주변부 문학에 머물던 환상문학은 최근 신데렐라처럼 각광을 받으며 문학 중심부로 들어왔다. 많은 학자들이 환상문학의 본질과 특징을 규명하기 위해 애쓰고 있지만 전반적인 시학의 차원에서 환상문학의 진정한 예술적, 장르적 매력을 구체화시키기 쉽지 않다. 환상문학은 현실에서 일어나기 불가능한 사건들을 문학적 범주 속에서 예술적 구체화시킨다. 그런데 비현실적인 내용들이지만 환상문학은 철학적 주제를 담으며 대중적인기를 구가한다. 이러한 환상(fantastika)의 양식은 세 가지로 규정할 수 있다. 첫째는 환상적 세계를 실제 세계와 연관시키지 않고 창조해내는 범주이다. 둘째는 현실과 연관시켜 환상적 세계를 창조하는 경우이다. 셋째는 현실 세계를 창조할 때 환상을 이용하는 경우이다. 이중 현실과 연관시켜 환상의 세계를 창조하는 행위가 가장 난해하고 복잡하다. 그러면 환상의 세계와 현실의 세계를 혼합시키는 방법은 어떤 것이 있는가? 우선 환상과 현실을 나란히 병치시키는 방법이 있다. 낭만적 환상문학과 고딕 소설에서처럼 동일한 시공간 속에서 현실과 환상을 혼합한다. 두 번째는 시간을 이용하는 방법이다. 시간의 차이를 두고 환상의 세계를 설정하여 과거의 시간과 미래의 시간을 혼합하는 것이다. 환상 문학은 오락적 효과를 생산하고 대중적 인기를 누린다. 이러한 환상문학의 대중성은 어디서 기인하는가? 환상문학은 현실에 접근하는 데 있어 독특한 거리를 둔다. 환상문학은 현실을 기상천외하고 독특한 방법으로 재해석하되 사회적, 철학적, 심리적 주제를 제시한다. 환상은 우리에게 현실의 또 다른 측면을 보여주는 예술 방법이자 장르이다. 환상 문학은 우리가 사물과 현상에 대해 새로운 시각, 새로운 태도를 갖게 만들고, 구세계의 원본을 소환하여 새로운 세계를 만들도록 기능한다. 환상문학은, 19세기 사실주의가 확립시킨 인간과 외계의 진부한 의사소통 방식을 타파하여 새로운 현실(new reality)을 접하게 만든다.
Fantastika? Today it is difficult to present, that hundred more years back fantastika existed somewhere on periphery of literary process, generally near to popular scientific magazines and cognitive books for youth. Nowadays fantastic products borrow the central racks in bookshops, reviews of new fantastic books appear in the largest newspapers and magazines, research clauses and dissertations are written, conferences and symposiums are carried out. In group of leaders of sales invariable there are some fantastic books, cumulative circulations of many books exceed one million copies. It is impossible to overestimate and that influence which is rendered by writers on reader's minds, and - in result - and on development of a society. Transformation of fantastika from the cinderella in princess - one of the brightest phenomena of the last century. By the end of a millenium fantastika by the right was ratified as one of leaders of the book industry and - the main thing - has deserved a recognition not only the mass reader, but also experts-literary critics. And still, in spite of the fact that a question What we called “fantastika”? borrows researchers for many years, till now there is no work offering complete and system theoretical analysis fantastic in fiction. There are various interpretation of “fantastika” and fantastic, any of which is not capable to satisfy all. In this investigation we considered that in a basis of fantastic product lays special type of fiction. Fantastic fiction embodies that is impossible or unattainable from the point of view of the outlook prevailing during creation of product in a reality. However this definition does not allow to classify the products created at various stages of development of the literature as puts actually the maintenance fantastic in dependence on views of an epoch. It is obvious, that as types of consciousness vary, the direct maintenance of a category fantastic varies also. Classification of fiction in this case depends not only on a reality, but on representations about a reality. So, “fantastika” as obviously impossible is defined by frameworks possible at any stage of development of consciousness. Occurrence “obviously impossible” is connected with the advent of philosophical model of consciousness, to aspiration to remove a category of “miracle”, with amplification of the rationalistic approach to knowledge. If the consciousness supposes an opportunity of “miracle” anything obviously impossible is not present, and, accordingly, it is impossible to speak and about “fantastika”. It is obvious, that when we speak about obviously impossible it is necessary to mean only obviously impossible “objectively”, from the point of view of a “objective” picture of the world existing in any period. We offered the classification of fantastic models: 1) creation of the fantastic world as world, not connected to the world real, except for as author's consciousness, 2) creation of the fantastic world as the world connected to a reality, 3) use of “fantastika” at creation of a picture of the real world. The most complex is second of the named models. There are two basic ways of mixing of the real world and the fantastic world. First of them considers two worlds as existing “in parallel”. The parallel can be time or spatial. With the worlds existing in parallel in time, we meet in fantasy, in a romantic “fantastika”, in the Gothic novel, in occult prose. The worlds existing in parallel in space we meet, for example, in “travel novels”. In the other way of mixing the fantastic world appears as the world of the past or as the world of the future. Very important are the principles of change of parameters of the reality connected to features dialectic (in Science fiction) or metaphysical (in Fantasy) perception of the world, and, accordingly, the principles of construction of “other world”. A principle of transformation (correlation or change) is a principle of construction. In romantic fantastika and in fantasy the fantastic world is the world in parallel existing, and here actually fantastic is penetration from one world in another. The science fiction creates the fantastic world as the world changed - sometimes cardinally (as in a Utopia), sometimes insignificant (when in an existing reality there is any change which is not concerning the general laws of its existence). It is necessary to note, that if in science fiction occurrence of something unreal is scientifically (rationally) proved in fantasy occurrence of something irreal is proved wonderfully (irrationally). Fantastic prose frequently carry to the so-called “entertaining” or “mass” (popular) literature. Why such products involve the mass reader - a question, the answer on which is the important for receiving. In our opinion, it in many respects is caused by that for fantastic is characteristic “distance” in the approach to the reality. Fantastika can put the same problems, as in social, psychological or philosophical prose, and the approach to them can be so serious, but fantastic writers as a rule use for statement or the decision of such problems the formal models simplifying perception, instead of complicating it, as does their products more accessible. They do not have necessity to resort to too much complex art receptions, because fantastika gives it enough opportunities for reflection and if necessary for transformation of a reality. To show the irreal world it is not required to deform, for example, normal human mentality, it is enough to represent normal inhuman perception of the human world, and the reader without any pressure accepts a picture of the world seen by eyes of the martian, a horse or the liliputian. The readers do not identify themselves with fantastic characters, accordingly, there is no also a collision of points of views. Fantastika takes the major place in the aesthetic model offered in the beginning of the 19th century by romantic writers. In the second half of the 19th century fantastic writers tried to unit two types of knowledge - scientific and art. And though they have refused the literature of the fact and the document for the benefit of the literature of a hypothesis and the forecast. In 1920-1930th the fantastic prose for the first time after an epoch of romanticism takes a significant place in the Russian literature. In the Russian literature of the 20th century various types of fantastic prose are submitted. Fantastika gave an opportunity to create, design the validity, but for one it became way to leave from a reality, for others - actively to interfere in it. Fantastika could act as a way to show other world and as a way to reveal contradictions of this world. The fantastic prose allowed to transfer new attitude, became an original call to the old world and attempt of becoming new. In the 20th century fantastika helped to break off steady communication of the person and the world around, established by realism in the 19th century. Fantastika helped to adapt in a new reality. Fantastika also could serve as means of simplification of a reality, adaptation of the complex validity for understanding to the fantastic, folklore formulas easily accessible to the most having little education and not educated part of a reader's audience.