The King of Elfland's Daughter - Essay Example

Magic and its meaning in The King of Elflands Daughter Perhaps, it would safe to assume that Lord Dunsany’s novel The King of Elflands Daughter is the predecessor of contemporary blockbuster fantasy novel and films such as The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, and other fantasy films and novels because Dunsany’s work pioneered the fantasy genre in novels. It was first published in 1924 and birth to the genre of fantasy fiction. The King of Elfland’s Daugter is a book about magic; about the perils of inviting magic into your life; about the magic that can be found in the mundane world, and the distant, fearful, changeless magic of Elfland (Dunsany xii). In the novel of Lord Dunsany’s The King of Elflands Daughter, magic was first described as the folly of Alveric’s people. Through its parliament, they demanded from Alveric, the son of the Lord of Erl, for magic to rule over them. This wish was granted only that it had terrible consequences. Such, the cliché “be careful what you wished for” might have originated from this novel because Alveric’s people got what they wished for, no matter how seemingly impossible it was but with an unthinkable consequence, they themselves became part of magic. Magic should not have been granted but Alveric yielded to the demand of the parliament no matter how foolish it was. Its folly of demanding magic to rule over earth was encapsulated in this passage in the novel delivered by the spokesperson as; “For seven hundred years, the chiefs of your race have ruled us well; and their deeds are remembered by the minor minstrels, living on yet in their little tinkling songs. And yet the generations stream away, and there is no new thing” (Dunsany 1). Magic, as pronounced by the anxiety of Alveric meant as something inappropriate for the people of the earth. It is because magic follow different laws which is only applicable to the nature of the fairies and cannot be applied to earth. Magic here meant a wish that is desirable that should not be done but was demanded anyway by the parliament of Elk demonstrating the folly of man. The quest and victory of Alveric in the Elfland proved that magic is not compatible on earth. True, he may have initially prevailed over the magic of Elfland, but in the end, he was lost when his elven wife Lirazel was gone. During the entire quest from acquiring magic until actually having it in the Elfland, magic proved to be precarious among the people of Elk and is something more than they can handle. Magic in Lord Dunsany’s The King of Elfland’s Daughter first meant the traditional meaning which is something supernatural. That “something” came in the form of a sword which was forged by the witch Ziroonderel from iron thunderbolt (Dunsany 6). The sword was magical because it prevailed over the perils and magic of Elfland during the conquest of Alveric. With the aid of the thunderbolt sword, Alveric found the elven princess Lirazel, the daughter of the King of Elfland. He wooed her until finally she became his girl. The nature of their marriage was also something magical because it was against all odds for the nuptial between a fairy and a human used to be unthinkable. To stress the magic of their relationship and to highlight the romance between an elf and a human, Alveric and Lirazel have to elope. On their way back to earth, Alveric has to fight his way through traps and dangers and overcame them all with the help of the magical sword. Magic here took an epic proportion of romance, adventure and conquest with the victory of Alveric over magic in Elfland, romance of Alveric and Lirazel and their adventurous return to Elk. Alveric and Lirazel’s marriage produced a son Orion. Having a magical lineage of an elven, Orion was obsessed with hunting. What is quite unusual with this obsession however is that the hunt involves a magical being, unicorn (Dunsany 113). What happened here is that magic did not only rule over earth in the form of government but also in the very fiber of Alveric’s daily life. One magic lead to another until they earth had magic more than what it can handle. Just as the thunderbolt sword defeated the magic and enchanted soldiers of Elfland, the magic of marriage between an elf and human was defeated by reality. Alveric may have won Lirazel despite the close watchfulness of the King of Elfland and the oddity of their relationship but the nuances between a human being and an elf eventually separated them. Lirazel, in her attempt to fit in the mortal world for her love Alveric, tried to adopt religion and worship. But being an elven that she is, her worship belonged to the stars, the universe and anything wonderful but this is considered as despicable to Alveric. He thought that worshipping the stars and stones is tantamount to sorcery and therefore belonged to the heathens (Alveric must be a catholic with his prejudice against the manner of worship of other people). This difference eventually separated them both. Here, it meant that magic may be wonderful that can defy the law of nature but it has its limits and eventually nature will take over. So Lirazel returned to her father as any daughter would when they feel distressed. Abandoned and nostalgic, Alveric went on another quest to find Lirazel and abandoned his Kingdom. During his absence and abandonment, magic broke loose and the cliché that be “careful what you wished for” unfolded (Dunsany 209). Here, magic became nostalgic feeling and fear. What was so desired before that the parliament has to demand it from Alveric has now settled in the Kingdom and land of Erl as fear; Trolls and other fearsome creatures went down to the Kingdom of Alveric and so are other curses to the point of more than what it can handle. What used to be a fascination which was described as beautiful now became a cursed. The very thing that Alveric desired about magic which was his elven wife Lirazel is gone, and he was lost without her. All that was left was the undesirable aspect of magic with the presence of trolls, curses and unusual things. The King of Elfland also suffered. Apparently, nobody seemed to benefit from the desire of Elk’s parliament to be ruled by magic. The King of Elfland seeing his daughter equally lonely without her husband and son was forced to use magic which he should have not used in the first place. During the process of using magic which should have been used to defend Elfland had been used up leaving Elfland defenseless. But being a father who would only care and look after the welfare and happiness of his daughter, he has to do something. Of course, if it was in his power to do so. He knew that with how things are, Alveric and Lirazel’s relationship would not work given the differences of their nature. Their differences will only aggravate his daughter further if the King will force them to be together. Fortunately in this novel, it was within the power of the King of Elkland to make his daughter happy. He can make the couple to be similar. In his final act, the King of Elfland used his power to transform the Kingdom of Elk as a magical world being a province of Elfland so that his daughter Lirazel and Alveric would be together again in a magical realm and for their marriage would work. He did not want it, but his desire to make his daughter Lirazel forced him to do it. Thus, in the conclusion of Lord Dunsany’s novel, it showed the peril of inviting magic. In the final act of the King of Elfland to make his daughter Lirazel happy, the demand of the people of Elk became more than what they asked for because they were not only ruled by magic but became magic themselves. Work Cited Dunsany, Lord. The The King of Elflands Daughter. G. P. Putnams Sons. 1924. Print. Read More