REAL WORLD AND FANTASY WORLD

The fantastic is not a genre, but a literary mode characterized by the irruption from outside of something unknown. In other words, it's the condition in which the established rationality that we believe we know is contradicted by elements that can't be explained rationally. Over the years, many scholars have attempted to define the fantastic, arriving at two main interpretations. The first considers fantastic any kind of literature that contains fantastic elements. As a result, they also tend to consider science fiction, mythology, and fairy tales to be fantastic. The second is a narrower reading, which tries to put parameters to the fantastic, and attempts to classify it (fictional, fairy, horrific, gothic...). The second reading follows two different principles. In the first view, the fantastic does not only represent something unreal but an intrusion of something foreign which displaces established parameters and cannot be traced back to reality. In this case, the fantastic stands out because it is set in a realistic context. According to the other principle, the two planes coexist: rational and irrational elements coexist together. This creates uncertainty in the perceiving subject: is he or she facing something real or not?

When something fantastic occurs in our “normal” world, it is referred to as “fantastic”. It is essential to presuppose realism when we talk about the fantastic. As a result, in a fairy tale, the fantastic element is not present: fairies are a normal part of Sleeping Beauty's world. Likewise, mythology cannot be considered fantastic: mermaids, gorgons, minotaurs, gods on Mount Olympus, and their occasional descent to Earth are all a part of that reality. It is also not appropriate to call science fiction fantastic, since it imagines the world in the very distant future, rather than today's world. In this last example, the world is not supernatural, but hyper-technological to the point that it appears to operate on different principles.

The fantasy world is dominated by supernatural beings, such as the Elemental Spirits, which are typical little creatures inhabiting the four elements: the Elves are denizens of the air, the Ondines of the water, the Gnomes of the earth, and the Salamanders of the fire. Although these creatures are not evil, they are bound by a different ethic: they must observe rules that are different from those of humans. Let us consider the Ondines, for instance: when they fall in love with a knight, if they are betrayed they must kill the man with a kiss. Despite the fact that the undine is a good and honest creature, these are the rules that she must follow.

Among the subjects treated by fantastic works is that of the interaction between the real world and the fantastic one. These two worlds are often incompatible because they are governed by different laws. Thus, a hybrid world is created, in which the real and the fantastic merge together: the supernatural element is incorporated into the tangibility and physicality of the real world.
The Undine was among the fantastic creatures that most fascinated Romantic artists: a capricious and passionate figure, she appeared as the protagonist of numerous operas, such as "May Night," by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov, "Rusalka" by Antonin Dvorak or "Undine" by Albert Lortzing. However, “Undine”, by Hoffmann, a Singspiel in three acts based on La Motte-Fouqué's fairy tale and staged in 1816, represents the most intense operatic representation of the contrast - typical of Romanticism - between nature and civilization, sentiment and reason. In spite of the fact that he is already betrothed to another maiden, the knight Huldbrand is captivated by Undine's beauty and grace and marries her. He takes her with him to his castle, where his old fiancée Berthalda also lives. Undine discovers from her uncle Kühleborn, a river genius, that Berthalda is the real daughter of the fishermen who raised Undine. Berthalda, outraged, accuses Undine of wanting to defame her by the contest of magical arts. Huldbrand, increasingly annoyed by Undine's kinship with water spirits, in a fit of anger insults and curses her. Undine dives into the waters, weeping, and begs him to remain faithful to her. While Huldbrand and Berthalda are busy with preparations for their wedding, a distraught and pale Undine appears, forced against her will to kill her groom with a kiss.

The drama of the supernatural trying to reunite with the human is revived a few years later (1833) by Heinrich Marschner with "Hans Heiling." The play's protagonist, a gnome, is widely regarded as one of the most beloved figures in German culture. Hans is a gnome who falls in love with a human, Anna, and abandons his underworld to be with her, despite the attempts of his mother and the other gnomes to make him stay. Hans brings with him some jewelry and his spell book, which is the only bridge between his world and the human world. While Anna is encouraged by her mother to marry the rich stranger, she happens upon the magic book in Hans's house. Terrified by its contents, Anna forces the gnome to choose between her and the book. Resigned, Hans throws the book into the fire, destroying the only means of returning to his world. During a ball, Anna reunites with Konrad, a childhood friend who has loved her since childhood. On the way back Anna is surprised by the Queen, Hans's mother, who orders the girl to let go of her son, who is a gnome prince. After learning the truth about his origins, Anna faints and when she regains her senses she refuses to marry Hans. In a fit of rage, the gnome stabs Konrad and escapes. Despite Hans' desire to return to his world, he no longer has the book with him. Moved by his despair, the gnomes decide to help him return home.

The protagonists of both plays, Undine and Hans, fascinated by humans, whom they are used to observing from their world, decide to leave their home and family in order to join a being very different from them, who cannot fully understand their nature and peculiarities. Knight Huldbrand is annoyed that Undine is not a human, and prefers to throw himself into the arms of a woman who is more like himself. The same is true for Anna, who cannot accept the fact that Hans belongs to another world, that he is a being different from her. In both cases, the protagonists are betrayed by their loved ones, and this circumstance triggers the rules imposed on them: Undine will have to kill her beloved because, despite her warning, he has married another woman. Meanwhile, Hans, who has destroyed the only way he could return home for the love of Anna, is trapped in a world where he does not belong. Only with the Queen's assistance will he be able to reunite with his fellow gnomes. cái này nghe có tự nhiên không?