The Secondary World In Howl’s Moving Castle Series By Diana Wynne Jones

In the Howl’s Moving Castle series,which includes Howl’s Moving Castle,Castle in the Air,and House of Many Ways,British fantasy writer Diana Wynne Jones has depicted a fabulous Secondary World.On the basis of Tolkien’s fairy-story theory,this thesis will take the Howl series as the text to study its secondary world-building,belief and features and aim to provide a new point of view to study and appreciate Jones’ fantastic novels.After the intensive analysis,it comes to the conclusion that Diana Wynne Jones’ s writing is under the influence of J.R.R.Tolkien and her masterpiece the Howling Moving Castle series could be defined as a Tolkienian fantasy.However,Jones does not follow Tolkien’s ways hideboundly,but constructs the Secondary World with her own innovative ways.This thesis is divided into three parts.In the first chapter,it mainly deals with the construction of the Secondary World in Howl series.In the stories,the way Jones builds the Secondary World largely accords with Tolkien’s theory,but she creatively connects the Primary World of the Secondary World by many portals and makes these two worlds become bilateral and multi-layered.The second chapter of the body will deal with the secondary belief in the novel.According to Tolkien,fairy-story is not only written for children exclusively but also deserves the appreciation of adults.Before entering into the fantasy world,one must be capable of literary belief and be in a state of mind that has been called “willing suspension of disbelief”.Focusing on the desirability instead of the possibility,it is easy for readers to obtain the pleasure of enjoying the Secondary World in the fairy-story.By arranging the same time order and many other similarities between the Secondary World and the Primary World,Jones equips her world with “inner consistency of reality” to enable her readers to leave their suspicions behind and relish the fantastic flavor brought by these fairy-stories.The last chapter of this part writes about the secondary functions which are recovery,escape,and consolation.After the analysis,it asserts that Diana Wynne Jones has created a Secondary World which could offer us recovery,escape and consolation.Although Jones has failed to satisfy the ancient desire of the Great Escape of death and create talking animals which are highly emphasized by Tolkien,the construction of the Secondary World in Ingary created by Jones enables us to recover our view to see through our own world,escape from the ancient limitations of human beings and also make our desires satisfied in some ways.By studying the Howl series through the point of view of Tolkien’s Secondary World,this representative work of Jones could be taken as a Tokienian fantasy.By creatively constructing a bilateral and multi-layered Secondary World,Jones has successfully depicted a world which fulfills the criteria of Tolkien and satisfies desires of readers.