The Evolution of the Antagonist Image in Modern Fantasy Literature

Student: Antonova Marina

Educational Programme: Philology (Bachelor)

Year of Graduation: 2024

The fantasy genre is currently one of the most important and popular in the literature of the 21st century. The plots and characters of the works are undergoing evolution and these changes have become the subject of numerous literary studies devoted to the analysis of fantasy novels. This thesis studies the evolution of the antagonist image in modern fantasy literature. By identifying the main features in the image of the antagonist in the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, J. K. Rowling, Leigh Bardugo and Redgrain Lebowski and their comparative analysis, this work will determine the changes in the image of the antagonist in modern fantasy novels and how exactly the authors achieve an ambiguous attitude towards a character of this type. The results of this study open the prospect for further studies of the antagonist figure not only in the literary, but also in the media space.

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