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.
Tag: iconic imagery
#FolkloreThursday: Hekate
It was Hekate and her torch that assisted Demeter in her search for Persephone, and it is Hekate who leads Persephone back and forth on her yearly journey between life and death. Hekate's transformation into the patron of witches arose out of this chthonic and nocturnal nature and she became heavily associated with herb-lore and the use of poisonous plants. It was written that Hekate was the patron of the witch Medea, which helped to further her reputation as the Goddess of Witches.
#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.
#FolkloreThursday: Scarecrows and The Harvest
When the fields are full, they stand as protector to the crops. Once harvest comes, once the fields have been reaped, when everything is turning brown and decaying, the figure of the scarecrow stands in the fields alone, forever immobile (we hope!), watching over the land with hollow eyes, waiting for life to return.
#FairytaleTuesday: The Wolf and the Seven Kids
[CW: animal-on-animal violence] The wolf went away to a shopkeeper and bought a big piece of chalk, which he ate, and it made his voice soft. Then he returned to the house door of the seven kids and called out with a soft voice: “Dear children, let me in. I’m your mother, and I’ve brought something for each of you.”
Witches, Y’all…
W.I.T.C.H. has been around in various forms since the 1960s. Officially the acronym stands for Women's International Terrorist Conspiracy from Hell but they’ve been known to change it when the occasion demands.
But Seriously, Look At Those Pants, Y’all
This is an ad for pants, y’all, literally. It’s advertising men’s pants. That’s it. And for some reason, someone in that ad meeting thought “What if we show a man from the waist down, wearing these pants, and have him standing on a tiger-skin rug with a woman’s head…” and someone else said “Brilliant!”
The Visual Rhetoric of Iconic Images – VJ Day in Times Square
[CW: sexual assault and consent]...I do wonder about the private opinions of the women who viewed this picture at the time it was printed in Life magazine. There are women laughing in the photos, but is it true laughter or is it that uncomfortable laughter that women sometimes do because they don't know how else to respond and they've been conditioned to accept this kind of behavior?
