---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As has already been noted, fantastic…"
description: "\"“As has already been noted, fantastic literature developed at precisely the moment when genuine belief in the supernatural was on the wane, and when th..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3f/franz-rottensteiner-62800_books_as-has-already-been-noted-fantastic-lite_970954.jpg"
---

#  As has already been noted, fantastic literature developed…

![“As has already been noted, fantastic literature developed at precisely the moment when genuine belief in the supernatural was on the wane, and when the sources provided by folklore could safely be used as literary material. It is almost a necessity, for the writer as well as for the reader of…” quote by Franz Rottensteiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3f/franz-rottensteiner-62800_books_as-has-already-been-noted-fantastic-lite_970954.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3f/franz-rottensteiner-62800_books_as-has-already-been-noted-fantastic-lite_970954.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3f/franz-rottensteiner-62800_books_as-has-already-been-noted-fantastic-lite_970954.jpg)

> ““As has already been noted, fantastic literature developed at precisely the moment when genuine belief in the supernatural was on the wane, and when the sources provided by folklore could safely be used as literary material. It is almost a necessity, for the writer as well as for the reader of fantastic literature, that he or she should not believe in the literal truth of the beings and objects described, although the preferred mode of literary expression is a naive realism. Authors of fantastic literature are, with a few exceptions, not out to convert, but to set down a narrative story endowed with the consistency and conviction of inner reality only during the time of the reading: a game, sometimes a highly serious game, with anxiety and fright, horror and terror.””

[Franz Rottensteiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-rottensteiner/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Fantastic literature thrives when belief in the supernatural wanes, using folklore as a safe narrative tool while maintaining inner reality.

**In simple terms:** Stories use folklore when belief drops.

Key Takeaway

Use myth to explore deeper truths.

Themes

fantasy folklore belief reality

Mood

reflective analytical

Type

critical philosophical

When to use this quote

- creative writing
- academic analysis
- genre blending

Key Concepts

mythology literary theory naive realism

Questions to Reflect On

- Can fantasy be both entertaining and critical?
- How does folklore shape modern narratives?

A Different Perspective

Readers may still interpret literally.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Fantastic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantastic/) [Fantastic Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantastic-literature-799115/) [Fantastique](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantastique/) [Fantasy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantasy/) [Horror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horror/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Literature Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature-believe-460390/) [Literature Developed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature-developed-1863810/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Realism Authors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realism-authors-1863811/) [Storytelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storytelling/) [Supernatural](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/supernatural/) [Terror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terror/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/)

## Related quotes

> [“Fantastic literature has been especially prominent in times of unrest, when the older values have been overthrown to make way for the new; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-rottensteiner/fantastic-literature-has-been-especially-prominent-in-times-of-unrest/)

[Franz Rottensteiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-rottensteiner/)

> [“Nevertheless, the potential and actual importance of fantastic literature lies in such psychic links: what appears to be the result of an overweening imagination,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-rottensteiner/nevertheless-the-potential-and-actual-importance-of-fantastic/)

[Franz Rottensteiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-rottensteiner/)

> [“The fantastic in literature doesn't exist as a challenge to what is probable, but only there where it can be increased to a challenge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lars-gustafsson/the-fantastic-in-literature-doesn-t-exist-as-a-challenge-to-what-is/)

[Lars Gustafsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lars-gustafsson/)

> [“The fantastic postulates that there are forces in the outside world, and in our own natures, which we can neither know nor control, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-rottensteiner/the-fantastic-postulates-that-there-are-forces-in-the-outside-world/)

[Franz Rottensteiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-rottensteiner/)

> [“Many of the best fantastic stories begin in a leisurely way, set in commonplace surroundings, with exact, meticulous descriptions of an ordinary background, much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-rottensteiner/many-of-the-best-fantastic-stories-begin-in-a-leisurely-way-set-in/)

[Franz Rottensteiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-rottensteiner/)

> [It seems to me that literature is giving way a little bit to the immediacy of other diversions, other forms of entertainment. What will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-salter/it-seems-to-me-that-literature-is-giving-way-a-little-bit-to-the/)

[James Salter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-salter/)

> [“There is scarcely any great author in European literature, old or new, who has not distinguished himself in his treatment of the supernatural. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lafcadio-hearn/there-is-scarcely-any-great-author-in-european-literature-old-or-new/)

[Lafcadio Hearn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lafcadio-hearn/)

> [I was once a graduate student in Victorian literature, and I believe as the Victorian novelists did, that a novel isn't simply a vehicle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-was-once-a-graduate-student-in-victorian-literature-and-i-believe/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [I believe in the art of literature, I believe in freedom of the imagination, I believe in the kind of liberties that we enjoy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-believe-in-the-art-of-literature-i-believe-in-freedom-of-the/)

[Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/)

> [In fantasy stories we learn to understand the differences of others, we learn compassion for those things we cannot fathom, we learn the importance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-yolen/in-fantasy-stories-we-learn-to-understand-the-differences-of-others/)

[Jane Yolen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-yolen/)

> [“I’ve read science fiction and fantasy all my life – though when you’re a child, they just call that “books.” The first book I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/i-ve-read-science-fiction-and-fantasy-all-my-life-though-when-you-re/)

[Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/)

> [If the purpose of literature is to illuminate human nature, the purpose of fantastic literature is to do that from a wider perspective. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-walton/if-the-purpose-of-literature-is-to-illuminate-human-nature-the/)

[Jo Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-walton/)

> [Metallica mythos...distilled the essences of the comic books and horror movies and the fantastic literature of metal itself...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lars-ulrich/metallica-mythos-distilled-the-essences-of-the-comic-books-and-horror/)

[Lars Ulrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lars-ulrich/)

> [“One day I found him amid large packages from which spilled attractive, glossy paperbacks with mythical covers. He had tried to use, as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanis-aw-lem/one-day-i-found-him-amid-large-packages-from-which-spilled-attractive/)

[Stanisław Lem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanis-aw-lem/)

> [Surrealism, then, neither aims to subvert realism, as does the fantastic, nor does it try to transcend it. It looks for different means by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-richardson/surrealism-then-neither-aims-to-subvert-realism-as-does-the-fantastic/)

[Michael Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-richardson/)

## More by Franz Rottensteiner

> [“Many of the best fantastic stories begin in a leisurely way, set in commonplace surroundings, with exact, meticulous descriptions of an ordinary background, much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-rottensteiner/many-of-the-best-fantastic-stories-begin-in-a-leisurely-way-set-in/)

[Franz Rottensteiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-rottensteiner/)

> [“Nevertheless, the potential and actual importance of fantastic literature lies in such psychic links: what appears to be the result of an overweening imagination,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-rottensteiner/nevertheless-the-potential-and-actual-importance-of-fantastic/)

[Franz Rottensteiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-rottensteiner/)

> [“The fantastic postulates that there are forces in the outside world, and in our own natures, which we can neither know nor control, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-rottensteiner/the-fantastic-postulates-that-there-are-forces-in-the-outside-world/)

[Franz Rottensteiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-rottensteiner/)

> [“Fantastic literature has been especially prominent in times of unrest, when the older values have been overthrown to make way for the new; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-rottensteiner/fantastic-literature-has-been-especially-prominent-in-times-of-unrest/)

[Franz Rottensteiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-rottensteiner/)

[Explore all 5 Franz Rottensteiner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-rottensteiner/)

## More Books quotes

> [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/)

[Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/)

> [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/)

[Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/)

> [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/)

[Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/)

> [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/)

[Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/)

> [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/)

[Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/)

> [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/)

[Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/)

> [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/)

[Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/)

> [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/)

[Christopher K. Krebs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-k-krebs/)

> [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/)

[Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/)

> [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/)

[Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/)

> [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/)

[Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/)

> [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

> [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/)

[Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/)

> [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/)

[Markus Herz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-herz/)

> [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/)

[Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/)

[Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“As has already been noted, fantastic literature developed at precisely the moment when genuine belief in the supernatural was on the wane, and when the sources provided by folklore could safely be used as literary material. It is almost a necessity, for the writer as well as for the reader of fantastic literature, that he or she should not believe in the literal truth of the beings and objects described, although the preferred mode of literary expression is a naive realism. Authors of fantastic literature are, with a few exceptions, not out to convert, but to set down a narrative story endowed with the consistency and conviction of inner reality only during the time of the reading: a game, sometimes a highly serious game, with anxiety and fright, horror and terror.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Franz Rottensteiner"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-rottensteiner/as-has-already-been-noted-fantastic-literature-developed-at-precisely/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Books"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-rottensteiner/as-has-already-been-noted-fantastic-literature-developed-at-precisely/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3f/franz-rottensteiner-62800_books_as-has-already-been-noted-fantastic-lite_970954.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3f/franz-rottensteiner-62800_books_as-has-already-been-noted-fantastic-lite_970954.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3f/franz-rottensteiner-62800_books_as-has-already-been-noted-fantastic-lite_970954.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“As has already been noted, fantastic literature developed at precisely the moment when genuine belief in the…” — Franz Rottensteiner",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Franz Rottensteiner",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-rottensteiner/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“As has already been noted, fantastic...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-rottensteiner/as-has-already-been-noted-fantastic-literature-developed-at-precisely/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-rottensteiner/as-has-already-been-noted-fantastic-literature-developed-at-precisely/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
