CRAFTING RESPONSIBILITY: ETHICAL HUMANISM AND MATERIAL CULTURE IN A. S. M. GIRI’S VALDA: THE WANDMAKER

Abstract

Fantasy literature is frequently dismissed as escapist narrative, and contemporary

Indian English fantasy remains critically under-examined, particularly in relation to material culture and ethical inquiry. This study addresses that gap by analysing A. S. M. Giri’s Valda: The Wandmaker through a hybrid framework combining Ethical Literary Criticism and Material Culture Theory. The objective is to demonstrate how the novel repositions fantasy as a site of moral negotiation mediated through crafted objects. Using close textual analysis supported by theoretical insights from ethical criticism and thing theory, the paper examines the wand not merely as magical instrument but as a material artefact shaping authority, relational identity, and communal responsibility. The findings reveal that craftsmanship in the novel functions as moral labour, while prophetic anxiety transforms heroic adventure into ethical burden. The study argues that Valda contributes to emerging dimensions in Indian fantasy by integrating object culture with holistic humanism, thereby expanding the critical possibilities of contemporary fantasy studies.