The desire for change in a person's life affects many things and is the object of great interest. To complete desire a balance must be accorded among one's present condition and whatever circumstances surround the object of their want. Dunsany did an excellent job of showing mankind's nature to wish for change by creating a tangible kingdom of fantasy called Elfland that borders a more familiar Earth-associated village called Erl. Through the interaction and involvement of the mingling of these two lands, Dunsany has been able to illustrate how change, although constantly pursued, has unpredictable consequences which leave onlookers realizing that those searching for it rarely have the power to control the difference their journeys will ultimately have on themselves.
Dunsany involved a number of different characters in both lands he created whose desire for something more took them each on their own unique journey in life with outcomes that very few perceived. By outlining the circumstances centered around certain characters, I hope to better explain how Dunsany's characters cannot feel resolve until the changes they are after reach a balance, and that balance only becomes equal by removing unchanged desires that existed in the first place. The characters that I will discuss are: the men of Erl, Alveric, Lirazel, Lurulu, Niv, and Rannok.
The men of Erl initiate the issue of change with their desire to be ruled by a magic lord after centuries of human reign. The king knows that their desire will not bring what they wish, but he grants it by sending his son, Alveric, to find and marry the king of Elfland's daughter, Lirazel. The men of Erl then content themselves for many years with the simple knowledge that they one day may see magic. Years later Alveric returns with Lirazel and they have a son, Orion. Because neither of these newcomers appears magical, the men are not contented. Lirazel then leaves, followed by Alveric, and they name Orion their king. As Orion ages, nothing seems special about him until he finally places a dead unicorn before them. As one can see by that action sequence, the men of Erl need a lot of proof before they'll consent to believe in anything unnatural. Seeing is believing to these men. When Orion ultimately brings many other magical creatures into their land the men realize that their want of magic had somehow faded, and they wish all to return to normal. However, events continue to unfold with Lirazel and her father until the king of Elfland removes all difference between the magical and nonmagical land by making all one and the same with his final rune. The men of Erl then realized that the added change they desired to exist in their familiar life ended up consuming all familiarity to where a magical king now ruled everything and all familiarity ceased to exist.
Alveric's balance of lifestyle was affected the most in Dunsany's story in that the desire for change by others brought about a great unbalance for many years in his own life. Alveric was sent out on a quest at the commencement to wed Lirazel, which was soon fulfilled. Where he was once single, he was able to marry and have a partner. Sadly, Lirazel was removed from his life, and that left a much greater absence than ever existed which lasted for years. His hopeless journey to find the barrier to Elfland left him in a constant state of unrest until he finally was permitted to return to his beloved's arms. At the last sequence in the story one cannot help feeling immense relief for Alveric at the end of his struggle, and the returned balance to his life.
Until the time when Lirazel first laid eyes on Alveric, the king of Elfland's daughter had never had an opportunity to experience anything out of the ordinary, or so we are told. Although she lived in a magical land, magic, in her mind, was what she heard about of Earth and time. Change did not exist in her land. When Alveric came to Elfland, Lirazel was seized by wonder at his description of the known fields. Therefore, in order to avoid prevention by her father, she made Alveric flee with her at once (after his battle) back through the barrier of Elfland and the fields we know. As the years went by, she hardly seemed to adapt to the numerous changes going on around her. She gave birth to Orion, but it took three years before she named him. Her position in the balance and change matter really was affected very little as she just seemed to glide though the days. When she finally opened the rune her father sent earlier, she felt no real sense of loss at leaving even her new family. However, when the minute effect left upon her by her visit to the fields we know finally took effect, she began to yearn for her son again and was able to persuade her father into bringing her loved ones back to her through his last rune. Thus we see the unbalance in Lirazel's life was evened out through experiencing a bit of the Earth she wondered on, then later, having the little joy she had in that realm restored to her.
The happy and carefree little troll, Lurulu, seems to be the character whose experience with change has mainly positive effects. Up to his introduction, Lurulu had only ever experienced Elfland and knew of nothing different. Time was completely alien to him. When he first left Elfland on the king's order and delivered his rune to Lirazel, he had a magical protection against any change. However, the second time he passed the border, the passing of the season, the failing of day, and the movement of all things as affected by the aging of Earth all dazzled him. The animals did not respond to him, the weather affected the environment, and the silly movement of the pigeons he startled filled him with more wonder than all the magic in Elfland. Time was magic in his eyes.
Lurulu had encountered Orion on this second visit and jovially accepted the job keeping his dogs on the Earth side of Elfland's barrier. He was granted the opportunity to whip the noses of the animals that he had run from at times on his visits. The fun that he was having stirred up the desire in him to share these experiences with the rest of his troll kind, and he eventually brought trolls and other magic creatures over to the fields we know to experience first-hand the wonders of time and change on Earth. The difference Lurulu had now experienced, however, had all begun when Alveric taking Lirazel disrupted the original balance between the two worlds. That unbalance had to be resolved in the end for the story to close. As his being in this other realm was unnatural, his situation therefore had to be resolved as well. Lurulu's experience with change balanced out with the final rune of the king of Elfland. As the barrier covered all the land, and the barrier then ceased to exist, Lurulu was brought back into his natural habitat where change would never again take place because time then ceased to exist.
The final characters I have chosen to examine are Niv and Rannok, companions of Alveric on his seemingly hopeless quest. I believe that these two characters portray most clearly the idea of straightening out an unbalance in order for a reader to feel resolve with a story. Niv and Rannok are both introduced as boys with problems. Niv is considered rather mad, and Rannok has his head so clouded with romance that the girl he loves has refused to marry him. There appeared to be no hope for either of these characters to overcome their maladies either. Alveric cared little for the state of either boy, however, and accepted them as companions on his long journey, which ultimately resolved both of their problems.
Niv had spent his life unable to be trusted by anyone except his mother and his horses. He lived as one considered to be the least important to almost all around him. Being mad, his options to grow were limited beyond his reach. The intervention of Alveric was able to change Niv's situation by presenting a mad boy with the challenge of heading a mad quest in which the completion of seemed beyond reach in and of itself. During the lengthy journey Niv was the leader and had the dependency of other people before him. His lack of wit that had kept him behind had finally been set aright by qualifying him to lead a most wearisome journey where a lack of wit and a mind open to any idea was the best attribute anyone on that quest could possess.
The transition of Rannok from unbalance to balance through change is the simplest to comprehend and resolves in the happiest way of any in the story. He was in love up to his ears and was consumed with self-pity because the girl of his desire would not consent to marriage. All Rannok could do was dream and sigh. However, when Rannok joined the travelers, other worries sprang up to occupy his love-struck mind. For over ten years he had been obliged to remain occupied with the needs of others and supplying his own body with sustenance during the journey. The sighing and yearning for his love faded from his life to the point where he no longer troubled himself with abstract issues and was given to focusing on reality. It was at this point in the journey that he finally realized he could handle life on his own. He yearned no longer to pursue hopes and dreams, said farewell to his companions, and returned home to his village. When his past love realized his daydreaming had now been completely abandoned, she saw that Rannok was now ready to become her ideal husband and she consented to be his bride. Thus, the change Rannok experienced on his journey brought balance which completed both their lives.
The balance of change is a subject that I have found quite interesting in this reading and I hope that the concept has been sufficiently explained. Dunsany's story seemed to lack any real opposition except that of each one of his characters own journey to overcome, and balance out, the changes which, in one way or another, had altered their lives. Resolve is the object all readers look for at the end of any conflict. Here I hope that I have made it a bit clearer for one to see what resolutions were made and what unbalance likely existed to instill unrest in characters in the first place.