[Bêthberry]

Originally Posted by davem

I still think its significant that at the same time as we see this rise in the popularity of fantasy as a genre we see the rise in interest in 'practical' occultism, with its focus on the 'Hidden Masters' in the Himalayas (via Madame Blavatsky & the Theosophists) & Ancient Egypt (The Golden Dawn/Aleister Crowley). We saw the same thing in the Renaissance, with the romances (so effectively attacked by Cervantes) of Ariosto, Boiardo, Spenser, et al, appearing at the same time as the rise of Hermeticism & Alchemy. As Lalwende mentioned the sixties also saw a resurgence in interest in both fantasy literature (principally Tolkien) & in both Western (Tarot, Crowley, Witchcraft) & Eastern (who remembers the Beatle's & the Maharishi?) 'occultism'. And currently we have both a fascination with fantastical fiction & movies alongside the rise of 'New Age' movements - Wicca, Druidism, meditation.

In short, this connection between interest in fantastical fiction seems to go hand in hand with an interest in the 'occult'. I suppose it could be argued that they arise from the same place in the human psyche, the former attempting to create secondary worlds, the latter attempting to change the primary world into something more 'magical'. Both seem to be inspired by a reaction to an overly materialistic weltanschaaung. Back to Nietzsche, with his Dionysian/Apollonian dichotomy, perhaps...

That's Jack Nietzsche, right, the former sound engineer for the Rolling Stones?

I don't discount yours or Lal's observation at all as a correlation. However, such religious outpourings are not the sole perogative of post-18C materialism and rationalism. You might find some interest in Ronald Arbuthnott Knox's history of religious enthusiasm, called, not surprisingly, Enthusiasm.

He was a contemporary of Tolkien, a Catholic chaplain at Oxford, converted to Catholicism under the influence of he formerly recognised in your signature, Chesterton, dabbled in satire (his BBC radio hoax on revolution in London might have influenced H.G. Wells), and, even more interestingly, wrote not fantasy but detective fiction.

Knox's Essays in Satire, especially "Studies in the Literature of Sherlock Holmes", is said to be a satire on current trends in literary scholarship. Perhaps another reason to recommend him to you, although I've not read that one.

I'm not ascribing to his point of view, just noting that there is quite a history of occultish outcropings in western culture. I wonder if literature or art forms can be associated with all or many of them.