Looks interesting, doesn't it. You'll find the words to the poem here.
What do you think?
While we're on the topic: Fairy tales - good or bad? And why?
Which one would you like to be lost in?
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Which one would you like to be lost in?
Very good. I used to not think so... or at least to wonder since some of them are pretty amazing/shocking. However, I read CM's view and interpret it in this way:
ReplyDeleteFairytales prepare children from the comfort of their own imaginations to face startling realities later on.
That said, I personally think it would be frightening to actually be Alice in Wonderland for example, or even the girl in Mary Poppins. I don't even think I would really like to be Wendy in Peter Pan... a little TOO much thrill for me. But I very much like safely sitting in my own comfy spot reading about their adventures ;) especially when surrounded or piled about by my own little men and women.
amy in peru
okay, so those aren't all technically 'fairy tales'...
ReplyDeleteI think I may like to be Cinderella, maybe... except for the part where her dad dies (I hate that part). Ever After is perhaps my favorite movie. I also liked Kate & Leopold AND Enchanted...
I know, I know.
amy in peru
I have a hard time with fairy tales because my mom strongly disapproved of them. We were not really "allowed" to read them at all! Of course, I did anyway, on the sly. I have no idea what her opinions were based on, so I let my kids read them when we come across them, but don't go to a lot of trouble to put them in their path.
ReplyDeleteIf they had not been forbidden, I don't think they would have appealed to me much when I was a kid. I really preferred stories that could really happen.
No surprises to find I'm the fairy tale sort. Have always adored them.
ReplyDeleteYou can make a good argument for old~fashioned morality tales or teaching tools but even without that I think they are invaluable. They teach us to look beyond the surface of things, that life & people are not always what you expect, to be brave & have courage even in the face of terror, that life is delicate & fragile & beautiful & worth every tear. They ignite the imagination in powerful ways & prepare the mind for worship because fairy tales show us that there is more to the everyday than every day itself.
Witches, gremlins, giants & other assorted *baddies* are part of the real world too but fairy tales teach they can be overcome & defeated if one is brave, if one persists, if one has faith. Like C.S Lewis & Tolkien, Dorothy L. Sayers & Chesterton I think FTs are an invaluable stepping stone to faith for certain sorts of imaginary thinkers ~ they leave a child with the indelible impression of a world beyond the veil we call life & I don't think one ever quite escapes that ~ & thus finds it very hard not to come to faith in God, which promises all that & more.
Good morning Jeanne,
ReplyDeleteI think that it all comes back to the Bible - what does God's Word say about fairy tales?
Well, not much really, except about witches and wizardry, where we are told not to have any part of it.
Fairytales are excellent for visual imagery - nice, gentle and kind fairytales.
Someone once said that if you would be happy to have Jesus read alongside you, that is the sort of book you should be reading. :)
Have a wonderful week,
Blessings, Jillian ♥
I have a very interesting book called "Inventing Wonderland" by Jackie Wullschlager (link below) which examines the lives of the five great authors of the Victorian age who wrote: Alice in Wonderland, Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan, Wind in the Willow etc. This book will give you insight into the minds of these authors and why they wrote the books they did and how these books differ from previous books written for children.
ReplyDeleteEach author was a loner, didn't fit into Victorian society. And if you look deeply into these books you will see adult snipes at institutions and customs of the times. However children do not see this level of detail.
http://www.amazon.com/Inventing-Wonderland-Fantasies-Carroll-Kenneth/dp/0743228928/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1271035829&sr=8-1
If you ever read the original fairy stories of the Brothers Grimm, you will discover how violent they really were - we have a very mild version of them these days.
Well said, Ganeida. I love Karen Andreola's essay on fairy tales in The CM Companion and don't think I could say it better.
ReplyDeleteWe surely face such battles in the spiritual realm daily though maybe they aren't recognized as such. Don't all the world's Cinderella stories have their roots in the Song of Solomon?
As for the choice...Vassilisa the Wise came first to my mind - or can I only be lost in the fairytale and not a heroine? Or what about Eowyn from Lord of the Rings - though prob. not considered a fairytale.
How about you, Jeanne?