Not just for kids: Magic, and its nexus with the Real.
What is Magical Realism?
More nebulous than your average genre, magical realism is perhaps the most amorphous concept to grasp. The very name sounds pretty darn contradictory. If there’s magic involved, isn’t it fantasy? How can it be realism if there are magical elements?
It is perhaps the most misunderstood concept in literature in part because the genre/style is very specific while also being intentionally ambiguous. As Mexican literary critic Luis Leal said,
“If you can explain it, then it’s not magical realism.”
So, what is magical realism, then? It isn’t straight fantasy, or science fiction, which incorporates mythical creatures and magic systems into the contemporary world, but it’s not completely realistic either. It doesn’t fit neatly into any one category, which makes it hard to label.
Essentially, Magical Realism=
Real-world setting (Realism) + Fantastical elements (Magic)
Understanding the terms ‘magic’ and ‘realism’
Magic
Magic in fiction is the endowment of characters or objects with powers that do not naturally occur in the real world. Within a work of fantasy, magic helps advance the plot, often providing power to the hero or their opponents.
Realism
Realism is an attempt to create a depiction of actual life; a novel does not simple rely on what it presents but how it presents it. In this way, a realist narrative acts as a framework by which the reader constructs a world using the raw materials of life.
Writers use realism as a literary technique to describe story elements, such as setting, characters, themes, etc., without using elaborate imagery, or figurative language, such as similes and metaphors. Through realism, writers explain things without decorative language or sugar-coating the events.
Magical Realism
According to Harmon, “Magic Realism–the frame or surface of the work may be conventionally realistic, but contrasting elements such as supernatural myth, dream fantasy — invades the realism and changes the whole basis of the art.”
Benet’s Reader Encyclopedia describes magic realism as the capacity to enrich our idea of what is ‘real’ by incorporating all dimensions of the imagination, particularly as expressed in magic, myth and religion.
Magic Realism is an aesthetic style or narrative mode in literature in which magical elements are blended into a realistic atmosphere in order to access a deeper understanding of reality. These magic elements are explained like normal occurrences that are presented in a straight forward manner which allows the ‘real’ and the ‘fantastic’ to be accepted in the same stream of thought. Unlike realism, which presents version of the world as uniquely ‘true’ or ‘objective’, magic realism encourages relativity, diversity and variety.
Magical realism focuses on ordinary people going about the humdrum activities of daily life. Everything is normal — except for one or two elements that go beyond the realm of possibility, whether it be magic or fate or a physical connection with the earth and the creatures that inhabit it, but always in a way that celebrates the mundane.
A Brief History
Despite the common misconception, magical realism didn’t originate in South America. Instead, German art critic Franz Roh coined the term “magical realism” in 1925 to describe the New Objectivity style of painting. A few years later, the concept of magical realism crossed the ocean to South America, where it was adopted and popularized by Latin American authors throughout the twentieth century as lo real maravilloso, the marvellous real. Notable writers include Jorge Luis Borges, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and Isabel Allende, among numerous others.
While Hispanic writers were — and still are — a major influence in modern magical realistic literature, the style is not limited to a specific time or place. In fact, writers from across the world have adopted and adapted magical realism to fit their own cultures and within their own frame of reference.
What Magical Realism ISN’T
Before we dive into what makes a story magically realistic, let’s discuss what it isn’t. With such a vague concept, it might be easier to understand by seeing what remains after other genres and tropes are eliminated. Think of it as chiseling away the excess rock until only the sculpture is left.
Fantasy
· If the story takes place in a world other than our own, it is fantasy.
· If the story starts in the real world but the characters enter a new one in the story, that is called a Portal Fantasy. For example, everyone’s dearest — Harry Potter.
· If there is a magic system with rules and explanations (Vampires must drink blood to live, magic spells have rules, and werewolves only become monsters upon the rise of the full moon), it’s not Magical Realism.
· Does not include “chosen ones” or prophesies. Magical Realism is about ordinary people living ordinary lives.
Science Fiction
- Magical realism is not futuristic, nor does it take place in space or on alien planets. Despite its fantastic plots, wild settings, and beyond-human characters, magical realism is not meant to be escapist, unlike Science Fiction.
- If time travel involves using a machine or some pseudo-scientific premise, it is not Magical Realism. However, time travel can be Magical Realism in stories in which a character travels through time without understanding how or why, such as Midnight In Paris.
- Alternate realities or parallel worlds and timelines, such as in George Orwell’s 1984, would be treated the same as time travel — it’s not Magical Realism.
- It’s not magical realism if the magic is later explained with science. That’s Science Fiction, even though it might seem like Fantasy at first glance.
Elements of Magical Realism
So far, we’ve discussed what Magical Realism is, and then what it isn’t. Now it’s time to learn how each element combines to make a magnificent whole — and how to do so in your own writing.
Ordinary events with a touch of the extraordinary
The first element of magical realism is the juxtaposition of the everyday and the extraordinary. The inclusion of fantastic elements in conjunction with the everyday shows how ordinary the ‘supernatural’ is. Magic is taken for granted: it is a daily phenomenon. In a sense, the fantastic and magic become the everyday. The existence of fantastical elements in the real world provides the basis for magic realism. Writers do not invent new worlds but reveal the magical in this world: the supernatural realm blends with the natural, familiar world.
Stated another way, marvelous events are presented as normal, run-of-the-mill, everyday things happening to ordinary, everyday people. These are stories of people just like us going about the things we do every day — but with the addition of a slight hint of magic running along the edges.
“In magical realism, the realism plays a bigger role. The primary plot will be about real things in the real world, but there is an undercurrent of magic. It’s so real in fact, that the author may imply that the characters themselves may not be reliable narrators, so as to not be too decisive about the existence of magic. In magical realism, the magic often sneaks up on you and you wonder whether or not you’re supposed to believe it’s really happening.”
–Sharon Bliss
Bliss makes an important distinction there — realism should play the biggest part in any story with Magical Realism, not the magic. It’s real life with magic along the edges, i.e., just a little bit. That means a magically realistic book should be almost completely realistic — with one or two small fantastical elements feathered in.
Authorial Reticence
This refers to the lack of clear opinions about the accuracy of events and the credibility of the world views expressed by the characters in the text. Authorial reticence is when an author withholds information from the reader to make circumstances intentionally vague so as to heighten the sense of the fantastic within the story. The characters — and thus readers — are kept in the dark so that there is an ever-present feel of mystery as events unfold. This technique promotes acceptance in magic realism.
“The narrator does not provide explanations about the credibility of events described in the text. Further, the narrator is indifferent; the story proceeds with ‘logical precision’ as if nothing extraordinary took place.”
–Jay Archer David
This extract from Beloved by Toni Morrison shows how the existence of a ghost and the abnormal activities that happen in the house are left unexplained. It is misty and more events unfold as the narrative progresses.
Meaning
There is often a sense of meaning or greater importance in Magical Realist stories. Not quite inspirational, though they can be inspiring in their own way, it is more that the world is connected with invisible ties that bind all of humanity and existence together. There is a purpose to that existence, not in a spiritual way so much as it is a reason for life in the first place. This is a mode primarily about and for: the geographically, socially and economically marginalized. Therefore, magic realism’s ‘alternative world’ works to correct the reality of established viewpoints. Magic realist texts, under this logic, are subversive texts, revolutionary against socially dominant forces.
Plenitude
Magical realism is marked by a departure from structure or rules, and an ‘extraordinary’ abundance (plenitude) of disorienting detail, accompanied by a complex system of layering. Authors are on a quest for that special place between dreams and reality — a place we mortals inhabit every moment and yet remains so difficult to communicate.
Heightened sense of mystery
The reader must let go of pre-existing ties to conventional exposition, plot advancement, linear time structure, scientific reason, etc., to strive for a state of heightened awareness of life’s connectedness or hidden meanings. A writer must heighten his senses to the point of “estado limite” (translated as “limit state” or “extreme”) in order to realize all levels of reality, most importantly that of mystery.
Subtlety
Perhaps one of the most important elements of Magical Realism is subtlety. No grand explanations are needed for why the world works the way it does; it just is. Let readers find the magic on their own. Don’t slap readers in the face with symbolism and meaning. Instead, layer it in gently with the rest of the story.
“The simple things are also the most extraordinary things, and only the wise can see them.”
–Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
Why Magical Realism
Writers of magical realism play upon the unexplainable events in peoples’ lives, making the extraordinary and fantastical almost believable. In the end, readers are never quite sure what’s real and what isn’t; they just know that it could be possible. It reveals the magic that is in the world around us.
Let’s hear from some of the best why magical realism is pertinent in the contemporary context.
“Faced with this awesome reality that must have seemed a mere utopia through all of human time, we, the inventors of tales, who will believe anything, feel entitled to believe that it is not yet too late to engage in the creation of the opposite utopia. A new and sweeping utopia of life, where no one will be able to decide for others how they die, where love will prove true and happiness be possible, and where the races condemned to one hundred years of solitude will have, at last and forever, a second opportunity on earth.”
–Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Nobel Lecture“Magical Realism seamlessly injects beliefs that are not practical or observable into a universe influenced by science and pragmatism. This leads to perspectives and models otherwise inexplorable. It creates an irresistible combination for readers; and a powerful narrative form for writers.”
–Jay Archer David“By including elements of the fantastic or elements of fable or mythological elements or fairy tale or just pure make-believe, you can actually start getting at the truth in a different way.”
–Salman Rushdie
“Magical realism is, more than anything else, an attitude toward reality that can be expressed in popular or cultured forms, in elaborate or rustic styles in closed or open structures. In magical realism, the writer confronts reality and tries to untangle it, to discover what is mysterious in things, in life, in human acts. The principal thing is not the creation of imaginary beings or worlds but the discovery of the mysterious relationship between man and his circumstances.”
–Luis Leal“Magical realism is a much quieter thing on the page than one might suspect, and much louder in the heart than one can predict.”
–Alberto Rios
Exploring Magic Realism
To get a taste of magic realism, here are books that should be a must-read on your list. If you are completely unfamiliar with magical realism, these are some excellent ones that will introduce you to the genre and help you get started.
Gabriel Garcia Marquez: One Hundred Years of Solitude (1967)
This beautiful piece of work has influenced many authors, especially in the realm of magical realism. It’s a multi-generational epic that tells the story of the rise and fall, life and death, riches and poverty, triumph and tragedy of the town of Macondo through the history of the Buendia family. Marquez uses magic realism in order to establish a grounding mythology for a people unsettled by violence. In juxtaposing the everyday and the extraordinary, the real and the fantastic, he is able to accurately express the existence of the marginalized living within the Third World in a way that all audiences can understand.
Salman Rushdie: Midnight’s Children (1981)
Saleem Sinai is born at the stroke of midnight at the precise moment of India’s independence, along with 1,001 children who all have special gifts. Saleem is telepathically linked to these children, but his gift will have consequences — his life is irrevocably tied to that of his motherland. Rushdie creates a hybrid world, establishing identity for a culture surrounded by violence but also divided from the inside. Rushdie’s use of magic realism accurately expresses and unifies the many subcultures that make up India.
Toni Morrison: Beloved (1987)
When dealing with trauma in storytelling, authors often turn to magical realism, and nobody does it better than Toni Morrison in Beloved. Sethe was born a slave and escaped to Ohio, but eighteen years later she is still not free. She has too many memories of Sweet Home, the beautiful farm where so many hideous things happened. Her new home is haunted by the ghost of her baby, who died nameless and whose tombstone is engraved with a single word: Beloved.
Haruki Murakami: Kafka on the Shore (2002)
In this wonderfully mystifying book, Haruki Murakami enfolds readers in a world where cats talk, fish fall from the sky, and spirits slip out of their bodies to make love or commit murder. The story follows teenage runaway Kafka Tamura and aging simpleton Nakata. In terms of magical realism, this book goes full tilt and keeps you constantly wondering what in the story is your solid ground.
Kazuo Ishiguro: Never Let Me Go (2005)
Kathy looks back at her years at Hailsham, a private school in the English countryside where she and her friends were taught that they were isolated because they were so special. As she digs into a seemingly idyllic past, dark cords begin to emerge, and Kathy has to confront the secrets that have always hung just behind the curtains. While some believe it should fall in the fantasy or science fiction genre, I think that those elements are simply in the backdrop to the deliberation about what it means to be alive and human, and in that, there is a preconceived reality that has underpinnings of fantastic elements.
If movies are more your cup of tea, grab some popcorn and get started with these:
It’s A Wonderful Life (1946)
A man who has given up his dreams in order to help others, sees the intervention of his guardian angel on his imminent suicide. He learns of all the lives he has touched, and how different life in his community would be if he had never been born.
Amelie (2001)
One woman decides to change the world by changing the lives of the people she knows in this charming movie.
Midnight in Paris (2011)
Two young people who are engaged to be married in the fall have experiences there that change their lives. It is about a young man’s great love for a city, Paris, and the illusion people have that a life different from theirs would be much better.
Bibliography:
Bowers, Maggie Ann. Magic (al) realism. Routledge, 2004.
Hart, Stephen M., and Wen-chin Ouyang, eds. A companion to magical realism. Vol. 220. Boydell & Brewer, 2005.
Brooks, Peter. Realist vision. Yale University Press, 2008.
Anderson, Sarah. A New Definition of Magic Realism: An Analysis of Three Novels as Examples of Magic Realism in a Postcolonial Diaspora. Honors Program Projects, 2016.
Leal, Luis. “Magical Realism in Spanish American Literature.” Trans. Wendy B. Faris. Magical Realism: Theory, History, Community. Ed. Lois Parkinson Zamora and Wendy B. Faris. Duke University Press, 1995, pp. 119–124.
Ríos, Alberto. “Magical Realism: Definitions.” Arizona State University. 23 May 2002. Web 11 Oct. 2017.
