The numinous in America

[klwilliams]

At Westercon, both Lois McMaster Bujold and Michael Swanwich brought up the idea that fantasy needs to contain "the numinous", a spiritual or divine element, the supernatural. I've been thinking about that in regards to fantasy set in the United States. I find that stories with elves set in the downtown of a major city usually (though not always) feel grafted on, because elves aren't something that started out in the U.S. Neil Gaiman's American Gods were gods brought over to the U.S. from other countries. There are good stories with Native American gods and mythology, but I've been wondering what "the numinous" means in the WASP, urban United States, without bringing over gods or mythologies from other continents.

Orson Scott Card's Alvin Maker series springs to mind, based as it is on American folk magic and the Mormon religion. While both have their roots in Europe, they are still distinctly American. (The Book of Mormon is, roughly, the story of Jesus traveling though North America bringing his Word to the Indians.) Nina Kiriki Hoffman's The Thread That Binds the Bones, and her other supernatural stories, are another example. Michaela Roessner's Vanishing Point, while more science fictional than fantasy, is set in the Winchester Mystery House and contains at least a supernatural (science indistinguishable from magic) element.

What are the numinous elements in, say, downtown Manhattan, or the Financial District of San Francisco, or even downtown Pocatello, Idaho? There are always ghosts. Neil Gaiman created the Endless. American churches, such as the Baptists or Presbyterians, don't have the same kind of almost-magical liturgy that Catholic-based churches have.

I'd love to hear your suggestions.

Comments

[janni.livejournal.com]

I was just wondering why it is that we have civil war fantasies, but not revolutionary war fantasies that I can think of.

[cpxbrex.livejournal.com]

I've wondered the same thing, myself. Even when I was living in New England, the Civil War seemed more important to people than the Revolutionary War. I couldn't fathom it and never got a good response.

[annmprice.livejournal.com]

Probably because the Revolution was akin to a child leaving home to make its way in the world, but the Civil War was a full blown crisis of conscience. It put two of our most cherished principles in direct conflict with each other - the rights of property, where no one can simply come and take what is yours against your will and without due recompense; and a belief in freedom, that all men are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, among these liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

[edanam.livejournal.com]

Agreed. For the most part, the revolutionary war was "us" against "them. The civil war was "us" against "us". There were many cases where families were split during the civil war (one brother fought for the north, another for the south).

Also, until just a few years ago, it was possible to have known a civil war veteran, or someone who had lived through the war. And whenever an elder died, it was reported nationally that "another civil war vet passed away." We have pictures and movies of the war -- all these things make the civil war a lot more personable than the more mythic revolutionary war.