The Monster outside and the one within: the departure from the Tolkienesque concept of monstrosity in the books of G.R.R. Martin
The Monster outside and the one within: the departure from the Tolkienesque concept of monstrosity in the books of G.R.R. Martin

Author(s): Miła Irek
Subject(s): Language and Literature Studies, Literary Texts, Fine Arts / Performing Arts, Library and Information Science
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego
Summary/Abstract: There is no doubt about the impact of the works of J.R.R. Tolkien on the fantasy genre, and since G.R.R. Martin is often referred to as the new – or American – Tolkien, comparative studies are practically inevitable. Both authors created great epics set firmly within their own secondary worlds. Tolkien famously proclaimed that he was creating a mythology for England, while Martin affirms his strong inspirations in historical fiction and history in general. Both Arda and Westeros are set in a pseudomedieval fantasy universe, inhabited by various creatures and monsters. Yet, are those monsters the same? For Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring is essentially only one small tale in a wider, more relevant story of the world as a whole. As such, not only the characters or the protagonists, but also the monsters are all merely a small part of a larger picture; they are products of the ever changing wheel of time. In contrast, Martin’s Westeros feels like a mere backdrop for the real stories: the intimate affairs of the numerous complex characters. The monsters, therefore, are also more personal, internal, and harder to find and distinguish from the heroes.

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