Fairy Tales and Mythology article.
USQ school resource on fairy tales, childhood and the play East of the Sun and West of the Moon.
“The message that manifests in fairy tales is that a struggle against severe difficulties in life is unavoidable, is an intrinsic part of human existence – but that if one does not shy away, but steadfastly meets unexpected and often unjust hardships, one masters all obstacles and at the end emerges victorious” (8)
As Bettelheim puts it “More can be learned from fairy tales about the inner problems of human beings and of the right solutions than any other type of story within a child’s comprehension (5).
I need to consider the issues of audience for the Mend Me project as it is definitely not intended for children, thus how are fairy tales are subverted? Now is a good time to bring up the computer game Alice and how it treated the story. I should install that again… Getting back to the article:
Some darker stories are not there to scare but to teach the importance of the balance of both dark and light within us all.
These sorts of topics are all interesting but seem to dance around the sort of cliché I want to avoid – perhaps aesthetic treatment is how they are avoided? Indeed “journey” seems to be a highlighted word throughout.
Considering that I intend to use a butterfly the following is interesting:
The Butterfly
The first incarnation of Psyche and the personification of the human
soul. Symbolizes beauty, grace, freedom and magic. Is generally the
form taken by a ‘good witch’ to bring tidings or to guide the lost or
confused heroine. Sometimes seen as the form that a human soul may take
after death on its journey to the afterlife.
Everything must have a purpose.
Notes:
- transformation/metamorphosis myths
- “love conquers all, evil will be punished, beauty and innocence defeats the ugly and hideous”
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