Popular Culture Review Vol. 5, No. 1, February 1994 | Page 90

86 ^ ^ P o£u la^u ltu r^e^^^ towards magic. Readers can further expect a central theme to be addressed through these elements: the overcoming of obstacles to the flow of magic. The underlying question is whether the practice of magic is acceptable~a perfect theme for an imaginative writer—and the answer is always yes. By some means, generally faith in the self and in others, misuses of magic are overcome and magical talent is accepted by the principal characters. Fantasy, because of its strong yet general framework, tends to play content against the frame rather than challenging it, an approach that easily leads to creating hybrids. Fantasy addresses feminist issues, for instance, through the frame: the practitioner may be condemned for magic because she is a woman. Fantasy writers tend to use new content to reconsider form, while science fiction tends to be reshaped by content. This contrast is evident in the work of Emma Bull, who writes both fantasy and science fiction. Her fantasy novel. War for the Oaks, is a hybrid with literary realism, a "contemporary fantasy," but it retains all the fantasy elements, which dominate. The story takes place in Minneapolis and all its principal characters play in a rock band, but some of them are elves and the plot addresses the central fantasy theme of magical vindication. Bull's science fiction novels. Falcon and Bone Dance, are looser in form with greater attention to individual situations. Regency is a narrower form than fantasy, and its reader expectations are more specific. There must be titled nobility, country gentry, and a servant class. There must be contrasts between high and low life, country and city, and between good and bad characters irrespective of breeding. Heroes, male or female, are those who display humor, initiative, and ultimate good sense. Male heroes are thirty to forty years old, fennales seventeen to late twenties, and neither has been seriously in love. Regency novels are generally set in England, though parts also may take place on the Continent, especially in France. Perhaps most important is the rich texture of period details and the language of fashion, sport, and (x>pular culture in general. Whether the hero's coat is made by Weston or Scott is as momentous as his marriage plans. The slang, in particular, from drinking "blue ruin" (swilling gin) to being a "mere whipster" (a poor hand at driving a team) is used so consistently from book to book as to constitute part of the framework. Much of the plot centers on the