Fern Blossom and Lilibala

Abstract

In this chapter we provide an overview and an analysis of fantastic and magical plants (that is, of their heterogeneous origins and functions) in contemporary Serbian fantasy fiction written for children, and to combine a traditional analysis of the literary fantastic and folklore elements with ecocriticism. Serbian folklore beliefs concerning magical plants and their properties were adopted and made use of by various children’s authors. Older authors rely heavily on the aforementioned folk heritage, using magical or fantastic plants as signals of the supernatural order and symbols of higher ethical or religious values. Recent authors, on the other hand, show a marked tendency to employ plants of their own invention in order to convey an ecological message. Thus, Uroš Petrović devises an entire herbal for his first novel while Mina Todorović develops a complex symbolism by using a variety of magical plants. When folk heritage reappears, it can take on a comical role in a contemporary urban context, as presented in Ivana Nešić’s opus, while Selina Lovren uses contemporary Serbian poetry and its vegetative motifs as an inspiration.