Once Upon A Fandom
  • Home
  • News
  • Interviews
  • Conventions
  • Recaps
  • Roundtables
  • Origins
  • OUAT Merchandise
  • Forum
  • OUAF Podcast
  • Once Upon A Time In Wonderland
  • Operation Storybrooke
  • Other Shows and Movies
  • Meet The OUAF Team

The Blue Fairy And Her Celtic Relations

16/7/2012

0 Comments

 
Picture
 The Blue Fairy And Her Celtic Relations
 by Teresa Martin (@Teresa__Martin)

      From her first appearance on
Once Upon a Time
, there was something about the Blue Fairy that made me suspicious.  She was inexplicably different from the fairies in the Disney cartoons, yet I could not quite figure out why.  My unease grew with the character as the first season progressed.  In "Dreamy" I felt that she was being passive aggressive and conniving with Nova and Grumpy, and in "The Return" she confirmed that Rumplestiltskin could reunite with his son through a curse.  Would such a powerful being really be so careless as to inadvertently reveal dangerous knowledge to a man like Rumplestiltskin? I could not bring myself to believe that. Then the final straw occurred when this powerful, allegedly good fairy consented so easily to the infamous lie that only one person could enter the tree portal.  I concluded that the Blue Fairy was untrustworthy, manipulative, and something of a trickster.  Then a friend suggested  that of course she is all of those things.

     After all, isn't she a fairy?


     This point reminded me of my childhood in Ireland where the fairies I knew were derived from the myths and lore of Celtic countries.  Stories about these beings would be read in school, and friends told me tales of their antics resulting in more than a few sleepless nights.  This fairy-inspired terror particularly recurred when I cycled home from piano lessons on dark winter afternoons.  The route brought me to a dark clump of bushes and trees.  As I passed, I would pedal as hard as I could, determinedly looking away from the dreaded patch, entirely convinced a fairy was waiting for me.  More specifically, I dreaded that the Banshee would appear and start shrieking.  The bone-chilling keen of this fairy, classified by some to be a ghost, was heard when the death of oneself or a family member was imminent. 

     More commonly, fairies were known for malignant actions towards humans, even bringing about death.  Some would do so by luring people to a precipice or a hole in a bridge resulting in fatal falls.  Others would confuse people at night so that they wandered aimlessly through the dangerous countryside to the point of madness.  Very disturbing for a young one were the tales of fairies who would steal children away from their families, replacing them with "changelings." These looked and talked just like the abducted child, so parents would not know their real loved ones were gone and demonic entities had taken their places. The livelihoods of people were also in peril from the fairies who would spoil meat, steal portions of milk to prevent butter from being made, scatter cattle, or cause pestilence and sudden death.  These creatures were not the friends of humans.
Picture
Fairies were credited with leading people to their deaths in the dark and treacherous countryside.

Read More
0 Comments

    Origins

    Explore the Arthurian legend surrounding Lancelot, take a trip into the woods to discover the mythology behind Red Riding Hood or learn more about a modern day hero called Snow White. Origins provides unique insights and perspectives from talented writers into the characters we know and love, going far beyond the boundaries of Storybrooke.

    If you have an essay or article that you would like to contribute to 'Origins', please contact us at editor.onceuponafans@gmail.com

    Archives

    August 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    October 2015
    July 2015
    April 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    March 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012

    Categories

    All
    Alice In Wonderland
    Amy Hood
    Ariel
    Aurora
    Beauty And The Beast
    Belle
    Blue Fairy
    Brothers Grimm
    Charming
    Chris Fitzner
    Cora
    Diejj
    Emma
    Excalibur
    Fairy Tales
    Frankenstein
    Frozen
    Furies
    Governing
    Greek Myth
    Hades
    Hans Christian Andersen
    J.M.Barrie
    King Arthur
    Lancelot
    Lori J Fitzgerald
    Magic Mirrors
    Maid Marian
    Maleficent
    Mauri Lazaro
    Merlin
    Mermaids
    Mia Bennett
    Midas
    Music
    Peter Pan
    Poseidon
    Prophecy
    Queen Eva
    Rapunzel
    Regina
    Robin Hood
    Rumplestiltskin
    Shipping
    Sleeping Beauty
    Snow White
    Sword In The Stone
    Symbol Analysis
    Teresa Martin
    The Little Mermaid
    The Snow Queen
    Wraiths
    Zachery Van Norman
    Zombies

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • News
  • Interviews
  • Conventions
  • Recaps
  • Roundtables
  • Origins
  • OUAT Merchandise
  • Forum
  • OUAF Podcast
  • Once Upon A Time In Wonderland
  • Operation Storybrooke
  • Other Shows and Movies
  • Meet The OUAF Team