The Purpose of Magic

The subject of magic, especially within younger fantasy novels, is a notoriously controversial topic in the literary world. Many will argue, and not entirely without justification, that this departure from the mundane into a world where some wield unnatural prowess over others, and through a means mysterious to even themselves, is crossing over a line past which a reader - especially a younger one - is doing the opposite of '[storing] up Your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.' (Ps. 119:11) The motive is indubitably invaluable, and of course as a catalyst I could not disagree. I would argue, however, that this view of magic stems from a misdefinition or misinterpretation of its purpose as a literary device - and thereby passes up the beautiful opportunity it offers as an element of a story, even, if not especially, from a Christian perspective.

To premise, I would present the crucial idea that magic as a literary device is not an end in itself; it is a means to an end. In every story where it ever truly exists, the use of magic is not the goal - it is the path to accomplishing a goal. It is the background; it is the setting; it is a fundamental part of the characters' personalities, capabilities, and knowledge. Even, for instance, in plots where it is written so that the acquisition or realization of magic is the climax, it is never actually the acquisition of magic itself that the characters are searching for - because magic already exists in that world just by virtue of them searching for it; it has already been introduced simply because they know about it. The idea of magic within a fantasy story already exists even before the character him- or herself has gained it - which means its very existence is acting as a means. In that way, the true goal of the story is not in and of itself magic; the goal of the story is the character's own realization of this magic instead. Again, I would propose that magic is not the the product of the story; it is the story.

The sole importance of this premise lies in the fact that, once it becomes clear that magic is not the goal of the story but the means, then magic snaps into view through the lens of a parable. It becomes an allegory. Instead of being an idol gained by mystery, magic is just another fundamental aspect of the story itself - an aspect acting as a metaphor for their characters' abilities and the abilities of the world of the story. Magic becomes able to take what would be mundane and makes it phenomenal; it takes a story that perhaps would be told about a time when Hero escaped a bear with his strength and wits into a story in which Hero subdued a magnificent dragon with the magic that he wielded. The plot is essentially the same - it is a force of opposition being overcome by a force with extraordinary prowess - but, whereas one could reasonably happen in the world in which we live, the other uses the power of magic as an allegory to leap into a world where dragons not only exist but can be tamed, to paraphrase our beloved G. K. Chesterton.

This is another note of extreme importance in the vein of magic as a literary device being a means to an end, and therefore being also a general allegory. Because stories, plotlines, worlds, and characters can all be elevated from a world of mundanity to a world of our wildest dreams with the incorporation of magic into a story, there is one more thing that can be elevated with the use of magic: the conflict between good and evil. It becomes all the more glorious when the wicked antagonist is overcome by the protagonist representing a force for good if the plotline in which that happens is laced with magic and is a world outside mundanity.

To borrow an example from C. S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia, I feel that it would have been somewhat less beautiful for Aslan to have conquered the White Witch if Aslan was not a magnificent lion, and the Witch was not a witch at all, and the whole story had not taken place in a magical world where beavers could talk and gnomes existed, and where each could be turned into stone in turn and where winter could exist all year round, and, in the end, the protagonists could not have gone past a certain lamppost into a certain wardrobe and emerged back, safe and sound, into the familiar world in which they belonged. Although Lewis takes the allegory of magic to an exemplary extreme, the concept is the same - without the use of magic as a literary device, the height of the story could not have been taken nearly as high.

As a side note, this action of magic elevating the familiar to something extraordinary is also a powerful tool to grow our minds in appreciation of God's magnificence. There is something about literature that opens new pathways for thought in our minds, and if these pathways are upwards on the trail up a mountain of magnificence, then it can broaden our thoughts to things outside of the 'here and now' - not in replacement of the splendor of the King, but rather to make it so that we have a greater capacity for appreciating it.

Nonetheless, some may still contend that magic, even as an allegory, is an inappropriate tool to be used in a literary context, especially for younger readers. There are multiple foundations for this - the main ones being, firstly, that magic is a tool wielded by a select few over an unlucky set of others; secondly, that magic in a story has a mysterious origin that often cannot even be explained by the characters who wield it; and thirdly, that the use of magic in general as a supernatural allegory at all is contrary to edifying. Needless to say, I would disagree with all three of these; they are a part of the misdefinition and misinterpretation of magic described earlier, and they still are ignoring the beautiful potential of magic as a metaphorical means to an end.

To the first objection I would respond that this occurrence is the case with any good story, and rightly so. A hero would not be a hero if he did not have a capability that nobody else had. An organization created to protect the populace would not be any different than the populace they are trying to protect if they were not able to do something that the populace could not. Any good story will have a protagonist that rises above the rest - whether it is in terms of talent or motivation - or else nothing would ever get done. This is precisely the same thing that happens within a story that involves magic. If I may press the point again, magic is simply another means to an end; it is simply another characteristic of the characters. As such, if the protagonist must have a prowess that makes them rise above the rest, then it stands to reason that that prowess may just as well be magic as not.

This allegory holds, as it should, from a Christian perspective. We, as characters in God's story, are given capabilities and passions that are unique to our purpose in His kingdom. If that were not the case, nothing would ever be done, and life would be horribly mundane. The purpose of magic as a literary device is still to elevate the familiar - so these abilities that we are given, instead of portraying them in a story as they appear in 'real life', can be portrayed in an extraordinary way. As a lesser note, I would disagree with the description of those without magic as 'unlucky', or any synonymous label. We know that, the greater the capability, the more the responsibility, so while those heroes that are graced with the use of magic have the fortunate ability to use it, they also have the inherent responsibility to care for those who do not.

The basis of my dissention to the second point is that there is no reason that magic could not have had the same origin as every other thing that appears within the story. It is a part of the story, a metaphor - so it is reasonable to assume that it was born alongside the rest of the setting and characters. In other words, in some sense, everything in a story comes from a mysterious background simply because the author did not explain where it came from - and if he or she did, in a fantasy story, the chances are rather in our favor that he or she also explained the origin of magic. From a Christian perspective, remembering that magic is considered as a literary metaphor, this means that magic is simply a part of the creation in this world. In this way, magic becomes no longer mysterious and possibly obscurative, but it continues as an extension of this extraordinary, elevating literary allegory.

The third objection, the largest one categorically of the three, also has the greatest amount of potential responses - simply because the complaint is generally that this allegory is not necessary, and is in fact unhelpful. All that must be done, in this case, is demonstrate that magic as a literary device is not only usable but helpful as well. For this, I will return to the points made previously in the context of defining magic as an allegory, when the results of magic being a metaphor were outlined using the Chronicles of Narnia and the growth of the mind as examples. I would present these to your imagination again - but this time not as an extension of magic as a literary analogy, and instead as a reason that this allegory is helpful. I described the beauty of the Chronicles of Narnia and similar books as a result of magic - this rather speaks for itself, and likewise the use of magic in elevating the mundane within a story. As a third example, then, if it would be necessary - magic in a story is simply fun! It expands the imagination of the reader, it provides material for dreams, and it is just plain enjoyable to read.

Ultimately, I would propose that magic is not contrary to edifying - quite the opposite, in fact. It has the potential to act as an extraordinary allegory in literature, all the while expanding the reader's mind for imagination and for capacity to wonder, and is simply a part of the world into which the author incorporates it. This is not to say that fantasy should not be censored - far from it. Wholesome fantasy is still and should always be the goal - but wholesome fantasy could and perhaps should have some magic in it.