Fantastical reflections: Lewis Carroll, George Macdonald and Charles Dickens

This thesis examines the presence and importance of the fantastical in literature of the Victorian period, a time most frequently associated with rationality. A variety of cultural sources, including popular entertainment, optical technology and the fairy tale, show the extent of the impact the fantastical has on the period and provides further insight into its origins. Lewis Carroll, George MacDonald and Charles Dickens, who each present very different styles of writing, provide similar insight into the impact of the fantastical on literature of the period. By examining the similarities and influences that exist between these three authors and other cultural sources of the fantastical a clear pattern can be seen, demonstrating the origins and use of the fantastical in Victorian literature and providing a new stance from which it should be viewed.