Anny and list--I'm a storyteller who tells to children and adults, and I
want to assure you that yes, there are queens and kings who are good people
and the prime movers of their tales, but these tales have fallen into
obscurity, for the most part. In the days before general literacy, folk and
fairy tales were an important source of entertainment and education.
Storytellers told stories that addressed every aspect of life and
development, from the youngster dealing with the discovery of evil without
and within, to the adolescent setting out to find a life's work and life's
companion, to the adult dealing with loss, disillusionment, old age and
death. As literacy became more common, and adults turned to novels for
entertainment, only the tales told to children stayed popular. By the way, I
would approach any tale told by Disney with great caution. They have been
wrenched out of shape. The old versions are far more nourishing to the
spirit, especially the female spirit.
Alan Chinen, a psychiatrist, has collected four books of tales
useful to us older folk. They are, "In the Ever After", about old age,
"Once Upon a Midlife", self explanitory, "Beyond the Hero", about men's
journeys past macho, and Waking World, about the heroic feminine. I
recommend them highly. The excellent "Women Who Run With the Wolves" has
alread been mentioned, and I'd like to add "The King and the Corpse", a
collection by Heinrich Zimmer that has enriched my life immeasurably.
I'm so glad you started this thread.
Marilyn
At 12:54 AM 12/11/97 EST, you wrote:
>I was a bit appalled to see that you can now buy Angel Princess Barbie.
>Without getting into the "angel" part, I found myself wondering about the
>"princess" designation.
>
>I imagine this is partly due to the public's fixation on Princess Di. (Come
>to think of it, maybe the "angel" part is due to that too.) But I also
>realized that Barbie will always be termed a princess, and never a queen.
>
>When I look at the role of princesses in fairy tales, I see women who are
>virginal and powerless. Often their role in the story seems to be to get into
>peril (often caused by a woman, jealous of the princess's youth or beauty) and
>then be saved by Prince Charming.
>
>Queens in fairy tales are sexual and powerful. And, it seems to me,
>invariably evil. A king may be good or bad, but if a queen is present in the
>story, she's wicked.
>
>Or is this too sweeping a generalization? Are there fairy tales in which the
>queen is good or at least neutral?
>
>Anny
>Who is hoping that list subscribers won't march her to the wall and have her
>executed for bringing up Barbie again
>AnnyMiddon@aol.com
>
>
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