Fantasy and Moral Compasses

I read this post a few days ago, on whether authors should feel obligated to reflect certain values in their fiction. This often arises in YA lit, in discussions over whether teen pregnancy or drug use or such should be portrayed, but I think it’s an interesting idea to consider in light of fantasy. Secondary-world fantasy is designed not to have any connection with Earth—and that means moral systems are not based on our own, nor (I believe) should they exactly mimic ours. Few things are more annoying than an exotic fantasy culture in which everyone holds modern twenty-first century values (except for villains, who often believe in slavery, oppression of women, and the burning of witches. Way to go with the nuances, author). I find, in fantasy novels, that my moral compass “resets”—I view events and interactions on the basis of what’s moral in this storyworld, even if it’s 180 degrees from what I believe moral in the real world. For instance, a favorite series of mine features an assassin: a sheer for-pay assassin, not one doing it out of religion or desperation or because he thinks he’s serving “the greater good” or such. He does it because he’s good at it and it pays well. This is considered perfectly fine (morally, at least, if not legally); at one point even a goddess hires him to kill someone. If I were reading a book set on contemporary Earth, following a hitman who killed innocent people, I would be very aware that this was Not Okay, and it would impact my enjoyment of the book (it’s one reason I have difficulty with a lot of non-sf/f novels; I’m religious and have certain bedrock beliefs about what’s right and wrong, and if a book’s set in my reality I tend to apply those views).

So what about you, fellow readers? Do you have trouble slipping into the worldview of a fantasy character who holds very different, and perhaps sometimes offensive, values? Are there some things that are sticking points, but others you let slide? Should authors feel obliged to retain certain basic moral positions even in works of fantasy?

~Sparky