The authors do not define “Imaginary worlds,” implicitly assuming they are unreal and unfamiliar: high fantasy. Commenting on the psychological foundations of imaginary worlds, I contend they are real and familiar to their author – in the sense that they come from memory elements, which blend experience, knowledge, beliefs and pre-occupations. I argue authors take these fragments out of their real-life time and place context. They, then, creatively associate them, extending their possibilities and reach into new times and places. The strange and unfamiliar juxtaposition and extension of these “bits and pieces” from an author's memories can generate a world, which readers experience as pure imagination. To illustrate, I use J.M. Barrie's “Never Land” and J.R.R. Tolkien's “Middle-Earth.”
When James Barrie was 6, his gifted and handsome elder brother, David, died in a skating accident; the idea that his “lost” sibling would never grow up, would stay a perfect boy forever, fascinated, captivated and disturbed him (Lane, Reference Lane2014). Barrie's character “Peter Pan,” as may be expected, for a boy who would never grow up, flies off to Never Land – from his home in Kensington Gardens (Barrie, Reference Barrie1928). The origins of Peter Pan lie in the five Llewelyn-Davies brothers whom Barrie met in Kensington Gardens; they became “lost” when both their parents died in early adulthood (Chaney, Reference Chaney2006). In his Dedication to “To the five” in Peter Pan, Barrie writes, “I suppose I always knew that I made Peter by rubbing the five of you violently together. That is all Peter is- the spark I got from you” (Birkin, Reference Birkin2003). On Never Land, an island with a lagoon, this associative, composite Peter Pan, meets the “Lost Boys,” along with fairies, pirates, Native Americans, mermaids and wild animals, including a crocodile. During many summers, Barrie spent every day with Llewelyn-Davies boys, as the evil pirate Captain Swarthy, he involved them in heroic adventures around a lake, fighting pirates and rescuing those captured by them, whilst evading dangerous beasts (Dudgeon, Reference Dudgeon2008).
As shown here, Barrie's Never Land takes memory fragments out of their time and place context and associates them (or in Barrie's words “rubs them together”) to create an imaginary world. Never Land does not replay Barrie's experiences. For example, there is no Captain Swarthy, rather a Captain Hook appears, Barrie's local postman had a hook instead of right hand. Arguably, Barrie's pre-occupation with the boy who never grew up, reflecting his brother's death, was the vital creative drive for Never Land but also, Barrie himself never fully participated in the adult world (Chaney, Reference Chaney2006). He too often inhabited a child-like Never Land.
The places in Tolkien's imaginary world, “Middle-earth” came, in part, from his early formative experiences at Sarehole (historically in Worcestershire), and, later as a teenager, in the Swiss Alps. Tolkien commented that “The Shire” in Middle-earth was “inspired by a few cherished square miles of actual countryside at Sarehole” (Jahangir, Reference Jahangir2014). Bilbo Baggins, a “hobbit” character, lives at Bag End, named for the farm of Tolkien's aunt; his journey across the misty mountains echoed Tolkien's own teenage Alpine trek (Carpenter, Reference Carpenter2014). As a Professor of Anglo-Saxon (Old English) at Oxford, Tolkien's academic knowledge was influential. The term, Middle-earth, originated in the Old English word, Midgard, the “habitable lands of men” (Martinez, Reference Martinez2013). Tolkien's Catholic beliefs pervaded his lived experience, but he wrote that Middle-earth was “a monotheistic world of ‘natural theology’,” implying it expressed “beauty and wonder and even holiness” rather than explicitly Christian teachings (Madsen, Reference Madsen1988). Tolkien drew on Old Norse mythology. For example, in both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien's immortal wizard Gandalf resembles the Norse god Odin, being a wanderer/guide, with a long white beard, wearing large, wide brimmed hat along with a cloak, and carrying a staff; Gandalf's mission, disseminating knowledge, truth and wisdom is also similar to that of Odin (Buckley, Reference Buckley2017). As were Tolkien's own aims, as an Oxford don (Jakobsson, Reference Jakobsson2019). Tolkien was conscious of the projection from creator to creation, writing, “I am in fact a hobbit in all but size. I like gardens, trees…I smoke a pipe and like good plain food…I go to bed late and get up late (when possible)” (Carpenter, Reference Carpenter2014).
This is not to argue that imaginary worlds are jumbled autobiographies. Rather, like dreams, creations can surprise their creators: where did that come from? The writer may have specific intentions for an imaginary world but once underway the realm can take on a life of its own, developing in unexpected ways (Perry, Reference Perry2021) through a complex nexus of associations arising from the author but not always or, perhaps even usually, under their conscious control (Llewellyn, Reference Llewellyn2020). The imaginary worlds of Barrie and Tolkien present some contrasts. In Barrie's case, the associative web of Never Land emerges largely from personal experiences and pre-occupations but knowledge and belief frequently weave the nexus of associations underlying Tolkien's Middle-earth.
Why are imaginary worlds so seductive? In answer, the authors explore their evolutionary origins, which “tap into human's preferences for exploration” (target article, sect. 7.1, para. 1) to discover “new sources of reward” (target article, abstract). I argue the roots of imaginary worlds in experience, beliefs, knowledge and pre-occupations would greatly benefit exploration because our experience of past places generates expectations, which help us first, imagine and, second, negotiate new ones. Citing Lee (Reference Lee1966), the authors state early humans “led a nomadic way of life.” Recent research challenges this. Few animals are nomads; most occupy a home range (Powell, Reference Powell2000). Early humans lived much as animals did (Harari, Reference Harari2014), albeit their home range was much larger (Boisvert, Reference Boisvert2021). Consequently, exploration to find new sources of reward within the home range would have started from familiar territory, conferring big advantages in searching for food, water and potential mates, while avoiding predators and competitors through known escape routes back to the home base (Stamps, Reference Stamps1995).
“Write what you know” is the most famous advice about writing “fiction.” Just as it makes sense to reach into new land from within known territory, you create a Never Land, an imaginary world, from within your experiential self.
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The authors do not define “Imaginary worlds,” implicitly assuming they are unreal and unfamiliar: high fantasy. Commenting on the psychological foundations of imaginary worlds, I contend they are real and familiar to their author – in the sense that they come from memory elements, which blend experience, knowledge, beliefs and pre-occupations. I argue authors take these fragments out of their real-life time and place context. They, then, creatively associate them, extending their possibilities and reach into new times and places. The strange and unfamiliar juxtaposition and extension of these “bits and pieces” from an author's memories can generate a world, which readers experience as pure imagination. To illustrate, I use J.M. Barrie's “Never Land” and J.R.R. Tolkien's “Middle-Earth.”
When James Barrie was 6, his gifted and handsome elder brother, David, died in a skating accident; the idea that his “lost” sibling would never grow up, would stay a perfect boy forever, fascinated, captivated and disturbed him (Lane, Reference Lane2014). Barrie's character “Peter Pan,” as may be expected, for a boy who would never grow up, flies off to Never Land – from his home in Kensington Gardens (Barrie, Reference Barrie1928). The origins of Peter Pan lie in the five Llewelyn-Davies brothers whom Barrie met in Kensington Gardens; they became “lost” when both their parents died in early adulthood (Chaney, Reference Chaney2006). In his Dedication to “To the five” in Peter Pan, Barrie writes, “I suppose I always knew that I made Peter by rubbing the five of you violently together. That is all Peter is- the spark I got from you” (Birkin, Reference Birkin2003). On Never Land, an island with a lagoon, this associative, composite Peter Pan, meets the “Lost Boys,” along with fairies, pirates, Native Americans, mermaids and wild animals, including a crocodile. During many summers, Barrie spent every day with Llewelyn-Davies boys, as the evil pirate Captain Swarthy, he involved them in heroic adventures around a lake, fighting pirates and rescuing those captured by them, whilst evading dangerous beasts (Dudgeon, Reference Dudgeon2008).
As shown here, Barrie's Never Land takes memory fragments out of their time and place context and associates them (or in Barrie's words “rubs them together”) to create an imaginary world. Never Land does not replay Barrie's experiences. For example, there is no Captain Swarthy, rather a Captain Hook appears, Barrie's local postman had a hook instead of right hand. Arguably, Barrie's pre-occupation with the boy who never grew up, reflecting his brother's death, was the vital creative drive for Never Land but also, Barrie himself never fully participated in the adult world (Chaney, Reference Chaney2006). He too often inhabited a child-like Never Land.
The places in Tolkien's imaginary world, “Middle-earth” came, in part, from his early formative experiences at Sarehole (historically in Worcestershire), and, later as a teenager, in the Swiss Alps. Tolkien commented that “The Shire” in Middle-earth was “inspired by a few cherished square miles of actual countryside at Sarehole” (Jahangir, Reference Jahangir2014). Bilbo Baggins, a “hobbit” character, lives at Bag End, named for the farm of Tolkien's aunt; his journey across the misty mountains echoed Tolkien's own teenage Alpine trek (Carpenter, Reference Carpenter2014). As a Professor of Anglo-Saxon (Old English) at Oxford, Tolkien's academic knowledge was influential. The term, Middle-earth, originated in the Old English word, Midgard, the “habitable lands of men” (Martinez, Reference Martinez2013). Tolkien's Catholic beliefs pervaded his lived experience, but he wrote that Middle-earth was “a monotheistic world of ‘natural theology’,” implying it expressed “beauty and wonder and even holiness” rather than explicitly Christian teachings (Madsen, Reference Madsen1988). Tolkien drew on Old Norse mythology. For example, in both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien's immortal wizard Gandalf resembles the Norse god Odin, being a wanderer/guide, with a long white beard, wearing large, wide brimmed hat along with a cloak, and carrying a staff; Gandalf's mission, disseminating knowledge, truth and wisdom is also similar to that of Odin (Buckley, Reference Buckley2017). As were Tolkien's own aims, as an Oxford don (Jakobsson, Reference Jakobsson2019). Tolkien was conscious of the projection from creator to creation, writing, “I am in fact a hobbit in all but size. I like gardens, trees…I smoke a pipe and like good plain food…I go to bed late and get up late (when possible)” (Carpenter, Reference Carpenter2014).
This is not to argue that imaginary worlds are jumbled autobiographies. Rather, like dreams, creations can surprise their creators: where did that come from? The writer may have specific intentions for an imaginary world but once underway the realm can take on a life of its own, developing in unexpected ways (Perry, Reference Perry2021) through a complex nexus of associations arising from the author but not always or, perhaps even usually, under their conscious control (Llewellyn, Reference Llewellyn2020). The imaginary worlds of Barrie and Tolkien present some contrasts. In Barrie's case, the associative web of Never Land emerges largely from personal experiences and pre-occupations but knowledge and belief frequently weave the nexus of associations underlying Tolkien's Middle-earth.
Why are imaginary worlds so seductive? In answer, the authors explore their evolutionary origins, which “tap into human's preferences for exploration” (target article, sect. 7.1, para. 1) to discover “new sources of reward” (target article, abstract). I argue the roots of imaginary worlds in experience, beliefs, knowledge and pre-occupations would greatly benefit exploration because our experience of past places generates expectations, which help us first, imagine and, second, negotiate new ones. Citing Lee (Reference Lee1966), the authors state early humans “led a nomadic way of life.” Recent research challenges this. Few animals are nomads; most occupy a home range (Powell, Reference Powell2000). Early humans lived much as animals did (Harari, Reference Harari2014), albeit their home range was much larger (Boisvert, Reference Boisvert2021). Consequently, exploration to find new sources of reward within the home range would have started from familiar territory, conferring big advantages in searching for food, water and potential mates, while avoiding predators and competitors through known escape routes back to the home base (Stamps, Reference Stamps1995).
“Write what you know” is the most famous advice about writing “fiction.” Just as it makes sense to reach into new land from within known territory, you create a Never Land, an imaginary world, from within your experiential self.
Funding
This research received no specific grant from any funding agency, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.
Conflict of interest
None.