Okay! So this is a relatively short story that has just an unbelievable number of variations and adaptations. I'll be using the Grimm story in this entry but we will discuss some of the variations because they are important to the conversation. Having said that, there are surprisingly few images of this variation so I included the entire story instead.
Tag: female agency
#FairytaleTuesday: Little Red Cap
The basic theme of all of these stories, however, is that little girls that stray from the path will find themselves at the mercy of a Big Bad Wolf (or another vicious beastie). And no, in the Western versions we're not talking about actual wolves. IT'S A METAPHOR, PEOPLE!
#FairytaleTuesday: The Three Ravens
this story has been told in a number of ways and the basic gist is pretty much always the same: a varying number of older brothers get turned into birds of some kind (usually swans, geese, ducks, or ravens) by a female family member that wants them to just go away and and so the clever and devoted little sister must search them out and break their curse. There are some variations that don't include the brothers turning into birds, like the North African story "Udea and Her Seven Brothers," but even that involves assistance from ravens and pigeons.
#FolkloreThursday: The Snow Child
The basic plot that is common to all of the stories is that a husband has been away from his wife for a long absence. Upon returning, he finds that she has mysteriously had a son. The length of the husband's absence makes it virtually impossible for him to be the father. When questioned, the wife gives a divine explanation for the boy, generally to the effect that she ingested frozen water in some form and thus became pregnant with a miraculous snow child. Other versions omitted the snow, had rather longer absences, and way wilder explanations for the bonus mystery child.
#FolkloreThursday: Perchta
Much like Santa Claus, Perchta was believed to visit houses between Christmas and Epiphany in search of who had been good or bad. If you had been a good child--worked hard and behaved yourself--you might find a silver coin in your shoe. If you hadn't, well...
#FairytaleTuesday: Cinderella, aka Aschenputtel (The Little Ash Girl)
Cinderella has got to be the most well-known fairytale in the world. It is also incredibly old and has thousands of variations...That being said, there is no way that I can possibly do full justice to the rich and fascinating history of this tale type. But I'll do my best to give a suitable overview of the Grimm version.
#FairytaleTuesday: A Story About a Brave Tailor
Ostensibly, this is a story about a little dude who overcomes great odds through his wit and cunning and manages to achieve great fame and fortune, and a princess. The character of the tailor is essentially a Jack, the one fairytale archetype for whom the story will always work for and not against. No matter how lazy and foolish he is, a Jack will always win.
#FairytaleTuesday: The White Snake
Intention is what matters and we can't allow ourselves to think beyond our intentions in the moment, even if our intention is to buy a princess and improve our own social standing. And really, no one is ever completely altruistic in their actions. We will all, at some point, act in our own self-interests. It's just a matter of the compromises you're willing to make to get what you want.
#FairytaleTuesday: Herr Fix-It-Up
Fix-It-Up had been a soldier for a long time. When the war came to an end, however, and there was nothing but the same old things to do every day, he resigned from the army and decided to become a servant for a great lord. There would be clothes trimmed with gold, a lot to do, and always new things happening
#FairytaleTuesday: Hansel and Gretel
The fact that the woman who willingly marries the widowed father was most likely doing so because she literally had no other options--due to poverty, age, or suspected infertility--is never considered because her feelings are of little value. The potential for being resentful at having a husband and children forced upon her for reasons out of her control is is great, but it doesn't matter, given that women are expected to be motherly, no matter the situation.
Bluestocking Writes... 