The Mendelsohn elements, in theory, include portal quest, immersive, intrusion and liminal that helps in classifying the antagonists in the ‘Alice in Wonderland’ and ‘The Midsummer Night's Dream.' The protagonists and antagonists from both pieces of fantasy literature have various character traits that are similar and different. Fantasy literature has been used to refer to an imaginary universe that uses magic as well as other supernatural elements. Therefore, the authors have created the characters according to imaginary creatures to fit the overall genre of the story. In most fantasy literature stories, there is a happy ending for the protagonist while the antagonist faces the consequences of the evil inflicted on the innocent. The antagonists from the two texts act as villains where they attempt to attack the protagonists’ character. However, unlike in other forms of literature fantasy literature involves the use of magical and supernatural elements in the accomplishment of the evil plots. The paper considers the similarities and differences between two characters who are the antagonist from the two pieces of written fantasy literature according to Mendelsohn’s theory.
In Alice in Wonderland, the story lacks a definite antagonist because the most parts are about Alice wandering for adventure with few villains. However, the only characters that appear as villains in the story include The Queen of Hearts and the Red Queen (Dodgson, 21 & 25). The protagonist is Alice because everything throughout the story revolves around her as she seeks adventure. The antagonists baffle and attempt to confuse her through her journey to the extent that some intend to behead her. Likewise, The Midsummer Night Dream has no outstanding antagonist because it involves many characters throughout the play. There are some characters that portray the villain characteristic like Mendelson’s portal quest element focuses on the entry, transition and negotiation in the fantasy world (Halio, 56). Here, the characters leave the fantastic elements from the mundane world and join the fantasy world where they have direct contact with imaginary creatures and elements. In Alice Adventures in Wonderland, the Queen of Hearts has been mentioned in chapters 8, 9, 11 and 12. Queen of Hearts appears as a character from the cards when Alice enters the garden through the hallway (Dodgson, 44). The Queen of Hearts is the ruler of Wonderland and acts as a tyrant who is very cruel, violent and authoritative. She is feared by her subjects because of her beheading orders once she dislikes something or anybody. The Queen of Hearts often plays with hedgehogs as mallets and flamingos as balls and only declares that she has won by her rules. She lacks patience and has her personal opinions on how trials should be conducted. The author describes the Queen as ‘a sort of embodiment of ungovernable passion, a blind and aimless Fury’ (Dodgson. 52) another famous quote that refers to the Queen of Hearts is ‘Off with his head’ (Dodgson, 57). The queen does not like Alice once she gets to the garden and even considers her beheading which is unsuccessful.
The Midsummer Night’s Dream has no single antagonist due to the number of characters throughout the play. However, if one is forced to pick one antagonist, that would be Puck after he complicates the plans orchestrated by Oberon and by messing with the Athenian lovers. Puck is responsible for turning Bottom into an ass and against his friends and vice versa. Puck also participates in the disruption of the love relationship of Titania. He confuses the lovers and makes them fight each other while thinking they are fighting him. The negative character and evil plans for the other characters make Puck the outstanding antagonist alongside, Hermia’s father, Egeus, Oberon and many others (Halio, 73). Puck is also referred to as Robin Goodfellow and helps the audience realize that the fantasy world is not full of happiness and generosity. Puck’s name is also aligned to the name Norse demon that associates him with the devil.
The character traits of Puck and the Queen of Hearts can be compared using the Mendelsohn elements and theory of fantasy literature. The portal quest element is the most significant and general element in the two stories as it captures the entry and transition into the fantasy world. The Queen of Hearts is captured by Alice’s quest fantasy as she wanders and experiences adventure. It is similar to Puck who also uses fantasy elements to disrupt the lovers as well as the friends. The similarity is that the two antagonists ensure that they do not leak from the fantasy world to the real life world. In the Portal quest element, the characters can cross the portal from the fantasy world but their magic cannot cross over (Campbell, 56). The two characters have maintained their characters and magic in the fantasy world. Puck has no intention to extend his powers through the portal as the book is completely based on the magical world of the Athenian culture. In Alice’s Adventures, the Queen of Hearts only seems to attack Alice from the fantasy world because eventually, she realizes it’s just a dream (Dodgson, 99). Another similarity between the two antagonist characters would be the evil notion where Puck is considered to be associated with demons as declared by the name Nosre Demon. The Queen of Hearts is also evil as she often suggests various demon-related suggestions such as beheading and the unjust ruling and conduction of trials. Many of the characters believed that she came from hell and they feared her fury. The two antagonists have the similar role to the audience where they are used to represent the underworld realms of magic, the dark side, and eventually death. Therefore, the luminal space aspect according to Mendelsohn is addressed in the texts as the settings of the characters. The supernatural approaches and the creatures are relevant according to the Mendelsohn’s element of the portal quest. The quests are often in places and situations that would require the interaction with the evil spirits of the antagonists in the texts. The similarities between the two antagonists appear to be the common characteristics of any antagonists in any form of literature. However, they both play their roles effectively according to the themes and settings of the texts.
The physical appearances of most villains appear to be scary and uglier than that of the protagonist. However, in Alice in Wonderland, the Queen of Hearts appears to resemble the image of a Queen as portrayed in the pack of cards. She does not seem as appealing as Alice which makes the audience relate to her cruelty and evilness. Similarly, Puck also appears bizarre-looking from the way his friends refer to him as ‘hobgoblin’ (Halio, 116). The two characters who play the role of antagonists in the two texts appear to have supernatural powers that surpass the abilities of the other characters. An example would be The Queen of Hearts who was a tyrant ruler and gave orders around. Likewise, Puck had the supernatural ability to wonder the world and circle the entire globe. Their abilities allow them to dominate and manipulate the other characters in the stories. They help in creating the dramatic scene and motions in the stories by making them more interesting. However, the overall feeling of the antagonists from the audience often goes past Mendelsohn’s element of portal quest. Here the audience transfer their emotions and takes from the characters to their real life experiences. Therefore, the authors tend to create a character that would have a positive impact on the reader by ensuring the protagonist captures the attention. The antagonists help in bringing out the dark side of fantasy literature in the magical world. However, they protagonists always manage to overcome any obstacles laid down by the antagonists. Therefore, the protagonists appears as the heroes throughout the texts and help in communicating the expected character traits of heroes.
The character traits of the two antagonists differ in the level of cruelty and evil intentions for the protagonists. In Alice in Wonderland, The Queen of Hearts appears evil and heartless as explained by the many orders of beheading as a result of dislike. She is murderous and eviler as compared to Puck in the Midsummer Night’s Dream that mainly plays tricks on mortals as a mischievous trait. The Queen of Hearts also portrays evil plans that could only be considered to emanate from the demons. Another major difference would be in the method and approach to which the antagonists conduct their evil intentions. The Queen of Hearts does not necessarily use any magical powers to confuse and baffle Alice from her quest. On the other hand, Puck uses his magical powers to blind his friends and accomplish his mission and Oberon’s plans. The magical application in how the antagonists act is according to the portal quest element on the Mendelsohn theory that helps in linking the entry and the transition in the fantasy world. The irony would be the fact that the texts used are fantasy literature played in a magical universe and the characters still use magical powers to conduct their activities.
The personal characteristics of the two antagonists also seem to differ because Puck is considered to have a high sense of humor as compared to the Queen of Hearts who appears to be only amused by unfair and unjust victory. Puck is considered mischievous and only uses his magic to trick human characters as well as to make deliberate mistakes. In the midsummer night’s dream, Puck does not deliberately pot love juice on the wrong man’s eyes. He does it unintentionally, and he eventually sets things right. Therefore, Puck would not be considered an antagonist as much as the Queen of Hearts because his actions are not deliberate (Dodgson, 111). The Queen of hearts only acts out of malicious intentions and would never be remorseful for any evil deeds against the protagonist. Therefore, the queen is purely evil while Puck is just a mischievous magical being that confuses the instructions given to him by Oberon. Oberon should be considered as the overall antagonist because he is the mastermind behind the confusion between the Athenian lovers. The differences between the antagonists are based on the true nature where the Queen of Hearts takes over the main antagonist for her will to eliminate the protagonist. Puck does not commit his acts willingly but according to orders from Oberon where he still manages to confuse the instructions as ordered. The elements from Mendelsohn appear to be relevant in both texts with the antagonists being described as part of the elements in how they portray their roles. However, there are various other theories and approaches that can be used to describe the traits of the characters in the texts.
Therefore, the two characters effectively play their roles as antagonists on the two pieces of literature. Their character traits effectively follow the Mendelsohn’s theory that believes in the four elements and mainly the portal quest element. The protagonists face the antagonists during their quests in the fantasy world before they successfully return to their normal life. The character traits may be evil but they represent the fantasy world and the challenges that the heroes and heroines have to overcome to succeed and be happily ever after. The Mendelsohn’s classification and categories have effectively analyzed the character traits of various characters in fantasy literature. The Queen of Hearts and Puck both have played the antagonist roles but also have other accompanying characters in their evil plots against the protagonists. Fantasy literature has also been analyzed by Todorov who addresses the aspect of liminal space alongside the other elements that were mentioned in Mendelsohn’s categories. From the analysis, the antagonists from the two texts have successfully incorporated the fantasy world and Mendelsohn’s portal quest throughout the stories.
Work Cited
Campbell, Lori M. Portals of power: Magical agency and transformation in literary fantasy. Vol.
19. McFarland, 2010. Print
Dodgson, Charles Lutwidge. Alice in Wonderland. Ed. Donald J. Gray. Little Blue Book
Company, 1955. Print
Halio, Jay L. A midsummer night's dream. Manchester University Press, 2003. Print.
