FUNCTIONS OF CULTURAL PRACTICE OF FOOD CONSUMPTION IN FANTASY

Abstract

In the article, the author explores food consumption as a cultural practice within fantasy narratives, serving as an important mediator between the fictional world of the text and its reader. Food not only satisfies a basic human need but also plays a crucial role in world-building and in fostering psychological engagement with the narrative. Since fantasy, by its very nature, is a genre rooted entirely in imagination – featuring characters without real- world analogues and events unfolding in entirely invented worlds with their own rules, geographies, histories, and cultures – the reader requires familiar reference points to establish a connection with the story. Food is among these familiar markers.As a cultural practice, food fulfills several important functions within fantasy literature. One of these is the identification of a character as a member of a particular social, ethnic, or cultural group: food-related practices signal their origins, affiliations, and place within a social hierarchy. In such contexts, food consumption may also carry ritualistic significance. Furthermore, food acts as a vehicle for social integration – facilitating interpersonal bonds, the establishment of trust or friendship among characters (for example, through the act of sharing a meal or saving a life by offering a piece of bread).The first two functions are most commonly found in high or epic fantasy. This subgenre is typically set in fully invented worlds that possess unique flora and fauna, distinct climates, and complex systems of continents and oceans. In such cases, food – particularly when treated as a ritual – can serve as a means of introducing the reader to the rules and structure of that world. The third function – social integration – is more broadly characteristic of various fantasy subgenres, including young adult and romantic fantasy, which are also examined in the article. Taken together, these functions demonstrate that food in fantasy literature operates not only as a practical or plot-driven element but also as a deeply symbolic and cultural one, serving as one of key mechanisms in the development of both characters and fictional worlds.