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Author
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Comment
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Erica
Carlson
Registered User
(4/30/04 10:41 am)
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Friendship in Fairy Tales
Short version of a long story--I've been thinking of the ways in which fairy tales speak so profoundly to human relationships, especially that of parent and child. There's so much there about love and betrayal and the ways in which things go wrong and come right (or not). But it recently ocurred to me that several fairy tales also speak to friendship in interesting ways. It seems that friendship is often superceded by marriage in fairy tales (well, that's not uncommon--it is in Shakespeare, too), but there's a lot there. I remember being very impressed by the friendship of Kate Crackernuts and her stepsister in the face of the stepmother's scheming.
Any thoughts as to what themes of friendship seem to be most common to fairy tales? Is it valuable, necessary for survival? Is it more often something that is useful one time and then dispensed with?
And are there tales that you find espec. relevant or interesting in terms of the friends within them?
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Nalo
Registered User
(4/30/04 6:26 pm)
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Re: Friendship in Fairy Tales
My favourite friendship fairy tale is an Haitian one, about a little girl named Tipingee who's been promised to the devil. At an appointed hour, he's going to come for her. Tipingee has two girls who are friends of hers, and when she tells them her problem, they hatch up a scheme. The three friends are all present when the devil materialises. He asks them which one of them is Tipingee. One of them says, pointing to herself, "I'm Tipingee." Then she points to one of the others and says, "she's Tipingee." Then she points to the third one and says, "she's Tipingee too." The devil is bound by the letter of his agreement. He can only take Tipingee, and only at that time and place, but he can't figure out which one she is. He roars and disappears, and the girls are left to continue their friendship.
Which is why I named one of the three Haitian women in my new novel "Tipingee."
The story has been collected in _The Magic Orange Tree and Other Haitian Folktales,_ by Diane Wolkstein. And now that I fish my copy out, I see that the version in it differs (as always happens) from the version I told. But the essence of the story is the same.
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Erica
Carlson
Registered User
(5/4/04 7:42 pm)
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Re: Friendship in Fairy Tales
Thanks, Nalo--what a fabulous-sounding story. I'm off to hunt down the book!
E.
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Helen
J Pilinovsky
Registered User
(5/4/04 8:34 pm)
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Re: Friendship in Fairy Tales
I think that I'd like to put a vote in for "The Snow Queen." I've always found something peculiarly moving about the little robber girl's immediate devotion to Gerda - it's very reminiscent of how I used to feel about people I liked when I was a child. I wanted to *keep* them, and no amount of logic or "And what'll we do when it rains, hm?" could dissuade me. Her transition to a position of sympathy was, in my eyes, more a mark of maturity than anything that any of the other characters accomplished: it was a fundamental shift, but throughout it, she retained her stubborn nature and her fierce loyalty, only now a little tempered by compassion. And, of course, there's Patricia McKillip's retelling of it, which makes her into one of the most compelling characters that I've ever seen ...
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Veronica
Schanoes
Registered User
(5/4/04 8:43 pm)
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Re: Friendship in Fairy Tales
I've never read Patricia McKillip's retelling--where can I find it? I love the robber girl too, especially after reading "Travels with the Snow Queen" by Kelly Link.
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Helen
J Pilinovsky
Registered User
(5/4/04 10:57 pm)
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Re: Friendship in Fairy Tales
Dear Veronica:
Since I'm an insomniac, and up rereading old favorites anyway (down
so far: Red as Blood and Beauty) checking the
board for new posts at one ack emma seemed like a good call, and
sent me off on the trail of yet another. McKillip's "The Snow
Queen" can be found on p. 359 of Snow White, Blood Red.
It contains gorgeous descriptions of - well, everything - but, concerning
the robber girl, it says:
Briony had short, dark, curly hair and sparkling sapphire eyes. She wore lace stockings under several skirts, an antique vest of peacock feathers over a shirt of simulated snakeskin, thigh-high boots, and a dark, hooded cape with many hidden pockets.
Briony meets Gerda after Gerda has been abandoned by Kay, as she wanders through a park late at night: attempting to rob Gerda, Briony is told, "I have nothing."
She responds: "You have a triple strand of pearls, a sapphire dinner ring, a gold wedding ring, a pair earrings either diamond or cubic zirconium, on, I would guess, fourteen karat posts."
Talk about a woman after my own heart ... fashion sense *and* appraisal skills.
And despite this poor beginning, Briony drags Gerda back from the edge of despair, gives her a reason to live, *and* gets her back together with Kay (after giving her the self-esteem to deal with him). GREAT character. Just great.
Best,
Helen
P.S. - Speaking of wonderful friendships (if modern retellings fit the bill) I'd also highly recommend Storm Constantine's retelling of "The Swan Princess," titled "The Black Swan."
*Edited: I just conflated two of my favorite stories, located right next to one another ... it's Susan Wade's "The Black Swan." Constantine wrote "Sweet Bruising Skin," which I don't think *anyone* would read as a touching tale of friendship ...
Edited by: Helen J Pilinovsky at: 5/5/04 8:49 am
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Veronica
Schanoes
Registered User
(5/5/04 7:06 am)
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Re: Friendship in Fairy Tales
Oh, duh! I have read that story and I loved it! Especially the robber girl. For some reason I was assuming you meant a novel.
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Nalo
Registered User
(5/5/04 11:13 am)
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Re: Friendship in Fairy Tales
Hear, hear for the little robber girl. She thoroughly alarmed me as a kid when I read The Snow Queen, cause I couldn't tell if she was a good friend, or just mad, bad, and dangerous to know. As it turns out, probably a lot of both, and quite unforgettable. That's how the character of Mouse is played in the Easy Rawlins mysteries, and I like him, too (to go slightly off topic for an instant).
-nalo
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