The Three Queens Eva, Snow, and Emma’s parallels with Traditional Christian Narrative by Teresa Martin--@Teresa__Martin Fans were thrilled when it was announced that an episode of Once Upon A Time would feature Snow’s mother. This opened up an entirely new character to explore. Of one thing I was certain, since Snow White’s mother had been established as dead it was likely that she would not be represented with the apple as her symbol. That is usually the provenance of the evil step-mother. I felt that I could put away my notes on the apple for a while. There is nothing I have against that rich symbol but I’ve already explored this theme so often that I was concerned my “Apple and Eve” symbolism was getting a little redundant. I’m surprised I have not gained the nickname “Crazy Apple Lady,” or even “Defendrix Mali.” Many possible scenarios went through my mind about how I may approach this new character and her famous daughter. I was determined that the only reason I would use the famous Garden of Eden story in this essay is if the writers went ahead and plain named the character “Eve.” A few weeks later a press release hit the web for “The Queen is Dead.” Oh. So how about those apples? Back to the Garden of Eden we go! This myth describes the great fall of humanity and locks into Snow’s mother from her name to the color of her dress. The apple is the Forbidden Fruit, a symbol of knowledge and original innocence that Adam and Eve rejected when they chose to listen to the devil, symbolized by a serpent, and ate the fruit which represents the choosing of good over evil. Eating the apple, one could say, is analogous with “crossing the line,” the act from which no person may return, so prevalent in fairy tales. However, watching the episode “The Queen is Dead” it quickly became clear that this Eva is far from the stereotypical Eve, seductress and tempter of man. Rather from her words, to their tone, and the gentle musical score, Eva is an ethereal character, almost too good to be true, giving sage advice to her daughter and accepting painful death with an astonishing peace. A week later, in “The Miller’s Daughter,” the audience learned that Eva was not kind or empathetic in her younger years. Rather she was a woman of pride who was so petty and cruel that she went out of her way to humiliate Cora, a peasant, purely for amusement. Yet this superior attitude did not last long. Young Eva is disgraced when this same peasant wins the favor of the king for spinning gold and then endures the shame of having her intended propose to another woman in front of her. Not shown onscreen, but likely to have occurred, was Eva being packed off and sent home to her kingdom as a princess who was jilted over a peasant, an object of ridicule even. Likely, given her later persona, instead of turning to bitterness and revenge, Eva chose the better path, transforming her ways such that the woman we see in “The Queen Is Dead” is the New Eva, redeemed.
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Mix and Match by Teresa Martin--@Teresa__Martin One of the most exciting aspects of Once Upon a Time is the way that the show takes the fairy tale characters that we are familiar with and puts a modern twist on them. Hence it was rather shocking to discover the ultimate twist while researching the Grimm Brothers: the Evil Queen is actually Snow White’s mother! The original story, based on the oral version that had been passed on over the years, had the Queen who so famously wished for a daughter, actually growing jealous of her. So even though Once has the claim-to-fame of twisting fairy tales for a modern age, it was the Grimms themselves who are responsible for the ultimate switch-a-roo. When they published their work in 1812, many were reading the tales for the first time, and, finding that the stories were popular with children, they chose to tone it down in the second edition to change the evil birth- mother to the stepmother. That is how the evil stepmother was created. So why not add another twist as was presented in “The Queen is Dead” and have a Snow White who finally has decided “Enough is Enough! I have had it with these mother-censored good decisions on these mother-censored Lands,” and go Medieval on Cora? Why not indeed? The Grimms originally recorded the tale “Sneewittchen” from oral interviews given with those of lower to middle classes who recited in the Low German dialect what they recalled from childhood, or from the hours spinning and telling the tales to each other to pass the time. The narrative generally went as the brothers recorded it: Once upon a time in the middle of winter, when snowflakes the size of feathers were falling from the sky, a queen was sitting and sewing by a window with an ebony frame. While she was sewing, she looked out at the snow and pricked her dinger with a needle. Three drops of blood fell onto the snow. The red looked so beautiful against the white snow that she thought: “If only I had a child as white as snow, as red, as blood, and as black as the wood of the window frame?" (Tatar) Fairy Tale scholars Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar have analyzed that the queen is a woman “confined” (Tatar, 249). A person thus trapped usually seeks an escape, often in a superficial solution. In this case it was in a beautiful baby with desired features. Also notable is the tri-fold formula of the blood drops: divine, supernatural, perfect. There is something mystical and pure therefore in the wish upon which Snow’s conception occurs. The Queen’s later jealousy gives a new meaning to be careful what you wish for. “All ‘magic’ comes with a price” and the price was granting her wish. For her child became all that she wished for and hence her rival. We Are Both: Governing in Once Upon a Time by Teresa Martin--@Teresa__Martin From the opening scene in the pilot of Once Upon a Time those who have spent way too much time taking political science courses were impressed by the differing systems of governing presented. Prince Charming wakes up Snow White, the Queen. Except when Regina comes into the wedding, someone calls her the Queen. Snow replies that she’s not a Queen, she’s a witch! Before somebody can start quoting Monty Python, the scene changes to modern times and the ex-Queen Regina is a mayor. Ah. The political science geeks are going: “so it’s a monarchy in the Enchanted Forest and a representative democracy in Storybrooke.” While there may be a good many people shushing the government geeks saying, “you’re the only one who cares!” a closer look at the shenanigans of our fearless leaders in Once Upon a Time depend a great deal upon what form of government and rule to which they ascribe. Of the many definitions of governing in Merriam-Webster, the one that is most reflective in the context of Once Upon a Time is “the organization, machinery, or agency through which a political unit exercises authority and performs functions and which is usually classified according to the distribution of power within it.” Key words within this include “organization, political unit, authority, and distribution of power.” In the Enchanted Forest the governing model is the monarchy. A monarchy is the form of government in which there is “. . . undivided rule or absolute sovereignty by a single person . . . a government having a hereditary chief of state with life tenure and powers varying from nominal to absolute (Merriam-Webster).” Snow White as Queen holds the highest rank and rule, having apparently reached that status when she merged her father’s and George’s kingdoms through conquest. Charming’s status as a prince implies that his power is not equal to his wife’s. While it appears there are other kingdoms, such as King Midas’, the main authority is vested in Snow White. Therefore the hierarchy in the Enchanted Forest’s monarchy could be as shown: Three: The Family of the Fairest of Them All and Her Charming
by Teresa Martin--@Teresa__Martin October 14, 2012 It has been a little less than a year since I first saw Prince Charming in the most-awesome-prince-clothes ever, galloping on a brilliant horse to wake his true love, drop that dreamy single tear, and declare “I will always find you,” making my heart melt (and maybe Google the actor’s name, pledging to name my first-born after him, and perhaps buy a shot-glass with his silhouette on it). After that amazing first impression, I have since seen Charming fight off evil guards while holding a baby*sigh,* watched that single tear slide down his cheek numerous times *double sigh,* travelled with him as he went to hell and back with Snow, and proposed to her by a scenic lake *swoon.* This central couple, affectionately shipped as “Snowing,” also suffered a curse, and, as Mary Margaret, poor Snow had her heart torn in two, trampled on, and tossed into the trash (symbolically happily, unlike other unfortunate residents of Storybrooke). Yet she earned her happy ending at the end of Season One, embraced by her groom, as a spinning camera showed the completion of their story arc *squee!* Now I’m with my weekly Once Upon A Time viewing group, with a laptop to monitor the tweets, and checking on the Once Upon a Fan website, whose staff I joined as a writer, inspired by Once Upon A Time to delve back into non-fiction after a ten-year break. Next to me lies a half-finished Baby Emma Blanket, but I eventually give all attention to the screen as I follow the S2x3 adventures of Lancelot with Snow and Charming. I watch as Snow travels to meet Charming’s mother just in time to see her pierced by an arrow—goodness these writers sure are hard on their characters-- and seek magic waters to cure her. Ruth, Charming’s mother, drinks, but is not cured. What’s up with that? Ruth then expresses regrets that she will not see Snow and Charming’s wedding. Snow assures her that she will. What? Snow asks if Lancelot can perform the wedding. What? Next thing I know The Fairest of Them All is getting married under a perfect arch that must have been tucked away somewhere with a magical “instant-wedding-canopy” spell, and a chalice representing the Holy Grail is presented. This leads to the perplexing mystery of what else Lancelot has in his Knights of the Round Table Kit. Enchanted Zombies Teresa Martin--@Teresa__Martin There have been many fantastical creatures to which fans of Once Upon a Time have been treated including ogres, wraiths, and dragons, to name a few. The most recent monsters to visit the Enchanted Forest have been zombies, presented with the now classic Once Upon a Time twist. The history of these creatures encompasses an extensive lore originating from the earliest civilizations in all continents. However, zombies, explicitly as they are named and most well known in the Twenty-First Century, have traced their roots directly from Voodoo traditions in Haiti. It is these upon which the writers of Once Upon a Time drew for their incarnation and lead to the reason why these creatures are not merely a random choice, but rather most appropriately featured in the Season Two story arc. The word “zombie” is defined by Brad Steiger as “a reanimated corpse . . . brought to life to serve as slave labor.” The belief that such beings exist was brought from Africa to the Caribbean and Southern states by the slaves who practiced Voodoo. “Voodoo holds that a supernatural power or essence may enter into and reanimate a dead body (Steiger 5-6).” The more ancient incarnations of this creature were chronicled in the History Channel documentary Zombies: A Living History which includes the Chinese Jiang Shi, a corpse brought back to life (Abramowitz). This undead predator hops about and pounces on humans, feeding on their life-essence. Human victims of the Jiang Shi will resurrect and become the very creatures which brought about their deaths (Radford). Also listed by the documentary is the Arabic Ghoul, a demon that eats human victims, the Draugr of Scandinavia that swallows its victims whole, and the Revenant of England which terrorizes family members and shares many characteristics with a vampire. An ancient source mentioned in Zombies is The Epic of Gilgamesh in which Ishtar wishes for the Bull of Heaven to kill Gilgamesh. He declares in Tablet VI: "If you do not give me the Bull of Heaven,
I will knock down the Gates of the Netherworld, I will smash the door posts, and leave the doors flat down, and will let the dead go up to eat the living!” These are not concepts reserved to the very young. Ultimately this is what fairy tales are: stories, albeit with certain characteristics that have been observed by later scholars. J.R.R Tolkien commented in his essay:
And actually fairy-stories deal largely, or (the better ones) mainly, with simple or fundamental Things, untouched by Fantasy, but these simplicities are made all the more luminous by their setting. For the story-maker who allows himself to be ‘free with’ Nature can be her lover not her slave. It was in fairy-stories that I first divined the potency of the words, and the wonder of the things, such as stone, and wood, and iron; tree and grass; house and fire; bread and wine. How then did works of this genre begin to receive the reputation of being children’s literature? Tolkien notes that is “an accident of our domestic history . . . .” and explicitly states that “ . . . . fairy-stories should not be specially associated with children.” This “accident of domestic history” includes the fact that many fairy tales were told in the nursery by nannies spreading the oral tales they heard while growing up. The popular children’s adaptations of the Twentieth Century helped perpetuate this perception, especially the Disney movies. Yet just because people view these as stories for children, do not make them so. G.K. Chesterton obliquely asserted this when he wrote that “A fairy tale is a tale told in a morbid age to the only remaining sane person, a child.” The Development of Instrumental Program Music from Ancient Times to the Era of Television Drama11/10/2012 The Development of Instrumental Program Music from Ancient Times to the Era of Television Drama by Teresa Martin--@Teresa__Martin The progression of instrumental music and its ability to stir the soul has been with humanity since the first instrument was created. Originally intended by our human ancestors to accompany sung prayers, instrumental music has had a long and progressive movement culminating in program music utilized in works created both for movies and television shows. This has made possible beloved soundtracks, not the least of which is the one which enhances the drama on ABC’s Once Upon A Time. Archaeological excavations have proven that music has always been an integral part of human existence. Primarily it was used in religious rituals. These tended to be in the form of chant, with occasional uses of pitches that would step and slide. The instruments that were created for the accompaniment would be rhythmic with some pitch. Pictorial evidence from Egypt shows the lyre, while Indian cultures utilized varied string instruments, and Chinese cultures created what some consider an ancestor of the violin, the erthu.* By approximately 6000-1000 B.C. these instruments and those like them became common not only in religious rituals, but for dance, celebrations, and processions. The development of modern Western music occurred within the institutions of the Catholic Church particularly after the Fall of Rome. The Eastern Catholic Rites contributed by establishing complex chants and harmonies, but were, and remain, vocally based, and hence did not lead to the development of secular musical instruments. The Latin Rite of the Church, the one most common in the West, is similar to its Eastern counterparts as its music was originally only vocal, but gradually, during the Early Middle Ages, instruments were added to enhance the liturgy. These were done to inspire awe that was intended to uplift the soul to the contemplation of God. Later, religious orders through the work of Guido D’Arrezo began what would evolve into the modern scale. This monk used the first syllables of a Latin hymn to develop what came to be called solfege: “do, re, mi, fa, sol, la,” and used the hand to measure the steps and half steps. Over the centuries “ti” and the octave “do” were added. The use of the hand to assist in ear training and pitch is still used, albeit in a more simplified version. The organ began to appear as early as 900 A.D. with the intent of finding an instrument to mirror the grandeur of the magnificent architecture apparent in the cathedrals. Recognition of more various instruments increased exponentially when the Crusades occurred, and the returning soldiers brought with them the knowledge with which they came in contact in the Middle East. The Renaissance era continued this trend as instruments were created that had the technical precision to match the human voice. Choral music also became more complex and used polyphony. The printing press enabled the learning to be spread on a scope never possible before. This combination and the Catholic Reformation gave rise to the feeling that music, art, and learning should be more elaborate to inspire the fervor apparent in the parallel Protestant Reformation. Such advances created the perfect storm of the Baroque Era in which the modern instruments as we know them and the genius of composers were able to translate the complexities of the music which they wished to create through the modern orchestra. Art music--music to be listened to for its own sake-- flourished. While secular music had always been a part of cultures, the highest and most learned were now devoting their art to this rather than exclusively to the Church. Opera became popular during this era. These glorious works presented epic stories that were acted and sung while accompanied by orchestras. What audiences saw on the stage was interconnected with the music that expressed the emotions of the story unfolding before them. During the Romantic Era of the 19th Century, opera composer and librettist Richard Wagner took these ideas to the next level when he began to use leitmotifs. A leitmotif according to Webster’s Dictionary is “an associated melodic phrase or figure that accompanies the reappearance of an idea, person, or situation . . .” This use would become essential to movies which, during the silent era, would require piano accompaniment to give sound to the story. Once talking films developed, movie music could be recorded by an orchestra to become a part of the film’s soundtrack. These music scores continued to be used to great effect and often included leitmotifs. When television was invented, and shows were created for this medium, music naturally served the same purpose as in movies. Now that I have laid before you a brief summary of how instrumental music developed and appears as an essential element of television drama, it is natural that I should expound on how this is utilized in Once Upon a Time. However, I believe this website has comments from someone far more qualified than I to expound upon this score. (see my interview with Once composer Mark Isham http://www.onceuponafans.com/interviews/category/mark-isham) Recommended Works Oxford History of Western Music: 5-vol. set (Oxford History of Western Music) by Richard Taruskin A Popular History of the Art of Music from the Earliest Times until the Present by W.S.B Matthews What in the Name of Rumplestiltskin’s Leather Pants is a Wraith? by Teresa Martin--@Teresa__Martin That was the question on many a fan’s lips after a creature blasted through the floor of Aurora’s elaborate sleeping chamber in “Broken,” the Season Two premiere of Once Upon a Time. This creature was not given a name until Mulan described it as a Qui Shen, and translated it as “wraith.” She then clarified that this was a “soul-sucker.” The only further information that could be gleaned from the episode was that this creature marked a person and would be driven away by light. Subsequent personal research unearthed results that were unexpected. The trail led almost immediately to Scotland. However, the original wraith was different from what one may have read in The Lord of the Rings and other fantasy literature. For a wraith is not a black clothed soul-sucking creature, but rather the duplicate of one’s own soul. The word “wraith” first appeared approximately in the 16th century, meaning “spirit.” A wraith is defined as “a ghost of a person on the verge of death . . . an exact likeness of its human counterpart, showing itself to relatives of that person as he is about to die …. [This] appears to have developed from a very old belief that a person’s soul is an exact duplicate of his or her living body (Haining 215).” A person will be suddenly confronted face to face with his double and that will be a sign that his death is near, but most commonly it is seen by others (Briggs 309-310). For the latter, it would occur “if someone were to catch a glimpse of a person whom they knew passing the door or window, and on looking outside were to find no such person there …. This was considered a remarkably clear instance of a person’s wraith, or spirit being seen at the time of death (Napier 70).” The traditions of the traditional Qui-Shen are also incorporated into the plot. In the attack on Prince Phillip, daylight scares the wraith away. Later, Snow and Charming use fire to repel the creature as well as lead it into the magical hat. Moreover, when Rumpelstiltskin presses the medallion into Regina’s hand, she has the appearance of one who has been weakened, as though perhaps some of her energy was taken from her soul. The show has therefore utilized ancient Chinese Traditions with modern lore resulting in the enrichment of the show’s canon.
One of the most fascinating aspects of Once Upon a Time is how the writers use stories and legends from the world over. “Broken” informed fans that the show would be exploring deeper realms of literature and myth. Delving into the concept of the soul being taken by a Qui Shen introduced Chinese myth as a significant part of the story which affected residents of both the Enchanted Forest and Storybrooke. Furthermore, the door is open for the appearance of these frightening portents as told in ancient lore. Perhaps in the next Storybrooke deaths, the characters will possibly see their wraiths thereby sending the same chills to the audience that the Celtic people of long ago felt when telling these tales on cold winter nights. Beauty by Teresa Martin--@Teresa__Martin One of the most familiar expressions about beauty is that it is “more than skin deep.” This refers to the belief that it is the soul which determines whether a person is truly beautiful. However, there is great deal of difficulty in expressing this notion since the nature of beauty is often subjective. Yet there has been a gift to the world which explores and explains this attribute better than any other love story has: that of “Beauty and the Beast.” This story succeeds because the tale’s protagonist is arguably the greatest character in fairy tale fiction, and also the very namesake of this quality. Modern audiences outside of France are more apt to use her French name, Belle, due to Disney’s 1991 cartoon. This story is able to provoke strong emotional reactions because it succeeds in uniting two very seemingly different characters in a convincing manner since neither Belle nor the Beast is perfect and, as they get to know each other, they journey together through a transformative process which leads to true love. This is symbolized by the persistent symbol of resurrection through the use of light and a rose. While there are many versions of this story, three particularly illustrate these symbols and themes: the original French story, the classic Disney cartoon, and the Once Upon a Time episode “Skin Deep.” The last incarnation is worthy of note since it explicitly recognizes the theme of the story by its title, and in doing so, ingeniously takes a twist on its definition. All three however, though written years apart and for different audiences, utilize the key symbols to show that the process of transformation is wrought with sorrow and pain, but also yields the inexplicable ecstasy of true love. The first major written version of “Beauty and the Beast” was authored by Madame de Villeneuve in 1740 and published in a ladies magazine. Villeneuve presents a fascinating portrait of Belle as a character. She is the youngest daughter of a wealthy merchant with six brothers and five sisters. When her father’s business fails due to misfortune, the family is uprooted and forced to live as peasants in the countryside, performing the grueling work that accompanies this lifestyle. After the move, Belle is introduced into the story. She too experienced the disappointment of losing their comfortable lifestyle, but in contrast to her sisters who remained bitter and spiteful, Belle responded with “perseverance . . . .“firmness,” and a “strength of mind beyond her years . . . . [she] made up her mind to the position she was placed in . . . .‘’ and decided “not to long for their old life. . . .” (Villeneuve, 227 ).” Villeneuve’s final description of Belle mentions that she is beautiful. This is nearly a passing reference, clearly indicating that it is not her physical appearance that gives Belle her beauty, but rather the aforementioned qualities. Another definable characteristic that separates Belle from other fairy tale heroines is that the author emphasizes Belle’s superior intelligence, having received along with her sisters a formal education. She is especially talented in music. Belle uses these skills to adapt to her new circumstances. Because she chooses to be happy, rather than wallow in misery, her sisters feel that she is flawed. The writer points out that this stems from jealousy and that “every intelligent person” sees Belle for who she is and prefers her to the others (Villenueve, 228).” This implies that those who mock her spiritual strengths are quite the opposite. Once Belle is established as having the strength of character to overcome adversity, she begins her journey to romantic love when she asks her father to bring her a rose. In symbolism the rose equates beauty with the pain present in its thorns. Hence the rose foreshadows the trials and sufferings which the characters face. A rose is also connected with passionate love, especially when it is red. Belle’s request to her father unwitting puts in motion her transformation from a young lady who is passionately good, to one who passionately falls in love. True to his promise, her father, having stumbled upon the Beast’s castle to take shelter, picks one rose from the garden. Then the Beast appears to accuse him of stealing and threatens to put him to death. Belle’s father pleads for his life, mentioning his family. The Beast agrees to the father’s safety in exchange for one of his daughters. The only stipulation is that she must come of her own free will. Of what the father and the reader are unaware is that this is a situation set up by the Beast’s very own fairy. The Beast is not being cruel to the father, nor is he inclined to kidnap young ladies. However, he had been cursed by a jealous fairy that was refused by the Beast. In revenge she made him into a monster unable to express his intellect. The only way he could be restored was to have a woman agree to marry him of her free will. The Beast was advised to make this ultimatum on Belle’s father because the good fairy had herself picked Belle as the woman who would be suited to break the curse. Belle does succeed, but not without a great deal of personal and spiritual trials. Upon arriving at the Beast’s castle and finding that she was to be left alone all day, she recognizes that she is in danger of suffering from melancholy. Hence she chooses to stave that off by looking to improve her intelligence and talents. The only time she meets with the Beast is at dinner where the conversation is dull and always ends with an awkward proposal from him. This is disconcerting for Belle because he is so sad, but pity is not enough to compel her to marry a Beast. Every night however, Belle has happy dreams where a handsome prince comes to her and with whom she finds stimulating and intelligent conversation. She begins to fall in love with this dream-prince and always looks forward to bedtime so that she can be with him. As pleasant as their time spent together is, now and then the Prince chastises her for refusing to look beyond what she sees physically. He is pointing out that Belle, though nearly perfect in every way, still has a certain snobbery which prevents her from perceiving the beauty in the Beast’s soul. This is due to the fact that she is focused on his looks and poor intellect. The reader guesses at once that the Prince is the Beast visiting Belle in his true form through the venue of a dream, often the means of spiritual communication in myth. Partly due to interactions with her nighttime lover, Belle becomes more sympathetic and fond of the Beast, gradually seeing the good qualities in him. When the Beast allows Belle to make a visit home, she is late returning and finds the Beast near death. Seeing him in this state, and the thought of losing him, reveals to her that she loves him. She agrees to become his wife, and the Beast abruptly leaves her. Belle, used to this routine, is not concerned and merely retires to bed. Here she dreams that her handsome prince is lying as though dead. She then wakes up to the brightest morning she has ever experienced at the castle and is startled to see her prince lying beside her, albeit on a couch. She realizes that this is the Beast transformed, having gone through death and resurrection in the dream. Because this occurs when they are actually sleeping together, it is revealed in a discreet manner that Belle and her Prince are not only in love, but also passionate lovers. After he wakes up, they marry. It does not take a great amount of imagination to know what happens next. The rose, which began the journey, has completed its purpose. A rose plays a different role in the 1991 cartoon, though it retains its meaning of romantic love. The Beast has a limited time to find someone to love and earn her love, or he can never break the curse. The rose serves as a time-keeper. As each petal falls, the Beast’s hope for true love is depleted. Belle is introduced in the movie as the woman who will save him. However, unlike the Villenueve character, she is not admired for her intelligence by those in her village, but is considered strange and an object of gossip. Because she feels she does not fit in and that nobody understands her, she constantly wishes for more than her “provincial life” and dreams of adventures with somebody to share it. Belle receives a rude awakening from this fantasy when her father is captured by the Beast and she trades her life for his. She reconsiders her dismissive attitude towards her former life explicitly in the expanded stage version. After she is locked up in her room she laments: “What I’d give to return to the life that I knew lately/And to think I complained of that dull provincial town!” Belle has learned that that there are worse fates than living comfortably in the countryside. As Belle begins to have a more mature view of life, the Beast also journeys away from his childish behaviors. He begins a transformation away from his beastly identity as he, through his friendship with Belle, matures and ceases to have temper tantrums whenever he does not get his way. As the two characters open up to each other, they realize that they have a great deal in common and fall in love. Two scenes are particularly endearing and illustrate this. One shows Belle and the Beast having a snowball fight where they clearly are not inhibited in their enjoyment of each other’s company. The other, in the stage and extended version of the movie, is a charming scene in which they read together, showing that the Beast shares her love of books. Following this is the iconic “Beauty and the Beast” number which sweeps the audience along with the main characters into high romance as they dance the night away in the ballroom. When Belle declares her love for the Beast, his curse is broken and he goes through a physical transformation in great beams of light. The Beast, now in his true human form, moves to Belle, and they have a first kiss that is anything but mildly chaste. The last image the movie presents is the happy couple dancing with the fully restored red rose between them, signifying their romantic and passionate love for each other. These internal spiritual journeys are not made by Belle in the Once Upon a Time episode “Skin Deep.” When Belle first appears she is already a mature woman who decides her own destiny. While she is frightened of Rumplestiltskin at first, this evaporates rapidly and she is quickly her playful self with him. If there was a transformation for her, it does not occur onscreen. Rather, the focus is on Rumplestiltskin’s journey as he takes her in, not to break a curse, but to have a housekeeper. Slowly she endears herself to him, and he begins to change, especially when she falls from a ladder into his arms and light floods the room. He blinks, showing that this is something new to him. His acceptance of this new light is explicit since he tells Belle to leave the blinds as they are. The scene is not merely exceptional because it is a moment of transformation for the Beast, but like the Villanueva version, it is full of sexual imagery. As Belle is held by Rumplestiltksin, sweat is visible upon him and she breathes heavily. He drops her as one who has been burned, and he likewise shakes out his hand. Later he formally expresses his feelings when he presents her with a single red rose. This is not just a flattering gift. A single red rose signifies both romantic and carnal love. Because it is Once Upon a Time’s signature style to have an original take on a fairy tale, the struggle in “Skin Deep” has as its center not Belle’s change to see the good behind the Beast-- this she achieves rather easily--but rather the Beast’s battle to see the good inside him. Rumplestiltskin is the one who must learn that beauty is more than “Skin Deep” and that his outward ugliness does not match his inner soul. Belle presents this to him when they kiss. His inability to handle the revelation is shown by his terrifying rage. All of his love for her, and his feelings of betrayal lead to the violence he inflicts on his possessions. He is venting more than anger. His destruction has all the energy of a man in the throes of passionate love. The fact that this results in destroying precious objects also illustrates that he is trying to destroy the rapture within him which nearly succeeded in breaking his curse. When Belle reminds of him of this, he screams at her to “shut the hell up.” He refuses to listen because it would mean that his outward self really did not reflect his inner one. If he acknowledges that he is more than he appears to be, he would not be capable of doing the terrible deeds he commits. When he meets with Belle the following morning, significantly the sun is shining through the windows. Bathed in this light he tells her to go. He is not just rejecting her, but also his transformation. In the season finale, Rumplestiltskin accurately sums up his time with Belle as “a brief flicker of light amidst an ocean of darkness.” These brilliant and moving moments remind the audience and the readers that without transformation, the story of “Beauty and the Beast” would not have enthralled people for hundreds of years. When reading the story, or seeing the cartoon and television show, it is nearly impossible not to be drawn into the characters’ lives and even to reflect on one’s own choices in life. The drama of the transformation is made complete in the Villenueve and cartoon versions, but both Belle and her Beast in Once Upon a Time still have to make their journeys. The former needs to begin hers and the latter must complete his. This is the formula for the drama that will be needed to sustain the “Tale as Old as Time” over the next seasons. Until both change, there will be no completion, and therefore no happy ending. However, all three Belles and Beasts have a single red rose as their signature which proclaims that enduring love is that which mates them through their tribulations, souls, and conjugal destinies. Work Cited
Madame de Villeneuve. “The Story of the Beauty and the Beast.” Four and Twenty Fairy Tales: Selected from those of Perrault and Other Popular Writers. Public Domain. Spinning Gold
by Teresa Martin --@Teresa__Martin Rumplestiltskin operating his spinning wheel on Once Upon a Time has proven to be an iconic image for the first season of the hit show. But long before ABC premiered its version of this character, the image of a protagonist spinning was repeatedly featured not only in the Grimm’s fairy tale “Rumplestiltskin,” but in innumerous stories collected by the brothers. This art of spinning is difficult and ultimately complex, not only by the mechanization, but by what it represented to society as a means of livelihood practiced by women. Grimm’s Fairy Tales illustrate this history. Moreover, there is an added feature in their tales because spinning is presented with gold as the companion symbol. An examination of these two images can therefore bring a richer understanding of the themes the stories propose, and serve to explain why the one glaring exception to the pattern, Rumpelstiltskin, is so notorious in folklore. One of the images imbedded in the minds of all children who have watched the Disney Classic Sleeping Beauty is that of Aurora pricking her finger on a spinning wheel. However, this image first appeared to readers as a spindle. Archaeological evidence proves that spindles have been used by humans as early as the Stone Age (Castino, 8). By the Eleventh Century the spindle was in common use both in the Eastern and Western world. This simple machine contains two parts: the whorl and the shaft. A whorl is shaped like a drum and serves as a weight at the bottom of the shaft, the long stick-like part ending in a point. The spindle is often used in combination with a distaff which holds the wool or flax. |
OriginsExplore 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. Archives
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