The Bitter Withy
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The Ecology of Fantasy
John Fraim
I’ve been working almost exclusively with an AI platform since January 2025. Have used it much in creating the project Specters: AI Assisted Retrospection of 1770 – 1883. After completing it, I come up with this treasure of an essay today about art and creativity by JRR Tolkein. The essay is “On Fairy Stories” first delivered as a lecture in 1938 and then published in 1947.
To get the full benefit of this communication, to receive its “phenomenology” so to speak, read the famous article first before proceeding along with the Q&As below. This is all meant to be part of an epistolary type of post. (Even though the term epistolary is almost always associated with novels, why can’t it be the paradigm for a new type of web post that put readers on a type of treasure hunt to various links. Like you’re put through.
The epistolary is one of the most interesting novelistic/cinematic forms today. Stories brought together through efforts of the reader than the authority of the author. An epistolary story, assembled, pulled together rather than created. Lke a new form of scrap book not the province of any particular family. Nor under the ownership of any particular narrator. Perhaps it is for the reader to find out? An epistolary novel provides pieces of evidence from varioius sources for the reader to ultimately assemble.
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The term is often extended to cover novels that intersperse other kinds of fictional documents with the letters, most commonly diary entries and newspaper clippings originally, and sometimes considered to include novels composed of documents even if they do not include letters at all. More recently, epistolaries may include electronic documents such as recordings and radio blog posts and emails. and all form of social media communications.
Virtually hundreds of unexplored sources for epistolary stories today when the whole genre started out as written letters for its content. Not that there wasn’t other forms of “content” out there at the times. Perhaps it was just that the phenomenology of the times wasn’t able to view this. Now, content from a series/spectrum of “digital letters.”
Before continuing, I want to acknowledge the importance of reading the Tolkien article. So different from all the stuff that usually comes out each day. Want to thank an article by Peter Biles in the Dispatch on Tolkein that set off side journey. The world of Tolkein was a symbol to many in my generation that an entire world could be created. The world from within oneself. Yet an entire world that let others escape in it (to it) and live in it. A world with its own morals, ethics, politics, philosophy, landscape, cities, peoples. Its own language.
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The response my AI platform says is Tolkein’s key concern is redefining the Fairy Story as not about a story of tiny winged creatures but rather a realm in itself. As Tolkein feels, a story set in Faërie – the “Perilous Realm” itself. A world of magic and wonder that contains elves, dragons, talkative animals, enchanted forests, and even humans when they are caught in its spell. A world that contains before those contained in the world. The core is the atmosphere and quality of Faërie, not the presence of fairies.
The story and philosophy of Tolkein amatched the ideas of Marshall McLuhan. Like McLuhan, Tolkein understood McLuhans famous quote in the mid-60s, 25 years since Tolkein’s essay. Yet Tolkein creates in fiction what McLuhan saw in media. That it creates an entire world. The medium is the message.
The core for McLuhan too was always the atmosphere and quality of Faërie, not the presence of fairie. Why he observed “The medium is the message.”
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On Fairy Stories by J.R.R. Tolkien’s (1947)
Questions & Answers
Between John Fraim and DeepSeek AI
Question (JF 1/20/26 3:10 pm)
“Is this a famous article by Tolkien? Could you provide the basic arguments of the article.”
Answer DeepSeek (30 Seconds Later)
Yes, this is a highly famous and influential essay by J.R.R. Tolkien, originally delivered as a lecture in 1939 and published in 1947. It is a cornerstone of modern fantasy literature criticism.
Here are the basic arguments and key concepts Tolkien presents in On Fairy-Stories.
1. Definition of “Fairy-Story”
Tolkien argues that a “fairy-story” is not primarily a story about tiny winged creatures (a modern, diminished view). Instead, it is a story set in Faërie—the “Perilous Realm” itself, a world of magic and wonder that contains elves, dragons, talkative animals, enchanted forests, and even humans when they are caught in its spell. The core is the atmosphere and quality of Faërie, not the presence of fairies.
2. Origin of Fairy-Stories
Tolkien dismisses simplistic theories of origins (like Max Müller’s “disease of language” or nature-myth allegories). Instead, he proposes that fairy-stories arise from human imagination—the “sub-creative” faculty. He uses the metaphor of the “Cauldron of Story,” where myths, historical events, and inventions simmer together, with new ingredients constantly added. Stories are not “borrowed” but re-madeby each teller.
3. Value and Function of Fairy-Stories
Tolkien strongly opposes the idea that fairy-stories are only for children. He argues they are a natural human taste and should be considered a legitimate form of literature for adults.
He identifies four key values of the fairy-story:
- Fantasy – The human power to imagine and create secondary worlds. This is not “escapism” in a negative sense, but a meaningful act of sub-creation.
- Recovery – The ability to see the ordinary world anew, with freshness and clarity, after experiencing the strangeness of Faërie.
- Escape – A legitimate escape from modern industrialization, ugliness, and tyranny—comparable to a prisoner wanting to escape jail, not a deserter fleeing duty.
- Consolation – Especially the “Consolation of the Happy Ending,” which Tolkien coins as Eucatastrophe—the sudden, joyous turn that brings profound emotional satisfaction and a glimpse of transcendent truth.
4. Eucatastrophe
This is Tolkien’s famous concept: the “good catastrophe,” the unexpected grace of a happy ending that brings sudden, piercing joy. It denies universal final defeat and offers a fleeting glimpse of divine truth. Tolkien ultimately links this to the Christian gospel, which he sees as the greatest Eucatastrophe—a true myth that entered history.
5. Children and Fairy-Stories
Tolkien argues that children are not the natural audience for fairy-stories any more than adults. The modern association is an accident of history, as adults relegated these stories to the nursery. Children may enjoy them, but so do many adults. A good fairy-story should be written for adults first.
6. Fantasy vs. Drama
Tolkien believes fantasy is best suited to literature, not drama or visual arts, because drama relies on physical representation, which tends to cheapen fantasy into mere spectacle or pantomime. True fantasy requires literary belief, not staged illusion.
Summary:
In essence, Tolkien’s essay is a defense and celebration of fantasy as a serious art form. It redefines the fairy-story as a vessel for profound human desires—for wonder, recovery, escape, consolation, and joy—and elevates the fantasy writer to the status of a “sub creator,” participating in the divine act of creation. The essay is not only a theoretical work but also a foundation for Tolkien’s own fiction, explaining the philosophy behind his legendarium.
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Question (1/20/26)
“What is the definition of ‘sub-creation’ in your above analysis?”
Answer DeepSeek (30 Seconds Later)
In Tolkien’s essay, “sub-creation” is a central and profound concept. Here’s a detailed definition based on the text:
Definition of Sub‑creation
Sub‑creation is the act of creating a secondary world through artistic imagination—a world that has its own inner consistency of reality, laws, and coherence, even though it differs from the Primary World (our reality).
It is the special faculty of the human maker (author or artist) to invent not just stories, but entire worlds that are believable within their own terms.
Key Characteristics of Sub‑creation:
- Human as “Sub‑creator”
- Tolkien sees humans as made in the image of a divine Creator, and therefore endowed with the ability to create in their own turn—not ex nihilo like God, but by rearranging and transforming elements of the Primary World into new forms.
- This makes the author not just a storyteller, but a world‑builder.
- Secondary Belief
- A successful sub‑creation induces Secondary Belief in the reader—the willing, immersive belief in the secondary world while one is “inside” it.
- This is different from “suspension of disbelief,” which Tolkien sees as a poor substitute. Secondary Belief is positive engagement, not just toleration.
- Inner Consistency of Reality
- The secondary world must feel real on its own terms. Its rules—whether magical, physical, or moral—must be coherent and consistent.
- Example: In a world with dragons and talking trees, they must behave in ways that fit that world’s logic.
- Fantasy as the Tool
- Sub‑creation is achieved through Fantasy (which Tolkien distinguishes from mere “fancy”). Fantasy combines imagination with artistic skill to produce “the making or glimpsing of Other‑worlds.”
- Freedom from the Dominance of Observed Fact
- Sub‑creation is not bound to merely represent the Primary World. It can invent green suns, floating mountains, or immortal elves—so long as they are credible within the secondary world.
- Art, Not Delusion
- Sub‑creation is a deliberate, controlled art—not dream, hallucination, or deception. It is a conscious structuring of imagination into a shared artistic experience.
Why It Matters to Tolkien:
- Sub‑creation is what elevates fantasy from childish fancy or escapist trash to serious art.
- It answers a deep human desire: to be makers and find meaning in making.
- Tolkien suggests that through sub‑creation, humans participate in a small way in the beauty and order of divine creation—thus giving fantasy a spiritual dimension.
Tolkien’s Own Practice:
Tolkien’s legendarium—Middle‑earth, its languages, histories, and myths—is his own monumental act of sub‑creation. He didn’t just write stories; he built a world with its own cosmology, ethics, and sense of truth, inviting readers to experience Secondary Belief.
In short, sub‑creation is the artistic process of world‑making that grants fantasy literature its depth, credibility, and power to convey truth through imagined realms.