Folk Lore and Fairy Tales Blog #7

Out of the Bluebeard stories we read, it was very difficult for me to choose a favorite because I have trouble choosing favorites in general. I do know however, that the stories where the heroine saves herself are my favorite ones. The Brothers Grimm: “Fitcher’s Bird” and Joseph Jacob’s: “Mr. Fox” are probably my top two favorite Bluebeard stories. I like the ones where the heroine saves herself because they have stronger female leads than the other ones. 

 One of the main aspects of the “Fitcher’s Bird” I liked was the uniqueness of the story in comparison to the other stories. Rather than one girl there were three sisters and the third one was smart enough to outsmart the sorcerer and save her sisters. I also liked how she invited all the sorcerer’s friends and then ran out of the house disguised as a bird. I also liked the genius of her plan and how “she took a skull with grinning teeth, crowned it with jewels and a garland of flowers, carried it upstairs and set it down at an attic window, facing out,” (Tatar 195), to make it seem that she herself was keeping an eye out the window when she actually wasn’t. I thought that was rather amusing. I also thought it was unique how she practically brought her sisters back from the dead. I think the ending is very interesting because they not only killed the sorcerer, but they killed all his bad friends as well. 

The main reason I enjoyed “Mr. Fox” is because the heroine, Lady Mary, had absolutely no help escaping Mr. Fox, because she got out of his house on her own when she saw him with the beaten woman. I thought various aspects of the story were very unique, such as the fact that the main heroine actually had a name and how the walls and doorways were warning her and telling her to be brave. As gruesome as this part of the story is, I thought it was interesting how the severed hand of the woman landed in Mary’s lap and that’s what essentially saved her from the marriage to Mr. Fox. I really liked the part that Mary goes: “but it is so, and it was so. Here’s hand and ring I have to show,” (201), because of how lyrical it is and how those were the words that saved her from a grim fate.  

Originally I first heard about the story of Bluebeard through a show I watched not long ago called Strong Woman Bong-Soon, because in the show there was a serial kidnapper and murderer who was inspired by a play called “Bluebeard,” which I had never heard of, so I was surprised that it was actually based off an old fairy tale which I learned through this class. In the show the villain kidnaps young women and beats them and locks them up to be his brides. Eventually the main character and heroine of the show saves the trapped women, and in turn ends up getting captured herself because she upsets the villain. Although when she gets captured, she is able to have the strength to free herself and eventually capture the villain and turn him into the police. Through learning about the Bluebeard story in class I was very eager to see how it compared to the show I watched and if it was based off it, and I was excited to find out that it was definitely related.  

Fairy Tales and Folk Lore Blog #6

The most common motif in Cinderella stories is the “rags to riches” idea where the main character goes from having a poor miserable life to having a life of riches and success. In Cinderella stories this phenomenon takes place through some sort of magic or marriage. This outlook on success can often be seen as unrealistic because so much more goes into a successful and happy life than just magic or marriage. I believe Cinderella tales show people that happy endings can take place in the most unlikely situations and people, and that it can teach people not to lose faith in impossible dreams just because of what the reality of life is.  

Obviously, dreams and happy endings can’t take place through magic. They can happen in other ways, only much more difficult. The real magic in a happy ending or successful life, is one’s ability to work hard enough to make it happen, even if one’s situation says otherwise, as long as one keeps working for it and never gives up hope. As simple as this may sound to some, it is never that easy and it can only be achieved through a very long and hard journey, and for some no matter how hard they work, it may never even take place.  

Another part of the ‘magic’ in the motif is fate. In order to have a successful and happy ending type of life, it takes a great deal more than just hard work; there is a large amount of what you could call fate and luck involved. I believe fate and hard work are the real sources of ‘magic’ in “rags to riches” Cinderella stories.  

In Disney’s Cinderella, Cinderella is aided by the magic of a fairy godmother to go to the ball where she meets the prince who falls in love with her, and later searches the whole kingdom for her. They eventually get married and Cinderella is freed from the grasps of her evil step-mother and step-sisters, and lives happily ever after with the prince. Besides the magic involved in the story, Cinderella worked extremely hard everyday, not for a ‘dream’ or goal of success, but because she had to for her step-family who forced her to be their slave. Through the hard work she did and the terrible life she had, she still remained a kind and positive person; which in a way caused her to be graced by the magic of a fairy godmother. When going to the ball it was only fate that she danced with the prince who fell in love with her and wouldn’t rest until he found her again. Therefore, it was also fate that brought her and the prince together in the end.  

In the movie, Pretty Woman, the main character Vivian meets a business man named Edward who she begins working for, and they soon fall in love and eventually end up ‘living happily ever after.’ Before Vivian met Edward she was working as a prostitute and scraping just to get by. Even though her life was rough, she was still working hard to get through life. When she met Edward, it was fate that brought them together in a way, and he ended up being the cause of her having a more successful and happy life in the end.  

Happy endings and “rags to riches” tales don’t just take place through magic or marriage. There are always other more important aspects that take part in them that are the real causes for a ‘happy ending.’ Success stories take place through hard work, along with the luck and fate of opportunities and people that arise in one’s life that can end up leading to a happy ending.  

Fairy Tales and Folk Lore Blog #5

The music video for the song “Sonne” by the German metal band Rammstein, is centered around the well-known fairy tale Snow White. The video has many similarities with the classic tale but has more noticeable differences than similarities. The main similarity the video has is how it keeps the main story the same, but they leave out certain important elements and twist the story in a unique way.  

The video keeps the same main characters such as Snow White and the dwarves as the center of the story, however, it completely leaves out the evil queen and the prince. This is a huge difference because the evil queen is an essential part of the original story. The video keeps the dwarves fairly similar because they are still miners, and Snow White is similar in appearance to the classic Disney version of Snow White. Another main similarity is how Snow White comes to live with the dwarves, and when she ‘dies,’ the dwarves put her in a glass coffin and set it on top of the mountain, which are both present in the original story. Apples are also present throughout the video which pays homage to the various versions of Snow White.  

Rather than fleeing from the queen, Snow White just barges into the dwarves’ home. Instead of being kind to the dwarves, Snow White uses them and their hospitality to her own benefits, and she even abuses them by beating them and making them serve her like slaves. In this version Snow White is cruel rather than kind. The dwarves don’t appear to want to escape from Snow White and they continue to see and treat her as a queen and goddess. In the one scene of the video where all the dwarves are hugging Snow White, there is a circular window behind her head that makes a sort of halo around her head. This image is similar to famous pictures if Jesus where there is a circular halo around his head. This comparison supports the theory that Snow White is a divine-like being to the dwarves who practically worship her even though they also don’t appear to like her much either.  

In this version when Snow White dies, she dies from some sort of overdose, instead of being poisoned by the queen who is nonexistent. The dwarves put Snow White in a glass coffin on top of a mountain. An apple tree leans over the coffin and an apple falls from the tree and breaks the glass of the coffin which causes Snow White to wake up. This is different from the original version, and it is also interesting how they changed the story, because instead of the apple being the cause of her death it is what actually revives her from her sleep.  

I don’t really like this version of Snow White compared to other versions. I don’t like how she was cruel person rather than kind, and I didn’t like how the dwarves blindly served her against their will. Even though I didn’t like this version as much I still think it was a very interesting twist on the story and I thought certain symbolisms in the video was also very interesting.