Semester Award Granted

Spring 2025

Submission Date

May 2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]

Timothy Miller

Abstract

The genre of Portal Fantasy seeks to bridge the gap between the primary world and the secondary, its characters often upended from their normal everyday lives in favor of the fantastic. I will be focusing on the genre and the effects of its complexity on its characters. For this I will be looking into the ways in which the portal fantasy is constructed, beginning with a brief introduction of the genre, and moving on to dissecting the ways in which the concept of the portal is navigated, the change and or loss of self that occurs, and finally how the portal is not strictly relegated to narrative significance or other metaphorical meanings.

We, as the readers and players, become part of the portal, delving into stories and adventures that ultimately change us as well. When playing tabletop RPGs, we are actually bridging that gap and inserting ourselves into the narrative. We become emotionally invested, our minds unable to distinguish the primary from the secondary. Due to this, once everything is said and done, there is a common understanding between the fictional characters of the portal and how they deal with their lives after the portal.

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