Castles, kingdoms, princesses, knights, dragons, quests etc. While these original fairy tales were much darker and used to impart harsh lessons, no one can deny the impact they have had on popular culture in the centuries since their release.įantasy novels are not bound by our rules of reality and can therefore take place at any time or location, however, most western fantasy novels are heavily influenced by European folklore and history. In these collections, readers were introduced to Cinderella, The Little Mermaid, Rapunzel, Greta from “The Snow Queen”, etc. The 1800s saw the publication of the German-inspired fairy tale collections by The Brothers Grimm as well as the Scandinavian-inspired collections of Hans Christian Andersen.

Greco-Roman, Egyptian, and Norse mythology are among the most popular and most recognizable collections of stories read on an international level. Some of the oldest works of classical fiction are fantastical stories passed on through the centuries and across international borders such as One Thousand and One Arabian Nights, and Journey to the West. Every culture around the world has their own myths and folklore that they use to impart lessons or carry on pieces of their history. When he is about to die (this time by looking through an evil door that promises to reveal precisely his fate), the old lady reels him back to the cottage.The history of fantasy is as old as humanity itself. By opening these doors, Anodos relives moments of his painful past and catches glimpses of his future. He walks through her house and notices that with each new door he opens, there’s an entirely new world available. He lands on an island and befriends an old lady with youthful looking eyes who lives in another cottage. Fortunately, he doesn’t have to wait long to board the boat. But the outside isn’t much better: there’s a major storm occurring. After much fear that the tunnels will collapse before he can escape, he is able to find a window to flee. As he goes through this dirty world, it becomes clear that Anodos needs to stop searching and escape. He’s willing to go anywhere for her, even to the dank basement of the castle. He finds a hall of marble statues, and starts looking for the marble lady he found in the forest earlier in the story. There’s even a “Sir Anodos” inscription in one room. Anodos stumbles upon a palace that seemingly belongs to himself.

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