I read one of Warner's (massive) books about folklore and fairy tales, focusing on their adaptation and remediation throughout the years from their humble origins in mainland Europe to Hollywood blockbusters today. It delves into as much study about the tellers of these tales, as of the stories themselves. We learn about the reasons for their invention and the huge popularity of them in the past centuries. Unlike some of the others readings on the subject, I learned less in this book about the modern day consumption of fairy tales, but I did discover a lot about their origins, and societal and academic importance, which has been very interesting to learn about and I hope will help me to have a better understanding of the genre as a whole. I noted the parts which were most concerned with the type of animated tale I will be making, and will discuss them below.
Beardedness signifies strong men. 'Beards were the mark of the goat, and given the goat's lustful and diabolical character, its kinship with satyrs, and the Devil himself...Beards came increasingly to define the male in priapic mode' (pp.242). Beards are given the symbolic value traditionally in story telling, so I want to avoid associating my main character of the Woodcutter with any of these overtly masculine or sexual overtones: I will forgo giving him any type of facial hair, and instead contrast him with a heavily bearded huntsman who represents all the power, cruelty lust and desire that the Woodcutter is not. None of the Disney princes/ heroes have beards, which is significant.
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| Disney's Huntsman from Snow White source: http://img4.wikia.nocookie.net |
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| Manly Dan from Gravity falls source: http://images6.fanpop.com/image |
The book delves into reflection on the prevalence of romances between animals and humans; beasts and beauties as they appear over and again in folk tales. Apuleius' tale of Cupid and Psyche is the first forerunner of these type of tales; Eros being the 'first beast of the west.' The immortal god and the mortal beauty make love, while Psyche is forbidden to look upon her lover. When she can 'resist no longer, and breaks the prohibition, lighting a candle...he vanishes. Psyche's failure to trust, and to obey, has cost her his adorable presence and his love' (pp.273). There is a significant comparison between this tale and that of The Crane Wife, though the roles are gender-bent, which is perhaps more suited to a contemporary, feminist-positive take on the situation. The crane has forbidden her husband to look on her while she weaves, but he grows curious and disobeys her. This too, like Psyche, loses him his lover. Later in this discussion however, Warner observes that the gendered roles in Cupid and Psyche are unusual, instead typically it is 'more common to find knights errant than maidens in pursuit of their lovers' (pp.275)
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| Cupid leaving Psyche, source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons |
In beast/human tales, the beast is 'identified with male sexuality which must be controlled or changed or domesticated through civilité' (pp. 280). This way of thinking existed mainly at a time when animals were thought of as savage, and the stories typically end badly for the beast creature (again, usually presented as the male protagonist or villain). In more recent times, sensibilities have changed and we have 're-evaluated' our stance towards animals. Now 'the beast is perceived as a principle of nature within every human being, male and female, young and old.' My representation of the female protagonist taking the form of a crane is in line with this modern representation. She isn't constructed as harmful or dangerous, but still does need to be domesticated.
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| La Belle et la Bete source: http://blog.felix-culpa.gayattitude.com/picture |
This type of fairy tale also had a popular recurring theme, that the 'beauty is the beast' (pp.283). That is, not only does the beast metamorphose, but the beauty takes advantage of this also, which leads her to an escape from a 'tyrant' father or husband. The beauty here not necessarily being placed opposite a beast, but the theme of the contrast between mortal human (female) and wild animal remains. 'In a female protagonist's case, shape shifting also shifts the conditions of confinement.' For example, in the She-Bear tale, Princess Hawthorn 'acquires more freedom of movement [as a bear] than as a woman, and more freedom of choice.' This is reflected in the independence and freedom of movement granted to the Crane in her bird-form: she literally can move further and faster away by flying, but also, figuratively, can escape from her marriage and return to the magical world away from the domestic confines of her home with the Woodcutter. She does not merely leave her husband, she chooses that for her ultimate freedom she must also change form to do so.
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| A Selkie: a woman who can escape to sea in seal form. Source: http://simonsylvester.files.wordpress.com |
'Whereas male beasts are cursed by some malignant force, the heroines of fairy tales are willingly bound by a spell; they frequently agree with the alacrity to the change of outward form, in order to run away from the sexual advances of a father or would-be seducer' (pp. 353). When we think of cursed heroines, we picture them locked away like Sleeping Beauty, or like Rapunzel, being cursed with long hair. The Beauty and the Beast's prince however, is given animal form. the Frog Prince is forced to become a frog until he finds a princess' love. Even of these two examples, neither are willing. From what shape-shifting females we do know though, they seem to have been born this way or given unknown origins: think of the Little Mermaid, selkies, and The Crane Wife. 'The bodily transformations of female heroines take them across thresholds' (pp. 354). This is the 'phenomenon of liberty' as Warner calls it. The apparent degradation of taking on 'beastly' form works for the heroine, not against her, unlike her male counterpart. She can take 'control of her own identity' and not have it thrust upon her.
