Incest, murder, rape, infanticide: how far is too far?

The trend in fantasy is definitely towards gritty and even gruesome realism (in a fantasy-based context). Gone are the days of Tolkien, when almost none of the main characters end up dead despite ever present mortal woe and numerous fights against huge odds.

To be honest, I rather like the approach of modern authors such as Abercrombie, Martin and Lynch. Important characters should have a genuine risk of being killed off, and villains (not necessarily the principle antagonist) ought to have a horrid side. This doesn’t have to be explicit. A very recent, and excellent, example of this is the relationship between Ramsay and Reek in A Dance With Dragons by George RR Martin. Terrible past instances are referred to, but in the present the writing is riveting not due to explicit horror but because of the terror Reek feels and the psychopathic way Ramsay has screwed him up. It’s all about mentally ruining somebody and manipulating them.

We live in an age mostly free of deformity and pox scars, rotten yellow teeth and club feet, which makes it easy to forget that in the roughly Middle Ages world most fantasy occurs in that sort of thing was shockingly common. Not only can adding a few pox scars or cataracts be an easy way to give a chap some character, it also helps build up a more immersive world.

There is, of course, a potential pitfall. Going too far when it comes to magic or how fantastic dragons are will make a fantasy silly (which can be forgivable) but if you go too far with gritty gruesomeness it can end up being a bit sick or even repulsive.

I suspect most things with adults can be gotten away with. Abuse of children, on the other hand, is probably something that should be handled with care (if used at all). Brent Weeks uses this* (not in explicit terms, more as a threat that’s alluded to by someone written as a despicable character) in The Way of Shadows (Night Angel Trilogy book 1). It’s a pretty severe idea, but because it doesn’t actually happen it does serve a useful purpose and moves a character from merely horrible to the-reader-wants-him-to-die.

*I read this a year or two ago and haven’t checked, but my memory is that this was well-handled by Mr. Weeks. Apologies if I’ve made a slight error, but I’m pretty sure I’m mostly correct.

Although recently the shift has been from worlds where few main characters die to ones where they die, and get raped, mutilated and thoroughly abused, the question of quite where to draw the line isn’t a new one.

I would not recommend buying Ovid’s Metamorphoses as, although there are some good bits, it’s generally a bit of a slog. However, one excellent episode does stand out.

Tereus, Procne and Philomela features a man, his wife and his sister-in-law. It involves rape, mutilation, false imprisonment, infanticide and what might be termed incestuous cannibalism (so, fun for all the family). It’s also one of the highlights of the Metamorphoses, partly because the harshness of the miniature plot makes an indelible mark upon the mind of the reader.

Thaddeus