Foreword, by Robert Scholes
1. Literary Genres
2. Definition of the Fantastic
3. The Uncanny and the Marvelous
4. Poetry and Allegory
5. Discourse of the Fantastic
6. Themes of the Fantastic: Introduction
7. Themes of the Self
8. Themes of the Other
9. Themes of the Fantastic: Conclusion
10. Literature and the Fantastic
Index
This work is much more than what its title might imply to an American reader. It is not simply another 'formalist' categorizing of a particular literary genre. Todorov involves himself in a consideration of the concept of literary genre (with a perceptive critique of Northrop Frye), a detailed and perceptive discourse on 'the fantastic, ' . . . and finally a philosophical-historical discussion of the relation of 'the fantastic' to literature itself. . . . This is an important work for anyone interested in criticism in general or in the criticism of fiction in particular. -Choice