Fantasies of Freedom

I've been thinking about stories lately (actually, I always think about stories), and something has occurred to me.

In many stories -- especially in genres like science fiction, fantasy, and thrillers -- one of the attractions is that the protagonists are more free than the reader. Sure, they may be faced by evil overlords or sadistic psychopaths, but they don't have anyone telling them what to do.

Consider James Bond: he gets a mission from "M" at the beginning of the story, but after that he is entirely on his own. How he accomplishes the mission is up to him. And any consequences of his actions are simply brushed aside. He has a license to kill, after all.

At the very opposite end of the spectrum consider Dorothy Gale and her adventures in Oz. There may be wicked witches, Yookoohoos, or the Nome King trying to do her in, but nobody's bossing her around. (In fact, there are at least two stories in which the villains capture Dorothy and make her do chores. Hiss!)

I wonder if the rise of "escapist" fiction during the 20th century is connected to the fact that for the first time in history there was a large population of literate people who were embedded in some kind of bureaucratic hierarchy -- academia, government, or large corporations. Indeed, with the continuing spread of government's regulatory reach throughout the century, pretty much everyone is embedded neck-deep. (Stephen King cites this as one reason for the continuing appeal of the post-apocalyptic story: there's "No more bullshit!")

There's a flip side of the fantasy of autonomy, and it's not quite so nice. It's the freedom from responsibility. Both Bond and Dorothy have duties, but they're self-imposed. Bond chooses to go after Blofeld or SMERSH; he could always resign and go off to Jamaica to write novels like Ian Fleming. Dorothy takes on the challenge of helping her friends obtain brains, heart, and courage -- but again, it's a choice on her part.

And note that these voluntary duties and responsibilities tend to be personal. Dorothy is working to help her friends, not random "clients." Bond's ongoing war against SPECTRE becomes a personal quest for revenge. (And Bond's relationship with his boss is almost that of a feudal knight to his lord.)

The ultimate expression of this anti-responsibility trope is the "wandering loner" archetype -- Conan, The Man With No Name, Solomon Kane, and all their forebears and imitators. They show up, have an adventure, then leave. People are changed by contact with them, but they are untouched. (Contrast this with Huck Finn, who wants to be a wandering loner but discovers he can't.)

If you're going to fantasize about something, fantasizing about freedom is a worthy activity. As Tolkein suggested, the only people who oppose the idea of escape are jailers. If anything, the sad thing about fantasies of freedom is that they are necessary at all. How is it that modern liberal society has become something to escape from?