Works in the fantasy genre have plots that resemble those of the medieval romance rather than those of the realistic novel. In other words, the plots, like those of the romance,
1. divide into sharply separate episodes that often do not seem joined in in any obvious causal fashion and
2. generally take the form of tests that they must pass to attain some goal. Frequently,
3. the generally male protagonist — William Morris's Birdalone in Water of the Wondrous Isles is a rare exception to the gender of the protagonist — repeatly fails tests, which often involve acts of moral and spiritual perception, until such point that he finally follows advice.
How does Phantastes fit this pattern?
Last modified 16 October 2002