The Princess Paradoxes
Of the numerous tales involving female protagonists and heroines, characterised females seem to be an extension of the physiological universe they occupy, as well as objects which personify the folkloric conception of femininity and the female gender. Objects such as the spindles, thimbles, wheels and kerchiefs refer almost immediately to the types of trade Teutonic females were well accustomed to. Also, they represent the precipitation of how men (who were characterised by their heroic functions in text) viewed woman and her personal spaces. Tools, garments and objects, to an extent, are the congealment of a social structure objectified; a unifying metaphor that recurs extensively in such tales.
Tales such as The Goose Girl (89), All Fur (65) and Brier Rose (50) draw reference to such objects, objects that occupy an important role in developing central themes. In The Goose Girl, the loss of her blood-blessed handkerchief severs strong maternal ties between the princess and her mother, allowing her chambermaid to exploit her helplessness. Symbolically and literally, the handkerchief can be read as the fruition of one’s trade. Although the Queen probably did not spin the cloth herself, she inscribes her ‘craftsmanship’ upon the item by staining it with three drops of her own blood, perhaps a casual reference to the spindle-prick central to Brier Rose. Blood and toil (or national undertones of blood and war) are ‘interwoven’ in the symbol of the kerchief in order to remind the princess of her origins. Hence, perhaps the loss of the kerchief opens up the possibility of forgetting, the potential of memory loss which the chamber maid seizes opportunity to ‘erase history’ (memory) and create a fictional destiny for herself.
Similar articles are employed in All Fur, who uses the symbolism of her golden miniatures (Ring, Spinning-Wheel and Reel) to alert to the King of her veiled royalty. Here, object symbolism works on two levels, mimetic object-subject and memory-projection. All Fur hints to the King of her ‘inner-royalty’, one that is characterised by the material gold as a mimetic representation of bloodline origins and roots. Similarly, the objects carry with them a memory of her former Kingdom, at the same time reinforcing her femininity and gender. All Fur chooses to abscond her former life with the objects explicitly referred to as “three of her precious possessions”, objects that imply the female working class of her Kingdom, suggesting All Fur as a higher archetype of the gender-class structure.
Usually when mimetic representation of inwardly beauty or royalty is not enough to support the magnitude of a given metaphor, nature as a living-object is turned to. Heroines that emanate with virtue in adverse circumstances are not uncommon threads in the tales, their inwardly beauty so outwardly affecting that natural elements such as trees, plants, animals and fruit react to their goodly sources. Snow White (53) exhibits such supernatural qualities with the animal kingdom, where “wild beasts darted by her … but did not harm her.” During the process of her funeral, “[s]ome animals came also and wept for Snow White.” Two Eyes from the tale One-Eye, Two-Eyes and Three-Eyes (130) receives help from a little goat. Likewise, her fruit tree only permitted fruits to be plucked by her, whereas the “branches and fruit drew back from [her sisters] … each time they tried to grab hold of them.” Apart from nature’s ‘confrontational’ qualities, nature also doubles up as a barometer for growth. In Brier Rose (50), Rose’s maturation is signalled by the termination of her 100-year slumber; it can be read that the flowers bloomed and the thicket of Brier “opened of their own accord” in response to the Prince’s timely arrival to ‘partake’ of that maturation.
The natural world, especially the animal kingdom can sometimes blur the pre-existent relationship between heroines and their furry friends. The distinction between beauty/beast becomes blurred and the natural world becomes a haven for damsels to adopt concealment and disguise. All Fur articulates this phenomenon, where beauty consciously decides to take the form of a wretched creature in order to hide her true identity. A ‘transfiguration’ takes place, one that is akin to the larger unifying thread concerning animal brides et al. Cinderella’s (21) transfiguration echoes similar in the way that ash dehumanises her the same way All Fur’s coat animalises. Animalistic concealment is also employed in The Goose Girl at the Spring (179), the Goose Girl adopting a wearable ‘skin’ that was “ugly as sin”. Though not strictly animalistic, it could be suggested the Goose Girl fulfils her mother’s belief that she had been eaten by “wild animals”, since she is ‘consumed’ by an appearance of the wild.
For All Fur, The Goose Girl at the Spring, Maid Maleen (198), The White Bride and the Black Bride (135) and Cinderella, much conflict and interest in narrative is worked around the concealment of true identity, and the steps at which the story undertakes leading to disclosure. In The Goose Girl at the Spring, All Fur and Cinderella, true identity is deferred by means of disguise of various degrees. At the most extreme end, All Fur’s disguise revokes human appearance, and is manifested as beast. At the other end, Cinderella’s disguise is as skin deep as the ash she rubs on her face to elude her prince. However, in all accounts, disguise transforms from means to a vice. Each protagonist becomes slave to the means of disguise, and seems to be unable to shed off their false double life in front of their intended suitors. All Fur retreats routinely to her life of slavery, Goose Girl to her pastoral matters and Cinderella to her sisters.
Although one could suggest that these women willingly partake in a game of their own leisure and become intrigued (or amused) by their own acts of deception, one also could read it as an act of salvation, a self-perpetuated invitation for the male protagonist to participate and finish the narrative. For All Fur, her disguise has become such a vice of her former life that she is unable to shirk off her cloak without feeling vulnerable to her father’s advances. All Fur presents a paradox: the single object that links her to the memory of her father’s incestuous tendencies has become her only form of protection, as a child to security blanket. In order to exist independent of the coat, she needs a preceding male figure to occupy the symbolic realm of the phallic which her father once occupied. Thus, she is able to shed of the coat at times in order to communicate with the other King, but has to retreat into her other life once the ball is over. Only by an act of violent force of the other (the King seizes her arm and tears off her coat) can she reconcile both her past and present identities and accept the King as the rightful replacement of her father. Without an action perpetuated by the King, the act of revelation would be meaningless as it fails to address the former symbolic occupant (her father). Gender-bound, All Fur cannot save herself without a male protagonist to complete the act. Similarly, Goose Girl is wound up by the circumstances of her banishment that her skin serves as a shield from the world she was ousted. Only can a male occupant from that symbolic realm re-invite her into her proper place as princess. For Cinderella, the device of her undoing (the shoe) is capitalised by the prince who spreads pitch on the stairs, who then relieves her of a life of filial-bound disenchantment.
Tales such as The Goose Girl (89), All Fur (65) and Brier Rose (50) draw reference to such objects, objects that occupy an important role in developing central themes. In The Goose Girl, the loss of her blood-blessed handkerchief severs strong maternal ties between the princess and her mother, allowing her chambermaid to exploit her helplessness. Symbolically and literally, the handkerchief can be read as the fruition of one’s trade. Although the Queen probably did not spin the cloth herself, she inscribes her ‘craftsmanship’ upon the item by staining it with three drops of her own blood, perhaps a casual reference to the spindle-prick central to Brier Rose. Blood and toil (or national undertones of blood and war) are ‘interwoven’ in the symbol of the kerchief in order to remind the princess of her origins. Hence, perhaps the loss of the kerchief opens up the possibility of forgetting, the potential of memory loss which the chamber maid seizes opportunity to ‘erase history’ (memory) and create a fictional destiny for herself.
Similar articles are employed in All Fur, who uses the symbolism of her golden miniatures (Ring, Spinning-Wheel and Reel) to alert to the King of her veiled royalty. Here, object symbolism works on two levels, mimetic object-subject and memory-projection. All Fur hints to the King of her ‘inner-royalty’, one that is characterised by the material gold as a mimetic representation of bloodline origins and roots. Similarly, the objects carry with them a memory of her former Kingdom, at the same time reinforcing her femininity and gender. All Fur chooses to abscond her former life with the objects explicitly referred to as “three of her precious possessions”, objects that imply the female working class of her Kingdom, suggesting All Fur as a higher archetype of the gender-class structure.
Usually when mimetic representation of inwardly beauty or royalty is not enough to support the magnitude of a given metaphor, nature as a living-object is turned to. Heroines that emanate with virtue in adverse circumstances are not uncommon threads in the tales, their inwardly beauty so outwardly affecting that natural elements such as trees, plants, animals and fruit react to their goodly sources. Snow White (53) exhibits such supernatural qualities with the animal kingdom, where “wild beasts darted by her … but did not harm her.” During the process of her funeral, “[s]ome animals came also and wept for Snow White.” Two Eyes from the tale One-Eye, Two-Eyes and Three-Eyes (130) receives help from a little goat. Likewise, her fruit tree only permitted fruits to be plucked by her, whereas the “branches and fruit drew back from [her sisters] … each time they tried to grab hold of them.” Apart from nature’s ‘confrontational’ qualities, nature also doubles up as a barometer for growth. In Brier Rose (50), Rose’s maturation is signalled by the termination of her 100-year slumber; it can be read that the flowers bloomed and the thicket of Brier “opened of their own accord” in response to the Prince’s timely arrival to ‘partake’ of that maturation.
The natural world, especially the animal kingdom can sometimes blur the pre-existent relationship between heroines and their furry friends. The distinction between beauty/beast becomes blurred and the natural world becomes a haven for damsels to adopt concealment and disguise. All Fur articulates this phenomenon, where beauty consciously decides to take the form of a wretched creature in order to hide her true identity. A ‘transfiguration’ takes place, one that is akin to the larger unifying thread concerning animal brides et al. Cinderella’s (21) transfiguration echoes similar in the way that ash dehumanises her the same way All Fur’s coat animalises. Animalistic concealment is also employed in The Goose Girl at the Spring (179), the Goose Girl adopting a wearable ‘skin’ that was “ugly as sin”. Though not strictly animalistic, it could be suggested the Goose Girl fulfils her mother’s belief that she had been eaten by “wild animals”, since she is ‘consumed’ by an appearance of the wild.
For All Fur, The Goose Girl at the Spring, Maid Maleen (198), The White Bride and the Black Bride (135) and Cinderella, much conflict and interest in narrative is worked around the concealment of true identity, and the steps at which the story undertakes leading to disclosure. In The Goose Girl at the Spring, All Fur and Cinderella, true identity is deferred by means of disguise of various degrees. At the most extreme end, All Fur’s disguise revokes human appearance, and is manifested as beast. At the other end, Cinderella’s disguise is as skin deep as the ash she rubs on her face to elude her prince. However, in all accounts, disguise transforms from means to a vice. Each protagonist becomes slave to the means of disguise, and seems to be unable to shed off their false double life in front of their intended suitors. All Fur retreats routinely to her life of slavery, Goose Girl to her pastoral matters and Cinderella to her sisters.
Although one could suggest that these women willingly partake in a game of their own leisure and become intrigued (or amused) by their own acts of deception, one also could read it as an act of salvation, a self-perpetuated invitation for the male protagonist to participate and finish the narrative. For All Fur, her disguise has become such a vice of her former life that she is unable to shirk off her cloak without feeling vulnerable to her father’s advances. All Fur presents a paradox: the single object that links her to the memory of her father’s incestuous tendencies has become her only form of protection, as a child to security blanket. In order to exist independent of the coat, she needs a preceding male figure to occupy the symbolic realm of the phallic which her father once occupied. Thus, she is able to shed of the coat at times in order to communicate with the other King, but has to retreat into her other life once the ball is over. Only by an act of violent force of the other (the King seizes her arm and tears off her coat) can she reconcile both her past and present identities and accept the King as the rightful replacement of her father. Without an action perpetuated by the King, the act of revelation would be meaningless as it fails to address the former symbolic occupant (her father). Gender-bound, All Fur cannot save herself without a male protagonist to complete the act. Similarly, Goose Girl is wound up by the circumstances of her banishment that her skin serves as a shield from the world she was ousted. Only can a male occupant from that symbolic realm re-invite her into her proper place as princess. For Cinderella, the device of her undoing (the shoe) is capitalised by the prince who spreads pitch on the stairs, who then relieves her of a life of filial-bound disenchantment.
posted by HT, with T for Teh at 10:50 AM
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