Utopian and dystopian fiction

Genres of literature that explore social and political structures

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Utopian and dystopian fiction are subgenres of speculative fiction that explore extreme forms of social and political structures. Utopian fiction portrays a setting that agrees with the author's ethos, having various attributes of another reality intended to appeal to readers. Dystopian fiction offers the opposite: the portrayal of a setting that completely disagrees with the author's ethos.[1] Some novels combine both genres, often as a metaphor for the different directions humanity can take depending on its choices, ending up with one of two possible futures. Both utopias and dystopias are commonly found in science fiction and other types of speculative fiction.

More than 400 utopian works in the English language were published prior to the year 1900, with more than a thousand others appearing during the 20th century.[2] This increase is partially associated with the rise in popularity of science fiction and young adult fiction more generally, but also larger scale social change that brought awareness of larger societal or global issues, such as technology, climate change, and growing human population. Some of these trends have created distinct subgenres such as climate fiction, young adult dystopian novels, and feminist dystopian novels.

## Utopian fiction in general

[edit]

Further information: Utopia

See also: List of utopian literature and Category:Utopian fiction

Utopian Literature sets itself aside as a literature form of utopian thought and desire. Its characteristics can be described as the thought of a better or ideal society compared to current society, these ideas being formed into a literary medium, the overall concept of utopian ideas encourages the reader to act towards bettering their current society or moves them to understand and recognize current issues critically, and that utopian thought emerges from the desire for a better life and society.[3]

The word utopia was first used in direct context by Thomas More in his 1516 work Utopia. The word utopia resembles both the Greek words outopos ("no place"), and eutopos ("good place").

### Examples

[edit]

Thomas More's 1516 book Utopia, written in Latin, sets out a vision of an ideal society. As the title suggests, the work presents an ambiguous and ironic projection of the ideal state.[4] The whimsical nature of the text can be confirmed by the narrator of Utopia's second book, Raphael Hythloday. The Greek root of the name "Hythloday" suggests an 'expert in nonsense.'[5] Thomas More's idea of a utopia stems from the current economic and societal issues in Tudor England. More directly confronts the issues of rising population, oppressive landlords, and civilians turning to crime through Hythloday's perspective in Book I of his novel. [6]

An earlier example of a Utopian work from classical antiquity is Plato's Republic, in which he outlines what he sees as the ideal society and its political system. Later, Tommaso Campanella was influenced by Plato's work and wrote The City of the Sun (1623), which describes a modern utopian society built on equality.[7] Other examples include Samuel Johnson's The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia (1759) and Samuel Butler's Erewhon (1872), which uses an anagram of "nowhere" as its title.[2][8] This, like much of utopian literature, can be seen as satire; Butler inverts illness and crime, with punishment for the former and treatment for the latter.[8]

One example of the utopian genre's meaning and purpose is described in Fredric Jameson's Archeologies of the Future (2005), which addresses many utopian varieties defined by their program or impulse. He describes the fundamental dynamic of utopias lying in "identity and difference." Jameson states that the core of utopian thought and politics lies in an imagined system that is thoroughly different from an original, real one. [9]

Another early work of utopian but satirical fiction would be the English philosopher and writer Margaret Cavendish’s The Description of a New World, Called the Blazing World (1666). This is an early example of what would later be called science fiction writing. There is debate about to what degree Cavendish's work can be called feminist. For example, Rachel Trubowitz[10] describes A Blazing World as a feminist utopia due to how much it challenges traditional gender roles; however, Sujata Iyengar says that Cavendish’s work reinforces ideas of racial and feminine inferiority. [11] Vanessa Rapatz focuses more on Cavendish's subsequent impact and argues that her writings provide a context for understanding contemporary feminist authors such as Toni Morrison and Octavia Butler.[12] Because Cavendish often broke the boundaries of conventional female writing and behavior, many people have been dismissive of her utopian vision. Samuel Pepys described Cavendish as being a “mad, conceited” and “ridiculous woman”.[13] Virginia Woolf wrote that her work lacked discipline and “her ideas [were] poured out higgledy-piggledy in torrents of prose, poetry, and philosophy.”

## Dystopian fiction

[edit]

Further information: Dystopia

See also: List of dystopian literature, List of dystopian comics, and List of dystopian films

A dystopia is a society characterized by a focus on that which is contrary to the author's ethos, such as mass poverty, public mistrust and suspicion, a police state or oppression.[1] Most authors of dystopian fiction explore at least one reason why things are that way, often as an analogy for similar issues in the real world. Dystopian literature serves to "provide fresh perspectives on problematic social and political practices that might otherwise be taken for granted or considered natural and inevitable".[14] Some dystopias claim to be utopias. Samuel Butler's Erewhon can be seen as a dystopia because of the way sick people are punished as criminals while thieves are "cured" in hospitals, which the inhabitants of Erewhon see as natural and right, i.e., utopian (as mocked in Voltaire's Candide).[8]

Dystopias usually extrapolate elements of contemporary society, and thus can be read as political warnings.[1]

Eschatological literature is a form of literature that can go hand-in-hand with dystopian literature.[15] This is a form of literature that specifically focuses on some form of apocalypse, such as the collapse of a society, the end of an era of human history, or the end of the world itself.[16]

### Examples

[edit]

The 1921 novel We by Yevgeny Zamyatin portrays a post-apocalyptic future in which society is entirely based on logic and modeled after mechanical systems.[17] George Orwell was influenced by We when he wrote Nineteen Eighty-Four (published in 1949), a novel about Oceania, a state at perpetual war, its population controlled through propaganda.[18] Big Brother and the daily Two Minutes Hate set the tone for an all-pervasive self-censorship. Aldous Huxley's 1932 novel Brave New World started as a parody of utopian fiction, and projected into the year 2540 industrial and social changes he perceived in 1931, leading to industrial success by a coercively persuaded population divided into five castes.[17] Karin Boye's 1940 novel Kallocain is set in a totalitarian world state where a drug is used to control the individual's thoughts.[19]

Anthony Burgess' 1962 novel A Clockwork Orange is set in a future England that has a subculture of extreme youth violence, and details the protagonist's experiences with the state intent on changing his character at its whim.[17] Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale (1985) describes a future United States governed by a totalitarian theocracy, where women have no rights,[17][need quotation to verify] and Stephen King's The Long Walk (1979) describes a similar totalitarian scenario, but depicting the participation of teenage boys in a deadly contest. Examples of young-adult dystopian fiction include (notably all published after 2000) The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins, the Divergent series by Veronica Roth, The Power of Five series by Anthony Horowitz, The Maze Runner series by James Dashner, and the Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld.[20] Video games often include dystopias as well; notable examples include the Fallout series, BioShock, and the later games of the Half-Life series.[citation needed]

## History of dystopian fiction

[edit]

The history of dystopian literature can be traced back to the reaction to the French Revolution of 1789 and the prospect that mob rule would produce dictatorship. Until the late 20th century, it was usually anti-collectivist. Dystopian fiction emerged as a response to the utopian. Its early history is traced in Gregory Claeys' Dystopia: A Natural History (Oxford University Press, 2017).

The beginning of technological dystopian fiction can be traced back to E. M. Forster's "The Machine Stops" (1909).[21][22] M Keith Booker states that "The Machine Stops," We (1921) and Brave New World (1932) are "the great defining texts of the genre of dystopian fiction, both in [the] vividness of their engagement with real-world social and political issues and in the scope of their critique of the societies on which they focus."[23]

Another important figure in dystopian literature is H. G. Wells, whose work The Time Machine (1895) is also widely seen as a prototype of dystopian literature.[2][17] Wells' work draws on the social structure of the 19th century, providing a critique of the British class structure at the time.[24] Post World War II, even more dystopian fiction was produced. These works of fiction were interwoven with political commentary: the end of World War II brought about fears of an impending Third World War and a consequent apocalypse.[citation needed]

Modern dystopian fiction draws not only on topics such as totalitarian governments and anarchism, but also pollution, global warming, climate change, health, the economy and technology. Modern dystopian themes are common in the young adult (YA) genre of literature.[25][26]

## Subgenres

[edit]

### Combinations

[edit]

Many works combine elements of both utopias and dystopias. Typically, an observer from our world will journey to another place or time and see one society the author considers ideal and another representing the worst possible outcome. Usually, the point is that our choices may lead to a better or worse potential future world. Ursula K. Le Guin's Always Coming Home fulfills this model, as does Marge Piercy's Woman on the Edge of Time. In Starhawk's The Fifth Sacred Thing there is no time-travelling observer. However, her ideal society is invaded by a neighbouring power embodying evil repression. In Aldous Huxley's Island, in many ways a counterpoint to his better-known Brave New World, the fusion of the best parts of Buddhist philosophy and Western technology is threatened by the "invasion" of oil companies. As another example, in the "Unwanteds" series by Lisa McMann, a paradox occurs where the outcasts from a complete dystopia are treated to absolute utopia. They believe that those who were privileged in said dystopia were the unlucky ones.[citation needed]

In another literary model, the imagined society journeys between elements of utopia and dystopia over the course of the novel or film. The Giver by Lois Lowry begins in a seemingly perfect society without pain, conflict, or inequality. The world is described as a utopia. However, as the book progresses, the dark aspects of this world emerge: strict control over individuals' lives, emotional suppression, lack of personal choice and erasure of memories and agency. These reveal the society's dystopian core, where stability is maintained through dehumanization and the denial of fundamental human freedoms. As such, The Giver is ultimately considered a dystopian novel rather than a utopian one.[27]

Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels is also sometimes linked with both utopian and dystopian literatures, because it shares the general preoccupation with ideas of good and bad societies. Of the countries Lemuel Gulliver visits, Brobdingnag and Country of the Houyhnhnms approach a utopia; the others have significant dystopian aspects.[28]

### Ecotopian fiction

[edit]

See also: Climate fiction

See also: Solarpunk

In ecotopian fiction, the author posits either a utopian or dystopian world revolving around environmental conservation or destruction. Danny Bloom coined the term "cli-fi" in 2006,[29] with a Twitter boost from Margaret Atwood in 2011, to cover climate change-related fiction,[30] but the theme has existed for decades. Novels dealing with overpopulation, such as Harry Harrison's Make Room! Make Room! (made into movie Soylent Green), were popular in the 1970s, reflecting widespread concerns with the effects of overpopulation on the environment and on individuals' quality of life. The novel Nature's End by Whitley Strieber and James Kunetka (1986) posits a future in which overpopulation, pollution, climate change, and resulting superstorms, have led to a popular mass-suicide political movement. Some other examples of ecological dystopias are depictions of Earth in the films Wall-E and Avatar.[citation needed]

While eco-dystopias are more common, a small number of works depicting what might be called eco-utopia, or eco-utopian trends, have also been influential. These include Ernest Callenbach's Ecotopia, an important 20th century example of this genre. Another are Kim Stanley Robinson's works. He has written several books dealing with environmental themes, including the Mars trilogy. Most notably, however, his Three Californias Trilogy contrasted an eco-dystopia with an eco-utopia and a sort of middling-future. Robinson has also edited an anthology of short ecotopian fiction, called Future Primitive: The New Ecotopias. Another impactful piece of Robinson's is New York 2140 which focuses on a society dealing with the aftermath after a major flooding event, and can be seen through both a utopian and dystopian lens.[citation needed]

There are a few dystopias that have an "anti-ecological" theme. These are often characterized by a government that is overprotective of nature or a society that has lost most modern technology and struggles for survival. A fine example of this is the novel Riddley Walker.[citation needed]

### Feminist utopias

[edit]

See also: Utopia § Feminism

Another subgenre is feminist utopias and the overlapping category of feminist science fiction. According to the author Sally Miller Gearhart, "A feminist utopian novel is one which a. contrasts the present with an envisioned idealized society (separated from the present by time or space), b. offers a comprehensive critique of present values/conditions, c. sees men or male institutions as a major cause of present social ills, d. presents women as not only at least the equals of men but also as the sole arbiters of their reproductive functions."[31][32]

Utopias have explored the ramification of gender being either a societal construct or a hard-wired imperative.[33] In Mary Gentle's Golden Witchbreed, gender is not chosen until maturity, and gender has no bearing on social roles. In contrast, Doris Lessing's The Marriages Between Zones Three, Four and Five (1980) suggests that men's and women's values are inherent to the sexes and cannot be changed, making a compromise between them essential. In My Own Utopia (1961) by Elisabeth Mann Borgese, gender exists but is dependent upon age rather than sex — genderless children mature into women, some of whom eventually become men.[33] Marge Piercy's novel Woman on the Edge of Time keeps human biology, but removes pregnancy and childbirth from the gender equation by resorting to assisted reproductive technology while allowing both women and men the nurturing experience of breastfeeding.[34]

Utopic single-gender worlds or single-sex societies have long been one of the primary ways to explore implications of gender and gender-differences.[35] One solution to gender oppression or social issues in feminist utopian fiction is to remove men, either showing isolated all-female societies as in Charlotte Perkins Gilman's Herland, or societies where men have died out or been replaced, as in Joanna Russ's A Few Things I Know About Whileaway, where "the poisonous binary gender" has died off. In speculative fiction, female-only worlds have been imagined to come about by the action of disease that wipes out men, along with the development of a technological or mystical method that allows female parthenogenetic reproduction. The resulting society is often shown to be utopian by feminist writers. Many influential feminist utopias of this sort were written in the 1970s;[35][36][37] the most often studied examples include Joanna Russ's The Female Man and Suzy McKee Charnas's The Holdfast Chronicles.[37] Such worlds have been portrayed most often by lesbian or feminist authors; their use of female-only worlds allows the exploration of female independence and freedom from patriarchy. The societies may not necessarily be lesbian, or sexual at all — Herland (1915) by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is a famous early example of a sexless society.[36] Charlene Ball writes in Women's Studies Encyclopedia that use of speculative fiction to explore gender roles has been more common in the United States than in Europe and elsewhere.[33]

Utopias imagined by male authors have generally included equality between sexes rather than separation.[38]

## Cultural impact

[edit]

Étienne Cabet's work Travels in Icaria caused a group of followers, the Icarians, to leave France in 1848, and travel to the United States to start a series of utopian settlements in Texas, Illinois, Iowa, California, and elsewhere. These groups lived in communal settings and lasted until 1898.[39]

During the first decades of the 20th century, utopian science fiction literature was very popular in Russia due to more citizens wanting to engage with fantasies of the future (as well as the fact that it was a new, up-and-coming genre of literature).[40] During the Cold War, utopian science fiction became popular among Soviet leaders. As well, many Soviet Union citizens became dependent on this type of literature because it provided an escape from the real world, which was not ideal at the time. Utopian science fiction allowed readers to fantasize about how it would be to live in a "perfect" world.[41]

## See also

[edit]

* The City of the Sun
* List of dystopian literature
* List of dystopian films
* List of dystopian comics
* List of utopian literature
* Social science fiction
* Utopian language

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c Gossin, Pamela (2002). Encyclopedia of Literature and Science (1st ed.). Bloomsbury Publishing.
2. ^ a b c Sargent, Lyman Tower (November 1976). "Themes in Utopian Fiction in English Before Wells". Science Fiction Studies. 3 (3): 275–82, see p. 275–6.
3. ^ Claeys, Gregory (2010). The Cambridge companion to utopian literature. Cambridge companions to literature. Cambridge: Cambridge university press. ISBN 978-0-521-88665-9.
4. ^ Curtright, Travis, ed. (10 September 2015). Thomas More : why patron of statesmen?. Lanham: Lexington Books. p. 174\. ISBN 978-1-4985-2227-4. OCLC 920466356. "Mantel's Cromwell, despite his keen appreciation of literature and love of Petrarch, completely misses the ironic and ambiguous structure of Utopia."
5. ^ Claeys, Gregory (2010). The Cambridge companion to utopian literature. Cambridge companions to literature. Cambridge: Cambridge university press. ISBN 978-0-521-88665-9.
6. ^ Elton, Geoffry Rudolph (1977). Reform and Reformation: England 1509-1558. London: Edward Arnold. pp. 2–5\. ISBN 978-0713159530.
7. ^ Campanella, Tommaso (2009) [1623]. The City of the Sun. The Floating Press. pp. 1–39\. ISBN 978-1-775410-51-5.
8. ^ a b c Claeys, Gregory; Sargent, Lyman Tower, eds. (1999). The utopia reader. New York: New York University Press. pp. 229. ISBN 0-585-42482-9. OCLC 70728991.
9. ^ Jameson, Fredric (2005). Archaeologies of the Future. New York: Verso. pp. 1–9\. ISBN 1-84467-033-3.
10. ^ Trubowitz, Rachel (1992). "The Reenchantment of Utopia and the Female Monarchical Self: Margaret Cavendish's Blazing World". Tulsa Studies in Women's Literature. 11 (2): 229–245\. doi:10.2307/464299. ISSN 0732-7730. JSTOR 464299.
11. ^ Iyengar, Sujata (2002). "Royalist, Romancist, Racialist: Rank, Gender, and Race in the Science and Fiction of Margaret Cavendish". ELH. 69 (3): 649–672\. doi:10.1353/elh.2002.0027. ISSN 0013-8304. JSTOR 30032037.
12. ^ Rapatz, Vanessa L (May 2024). ""A World of her own Invention": Teaching Margaret Cavendish's <i>Blazing World</i> in the Early British Literature Survey and Beyond". ABO: Interactive Journal for Women in the Arts, 1640-1830. 14 (1). doi:10.5038/2157-7129.14.1.1353. ISSN 2157-7129.
13. ^ Wills, Matthew (2019-03-10). ""Mad Meg," the Poet-Duchess of 17th Century England". JSTOR Daily. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
14. ^ Booker, Keith M. (1994). The Dystopian Impulse in Modern Literature. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. p. 19\. ISBN 9780313290923.
15. ^ Sinclair, George R. (8 July 2020). "World Without End?". Look Around: A Christian Faith for the Twenty-First Century. Eugene, Oregon: Wipf and Stock Publishers (published 2020). p. 153\. ISBN 9781725266681. Retrieved 15 August 2021. "Dystopian escapism sells. [...] Appealing to dark instincts, gnawing insecurities, and socio-political disturbance, dystopian eschatology appeals to fear."
16. ^ Carroll, John T. (2000). Freedman, David Noel; Myers, Allen C. (eds.). "Eschatology". Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible: 420.
17. ^ a b c d e "100 Great Works of Dystopian Fiction". Vulture. 2017-08-03. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
18. ^ Taylor, D. J. (2019-05-22). "The Ministry of Truth by Dorian Lynskey review – what inspired Orwell's masterpiece?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
19. ^ Davidson, Bengt Framtidsromanen Kallocain Karin Boye-sällskapet (in Swedish)
20. ^ Garcia, Antero (2013). Critical foundations in young adult literature : challenging genres. Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense Publishers. p. 71\. ISBN 978-94-6209-398-0. OCLC 863698575.
21. ^ Zimmermann, Ana Cristina; Morgan, W. John (2019-03-01). "E. M. Forster's 'The Machine Stops': humans, technology and dialogue". AI & Society. 34 (1): 37–45\. doi:10.1007/s00146-017-0698-3. ISSN 1435-5655. S2CID 25560513.
22. ^ Caporaletti, Silvana. "Science as Nightmare: The Machine Stops by E. M. Forster." Utopian studies 8.2 (1997): 32-47.
23. ^ Booker, M Keith (1994). The Dystopian Impulse in Modern Literature: Fiction as Social Criticism. Greenwood Press.
24. ^ Marcus, Laura. "The Time Machine". Britannica. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
25. ^ Young, Moira (2011-10-22). "Why is dystopia so appealing to young adults?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
26. ^ Ames, Melissa (2013). "Engaging "Apolitical" Adolescents: Analyzing the Popularity and Educational Potential of Dystopian Literature Post-9/11". The High School Journal. 97 (1): 3–20\. doi:10.1353/hsj.2013.0023. JSTOR 43281204. S2CID 145131295.
27. ^ Lone, Ahmad Satrap (2020-03-12). "Dystopia and Dehumanization: A Critical Analysis of Louis Lowry's The Giver". Research Gate. 1: 37–43.
28. ^ Houston, Chlöe (2007). "Utopia, Dystopia or Anti-utopia? Gulliver's Travels and the Utopian Mode of Discourse". Utopian Studies. 18 (3): 425–442\. doi:10.5325/utopianstudies.18.3.0425. ISSN 1045-991X. JSTOR 20719885. S2CID 190000042.
29. ^ Glass, Rodge (May 31, 2013). "Global warning: the rise of 'cli-fi'". The Guardian. Retrieved March 20, 2025.
30. ^ "Margaret Atwood - Twitter
31. ^ Gearhart, Sally Miller (1984). "Future Visions: Today's Politics: Feminist Utopias in Review". In Baruch, Elaine Hoffman; Rohrlich, Ruby (eds.). Women in Search of Utopia: Mavericks and Mythmakers. New York: Shoken Books. pp. 296. ISBN 0805239006.
32. ^ Napikoski, Linda. "A Look at Feminist Utopia and Dystopia Literature". ThoughtCo. Retrieved 2019-01-16.
33. ^ a b c Tierney, Helen (1999). Women's studies encyclopedia. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 1442. ISBN 978-0-313-31073-7.
34. ^ Piercy, Marge (May 1976). Woman on the Edge of Time. Fawcett Crest.
35. ^ a b Attebery, Brian (2002). Decoding gender in science fiction. New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-97147-4. OCLC 868068199.
36. ^ a b Gaétan Brulotte & John Phillips, Encyclopedia of Erotic Literature, "Science Fiction and Fantasy", p.1189, CRC Press, 2006, ISBN 1-57958-441-1
37. ^ a b Martha A. Bartter, The Utopian Fantastic, "Momutes", Robin Anne Reid, p. Het 101 ISBN 0-313-31635-X
38. ^ Martha A. Bartter, The Utopian Fantastic, "Momutes", Robin Anne Reid, p. 102 [ISBN missing]
39. ^ "Travels In Icaria Utopianism And Communitarianism Paperback" (PDF). tyboomakbook.org. Retrieved 2018-11-15.
40. ^ Refail, Nudelman (1989). "Soviet Science Fiction and the Ideology of Soviet Society". Science Fiction Studies. 16: 38–66\. doi:10.1525/sfs.16.1.038. JSTOR 4239917.
41. ^ Kleberg, Lars (1984). "Utopia and Its Negations: Literary Utopia in Russia Before the Revolution". Russian History. 11 (2/3): 209–219\. doi:10.1163/18763316-i0000011. ISSN 0094-288X. JSTOR 24652740.

## Bibliography

[edit]

* Applebaum, Robert. Literature and Utopian Politics in Seventeenth-Century England. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2002.
* Bartkowski, Frances. Feminist Utopias. Lincoln, NE, University of Nebraska Press, 1991.
* Booker, M. Keith. The Dystopian Impulse in Modern Literature. Westport, CT, Greenwood Press, 1994.
* Booker, M. Keith. Dystopian Literature: A Theory and Research Guide. Westport, CT, Greenwood Press, 1994.
* Claeys, Gregory. Dystopia: A Natural History. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2017.
* Ferns, Chris. Narrating Utopia: Ideology, Gender, Form in Utopian Literature. Liverpool, Liverpool University Press, 1999.
* Gerber, Richard. Utopian Fantasy. London, Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1955.
* Gottlieb, Erika. Dystopian Fiction East and West: Universe of Terror and Trial. Montreal, McGill-Queen's Press, 2001.
* Haschak, Paul G. Utopian/Dystopian Literature. Metuchen, NJ, Scarecrow Press, 1994.
* Iyengar, Sujata. “Royalist, Romancist, Racialist: Rank, Gender, and Race in the Science and Fiction of Margaret Cavendish.” ELH, vol. 69, no. 3, 2002, pp. 649–72. (651)
* Jameson, Fredric. Archaeologies of the future: the Desire Called Utopia and Other Science Fictions. London, Verso, 2005.
* Kessler, Carol Farley. Daring to Dream: Utopian Fiction by United States Women Before 1950. Syracuse, NY, Syracuse University Press, 1995.
* Leslie, Marina. “Gender, Genre and the Utopian Body in Margaret Cavendish’s Blazing World.” Utopian Studies, vol. 7, no. 1, 1996, pp. 6–24.
* Mohr, Dunja M. Worlds Apart: Dualism and Transgression in Contemporary Female Dystopias. Jefferson, NC, McFarland, 2005.
* Rapatz, Vanessa L. “‘A World of her own Invention’: Teaching Margaret Cavendish's Blazing World in the Early British Literature Survey and Beyond”, ABO: Interactive Journal for Women in the Arts, vol. 14, no. 1, 2024.
* Sargent, Lyman Tower (November 1976). "Themes in Utopian Fiction in English Before Wells". Science Fiction Studies. 3 (3): 275–82.
* Szweykowski, Zygmunt. Twórczość Bolesława Prusa [The Art of Bolesław Prus], 2nd ed., Warsaw, Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, 1972.
* Tod, Ian, and Michael Wheeler. Utopia. London, Orbis, 1978.
* Trubowitz, Rachel. “The Reenchantment of Utopia and the Female Monarchical Self: Margaret Cavendish’s Blazing World.” Tulsa Studies in Women’s Literature, vol. 11, no. 2, 1992, pp. 229–45.
* Wills, Matthew. “‘Mad Meg,’ the Poet-Duchess of 17th Century England.” Daily JSTOR, 10 Mar. 2019, https://daily.jstor.org/mad-meg-the-poet-duchess-of-17th-century-england/.

## External links

[edit]

* Dystopias and Utopias, The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction
* The Society for Utopian Studies Archived 2014-05-30 at the Wayback Machine
* Portal for Dystopian related Media
* Dystopia Tracker
* Modernist Utopias, BBC Radio 4 discussion with John Carey, Steve Connor & Laura Marcus (In Our Time, Mar. 10, 2005)
* The Dystopia genre, discusses current popularity of the dystopian genre.
* To λεωφορείο της Ιουλίας

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* Fandom
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* ISFDB
* Libraries and museums
* Science Fiction Museum
* Studies
* Women in SF
* Worldcon

Region|

* Australian
* Bengali
* Brazilian
* Canadian
* Chilean
* Chinese
* Croatian
* Czech
* Estonian
* French
* Hungarian
* Japanese
* Korean
* Norwegian
* Polish
* Romanian
* Russian
* Serbian
* Spanish
* Yugoslav

Awards|

| Cinematic|

* Jules Verne
* Saturn

|

Literary, art,
and audio|

* Astounding
* Aurealis
* BSFA
* Campbell Memorial
* Chesley
* Clarke
* Crook
* Deutscher
* Dick
* Ditmar
* Endeavor
* FantLab
* Galaxy
* Gaughan
* Geffen
* Golden Duck
* Grand Master
* Grand Prix
* Harland
* Heinlein
* Ignotus
* Kitschies
* Lambda
* Laßwitz
* Locus
* Nautilus
* Nebula
* Nommo
* Norton
* Parsec
* Prometheus
* Rhysling
* SFERA
* Sidewise
* Skylark
* Sturgeon
* Sunburst
* Tähtivaeltaja
* TBD
* Tiptree
* Tour-Apollo
* Translation
* Urania
* Vogel
* Writers and Illustrators of the Future
* Zajdel

Multimedia|

* Aurora
* Chandler
* Dragon
* Hugo
* Seiun
* Spectrum

Media|

| Film|

* Film history
* Films
* Indian
* Japanese
* Anime
* Tokusatsu

|

Literature|

* Comics
* Magazines
* Novels
* Publishers
* Short stories

Stage|

* Opera
* Theatre

Television|

* List of TV shows
* Australasian
* British
* Canadian
* European
* Japanese
* Anime
* Live-action
* U.S.

Themes|

| Architectural|

* Dyson sphere
* Ecumenopolis
* Matrioshka brain
* Space stations and habitats
* Stellar engine
* Terraforming
* Topopolis

|

Biological|

* Biological warfare
* Evolution
* Extraterrestrials
* List
* Gender
* Genetic engineering
* Invisibility
* Nanotechnology
* Organ transplantation
* Parasitism
* Sex and sexuality
* Symbiosis

Physical|

* Black holes
* Extrasolar planets
* Multiverse
* Parallel universes
* Portable hole
* Space travel
* Stars
* Tachyons
* Teleportation
* Time travel
* Time viewer
* Wormhole

Psychological|

* Group mind
* Mind uploading
* Psionics
* Simulated consciousness

Social|

* Africanfuturism
* Afrofuturism
* Alien invasion
* Alien language
* Ancient astronauts
* Black
* Evil corporation
* First contact
* Frankenstein complex
* Galactic empire
* LGBT
* Message from space
* Transhumanism
* Uplift
* Xenoarchaeology

Technological|

* Ansible
* Artificial intelligence
* AI takeover
* Astroengineering
* Force field
* Holography
* Hyperspace
* Inertialess
* Robots and Cyborgs
* Self-replicating machines
* Simulated reality
* Spacecraft
* Stargate
* Warp drive
* Weapons

Religious|

* Christian science fiction

Related|

* Alternate history
* Fantasy
* Fictional astronauts
* Fictional technology
* Future history
* Horror
* Magic realism
* Museum of Science Fiction
* Rubber science
* Science and technology studies
* Sense of wonder
* Speculative fiction
* Supernatural
* Technology and society
* Weird

* Category
* Portal

* v
* t
* e

Narrative

Character|

* Antagonist
* Archenemy
* Character arc
* Character flaw
* Characterization
* Confidant
* Deuteragonist
* False protagonist
* Focal character
* Foil
* Gothic double
* Hamartia
* Hero
* Anti
* Byronic
* Tragic
* Narrator
* Protagonist
* Stock character
* Straight man
* Supporting character
* Title character
* Tritagonist
* Villain

Plot|

* Ab ovo
* Action
* Backstory
* Origin story
* Chekhov's gun
* Cliché
* Cliffhanger
* Conflict
* Deus ex machina
* Dialogue
* Dramatic structure
* Eucatastrophe
* Foreshadowing
* Flashback
* Flashforward
* Frame story
* In medias res
* Kishōtenketsu
* MacGuffin
* Pace
* Plot device
* Plot twist
* Poetic justice
* Red herring
* Reveal
* Self-insertion
* Shaggy dog story
* Stereotype
* Story arc
* Story within a story
* Subplot
* Suspense
* Trope

Setting|

* Alternate history
* Backstory
* Crossover
* Dreamworld
* Dystopia
* Fictional location
* city
* country
* universe
* parallel
* Utopia
* Worldbuilding

Theme|

* Irony
* Leitmotif
* Metaphor
* Moral
* Moral development
* Motif
* Deal with the Devil
* Conflict between good and evil
* Self-fulfilling prophecy
* Time travel

Style|

* Allegory
* Bathos
* Comic relief
* Diction
* Figure of speech
* Imagery
* Mode
* Mood
* Narration
* Narrative techniques
* Hook
* Show, don't tell
* Stylistic device
* Suspension of disbelief
* Symbolism
* Tone

Structure|

* Act
* Act structure
* Three-act structure
* Freytag's Pyramid
* Exposition/Protasis
* Rising action/Epitasis
* Climax/Peripeteia
* Falling action/Catastasis
* Denouement/Catastrophe
* Linear narrative
* Nonlinear narrative
* films
* television series
* Premise
* Types of fiction with multiple endings

Form|

* Drama
* Fabliau
* Flash fiction
* Folklore
* Fable
* Fairy tale
* Legend
* Myth
* Tall tale
* Gamebook
* Narrative art
* Narrative poetry
* Epic poetry
* Novel
* Novella
* Parable
* Short story
* Vignette

Genre
(List)|

* Fiction
* Action fiction
* Adventure
* Comic
* Crime
* Docu
* Epistolary
* Ergodic
* Erotic
* Historical
* Western
* Mystery
* Nautical
* Paranoid
* Philosophical
* Picaresque
* Political
* Pop culture
* Psychological
* Religious
* Rogue
* Romance
* Chivalric
* Prose
* Saga
* Satire
* Speculative fiction
* Fantasy
* Gothic
* Southern
* Horror
* Magic realism
* Science
* Hard
* Utopian and dystopian
* Underwater
* Superhero
* Theological
* Thriller
* Urban
* Nonfiction
* Autobiography
* Biography
* Novel
* Creative

Narration|

* Diegesis
* First-person
* Second-person
* Third-person
* Third-person omniscient narrative
* Subjectivity
* Unreliable narrator
* Multiple narrators
* Stream of consciousness
* Stream of unconsciousness

Tense|

* Past
* Present
* Future

Related|

* Dominant narrative
* Fiction writing
* Continuity
* Canon
* Reboot
* Retcon
* Parallel novel
* Prequel / Sequel
* Genre
* List
* Literary science
* Literary theory
* Narrative identity
* Narrative paradigm
* Narrative therapy
* Narratology
* Metafiction
* Political narrative
* Rhetoric
* Glossary
* Screenwriting
* Series of works
* Storytelling
* Tellability
* Verisimilitude

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