Soupçon III In Memoriam Series. III.ii
We can understand and appreciate "Gulliver's Travels" better if we understand the genres Swift is using. First and foremost, we have to grant that this travelogue is a 'phantasy'. The modern spelling of this term often is 'fantasy'.
In the typical fantasy mode, this novel is speculative fiction. It presents multiple constructed worlds full of mythical creatures, be it Lilliput or Brobdingnag, Laputa or the country of the Houyhnhnms.
True, in this imaginary universe, Tribnia and Langden in the third voyage are respectively Britain and England, places Swift mocks for their constant counter- plotting and tale-telling. That, however, is precisely the strength and beauty of the irony and satire with which the novel overflows.
Even if Gulliver's travels are fantastique, as readers, we are ready to suspend disbelief because they reflect what Aristotle calls 'probable impossibility.' Swift's narration reverberates with emotional truth, not to forget its tremendous narrative coherence. The lack of strict factual realism, in fact, adds to the pointedness of Swift's satire.
We can call this novel a 'phantasie' also/especially because the main character's, Gulliver's, travels are a hero's journey. Not only does he face trials and confront conflicts, but he also evolves, he grows as a person in the process. Hence this 'high fantasie', with adventures in entirely fictitious wo(r)lds, appears both true and real. Tomorrow and the day after, let us look at the travelogue as a satire.
Pratima Agnihotri
N.B.: We have consciously used all the possible spellings of the genre so as to cover all its major characteristics.
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