures only become 
possible when the children are not being observed by adults or have momentarily escaped 
their reach.
By contrast, the background of the modern child hero is not portrayed as stable. 
Current publications take into account the changing social structures from the traditional 
extended family to today’s small families, single parents and patchwork families. In addition 
to the increasing number of critical or even dysfunctional family structures in reality as well 
as current British fantasy novels for children, a strong tendency towards isolation is 
discernible. One of the consequences of the rural exodus and the urbanisation is the 
anonymity of the city which supersedes the idyllic country atmosphere of Nesbit’s novels, 
The Wind in the Willows
or Winnie-the-Pooh.
The growing globalisation influences the hero’s as well as the reader’s cultural 
background. With the cohabitation of different cultures in a heterogeneous society and the 
opening of the Western Europeans towards other cultures multinationality has established 
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Doderer, Neue Helden in der Kinder- und Jugendliteratur, p. 9.
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Even if the family is not portrayed as a whole and often members are temporarily absent, they are at least 
mentioned for the sake of completeness.

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itself in a once homogenous society. So as to make allowances for this fact, current 
publications of British fantasy novels for children have begun to hesitatingly introduce either 
more multicultural characters or a secondary world in which this ethnic diversity is only 
natural and even an ideal state of affairs. Hesitatingly, since so far characters with an ethnic 
background are a minority – with only one or a maximum of two per novel - especially as 
heroes. A trailblazer in this direction is Le Guin’s Earthsea quartet with the dark-skinned Ged 
as a main character. Current publications which follow up this innovative development are for 
instance McNish’s The Colours of Magic trilogy, in which an African toddler turns out to be a 
very powerful magician, or Taylor’s novels – above all Shadowmancer and Shadowmancer: 
The Curse
of Salamander Street featuring the African angel Raphah. In the course of the 
Harry Potter 
series Rowling tentatively introduces the Asian girl Cho and the dark-skinned 
Angelina. Yet, not being portrayed in depth, both girls are more of a multicultural accessory 
rather than genuine characters. Even attempts at enlarging the Western European perspective 
by having visitors from France and East Europe in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire or 
occasional references to dragons in Romania do not manage to convincingly establish ethnic 
diversity or even create a multicultural atmosphere. As far as the realistic portrayal of a 
culturally mixed background of fantasy heroes for children is concerned much work is yet to 
be done. Possible reasons for this situation could be the lack of experience on the part of the 
authors – as well as the readers - caused by the late occupation with this topic.
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On the macrolevel, the heroes’ background is strongly influenced by the culture they 
are exposed to but also by the society they grow up in. The social background is influenced by 
the dominant world view, given and accepted standards, values, traditions and the code of 
conduct. Within these parameters control is exercised so that too strong a deviation from the 
set rules is either not possible at all or restricted to a minimum. This way, the macrolevel sets 
the valid parameters for the microlevel: The hero’s family background. It is within the 
immediate structures the hero is integrated into, i.e. their family and friends or peers, that they 
are acting. Seen as he is a product of his environment, this network socialises the hero and 
decisively moulds his character, attitudes and ideals. Nowadays heterogeneous or alternative 
family models no longer have any scarcity value and this development is reflected by current 
publications of fantasy literature. An increasing number of British fantasy novels for children 
expand on this issue by relating the absence of one or even both parents and the insecurity and 
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This is where current approaches of neo- and postcolonial criticism set in. 

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lack of guidance resulting from it. Such an unusual amount of freedom can be used for 
development opportunities. Yet, with some heroes it leads to a state of blockade and fear, 
which need to be faced in the course of the quest. In their function, absent parents cannot be 
substituted fully, but an intact group of friends or peers of the same age can establish family-
like structures and thus order for modern fantasy heroes, many of whom are affected by 
separation, divorce, new partnerships or even the loss of both parents.
In this connection, a very recent development is the preoccupation with former taboos. 
Psychological illnesses, for instance depression, are on the advance these days and do not 
spare the family of fantasy heroes, either. Artemis Fowl’s and Will’s mother suffer from 
depression and other mental impediments, thus at least temporarily losing control of their own 
situation and their child. The latter therefore has to face an unusual role reversal of the parent-
child- relationship and now has to try and provide the missing structure, security and guidance 
that he needs himself. The responsibility that the parents have for the child has to be taken 
over by the child for the parent, at least for a while. Whereas no dramatic differences can be 
discerned regarding the social background, the cultural background of the modern fantasy 
hero is being extended by multiculturalism and globalisation. What is more, the modern child 
hero’s family background distinguishes itself by an increased complexity and problematic, 
sometimes even vague relationships.