Fantasy as a Safe Space for Readers

Say the word “fantasy” and most people conjure images of fairies, wizards, ghosts, and monsters. I’m no different; when I hear “fantasy,” I immediately picture a dragon. Readers and writers alike view the fantasy genre as separate from the real world, far removed from the day-to-day experiences that real people encounter.

(Developing Magic Systems.)

As a genre, fantasy does rely on magic and the supernatural as essential elements of its world-building but that doesn’t mean it’s divorced from reality. In fact, quite a lot of fantasy stories are constructed around real world issues. Rather than creating a division between itself and the real world, fantasy uses its core components to build a safe space for readers to confront and process problems that they have to cope with in their day-to-day lives.

For many readers, part of the appeal of fantasy is joining the protagonist on a hero’s journey. Commonly used in fantasy stories, a hero’s journey involves a main character who goes on an adventure, overcomes great tribulations, and returns home a changed person. Fantasy heroes are renowned for facing massive challenges, far greater than those the typical person faces in everyday life, but their journey still has a lot to teach us.

J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings series has its readers join Frodo on his peril-filled trek through Middle Earth toward the dark kingdom of Mordor. Obviously, none of us have ever traveled through the orc-infested mines of Moria or braved the Mountains of Shadow through Shelob’s lair so Frodo’s story has no relevance to our lives… or does it? Throughout his journey, Frodo is burdened with the one ring, the physical vessel for the dark lord Sauron’s power, and he must constantly battle its wicked influence.

While that is something none of us has had to contend with, we’ve all felt the pull of darkness and struggled to resist evil within ourselves. Confronting dark temptations, or even admitting that we have them, can be such an unpleasant prospect that people tend to shy away from it. But by traveling across Middle Earth with Frodo, by experiencing his struggle with the ring, maybe our struggles won’t look so daunting in comparison. If Frodo can bear his burden all the way to Mordor, then maybe our own internal darkness isn’t as overpowering as it feels.

Similarly, I hope the fantastical elements of my book encourage those recovering from a toxic family to see that no matter how isolated they feel, they are stronger than they think and they are never truly alone. The fantasy hero’s journey, however far beyond the real world it may lead us, provides a comfortable means by which readers can examine their own troubles.

Another common element of fantasy world-building is the division of social classes. The real world is peppered with prejudices—ethnic, religious, political—and because emotions run high with regards to these things, they can be difficult to explore directly. In Frank Herbert’s Dune series, the Fremen are a marginalized people who have been abused by powerful groups seeking to exploit the resources of their home planet, Arrakis. Fremen beliefs are manipulated by the Bene Gesserit, the Harkonnens hunt them for sport, and the Imperium views them as a nuisance rather than a sovereign people. The main character, Paul Atreides, expresses sympathy for their plight and through him, we learn about the Fremen’s rich, unique culture.

However, Paul eventually comes to exploit the Fremen, changing them from an oppressed indigenous group into the weapons of a holy war fought in his name. Sadly, the story of the Fremen—that of a vulnerable people experiencing widespread abuse—has many real-world parallels that often get glossed over in history books and public discourse. Yet reading about the Fremen feels more comfortable to us exactly because they are fantasy characters; examining oppression through a fantasy lens places us at a distance from the real-world emotions associated with it.

My own series, The Witch’s Odyssey, involves a world of magic where witches have built a social structure that places them in a superior position in relation to the Fae, allowing them to exploit the inhuman creatures by draining them of their power. My main character, Georgette, rejects the prejudice attitudes of her family but struggles to come to grips with the privilege she was born into. By examining social division through fantasy, we have the space needed for self-reflection and empathy which can then help us process real life prejudices when they rear their ugly heads.

Perhaps the most widely appreciated method by which fantasy provides a safe space is the way in which the genre gives us a break from our lives. Processing our thoughts and emotions in a world that never gives us a moment of peace is challenging and downright exhausting. Fantasy gives us the one thing we need more than anything else: rest.

Becky Chambers’ A Psalm for the Wild-Built is an example of cozy fantasy, a book with low-stakes and heartwarming themes. In this story, main character Dex is a tea-serving monk living on a habitable moon that has embraced a sustainable solarpunk lifestyle. Rather than epic battles or world-altering conflict, Dex’s story is a simple one of self-discovery and friendship with their robot companion (who goes by the delightful name of Splendid Speckled Mosscap). It’s a feel-good story that’s driven by character instead of plot, the prose equivalent of a cup of hot cocoa on a snowy day. The hours we spend traveling peaceful communities and untouched wilderness with Dex and Mosscap are hours passed without the weight of our personal baggage, without the real world’s emotional overload.

While I wouldn’t classify my series as cozy fantasy, I always write with the primary aim of entertaining readers, creating a story that lets them escape real life for a brief time. Because when the story ends and we resume our normal routine, our emotions will have had time to settle and our baggage will be easier to carry thanks to the safe space the fantasy world has provided. 

Despite its reliance on magic and the supernatural, the fantasy genre remains grounded in real world issues. The fanciful elements it employs do not distance it from reality but rather provide a different perspective on our lives. Escaping into a fantasy story gives the reader a safe space to process their thoughts, their feelings, and their hopes and dreams. And a dragon now and then makes everything better!

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