John Pennington

George MacDonald's Children's Fantasies and the Divine Imagination

Arts & Literature

“Arguing that MacDonald’s children’s fairy tales meld fantasy with realism, Manlove suggests that this union invites ‘us to see our world as continually penetrated by divine forces.’ This ‘divine imagination’ reflects MacDonald’s belief that ‘God lived in the roots of the imagination.’ Manlove’s thorough reading of the children’s fantasies illuminates how MacDonald was able to create a unified, harmonious worldview ‘that mirrors the nature of the divine universe.’”