Superversive fiction

[marycatelli]

"In such a state, there is only one way to make a difference. You cannot subvert ruins; but you can build right over top of them. If to subvert is to destroy a thing from below, might we not coin an opposite word? We could destroy a state of ruin from above, and, as I like to say, supervert it. Where people have abandoned their standards, we could suggest new ones (or reintroduce whatever was good and useful in the old). Where institutions have been abolished, we could institute others to do their work. Above all, we could instil the ideas of creation and structure and discipline into human minds and hearts, and especially the hearts of the young."

Full essay here.

Comments

[marycatelli]

As near as I can make out, you are arguing that a subversive work is one in which characters above the lowest possible social class are not all paragons of perfection. I do not think this is a useful way to use the word "subversive."

Why oh why are you saying "So much for kings"? Is Tolkien subverting the institution of kingship? Hardly. Kings are just fine in Tolkien's eyes and I don't see anything in the book that can be read as an objection to them -- except that they aren't perfect, and if that's your standard, there's no form of government that will please you.