Month: April 2018

Episode 10 – Remixing Little Red Riding Hood

Posted on by Courtney Floyd · Leave a comment

In this episode, Group 8 chats Little Red Riding Hood retellings in TV and film.

Little Red Riding Hood

Oxford Dictionary

Doted

A combination of…

  • To be silly, deranged, or out of one’s wits; to act or talk foolishly or stupidly.
  • To be weak-minded from old age; to have the intellect impaired by reason of age.

Bobbin

  • A rounded piece of wood attached to a string, which passes through a door, and is fastened to the latch, so as to raise it.

Hoarse

  • Rough and deep-sounding, as the voice when affected with a cold, or the voice of a raven or frog; harsh and low in pitch; not clear and smooth like a pure musical note; husky, croaking, raucous.

Archetypal Characters

  • Little Red Riding Hood
  • The Mother
  • The Grandmother
  • The Wolf

Images

  • Cake and a little pot of butter:
    • Representation of poverty
    • Innocence
  • Red Hood
    • “19th century many young daughters of wealthy families were painted wearing red caps or hoods”
    • Menstruation and the approaching of puberty
  • Wolf
    • Become a popular image in fairy tales
    • Common predator in a forest
    • Often a metaphor for a sexually predatory man
  • Forest
    • Endless source of inspiration
    • Represents unknown and very serious danger
    • Many heros get lost in a forest and come back as a more developed person

Questions

  • Why did the Wolf say, “Come get into bed with me.”?
    • Sexual connotation
  • Why Red?
    • Scarlet or red is a sexually vibrant and suggestive color
    • At one time, it was not worn by morally upright women thanks to its sinful symbolism
    • It’s also the color of blood with all of its connotations
  • Little Red Riding Hood doesn’t always die. Should this fairy tale have a happy ending or remain sad specifically the Charles Perrault version?

The Script

Introductions

Megan: Hi this is group 8 doing our anarchy episode. I’m Megan, a sophomore at the University of Oregon

Katelyn: Katelyn, I’m a sophomore at UofO

Sarah: Sarah, a sophmore at UofO.

Overview Retellings

Katelyn: Today, we will be talking about ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ a fairytale first published in the late 17th Century written by Charles Perrault. We are going to be linking modern retellings such as Hoodwinked the movie, Once Upon a Time the Red-Handed episode, and the Grimm pilot episode to this classic tale. These modern retellings have been evolving with time, and definitely encompassing different meanings for each generation and culture.

Discussion of Source Story Archetypes

Megan: The archetypal characters we are identifying in this story are Little Red Riding Hood, The Wolf, The Grandmother, and The Mother. Little Red represents the fool and she is easily manipulated. I think this is because of her young age and innocence, which leads to her death. I think her innocence draws from a lack of a father figure in her life, but also the fact that she literally lives in the middle of the forest. Like what is there to learn there, when you’re so secluded. Also an interesting thing done by the author is the choice of language used to identify who she is, the author referred to her as the “prettiest creature” which dehumanizes her to be merely prey.

Sarah: Going off of what you said Megan, it is evident that predators catch prey. The Wolf, is seen a predator both animalistically and sexually. For example, the Wolf says, “Come get into bed with me” which refers as a sexual connotation. Males are also sometimes referred to as dogs which ties back into the character of The Wolf. Moreover, The Wolf can be seen as dominant and an alpha male prying on the innocence of a little girl. I mean, who wouldn’t think that an old man trying to get with a little girl is creepy.

Megan: Unlike most fairy tales, the grandmother and the mother are not seen as prominent figures. The grandmother should represent a wise crone but instead she’s a senile old lady. The grandmother’s illness also makes her innocent and vulnerable like Little Red Riding Hood. For instance the story reads that, “The good grandmother, who was in bed, because she was somewhat ill, cried out, ‘Pull the bobbin, and the latch will go up.’.” This reiterates what is previously mentioned. The grandmother’s innocence and naivety ultimately leads to her death.

Katelyn: What also stood out to me is that the mother directed her daughter to visit her grandmother maybe because she doesn’t get to see her very often and it was important to care for her grandmother and give her sweets while she was ill. In my own family, it’s extremely important to visit my grandparents when they are ill because I’m unable to see them frequently.

Katelyn: Another character that I found interesting was the mother. She wasn’t a present figure in her daughter’s life whatsoever. I can’t imagine trying to grow up without a motherly role model or even a fatherly role model in this aspect. I think she should’ve had a sense of security for her only child and lacked the parental figure she needed to be. Considering she’s quote on quote “excessively fond of her…” Little Red Riding Hood was sent off by her mother to deliver cake and a pot of butter to her ill ridden grandmother into a dark forest unsupervised. I believe that the cake and pot of butter represented a lack of wealth because these two food items are in other words a fatty food.

Megan: We are unsure why the author chose a cake rather than a piece of bread because during that time desserts in general represented wealth. Another controversial image is the red hood. The most prominent image of the red hood is that is portrayed menstruation and coming of age yet during the 17th century red was a sinful color.

Sarah: A well known book The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1850, really shows the significance of how the color red is seen as a sinful color. During the 19th century, well after the publication of Little Red Riding Hood, women who committed adultery were marked with a scarlet A. Only women with bad reputations wore red dresses and Perrault could have suggested to this as part of Little Red Riding Hood’s coming of age. I find it interesting that in time period the color red can have multiple meanings. This furthermore supports our argument of evolving times and different perceptions in each generation.

Katelyn: Another interesting archetypal image I noticed in multiple fairytales, is the forest. It seems as if the forest is a place for heroic characters to get lost in, however, they do seem to return as a more responsible and developed person. This fairytale definitely contradicts that assumption. The forest more importantly represents an unknown place and a dangerous environment. I also find it interesting that this forest is considered a dangerous place because in most modern retellings nowadays, forests have happy and nice animals that help these characters progress and find their way home or find their way to their destinations.

Megan: talk about Snow White

Sarah: Overall, through our modern retellings, we’ve found that the new story lines of these fairytales are attracting everyone because of the constant change and differences in this tale.

katelyn: Okay I think it’s a good time for us to now talk a little bit more about our individual retellings, and how these archetypes have changed and are challenged in the stories we watched and ill pass it on to megan

Individual Analysis

Katelyn: There are various retellings and modern adaptations of Little Red Riding Hood and one that I watched is the intriguing and well-known TV series, Once Upon a Time. “Red-Handed” is the fifteenth episode on season one of Once Upon a Time. This American fantasy drama television series is written by Jane Espenson and directed by Ron Underwood. It premiered on March 11, 2012.

This episode is a modern retelling of the Little Red Riding Hood fairytale. It focuses on Red Riding Hood, her Grandmother, and the Wolf. In the fairytale land, Red Riding Hood and her fellow townspeople are virtual prisoners when a bloodthirsty wolf continues its ruthless killing. This village is planning to go after this wolf that had been killing their cattle. Red Riding Hood was eager to go on this hunt, however, Granny commanded her to stay inside with her red cloak on.

Little Red Riding Hood and Red-Handed might be one and the same with subtle hints that allude to the original tale. The key archetypal characters in both fairy tales are Little Red Riding Hood and Red, the Grandmother and Granny and the Wolf.

The main archetypal character, Red Riding Hood is an important creature and a popular image in tales. The difference in these two fairy tales is that Little Red Riding Hood is a little country girl while Red is a human and a werewolf.

Wolfs are common predators and bloodthirsty creatures. Both tales use this wild animal as a powerful creature who has already won, just by existing in this world and harming individuals. However, the main difference of the Wolf is that the original uses this character as a metaphor for a sexually predatory man while the modern retelling uses a human who can transform into a werewolf. This occurs if is she isn’t wearing her iconic red cloak.

The symbolism of this red cloak and hood are different from each other. The enchanted cloak is used to repel a shift during the full moon in the retelling tale. Red’s grandmother paid a wizard for that cloak to keep her from turning. While Little Red Riding Hood was given a red hood from a good woman. It suited the girl so extremely well and gave her the name, Little Red Riding Hood. In the 19th century this red hood portrayed the idea that young daughters of wealthy families were painted wearing red caps or hoods.

Red is an important color because it can symbolize a sexually vibrant and suggestive color while also symbolizing the approach of puberty and blood. These two ideas link together to create an important image in this fairy tale.

There are important lessons to be learned in both tales. Well-bred young ladies should never talk to strangers or they will be dinner for a wolf. Also, listen to your family and be careful when you disobey them because it may backfire to harm you and your people. The truth may arise at the most dangerous time of all so be prepared.

Sarah: For my individual analysis, I will discuss and compare the archetypes and archetypal characters found in Little Red Riding Hood and the television series Grimm, specifically the Pilot episode. Grimm’s pilot episode first aired on October 28, 2011 and was filmed in Portland, Oregon.

The show opens up with a young women wearing a red hoodie and she is about to go on a run. She goes for a run through some nature trails and stops when she finds a peculiar figurine on the ground. Once she stopped, she picked up the figurine and was suddenly attacked by a wolf-like creature. The lead protagonist Jack, is a Portland police officer who responds to the crime scene. The only trace to the suspect was a large shoe print, that resembled a boot. On the other hand, Jack also finds out from his dying Aunt that he is part of a long family line of Grimms who can see the beast-like creatures the Brothers Grimm originally thought up. These beast-like creatures lurk among everyone else and appear as regular people, however the Grimms can see them for who they really are. Continuing, another little girl wearing a red jacket was set to walk a mile to visit her grandfather who lives just on the other side of her neighborhood. The little girl cut through the woods as a shortcut. The original suspect who killed the first girl in red happens to be the mailman. The mailman shifts into a wolf and kidnaps the little girl. When the wolf returned to his home deep in the woods, he opened a latch on the floor that leads to a basement. The basement was set up like a little girls room and had a stocked closet of red jackets. The wolf opens the bag and releases the little girl on the bed. The wolf then shuts the latch and traps the girl. A news crew interviews the little girl’s distraught parents which gave Jack more information to find the suspect. Jack goes to the house in the woods and eventually kills the wolf and frees the girl from the basement. There are many things that I found interesting and that stood out to me in this episode compared to the traditional story. First off, Portland!!!there a multiple little red riding hoods. Both girls are of different ages, one in college and the other in elementary school. In the Grimm version of little red riding hood, the protagonist Jack closely resembles the Huntsman who evidently saves little red riding hood. Where in Perrault version, she gets eaten by the wolf. Not to mention that the little girl has both her mother and her father shown. Whereas in the story, she only has her mother. The parents were very passive and not as protective of their child similar to the story. Also, the girl was to visit her grandfather and not her grandmother like in the story. In the episode male figures are highlighted more than in the story. The wolf, for example, still holds the same archetypal traits as in the story. The wolf is predatorial in both ways whether deliberately shown or not. He kidnapped a little girl and held her hostage.

Megan:

Little Red Riding Hood has been retold in numerous styles from TV series, to comic books. Through these retellings we hear different versions, but we also hear many similarities. In the retelling, I watched I found and heard hidden meanings from the original version of Little Red Riding Hood. The modern retelling, I watched is “Hoodwinked” directed by Cory Edwards, Todd Edwards, and Tony Leech. Produced by Kanbar Entertainment, and Blue Yonder Films. Released January 13th, 2006. “Hoodwinked” is the story of Little Red Riding Hood, but they put a twist on it, and turn it into a crime investigation. Someone is stealing receipts from all the goodie shops, and Granny’s shop is next. It’s up to Red to keep Granny’s receipts safe from the bandit. When Red gets to Granny’s house she is taken back to find the wolf dressed as Granny Which leads to a full-blown investigation on who is stealing the receipts, and each of them are a suspect.

        “Hoodwinked” retells Little Red Riding Hood in an interesting way. Why do they do that? Well that’s a question I hope to uncover through my own analysis. In the beginning, Red uses lines that come straight out of the original story. She says, “Grandma what big arms you have” and does that continuous back and forth conversation with the wolf. That’s not the only thing “Hoodwinked” touches on in their version of Little Red Riding Hood. During an interaction between the wolf and Red, Red brings up not supposed to be talking to strangers. This is the meaning behind why Little Red Riding Hood was created. Both versions of the story take place in the woods, but what makes “Hoodwinked” different is that the woods is mostly filled with talking and singing animals while Little Red Riding Hood is majority human. Like we touched on in the beginning the forest is supposed be a dark forbidden place, but in recent telling of most fairy tales they turn it into a happy place, filled with happy animals.

        Where they differ is interesting too. In the original story, the wolf is an antagonist in the story, and in “Hoodwinked” the wolf is an innocent man seen as a bad guy because the stereotype of a wolf is directly related to evil. When Red was first created she was seen has lovable, innocent, pretty, and naive. In “Hoodwinked” they decide to make her someone who is strong, witty and seeking independence and or adventure. As for the grandmother, she originally is seen as senile, but in “Hoodwinked” she is courageous, and very independent.

        In my opinion, the writers of “Hoodwinked” strayed away from the archetypes in the original Little Red Riding Hood because they wanted to make women look strong and independent rather than weak and little minded. The writers of “Hoodwinked” did this through Red and Granny. They didn’t feed into the stereotypes, and gave each character the opposite of how the original story portrays them.

Episode 9 – Revisiting Little Red Riding Hood

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In this episode, Group 7 talks Little Red Riding Hood retellings.

Episode 1: Group 7
By: Whit, Whitney and Michael
Little Red Riding Hood by Charles Perrault and was first published in the late 17th century. 


Information about author: French poet and writer Charles Perrault was born on January 12, 1628, in Paris, France. played a prominent role in a literary controversy known as the dispute between the Ancients and Moderns. Perrault is perhaps best known for his Mother Goose fairy stories, including Little Red Riding Hood and Puss in Boots, which he wrote for his children. Perrault was very well-known in writing these fairytales that we’ve all come to know and love.

Overview of the story
Her mother tells Little Red Riding Hood that she must take food to her grandmother because she’s sick. Although the young girl plans to obey her mother by taking cake and butter to her sick grandmother, she’s tricked by a wolf into telling him where her grandmother lives. When she finally goes to the house the wolf has already eaten the grandmother and is pretending to be little red riding hood’s grandmother and tricks her to come to bed where she ultimately is eaten.

The next portion of our episode will be attributed to unwrapping this fairytale and comparing it to typical elements that fairytales primarily consist of. These elements are defined as archetypes which is a very typical example of a certain person or thing. When looking for examples it is important to analyze what a typical fairytale normally consists of. As defined in our week two notes from class by professor Courtney Floyd a couple things that were mentioned is the short narrative, familiar stories (usually passed down by generations), usually arise from the common people, the scope of a fairytale is made by the language. Also important factors are character types and a story that follows a typical narrative: a problem arises, a journey for the protagonist to solve the problem, and a happily ever after (normally).

Something that followed the very typical format was the “once upon a time” introduction. This lets the reader know that what they are about to read is going to be fiction and it is going to be probably light hearted and lets the reader know it is a fairytale. Right away the story is set up with the mother, grandmother, young girl, and a talking animal which is the wolf. The setup of the story is set in place right out the gate and we are given the quest that this little girl will have to take on. Something that stood out was that the mother does not tell red riding hood to be careful and to follow any sort of path. This seemed to be very intentional for Perrault for the overall meaning he wants to get across. To really emphasize that young children should never talk to strangers no matter how charming or nice these strangers may be. This part of the little to no mention of the mother is very interesting to me I guess primarily because it seems like an important factor from the story of Little Red Riding Hood that we all remember. The fact that her mother says to stay on a certain path and not to talk to strangers, almost forcing us as readers to understand what the moral of the story will be right from the beginning. After her mother tells her to go straight to her grandmother’s and she defies it is when she starts getting herself into trouble. Whether or not this aspect is included the message is still able to be prevalent we found it interesting and different that other versions of this story in which the archetype is challenges by Perrault.

Another archetype that emphasizes the meaning we mentioned before, was that Perrault might be challenging in a sense is the idea that there was not a happy ending to the story. The wolf unfortunately did eat not only the grandmother, but the protagonist of this fairytale. This part is really interesting because when we read fairytales as kids and now, no matter what age really, we root for this main character to overcome the problem that was set up. Normally there is a final couple sentences where the fairytale ties up all the loose ends and makes sure that the protagonist defies everything and comes up on top, whereas anyone who is an antagonist type character “gets what they deserve” or at least what we think they deserve. 

Last point when comparing this story to archetypes of fairytale is the back and forth suspenseful conversation that occurs right before the wolf eats red riding hood. Everyone who knows the general plot of this story can recognize this part of the story. This rhyming scheme is not normally in most fairytale, almost like a rhyme going on between the wolf and red riding hood. It all seems fun and games until the reader realizes he is actually going to eat her. This part is what makes Little Red Riding Hood so popular and memorable from when we all were kids. This is an interesting take on a set up for the climax of the story. This creates no room in this specific version for a falling action. It goes straight into the resolution that she was eaten and that is that. 


Modern Retellings

Whitney:
For the modern retelling of the fairytale to analyze and compare I chose Riding Hood, Revisited: The Wolf’s Perspective by By F. Forrester Church.

The reason I chose this story because this gives the original story depth and show that very story can be seen from multiple perspectives and challenge the idea of the antagonist being wicked or evil. Before the story the author, Forrester Church explains, the meaning of a story and even details change according to the teller`s perspective. Because life is filled with stories, this is a useful thing to remember. Another person`s version of the truth may seem false, but in fact just be true in a different way. I think this version almost begins to take on a different meaning than just the fact to not talk to strangers, but now takes on this one as well.

The story begins with ‘once upon a time’ and explains how there was good wolf who was very helpful and noticed a girl dressed in red in the woods. Although he was frightened at first, because he explains that humans have a history of cruelty to wolves, but he overcame his fear and talked to the little girl. She explained she was going to see her ill grandmother and bring her treats. After she left he realize she was naïve and that he should walk her home because the woods can be scary and as explained are life and death. So, the wolf raced to the little girl’s grandmother’s house and knocked on the door unknowing if she was already there. He walked in and found the grandmother dead from being so ill. He heard the little girl approaching the house and acted quickly by eating the grandmother and putting on her clothes in order to protect the little girl from the shock of seeing her grandmother dead. When the little girl entered and noticed the differences in her grandmother she realized it was the wolf and ran screaming. The wolf ran after her to explain, but before he had the chance, a hunter leapt from the underbrush and shot him dead. Forrester Church ends the tale with including 
“Even though the good wolf was killed, in a way, he died for all wolves, for through the example of his life, generations of wolves have been inspired to perform self-regarding deeds of kindness.
There is a second moral as well: Wolves tend to remember events in ways flattering to themselves.
But surely we can forgive them for this. After all, it’s only human.”

Whit:
For the modern retelling of the fairytale to analyze and compare I chose the song Through Wolf’s Eyes by Elvenking.
The reason I chose this song was because, like my group-mates, I found the wolf’s perspective very intriguing. What I also found interesting is the song perspective, by that I mean, like fairytales there is so much to read between the lines, and make your own opinions about and that can make analyzing it easier, but also challenging because I could never be sure if my interpretations were on the right track or not.
The song was about the Wolf’s love for Little Red and how he attempted to show that love by killing the grandma. In the end Little Red was, unsurprisingly, not impressed, and the Wolf died from a broken heart. In my analyzation I appreciated the love at first sight concept which is just like fairy tales, but unlike fairytales there was not a happy ending. Actually, nobody received a happy ending, because the Wolf dies, the Grandma dies, which means Little Red lost her Grandma. I can see Wolf’s side though, he might have killed the Grandma as an offering to Little Red; he knew Little Red was going to be there later so he could have seen that as a good time to offer her his version of food. This food idea is also interesting because in the Grimm version, Wolf also offers Little Red her Grandma’s flesh and blood, which she eats.
In the end the main ideal I gathered from this retelling is that love does not conquer all, love can be one sided, and one sided love is nothing but heartbreaking.

Michael:
The modern retelling that I chose was the portrayal of little red riding hood and the big bad wolf and their appearance in the movie Shrek the Third. I chose this because I thought it was really unique because its not a normal retelling. Instead of “retelling” the story we get to see characteristics of the characters that we don’t see in the original story. Several times in Shrek the third we see red riding hood acting mean and selfish. She is even seen stealing out of someone’s pocket at one point. The wolf is portrayed as more of a scared character who isn’t very tough or brave. Now that we have seen another side to the characters that we didn’t originally see it can make our minds do a retelling on their own.
Guiding Questions

Do I like the work?
Whitney: In the story little red riding hood I think the work stands apart from the anarchy’s of other normal fairytales, which is intriguing. I like this type of work.
Whit: I cannot say it is my favorite fairytale, I have always enjoyed the classic “and they lived happily ever after” but I also understand that those are from Disney’s retellings and not usually the original versions.
Michael:

What words stand out?
Whitney: Words thats stand out in this specific story is the “fond” and “doted” when comparing the love little red’s grandmother and mother had for her. I think this gives the sense of how much she meant to them, yet her mother neglected to warn her of the danger of strangers and the woods.
Whit: When Red’s mother says to bring her grandmother “cake” and “butter” I thought this was interesting because she was bring the grandmother food to make her feel better, and this really says a lot of the time about how they knew so little of health needs. The last thing a sick person needs is milk to make one more congested, and sugar which is never actually good for you at all. Cake also speaks of the wealth Red’s family had since the ingredients are more frivolous and not in the average pantry at the time.
Michael:

What feelings does it give me?
Whitney: This story gives the sense of innocence and almost tense towards the end. We as the readers know what might happen, but this little girl has no idea what she is getting herself in to.
Whit: The story gives me reminiscent feelings of my childhood and how things were so black and white. Things were so clear and obvious in the story, even if it was not so clear to little red.
Michael:

Do I identify with any of the people represented?
Whitney: I think everyone, including myself, can identify with little red riding hood because the sense of being ignorant and naive to the unknown happens to most everyone.
Whit: I like to think I identify with the mom, she really is not in the story, which means she does not make obviously bad decisions. I have just always been too self aware to mistake an animal for a person, let alone someone related to me who I have known my entire life.
Michael: Definitely red riding hood because we can all remember being ignorant and young.

Is there anything about how it’s written that stands out?
Whitney: I think an interesting part of the story that is almost written like a rhyme. Example:
“Grandmother, what big arms you have!”
“All the better to hug you with, my dear.”
“Grandmother, what big legs you have!”
This part of little red riding hood is placed in every version and helps us identify what story this is apart from other fairy tales.
Whit: Exactly what Whitney said, those are the most standout lines in every Little Red Riding Hood. That is the part everyone remembers.
Michael: Those lines are what stands out most to me. It is the moment that really shows little reds youth. She is being deceived by the wolf because she’s a child.

What is the work about?
Whitney: In the story little red riding hood’s mother tells her that she must take food to her grandmother because she’s sick. Although the young girl plans to obey her mother by taking cake and butter to her sick grandmother, she’s tricked by a wolf into telling him where her grandmother lives. When she finally goes to the house the wolf has already eaten the grandmother and is pretending to be little red riding hood’s grandmother and tricks her to come to bed where she ultimately is eaten.
Whit: The story is about a little girl who takes food to her sick grandmother. Her grandmother gets tricked by wolf who says he is her granddaughter, and then the wolf tricks Little Red by saying he is her grandmother. In the end Little Red gets eaten.
Michael:The story is about a mother who sends her daughter to bring her grandma food. Along the way she meets a wolf who deceives her and eats her grandma before impersonating her.
What else is the work about?
Whitney: I think this story has the meaning of the danger of talking to strangers.
Whit: The moral is to not talk to strangers, and as Perrault would put it, specifically young pretty girls should not talk to strangers.
Michael: The ignorance of the youth and dont talk to strangers.

Episode 7 – The Golden Bird

Posted on by Courtney Floyd · Leave a comment

In this episode, Group 6 talks about the archetypes in “The Golden Bird.”

Introduction:

“Hi I’m Alex, I’m Michael, and my name is Austin and we are going to talk about the fairy tale, The Golden Bird.

 

Episode Type:

“The Golden Bird” collected by the Brothers Grimm and first published in 1812,

“The Golden Bird” is a Brothers Grimm fairy tale, number 57, about the pursuit of a golden bird by a king’s three sons.

It is Aarne-Thompson folktale type 550, “The Golden Bird”, a Supernatural Helper.

“The Golden Bird.” The Golden Bird | Open Access Articles | Open Access Journals | Conference Proceedings | Editors | Authors | Reviewers | Scientific Events. Accessed April 22, 2018. http://research.omicsgroup.org/index.php/The_Golden_Bird.

 

Story Info:

  1. Consists of 3 brothers that are in search of the Golden Bird, which their father (the King) wants to expand his power and kingdom. The two older brothers ignore advice from a fox in the woods and live in a tavern full of fun and pleasure for months while the youngest son is good natured and listens to the advice of the fox. Ultimately, after disobeying the fox a couple of times the son ends up with the fastest horse, the most beautiful woman in the land, and the golden bird to give to his father. He buys his brothers from treason but is tricked and plotted to be killed by his brothers with a well. The youngest son sneaks into his father’s kingdom and explains the situation. Everything returns normal again, the two older brothers are sentenced to death, and the fox , the princess’s brother, is released from his spell and is human again. The youngest son is now in line to become the next king.
  2. Every night a golden apple is robbed off the king’s apple tree. The king has his sons keep watch of the apple tree to see who the thief is. The youngest son sees the golden bird stealing the apple and tries to shoot it but only knocks one feather off. The feather is so valuable that the king decides that he wants the bird for himself. He sends his three sons after the bird one after another. The sons each meet the talking fox who gives them advice for their quest. The first two sons don’t obey the fox’s advice but the third son follows the fox’s advice. The fox takes the third son to the wooden cage and tells him to put the bird in it instead of the golden cage next to it. The son disobeys and the bird gets captured. The son was sent after the golden horse and the fox advises him to use the wood and leather saddle but the son uses the golden saddle instead. The son is sent after the princess and the fox advises him not to let her say fair well to her parents but the son disobeys again. The father orders the son to remove a large hill as the price of his life. The son works for while until the fox comes and removes it for him. When the son is free he comes to find that his brothers are to be hanged for their sins unless they buy their liberty. The other brother buys the brothers back and the fox tells the brother not to sit by a well and not to purchase gallows flesh. The brothers were so tired that they decide to rest by the well. Then the brothers pushed the youngest brother into the well.

 

Cultural and Historical Background:

The Golden Bird is a story from Household Tales by the Brothers Grimm. It was tale number 57 in the original publishing of the book. It is tale type 550 in the Aarne-Thompson index which is supernatural helpers. The brothers Grimm collected the tales from people in Germany while working as librarians at a university and studying law. Household Tales was published in 1812 which was at the end of Napoleon’s time. Many of these tales give a glimpse into life during the Holy Roman Empire which existed in and around Germany from 800 ad to 1806 ad.

Translated into English by Margaret Hunt in 1884. Country of origin was Germany.

History of German monarchies:

The office of Holy Roman Emperor was traditionally elective, although frequently controlled by dynasties. The German prince-electors, the highest-ranking noblemen of the empire, usually elected one of their peers as “King of the Romans”, and he would later be crowned emperor by the Pope; the tradition of papal coronations was discontinued in the 16th century. The empire never achieved the extent of political unification formed in France, evolving instead into a decentralized, limited elective monarchy composed of hundreds of sub-units: kingdoms, principalities, duchies, counties, Free Imperial Cities, and other domains.[9][18] The power of the emperor was limited, and while the various princes, lords, bishops, and cities of the empire were vassals who owed the emperor their allegiance, they also possessed an extent of privileges that gave them de facto independence within their territories. Emperor Francis II dissolved the empire on 6 August 1806, after the creation of the Confederation of the Rhine by Napoleon.

“Holy Roman Empire.” Wikipedia. April 22, 2018. Accessed April 22, 2018. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Roman_Empire.

 

Perform The Story:

We took turns reading the Golden Bird.

 

Close Readings:

 

Alex) I liked the story about the golden bird, by the Brothers Grimm. I thought some of it was confusing but after reading it a couple times it all made sense. I think this story has a lot of hidden advice in it but the one that I chose to focus on was the advice from the Fox.

I would argue that the Fox represented someone who is older and wiser like a father or mentor of some sort. The three sons all failed to obey the Fox’s advise and that obviously backfired on them. When I read through this story, I noticed a patterns of advise that the fox gives that is never respected. Just like the Fox, typically, elders know more about things than younger people but rarely do the younger people listen. I remember always getting advice from my parents but not always obeying them. In return I would find myself getting into some sort of trouble. The Fox seems to know everything about everything but the sons still don’t seem to catch on. Even after the youngest son doesn’t obey the fox and gets into trouble three times, the son still doesn’t listen when the Fox says not to sit by the well. Just like my dad, the fox would always continue to give the sons advice even when they wouldn’t listen. The Fox would also give then rides places and let them sit on his tail.

 

Michael) Analyses; I liked the story because it was not only an entertaining story but,  I can identify with the King and the Fox when I give my kids advice or instructions and they don’t listen or follow me. I would argue that the Golden Bird is a story which is really about following your parents or elders instructions to become well rounded adults handsomely rewarded with good paying jobs and wholesome families. Golden things are often used as the rewards in this story such as the golden apples and bird. Even the princess came from a golden Castle. The common theme is what happens when the youth listens to Fox. Either the youth listens and is rewarded or ignores the fox and is imprisoned. Since the youth is called a youth and the fox is his guide it would appear that this story is about following the advice of your elders. In Germany at this time the father was considered absolute ruler of the household and the children were expected to follow his instructions as law. Families were expected to be conservative minded with attention paid to religion and old fashioned family values. I think this fairy tale really helps to enforce those values and traditions so they can be passed down through a legacy. I also think that this story carried a message about wanting rich and showy belongings when they weren’t necessary. In the early 1800’s there was a lot of people who would surround themselves with decadence even when they didn’t really have the means to pay for it just because they wanted to feel like a lord or lady.

 

Austin) This story exemplifies that a path one takes to achieve his/her goal could be an unpopular and an undesirable one. For the youngest son, he goes through trials of near death experiences, not using golden things to make majestic creatures stand out, and disobeying the fox on multiple occasions to finally realize how he has to separate himself from his brothers if he wants to find the golden bird. He chooses the old, shabby, non-livable tavern to stay in instead of the nice clean enjoyable inn because he is good natured, and doesn’t seek only pleasure and riches in life. He cares about his brothers, his future with the kingdom, and ultimately, to not let his father down. The main motive for he youngest son in this fairy tale is to live a happy life not under his brothers’ cruelty, and to gain the trust from his father. He shows attributes and characteristics of becoming a great next king and is rewarded just that. He also cares about the fox and doesn’t want to kill the beast but eventually does and frees a man from his magical spell. The youngest son portrays a lost, but hopeful human being that is trying to find his place in the world and is one adventure away from securing a royal future.

 

Episode 8 – Puss in Boots

Posted on by Courtney Floyd · 7 Comments

 

In this episode, group 5 discusses Charles Perrault’s take on “Puss in Boots.”

History of publishing and Oral History: By Mackenzie

The Master Cat, or Puss in Boots, is a fairytale by Charles Perrault and was published in 1697. Charles was a member of the  Académie Française. Through his upcoming as an intellectual in this organization he was able to produce a piece called, Parallels between the Ancients. This piece helped with the age of Enlightenment in Europe and allowed Europe to be open to fairytales. Perrault published very well known pieces in a book titles Stories or Tales from Times Past, with Morals: Tales of Mother Goose. However, he published the book under his son’s name, Pierre 1.  Even though the version of Puss in Boots that is most familiar today was written by Perrault, the orginal Puss in Boots story was a fable written by Giovanni Straparola 2.Perrault’s version is very similar to the original in a sense that he is still trying to help the youngest son. However, this version is the first version to feature the boots and an ogre. Also, Perrault’s version has the cat be a very sneaky and clever character which is then a common theme for many other stories such as, Jogeshwar’s Marriage3.

 

Footnotes

  1. Ashliman, D.L., “Charles Perrault’s Mother Goose Tales,” Pitt.edu, June 8, 2013. https://www.pitt.edu/~dash/perrault.html.
  2. Vocelle, LA, “Orgins of the Story Puss in Boots,” The Great Cat. September 27, 2013. http://www.thegreatcat.org/origins-story-puss-boots/
  3. “Puss in Boots,” Pook Press, 2017. http://www.pookpress.co.uk/project/puss-in-boots/

 

Archetypes in Puss and Boots: By Michael Tobin

 

Several of the classic archetypes discussed in Jack Heckel’s analysis “Fairytale’s Most Wanted: The Five Most Common Character Types” are present in Charles Perrault’s Puss in Boots. While Heckel’s article presents us with a few of the most common archetypes, Jane Garry’s book “Archetypes and Motifs in Folklore and Literature: A Handbook” gives us a thorough analysis of important archetypes that Heckel’s analysis doesn’t cover.

 

The main characters in the fairy tale, the miller’s son (The Marquis of Carabas), the cat, the king and the king’s daughter, all fit archetypes that are brought up in the texts.

 

The cat in Puss and Boots is a classic example of a trickster archetype. According to Garry, trickster characters often take the form of animals, with some classic examples being coyotes, hares, ravens and spiders1. In their paper “Expert witness and Jungian archetypes”, Juan Antonio LaLlave and Thomas Gordon Gutheil say that the trickster takes the form as a hero or savior, victim or perpetrator, or as joker or fool in folklore2. In Puss and Boots, it is clear that the cat takes the role of the savior for the Marquis. Through establishing a rapport with the king, the cat is able to build credibility and make the rest of his explanations seems legitimate. The cat isn’t known for just tricking the king; he also outsmarts the ogre when he asks him to prove that he can turn into a mouse and then eats him.

 

The cat’s owner, the so called Marquis of Carabas, is unknowingly the charming prince. Heckel describes the charming prince archetype as “inevitably dashing and handsome,” and that young women will want to marry them shortly after meeting them3. In Puss and Boots, this is exactly what happened. Perrault describes the prince as “very handsome and well proportioned.” Once, he is dressed in the king’s robes, Perrault writes that the king’s daughter took interest in him and fell in love with him quite quickly. At the end of the story, the Marquis ends up marrying the king’s daughter.

 

The princess is a classic example of who Heckel describes as the “beautiful damsel.” Heckel says that all princesses are described as beautiful in fairytales, but few stories hyperbolically exaggerate their beauty3. Some stories, such as Rapunzel and Sleeping Beauty choose to exaggerate the details. Puss in Boots gives the same description of the princess as those fairytales, as the king’s daughter is described as “the most beautiful princess in the world.”

 

The king is a great example of who Heckel calls the “guileless fool” archetype (OED:

guileless: devoid of guile. Guile: Insidious cunning, deceit, treachery4). Heckel says that this character is “marked by an uncommon lack of common sense, an honesty of spirit, and an almost preternatural luck.”3 The king is easily tricked into believing that the Marquis actually does own all of the land. Furthermore, it is expected that king’s should know what other rulers own land and that he would be able to see through the lies.

 

Citations

 

  1. Garry, Jane. Archetypes and Motifs in Folklore and Literature: A Handbook. Routledge, 2017. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.libproxy.uoregon.edu/lib/uoregon/detail.action?docID=302402.
  2. Lallave, Juan Antonio, and Thomas Gordon Gutheil. “Expert Witness and Jungian Archetypes.” International Journal of Law and Psychiatry 35, no. 5-6 (2012): 456-63. doi:10.1016/j.ijlp.2012.09.012.
  3. Heckel, Jack. “Fairytale’s Most Wanted: The Five Most Well-Known Character Types.” Tor.com. March 24, 2015. Accessed April 20, 2018. https://www.tor.com/2014/08/22/fairytales-most-wanted-the-five-most-well-known-character-types/.
  4. “University of Oregon Libraries.” Login for Library Electronic Resources & Services – UO Libraries. Accessed April 20, 2018. http://www.oed.com.libproxy.uoregon.edu/view/Entry/82339?rskey=K8kWae&result=1#eid.

 

CULTURAL CONTEXT: By Julia

The story was written in 1600

In the story, the gifts the cat gives to the king were rabbits and partridges, taking presents in intervals for the king on behalf of his master.  Animals like rabbits and birds were considered high class food at the time of the story

Throughout the story, the cat tricks the king into thinking Lord Marquis of Carabas had lots of land, something that was also of great importance during this time and showed nobility

The cat tricks the King into buying Lord the Marquis of Carabas new suits, this shows the importance that fine clothing had during the time of this story.

At the end of the story, there are two poems that seem to present two morals of the story, “Be the advantage never so great, of owning a superb estate,” . At the time of this story, owning land, dressing nice, and having good manners were what one needed to achieve nobility or be seen as wealthy.  

Our society and culture today in a sense are similar.  Rather than bringing someone rabbits or partridges, if you take someone out to a nice dinner, that could be a sign of wealth and is used today as a way to form relationships.

In terms of being nobility or being someone of importance, I would say that dressing nicely and owning land are still the primary ways people see wealthy people.

It is hard to find a “good” moral for this story as the protagonist lies, cheats, and tricks people into getting what he wants.  Our primary use for fairy tales like Puss in Boots today is to convey morals to young children which is why the story has been adapted to have a clear “good” moral.

 

  1. “Puss in Boots.” Wikipedia. April 19, 2018. Accessed April 24, 2018. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puss_in_Boots.
  2. Tolovaj Publishing House. “Puss in Boots: A Story With a Questionable Moral.” Owlcation. February 17, 2017. Accessed April 24, 2018. https://owlcation.com/humanities/puss_in_boots.
  3. Acheson, Katherine O. Writing Essays about Literature: A Brief Guide for University and College Students. Peterborough: Broadview, 2011

 

Historical Background: By Shannon

 

Puss in Boots was first published by Perrault in his Histoires ou Contes du temps passe in 1697. Puss in Boots was originally published as The Master Cat. A different version of the story appears in Straparola’s Piacevole notti in the sixteenth century. The story was titled Constantino Fortunato. Scholars believe that Straparola’s story was derived from oral foklore. However, there is no evidence to validate this theory. Another author, Giambattista Basile created a similar trickster cat story in the seventeenth century. This story was titled Gagliuso. This tale was translated into Caglioso. This fairytale and trickster cat archetype has been circulating parts of Europe. More specifically, it has been circulating across Siberia, onward to India, Indonesia and the Philippines. The further the stories travel from Europe, the more variations the story takes on.

 

Citation:

Heiner, Heidi. “History of Puss in Boots.” SurLaLune Fairy Tales: History of Puss in Boots, 7 July 2007, www.surlalunefairytales.com/pussboots/history.html.

 

Closed Readings

 

Mackenzie:

 

Do I like this story?

No I do not like this fairytale because at first the youngest son is given the worst inheritence from his father. The other two sons received things that will be able to help them thrive in the world and lead good lives while the young son describes his future as, “When I have eaten my cat and made a muff of his skin, I must die of hunger.” In the youngest son’s mind, the cat is good for nothing besides food but obviously one cat is not enough for the boy to stay full for forever. The cat decides to prove him wrong and through sneaky tricks is able to make the youngest son a prince. However, the cat does this without being asked and is never thanked. The only reward the cat receives is to eventually be a lord. I believe this story leads people to believe that great things can happen even if you do nothing for them. The cat did all of the work to make the son a prince and the son received all of the glory. I thought it was interesting that the son, who is now my Lord the Marquis of Carabas, did not question how he was somehow a Lord and that the peasents and reapers all say that they are upkeeping his property. He completely knows that this is not his property but without a blink of an eye he says, “As you say sire, for it is a meadow which yields an abundant crop every year.” Throughout the entire story the cat does everything while the son does nothing and I do not think that is a good message.

 

What words stood out to me?

A word that stood out to me was “Master.” Once custody of the cat was transferred to the son the cat automatically calls him master. Even though this story takes in a place that is not in your time or mine, I would not expect a normal cat to accept that someone is his master. Cats have a sense of entitlement and that they are above everyone else. However, in this story the cat will do anything for his master. As a dog person, I think this is something my dogs would be willing to do for me but never a cat. I think a cat would want to keep the animals it has captured for himself instead of bringing them to a king to help his master.

A phrase that stood out to me was “you shall all be cut into pieces as small as minced meat.” I believe this phrase is used because the people the cat is speaking to when this phrase is used against is people of a poor status. The first group that the cat says this to is peasents and the second group is reapers, which are people who harvest crops. I believe he uses the word meat because these people are worth nothing but they flesh and muscle their bodies have. Not only are they just meat, they are MINCED meat. I think the word minced was used to show that these people are too small to have any say in what is happening. The cat uses these words to belittle the peasents and reapers to make him do as his wants.

Also the number three stood out. This number is referenced three times. The first time is that there are three sons, the second time is when the cat brought animals to the king for two or three months, and the third time is when the son glances at the princess two or three times. Not only is three referenced it is referenced three times! In chinese culture it is believed that groups of 3 that contain the number three are extremely lucky! I believe this relates to the story because even though the cat is cleaver, lots of luck was required for him to pull everything off4.

 

What feelings does this fairytale give me?

I felt confused for most of the story. I do not understand why a king would want dead animals from a cat. As Michael described before, the king is a guileless fool. He lacks common sense and is willing to go with the flow. I can’t imagine a king would be so fond of a cat that brought him dead animals. He liked the cat so much that just because the cat said something he believed it to be true. This plays into the cats ability to trick him to believe the son is a Lord because he is able to sneak away to plan things so the son can look like he is a lord of great wealth. If the king had even a little common sense he would have most likely realized that something was strange.

I also felt upset because the cat has done so much for the son or, my lord Marquis of Carabas, and does not receive a thank you like I said earlier. Even though the cat probably only did these things so he would not be eaten, the cat went through a tremendous amount of work to make the son a prince. Thankfully, the son did provide the cat with supplies he needed in order to work his magic. However, I am rooting for the cat to accomplish everything he sets out to do. I think the cat is a very kind hearted character and just wants the best for his master, except when it comes to wanting to chop up people into minced meat, then he is not a very nice character but he is doing it out of the love for his master. The cat is even willing to go up to an ogre! The ogre scares him and for a second I thought the cat was going to be eaten when he turned into a lion. Thankfully, the cat was smart enough to play into the ogre’s ego and challenge him to turn into a mouse. The ogre accepted the challenge and the cat casually ate the mouse shaped ogre. Once the ogre was gone, the castle became his master’s. Even though the cat is not thanked, I am rooting for him throughout the whole story! I definitely would like him to be my cat.

 

Do I identify with any of the people represented?

I identify with the cat in a sense of wanting to help out others. I do like to help others even if I do not receive anything in return. I especially want to help those in their time of need. As an aspiring physical therapist, I want to help others and problem solve in order to think of a solution to help them in the best possible way. The cat is faced with multiple obstacles and with his sneaky personality is able to avoid the situation and continue on the path of making his master a prince. Even though I will help people more ethically than the cat, I do like that the cat is willing to put those he loves before himself. I may not do this all of the time but it is definitely something to strive for.

 

Is there anything about how it’s written that stands out?

I thought that it was interesting how clothes played such an important role in the story. Nothing of good fortune happened until the cat and his master were in desirable clothes.

 

What is the work about?

I think it is about putting others before yourself. Even though it is not betrayed in the best possible way because the cat does evil things to help his master.

 

What else is the work about?

According to the moral at the end of the story it is also about how you look. I do think that according to the story this moral is true but I do not agree with it.

 

  1. “Lucky Number Three, Meaning of the Number 3 in Chinese Culture,” Travel China Guide, 2018. https://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/lucky-number3.htm.

 

Michael:

 

Do I like this story?

I hate to disagree too much with Mackenzie, but I did enjoy this story. I thought that it was about making the most of the circumstances you had and it’s saying that “I didn’t get the same thing as my siblings got, but I ended up in a better situation at the end.”  I thought the character development in the story was pretty good too because the cat is acting as the character who brings game to the king to build up credibility with him and he’s able to make something out of it. Doing something like that may be unethical by today’s standards, but I think it is an interesting story because it talks about how impressing people and appearing credible makes people believe anything. That’s pretty evident by the king.

 

Words that stood out to me:

The word that stood out to me was “poor.” We see it referenced in the beginning when the miller’s son, the Lord of Marquis, is referred to as a “poor fellow.” We could interpret this in a number of ways, such as material wealth or being in an unfavorable situation. Those terms collide and overlap. Like we were talking about in class, fairytales were for the working class and this may be a story about a poor person which just makes it more relatable to the origin of fairtyales.

 

What feelings does the story give me?

The story gives me the feeling of “fake it till you make it,” because that’s ultimately what the cat did. He was able to lie and lead the king on for the entire story and as a result the Marquis married into royalty and the cat became a lord. Like I said, it’s all dependent on the fact that the king was an idiot, but it still happened. The story gives me a sense that “confidence is key” because the cat was able to do this because the king was an idiot and manipulatable.

 

Do I identify with any of the people in this story?

I don’t identify with any of the characters in the story. I don’t lie to people to get ahead, like the cat did, and I also don’t think I am a bumbling idiot. I’m not like the king, the cat, the prince charming, and ertainly I’m not like the princess. Maybe I’m like the peasants who were mowing the lawns?

 

What is this work about?

I think this story is about using your wits and circumstances to outsmart people who are in power. As we see in this story, just because having a position of authority doesn’t inherently make someone smart. That idea is proven in this story because the king doesn’t even know that an ogre owns the land around him. A very contemporary example of that is just because you may be in the highest office of the land, does not make you an inherently smart person. This story is also using your wits to outsmart people. The cat is able to establish credibility with the king in order to say “If you believe me now you can believe me in the most absurd of circumstances” and that’s establishing credibility.

 

Julia:

After reading Puss in Boots, I believe there isn’t a positive moral, rather that the story argues in favor of lying and deceit in order to get what you want. The cat tricks the King and Princess into believing his master is a Lord, tricks peasants into lying to the King, tricks the Ogre in order to eat him, and in the end has no repercussions for his actions. The cat carries out all these actions for which in the end he is not reprimanded for, instead he “became a great lord, and never again ran after mice, except for his amusement”.

 

Do I like the reading?

I enjoyed reading the story and thought it had all the makings of the stereotypical fairytale. There was a princess, magic, an animal helper that acts “fairy godmother”, and a protagonist.

I don’t think there is a clear positive moral present which is my only issue with the story, it seems to be a more negative message that promotes lying.

 

What words stand out?

The story was written in the 1600 so the language and the way it was written it has an old english style to it and uses phrases that aren’t common today.  Phrases like “muff”, “with a sedate and serious air”, and “little versed in the wiles of the world” were the phrases that stuck out most to me. ‘Muff’ is what we would call gloves today. After the cat overhears his masters discontent with getting stuck with just a cat, the cat tries to ease his masters worries and speaks with a ‘sedate and serious air’, perhaps to try and act confident and as if he has something to prove to his master. And when describing how the cat was waiting for a rabbit, Perrault says ‘little versed in the wiles of the world,’ a fancy way of saying innocent.  

 

What feelings does it give me?

This story gave me a sense of familiarity after I read it, the idea of a character getting a “bad” gift and then it actually turns out to be the best gift of them all. If the story had been released in today’s society, the ending would have been different and I think the cat and his master would have gotten in trouble for all the lying and deception they conducted. I was mad that this wasn’t the original outcome because I believe in hard work in order to get what you want and the master didn’t do anything and yet he still got the princess and all the things of a noble.  

 

Do I identify with any of the people represented?

In a way, I feel like I most identify with the cat.  Not in a lying and cheating life sort of way, but one could argue that the cat is just trying to prove himself worthy for his master and is trying to find a way to a better life than his current one.  In that sense, the need to prove myself and aspiring to put myself in a better position I relate. The cat goes to so many lengths to lie and trick people in order to prove himself as a “good” gift. I feel like i’m trying to do well in school and succeed academically to prove something to my friends and family.

 

What is the work about?

After reading this story, there are multiple things I think this story could be about.  It could be about someone, in this instance a cat, wanting to prove themself to the world, or it could be about the lengths people will go to for the people they love, or maybe just their master.  The cat is willing to lie, trick, and even eat people in order to make his master happy. This could either be a good thing, showing how loyalty is an important thing, or it could mock loyalty and show that someone can be loyal to a fault.

 

Shannon:  

 

As we all know, Puss in Boots can be simplified as the story of a cat who uses trickery in order to gain power and wealth. Therefore, Puss in Boots can easily be tied to the classic “rags to riches” archetype. Another similar archetype is the “underdog” archetype. This archetype has always been popular in the United States. If anything, that’s the archetype that the us and our society really gravitate towards. Which is why the united states has its fair share of puss in boots adaptations. For instance, the adaptations of puss in boots that are present in shred 2 and shrek the third are most similar to the “underdog” archetype.

 

Returning to the “rags to riches” archetype, this archetype stood out while analyzing specific passages within Puss in Boots. It becomes evident that power and wealth are mentioned all throughout the fairytale. More specifically, I wanted to point out one quote in particular. The quote goes, “I have been told,” said the cat, “that you have the power of changing yourself into all kinds of animals; that you could, for instance, transform yourself into a lion or an elephant.” Looking more closely at the types of animals they chose to mention, the lion and the elephant demonstrates the riches aspect of rags to riches. For instance, the lion as an animal symbolizes strength, courage and leadership, while an elephant also symbolizes strength, in addition to power. These two animals demonstrate the type of person character’s within these archetypes strive to become.

 

Credits for sound effects and music:

 

All music and sounds were from freesound.org

 

Medieval Introduction – Tristan Lohengrin

 

Wagon arrives – dulcimerguy

 

Riviere-River – Glaneur de sons

 

Horses – vincentmalstaf

Episode 6 – Reimagining Little Brother, Little Sister

Posted on by Courtney Floyd · Leave a comment

In this Anarchy episode of the podcast is a discussion of the fairy tale Brother and Sister. Several archetypes, such as the wicked stepmother, found in the original tale will be examined. Several modern retellings, the movies Princess: A Modern Fairytale, Frozen, a novel, A Tale Dark And Grimm, and the fairy tale, The Brother and Sister, will also be discussed, comparing and contrasting them with the original fairy tale.

 

 

  • Mark Rosman, director, Princess: A Modern Fairytale, Freeform, 2008

 

  • Lee, Jennifer and Chris Buck, directors. Frozen. Disney/Pixar, 2014
  • Gidwitz, Adam. A Tale Dark and Grimm. Andersen, 2011
  • Forty-Four Turkish Fairy Tales: The Brother and Sister, www.sacred-texts.com/asia/ftft/ftft04.htm

Episode 5 – Retelling Hansel and Gretel

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In this anarchy episode, Group 3 of English 104 discusses tale number 327 by the Grimm Brothers, Hansel and Gretel. Group 3 – Atlas, Sean, Isabel, and Joie – discuss the original archetypes found within this story and then go on to analyze various modern retellings of this classic fairytale. This episode begins with each member introducing themselves and then discussing the particular retelling that was chosen by each member. Atlas begins by discussing the film Hansel and Gretel Witch Hunters, Sean discusses “Hansel and Gretel: A Modern Adaptation” by Shweta Sen, Joie discusses a modern adaptation by Rachel Lynch, and Isabel discusses a three-part story by Daniel B. Cursi. The group then goes into discussing the various archetypes found within the original Grimm’s Brothers edition of Hansel and Gretel. We further discussed the different character types within the story that were referenced from the article, Fairy Tales Most Wanted: The Five Most Well-Known Character Types. After this, each member of the group then deeply analyzes their particular retelling of Hansel and Gretel. Finally, the group concludes the podcast with the major themes and references found within the original as well as the various modern retellings by each member.

Links to retellings:

Sean: https://sites.psu.edu/rclsen/2013/09/26/hansel-and-gretel-a-modern-adaptation/

Joie: https://www.wattpad.com/599318-short-stories-hansel-and-gretel-present-day-remix

Isabel: https://www.wattpad.com/265558741-hansel-and-gretel-a-modern-retelling-part-5

Episode 4 – Hansel and Gretel

Posted on by Courtney Floyd · Leave a comment

 

In this episode, the second group of podcasters to record (The Fairytalers) talks about “Hansel and Gretel.”

SHOW NOTES

INTRODUCTIONS

Hi I’m Tate

I’m Ashley

And I’m Kylie

EPISODE TYPE

Today, we are talking about ‘Hansel and Gretel’, a popular German fairytale which was recorded and published by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm in 1812. In this podcast we will be focused on different archetypes within the fairytale

STORY INFO

The Grimm’s heard Hansel and Gretel from a woman named Dortchen Wild who eventually became Wilhelm’s wife.

The Grimm brothers published this fairy tale in their collection of children’s and household tales which is also known as Grimm’s’ fairy tales. Hansel and Gretel is 15th in the publication which has a total of 201 fairytales.

The first archetype in this fairytale is the witch who represents a devil figure. She lures innocent kids into her house made out of candy. She seems, to the kids, like hope and promise but her intentions are, in reality, selfish and hurtful.

The father is an archetype for inner conflict because even though he loved his kids and did not want to leave them alone in the woods, he still went through with it. This shows the struggle humans face between doing what is morally appropriate and doing what selfishly benefits them.

One last archetype we found in Hansel and Gretel was the trail. The trail represents a quest that the kids must go through as well as their loss of innocence. This trail helps the children to mature and learn more about the world around them. You notice that in the end it was Gretel who saved Hansel whereas at the beginning of the story Hansel was the one who protected Gretel. This signifies the maturation of Gretel while also symbolizing the loss of her innocence.

CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

The Grimm brothers first heard this fairytale in 1812, however some historians suspect that the fairytale originated around 1315 which was the same time Europe was going through the Great Famine.

The Great Famine occurred in Europe and was the first large scale crisis that affected the majority of Europe. It is the ninth deadliest disaster in the history of Great Brittan, therefore, historians believe that the tale of Hansel and Gretel was based off the great famine because so many families and people, especially children, were desperate for food.

There, however, are other folklorists who believe that Hansel and Gretel was told to represent children outwitting ogres, which were large monsters. One of the last speculations from folklorists is that Hansel And Gretel represents a rite of passage because the children have to go on a journey to be viewed differently.

Breadcrumbs is a word used throughout the story that is culturally significant because it is now a navigational term that means users use a series of documents to create a trail so they can keep track of their previous locations. Hansel and Gretel was also made in to an opera which is now considered to be one of the most important operas in German history.

PERFORMANCE OF THE STORY

CLOSE READINGS

 

CITATIONS

“Hansel and Gretel Story History and Origins.” Pook Press. Accessed April 16, 2018. http://www.pookpress.co.uk/project/hansel-and-gretel-history/.

“Hansel and Gretel.” Grimm 015: Hansel and Gretel. Accessed April 16, 2018. https://www.pitt.edu/~dash/grimm015.html.