A FOREST OF FORKING PATHS

Text topic: THE FANTASTIC IN CULTURE

Text author: Тијана Тропин

This paper analyses Diana Wynne Jones’s use of the Arthurian tradition in her novel Hexwood and the links she establishes with the contemporary traditions of the fantasy novel for children and science fiction. By employing a complex non-linear narration and a rich network of intertextual allusions ranging from Thomas Mallory and Edmund Spenser to T. H. White, Wynne Jones creates an unusual and success fulgenre amalgam. The central concept of the novel, a version of virtual reality where individuals adopt false identities and act accordingly,enables a highly uncommon self-aware use of motifs adopted from myth and literature.