“I had no idea dragons were so well-mannered”: Politeness gets political in Mannerpunk
“I had no idea dragons were so well-mannered”: Politeness gets political in Mannerpunk
If cyberpunk is best described as “High tech. Low life,” its antithesis in the world of speculative “punk” may well be “mannerpunk” (also known as Fantasy of Manners fiction). Popularised in the 1990s and modelled on the comedy of manners (a la Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice), this subgenre of fantasy and historical fiction is characterized by its emphasis on local politics, relationship intricacies, and complex systems of etiquette. Unlike its sister fictions in steampunk, mannerpunk also downplays gadgets, gears, and fantastical creatures. In other words, it is resoundingly “Low tech. High life”. With its fetishization of social hierarchies, at first blush mannerpunk seems incompatible with a punk aesthetic. The genre’s self-definition as “punk” is indeed tongue-in cheek, but there is more to mannerpunk than corsets and flowery conversation. From Ellen Kushner’s Swordpoint (1987) to Naomi Novik’s Temeraire series (2006–2016), this essay explores how the genre bucks the tropes of speculative “punk” fiction. Can literature that emphasizes manners, etiquette, and social hierarchies be “punk”? If so, what is it punking?
mannerpunk, cyberpunk, science fiction, speculative fiction, fantasy, punk, literature, feminism
de Bruin-Molé, Megen
50c0d19d-e9c9-4ad4-9b14-8645139e1ef9
28 May 2018
de Bruin-Molé, Megen
50c0d19d-e9c9-4ad4-9b14-8645139e1ef9
de Bruin-Molé, Megen
(2018)
“I had no idea dragons were so well-mannered”: Politeness gets political in Mannerpunk.
Deletion, 14.
Abstract
If cyberpunk is best described as “High tech. Low life,” its antithesis in the world of speculative “punk” may well be “mannerpunk” (also known as Fantasy of Manners fiction). Popularised in the 1990s and modelled on the comedy of manners (a la Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice), this subgenre of fantasy and historical fiction is characterized by its emphasis on local politics, relationship intricacies, and complex systems of etiquette. Unlike its sister fictions in steampunk, mannerpunk also downplays gadgets, gears, and fantastical creatures. In other words, it is resoundingly “Low tech. High life”. With its fetishization of social hierarchies, at first blush mannerpunk seems incompatible with a punk aesthetic. The genre’s self-definition as “punk” is indeed tongue-in cheek, but there is more to mannerpunk than corsets and flowery conversation. From Ellen Kushner’s Swordpoint (1987) to Naomi Novik’s Temeraire series (2006–2016), this essay explores how the genre bucks the tropes of speculative “punk” fiction. Can literature that emphasizes manners, etiquette, and social hierarchies be “punk”? If so, what is it punking?
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De Bruin-Molé, Mannerpunk pre-publication
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Accepted/In Press date: 17 April 2018
Published date: 28 May 2018
Keywords:
mannerpunk, cyberpunk, science fiction, speculative fiction, fantasy, punk, literature, feminism
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Local EPrints ID: 421857
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/421857
PURE UUID: a582b2a1-c3b4-4640-af8e-338301366427
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Date deposited: 02 Jul 2018 16:30
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 04:33
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