A Tale Of Two Reginas By Teresa Martin (@Teresa__Martin) The story of Snow White begins with a classic description of the heroine: “skin as white as snow and red as blood, [with] hair as black as ebony (Grimm, 51).” While young Snow’s adventures are the focus of the fairy tale, there is a fascinating character who wishes the child nothing but death: her very own step-mother who is, incidentally, queen of her land. There are two versions of this murderous regent that are presented here as subjects for analysis. One is from the Grimm narrative, and the other from the modern television show Once Upon a Time. While events happen differently in the two renditions, the symbolism remains the same. Both queens commit deadly trespasses which poison their souls and lead them to spiritual death. In the Grimm version of Snow White, the Queen is first introduced after she marries Snow’s widowed father. She is described as being beautiful, but also proud and frivolous. It is not by coincidence that pride is the first vice listed. Hubris, disproportionate pride, is present in literature from the classics of Homer to the Summa Theologica of Thomas Aquinas. The latter stated “. . . . that pride denotes something opposed to right reason (Question 161, Article 1).” Hubris can further be defined as “. . . .a belief that he or she is somehow above the fates, or in control of destiny (Best).“ By people’s own will, usually manifested in the rejection of self-knowledge through truth, the remedy is eluded. As a result, the individuals continue miring themselves in other ill-gotten acts, which often escalate to murder. The cure is the opposite of pride: humility. If this virtue were embraced by the Queen, she would need to give up her desire to be more beautiful than Snow White. However, there is no indication that she sees this path as an option. When one considers that her other trait is frivolity, the Queen can only be the dangerous person that the story describes.
Equally alarming is Regina, Latin for Queen. She is first seen in Once Upon a Time when she barges into a wedding, head held high, and announces that she will take away everybody’s happiness. Her earnestness makes the scene all the more disturbing, for she is obviously not in control of her reason. While it is understandable to be upset because others receive the happiness for which one wishes, to actively seek the destruction of an entire world, and announce her intention with confidence, clearly reveals her psyche. This woman is insane.
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The Marriage Of The Fairest Of Them All And Her Charming by Teresa Martin (@Teresa__Martin) November 2011.
I start On-Demand because I missed the first two episodes and want to catch up. As the show begins, a prince, in the most awesome prince-clothes ever, rides up to a glass coffin and kisses his bride—dead to all appearances, but wearing what looks like her wedding dress. A blast of air like a nuclear explosion bursts throughout the land when he kisses her. She gasps and opens her eyes. The Prince touches her face, and declares with conviction, “I will always find you.” Then the scene dissolves into a glorious wedding. These lovers, Snow White and Prince Charming, are dressed in their wedding clothes. He looks into her eyes and says, “I do.” The show hasn’t even been on for five minutes and I am already sighing, thinking about how all is well in the world. Marriage, after all, is the artistic symbol for eternal happiness and peace. This is confirmed by the joy of the wedding guests who clap enthusiastically. They are married! Time for the Happily Ever After. The newly-married pair leans in to seal the marriage with a kiss--the replacement for a consummation scene in family shows--when the momentum is halted. An evil queen interrupts and declares before the astonished congregation that she will take their happiness away, not caring who she hurts. The Prince throws a sword at her, but she disappears into black smoke. Then I am transported unceremoniously into a story about a sad woman in modern times who is alone on her birthday. Someone knocks. The melancholy woman opens the door and a boy announces that he is her son. Interesting. Commercial Break. I pause. Not bad. Decent show. I get up to refill my drink, but something is just not right. It’s not the boy who is out alone at night. Not the lonely blond woman. What is it? I thought for a moment, and then abruptly realize it is the marriage scene. Was it the evil Queen? No, it was not her interruption. I'd seen that in more than one fairy tale. I take more ice out of the freezer, refill my soda, and then I get it. The indelible nuptial kiss between Prince Charming and Snow White never happened. Welcome to Season One of Once Upon A Time. 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. |
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