Posted on by Stephanie McGann

Fairy Tales #12: A Classical Study

There is something about reading fairy tales that is quintessentially classical. After all, classical education considers the great stories of Western culture one of its core foundations. So if at the end of a school day I have read a fairy tale with my students, I am usually pleased. But, if that’s where it ends, I am all the more disappointed.

Rich as they are for the moral imagination, I try to draw as much from them as possible. Here is a breakdown of some of my favorite extension activities to do with students.

DISCOURSE
Socratic Discussion

A classical mainstay, Socratic discussion is at the heart of my approach to studying fairy tales. We discuss the stories in small groups and as a whole class, often rearranging the desks and chairs so we form one large circle or several smaller ones. This discursive format helps students break down the plot and unpack its core symbols.

I guide the discussions but play a limited role in order to encourage active engagement from the students. Plus, it lets them tease out the ideas that they find most interesting. In this way, students feel a greater sense of ownership in the discussions and make more personal contributions.

Disputation

This is a really fun one that serves as a natural outgrowth of Socratic discussion. Disputation involves debating key aspects of the story, typically those that pose moral dilemmas. For example, in reading Cat and Mouse in Partnership, we might debate whether the mouse should have formed a partnership with the cat. Or when reading Cinderella, we might debate whether or not it is a good story for little kids.

Sometimes our debates are very formal with preparation and regulated rounds. Other times, they are of a more impromptu style. Either way, the students get very animated and impassioned.

CREATIVE WRITING
Plot Reinvention

Another exercise I really like is plot reinvention. First, students have to thoroughly understand the original plot of the story, meaning they can express the inciting incident, climax, and resolution for themselves much as I have done in this blog series. Once they can do this, they choose an element to change.

If, for example, the father in Godfather Death were to choose God, then the whole story would change. The student’s job would be to tell that new story. One of the great things about this exercise is that it gives students a concrete place to start writing, which can be very difficult with more open-ended prompts.  

Character Reinvention

Character reinvention follows this same principle. What if Little Red Cap were a naughty girl? Or what if the fisherman had a tougher upper lip? Or how about making the youngest sister in Twelve Brothers a real chatter-box?

When students develop a whole new approach to a character, it affects all of his or her motives and actions and can lead to a different, not to mention highly entertaining, story altogether.

Working from Art

I also like projecting beautiful paintings or sketches from fairy tales and having students write just one scene based on the picture. This approach is a little more contained than the previous two, so it makes it easier for students to develop sharp, properly formatted dialogue and well-planned narration. As such, it readily doubles as a grammar lesson as well as a creative writing exercise.


Cinderella by John Everett Millais

In preparation for writing a scene for Cinderella, I might depict the painting above by John Everett Millais and prompt students with the following: Describe the moment in time depicted here. What are the character’s thoughts? Words? Actions? Draw your ideas together as a scene from the story. Be sure to include dialogue and narration.

ARTISTIC RENDERING
Reflective Journaling

There are a number of mediums one could use for reflective journaling, but one I really like is water color. This entails students painting something they found inspiring in a fairy tale.

After reading The Little Match Seller, one might paint a wood stove, another a Christmas tree, or even the little girl flying up to Heaven. Once students have painted their pictures, they reflect in writing on what they have depicted and why. When that’s done, they walk around and view everyone else’s journals in what we call a “museum walk.”

All the while, we play classical music and otherwise maintain silence. It makes for a very relaxing, thoughtful environment, not to mention beautiful work. 

Story Board

This one is borrowed from the publishing industry wherein editors lay out words on a story board and then contract illustrators to matches them with pictures. I have students do the same thing with a fairy tale.

Their story boards can be very elaborate or more of a quick sketch, true to the story or reinvented using one of the models above. Either way, students fine-tune their understanding of the plot and have the opportunity to do so in an artistic, visual way.

Act Them Out

Most of my students like acting out the fairy tales best of all. I give them liberty to keep or change whatever they want in the plots. For that matter, they can even combine plots as long as it makes sense. Their job is to write the script, memorize it, and present it in a formal production. Ideally, we invite other classes in the school to come and watch.

CONCLUSION

These types of exercises cause students to think deeply about the fairy tales. This is extremely valuable from an educational standpoint, not least because it helps students to really understand the stories and develop their own insights.

It is perhaps even more valuable from a moral standpoint because the lessons can serve as a guide for life’s real-world difficulties. When, for example, they are discerning the nature of a friendship, they can draw from Cat and Mouse in Partnership. They can look to The Mermaid or The Snow Queen when trying to understand the true meaning of love. Perhaps they will think about The Emperor’s New Clothes when they eventually come to critique politics. Or maybe, they will take heart from The Little Match Seller in the face of personal suffering, which no doubts awaits everyone at some point or another.

Whatever the case may be, by extending the fairy tales with additional exercises, students come to embody them in a way that will enrich their lives forever. At least that’s my hope.

Image in the public domain

Posted on by Stephanie McGann

Fairy Tales #11: The Emperor’s New Clothes

The Emperor’s New Clothes by Hans Christian Andersen continues to fascinate modern day children. Of course everybody loves the famous underwear scene, but that’s not the only reason it has endured. It also touches on an array of virtues and vices like wisdom versus foolishness and humility versus pride in highly palpable ways. What’s more, it offers lessons for the everyday person and the statesman alike.

In order to unpack those ideas, let’s first examine the plot.  

PLOT SUMMARY
Exposition – The Background

There lives an emperor who is particularly fond of his appearance and spares no expense to dress in the finest attire. So obsessed is he, that he spends virtually all of his time consumed with his looks instead of the affairs of state.

Inciting Incident – The Problem

Knowing the emperor’s disposition, two swindlers seek to deceive the king and thereby make a profit. They pretend to be fine tailors and offer to sew him an outfit of such unmatched quality that none but the wisest can see it.

Rising Action – The Build-up

Greedy for such finery, the emperor commissions the tailors and follows their progress most eagerly. However, fearing his own foolishness would be revealed if he could not see the clothes, he sends in several of his advisors one after another to look at the clothes on his behalf.

As the tailors are not actually sewing anything but simply pretending to cut fabric and sew seams, none can see anything. Yet, all pretend to see a fine outfit for fear of being thought foolish. As the days progress and the pretend outfit nears completion, the emperor plans a royal procession throughout the streets of his kingdom to show off his new clothes. 

Climax – The Point of No Return

Finally, the emperor steps into his dressing chamber to try on his new outfit. Of course he can not see the clothes because they do not exist, but he pretends to get dressed in them just the same. There is no way he is going to admit that he does not see them because he, too, does not want to be thought a fool.

Falling Action – The Unraveling

And so the king processes through the streets with a grand entourage wearing only his underwear but believing himself royally clad.

Anti-resolution – The Truth is Out

All but a small child pretend to see the outfit. The child, not concerned with the thoughts of others, blurts out the obvious truth that the emperor is wearing nothing but underwear. The rest of the crowd soon also acknowledges this to be true.

Even the king realizes he has been made a fool of, but he continues on his procession, unwilling to acknowledge his shame.

PLOT ANALYSIS
Clothed in Falsehood

There are a number of figurative interpretations at play in this timeless story. Perhaps the first and most obvious has to do with vanity. After all, the king is obsessed with his looks, and that is what leads him down a foolish path.

When we dig just a little deeper, it becomes clear that his vanity relates not only to his looks but also to his power. He is obsessed with “being king” yet cares nothing for the real duties this entails. Instead, he spends his days playing dress-up, so to speak, and pretending to be in charge of the kingdom.

What’s worse, he knows he is a fool and is worried sick that anyone should find out. That is why he refuses to look at the outfit himself. He knows from the beginning that he is not wise enough to see it. And when he finally looks into the dressing room, his doubts about himself are confirmed. He cannot see the outfit.

Helen Stratton, The fairy tales of Hans Christian Andersen, page 45 illustration

Ironically, what he really cannot see is that he has been tricked. When he parades through town in his underwear, he believes himself regally clad. Just as the truth of his nakedness is revealed, so too is the truth of his power. He has none. All his wisdom and authority are empty, so much so that even a small child knows it.

It does not take an act of war or even well-planned subterfuge to bring about his downfall. It takes only two swindlers. He truly was not fit to be king.

Historical Lessons

This story, though about a king, was not written for a king. It was written for the people.

We know that because the narrator lets us readers in on the trick the swindlers are playing. From the beginning, we know they are not really sewing a fine outfit, and we anxiously look forward to seeing how the king will deal with them. We may hope he does not fall for their trick, but we thoroughly enjoy that he does.

Hans Christian Andersen, writing in the 1800s, knew that most of his readers would feel a level of disdain for kings whose right to rule was far more arbitrary than we could ever claim today. A king was either born into power or took it by force. Meanwhile, the people plain-old had to fall in line.

Many a real king leisurely sat in his palace “admiring his power” while the people toiled away paying taxes, ready to suit up for war on command. For them, the emperor’s new clothes were nothing but a well-worn reality. 

CONCLUSION

Such is often the case today as well. Be it the politics of state or family, church or school, fame or fashion, one needs ever to be on the lookout for falsehood.

And therein is the lesson I like best about The Emperor’s New Clothes. It teaches children to look critically at the world around them. In a sense, it shows them that they have power far greater than that of a king for theirs is the power of critical thinking. With it, they can judge the world around them and rule their own lives with wisdom and virtue.

Image in the public domain

Posted on by Stephanie McGann

Fairy Tales #10: The Little Match Seller

The Little Match Seller is another bitter-sweet fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen. In fact, the ending is so hard that I have heard some challenge the wisdom of sharing it with children. To each his own, of course, but I think it is a very good story for older children like those I teach in middle school.

Let’s look at the plot and then consider its merits.

PLOT SUMMARY
Exposition – The Background

While others are making merry and staying warm inside on New Year’s Eve, a poor little girl must walk barefoot through the freezing cold streets and try to sell matches in order to bring the earnings home to her father. He is a terrible man who will certainly beat her if she cannot make any money.

Inciting Incident – The Problem

And she doesn’t. The whole day long she fails to sell even a single match. All the while her feet have turned blue from the cold, making her unable to continue on.

Rising Action – The Build-up

Yet, rather than cry, she embraces her fate with a heart full of hope. She strikes one of her matches in a vain attempt to warm herself. There in the light she sees a vision of a nice warm stove. Just as she reaches out her fingers to touch it, the match goes out, and the vision disappears.

The Little Match Girl by Anne Anderson

Eager to bring it back, the little girl lights another match. This time she sees a beautiful dinner table set with a scrumptious goose. It looks so good that it dances right off the table toward her but then disappears when the match goes out.

She quickly lights a third match and beholds a glorious Christmas tree bedazzled with lights from top to bottom. It, too, disappears when the match goes out.

Climax – The Breaking Point

Just then, the little girl sees a falling star and thinks someone is dying, little realizing it is herself.  

Falling Action – The Unraveling

In a final act of hope, the little girl lights a fourth match and sees a vision of her dear departed grandmother, who was the only one who ever loved her.

“O take me with you,” the girl cries. “I know you will go away when the match burns out; you will vanish like the warm stove, the roast goose, and the large, glorious Christmas tree.”

Resolution – Happily Ever After

She hopes not in vain. Her grandmother, who truly is a spirit sent from God, escorts her to Heaven where she will enjoy all the things she envisioned and more.

On New Year’s Day, people gather around the little girl’s dead body and lament her passing, never imagining all the wonderful visions she saw before she died.

PLOT ANALYSIS

In order to understand the lessons in this story, we have to begin with the ending. Like the onlookers in the story, readers are naturally compelled to focus on the sad death of the little match seller, not to mention the terrible realities of her life.

She was a victim of poverty and abuse and left utterly alone in the world when her grandmother died. No doubt the onlookers could discern a great deal of this from her ragged clothes and bare feet. Perhaps she even bore the wounds of abuse on her frail body. Surely, she was a forsaken child if there ever was one.

And yet she was somehow full of hope. There was no reason she should expect a wood stove or a dancing goose and certainly not a frivolous Christmas tree. Yet, she dreamed of them nonetheless and most assuredly knew she would get them someday in Heaven. Her life, though we might call it tragic, is nothing short of a miracle in that she overcomes her difficulties with such grace.

MOTIFS

Hans Christian Andersen conveys this message through the interplay of three sets of oppositional motifs.  

Light versus Darkness

His little match seller lives a life in the dark, meaning she has virtually nothing. Yet, she has something better than material goods. She has a light within herself that she brings to the world. To her father and all the onlookers, she is a nothing but a poor match seller. But in truth, she is a light giver.

The final matches she strikes are not bought and paid for. They are freely struck just as her goodness is freely shared with any who would care to bask in it. As each match burns down, the light of her mortal world gives way to the eternal light of Heaven until she is consumed by it.

Warmth versus Coldness

So, too, does coldness permeate every aspect of her life. Whether at home or on the streets, the wind is always whipping at her face. She cannot escape it. Yet, she literally and figuratively brings warmth with her wherever she goes. Each of her tiny little matches can strike a roaring fire. Likewise, every hardship she accepts with grace kindles warmth in the world.

When none are left to enjoy that warmth, both that from the matches and that from her goodness, God calls her home to the eternal warmth and sunshine of Heaven.

Life versus Death

Ironically, the little girl’s life on earth is more akin to death, whereas her death is the beginning of her true life. While this accords with basic Christian beliefs, it can lead to a misreading of the story.

It is not uncommon to confuse the truth that we are made for eternal life with the falsehood that some people are better off dead. Just because the little match seller’s life was so difficult does not mean that it was somehow not worth living. It most assuredly was, and she gave glory to God by accepting her hardships with such grace. And by doing so, she gained eternal life.

If she had given up, well, we can guess her death would have turned out differently.

CONCLUSION

The Little Match Seller is not for the faint of heart. It poses many serious questions about the realities of life on earth and life everlasting. If the story makes us cry, so much the better. That means it has kindled something in us.

It seems Hans Christian Andersen was trying to strike his own match and shed light on the beauty waiting to be found in suffering. Maybe that message is too heavy for a small child, but maybe a small child is just innocent enough to bask in its rays. I tend to think it is the adults who cringe.

Image in the public domain

Posted on by Stephanie McGann

Fairy Tales #9: Cat and Mouse in Partnership

Cats and mice are natural born enemies, so what happens when they form a partnership in a fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm? The mouse gets eaten, of course!

While our modern sentiments want to defy stereotypes and recast the villain as a hero or a misunderstood outcast, that was not so in the Middle Ages when Cat and Mouse in Partnership was first told. Things were a little more black and white back then, at least in the world of their fairy tales where lessons needed to be crystal clear.

Cat and Mouse by Christian Rohlfs

If it looks like a cat and purrs like a cat, so to speak, then it’s a cat all right. And if you’re a mouse, then you’d better stay away. But the little mouse in our story doesn’t. Let’s take a look at the plot and figure out why.

PLOT SUMMARY
Exposition – The Background

A cat meets a mouse.

Inciting Incident – The Problem

And the cat says all manner of nice things to the mouse in order to win her friendship.

Rising Action – The Build-up

The unlikely pair then buys a pot of fat together and stores it in the church for safekeeping until winter. Meanwhile, they move in together, but the cat secretly covets the pot of fat and contrives to have it all to himself.

Three times he lies to the mouse and says that he must go to the church to stand as godfather for a newborn kitten.

The first time, he licks off the top layer of fat. When he comes home, the mouse inquires about the baptism and asks the kitten’s name. The cat says the kitten was christened “Top-Off.” Though an unusual name, the mouse does not give it much thought.

The second time, the cat eats down to the middle of the pot. Again, he gives the make-believe kitten a fake name, calling him “Half-Gone.” The name worries the mouse, but she does not press the matter.

Climax – The Breaking Point

The third time, the cat devours the rest of the pot and says the kitten was christened “All-Gone.” The mouse grows even more worried but still does not realize the cat is lying.

Falling Action – The Unraveling

When winter comes and food grows scarce, the mouse goes to the church with the cat and discovers the pot of fat empty.

Anti-resolution – Not So Happily Ever After

Before she can finish accusing the cat, he eats her up, and so ends their partnership!

PLOT ANALYSIS

The mouse should have known better than to trust a cat. So why did she? Was she worried about being prejudicial? Did she just want to give him a chance?

Of course not! Those explanations are too modern to apply, not to mention they are not supported by the text, which says very plainly that the cat tricked the mouse through flattery. The mouse should have trusted her instincts, not her vanity. As a result, she misplaced her trust altogether.

Cat and Mouse in Partnership by Walter Crane

The mouse was happy to keep the company of the cat because he boosted her ego. Yet, the cat was biding his time to eat her all the while. As such, neither was really friend to the other. Theirs was a partnership of convenience and met a certain death when that convenience, the pot of fat, ran out.

Neither the cat nor the mouse emerges a likable character. One is a foolish victim, and the other is a cunning predator.

CONCLUSION

Naturally, many middle school students like the ones I teach can readily relate to both characters. What seems to be a true friendship in sixth grade turns out to be merely a partnership of convenience in seventh. If left unchecked, it meets an unhappy ending by eighth.

That sounds rather daunting! But fear not, the Brothers Grimm have sound advice to offer. Simply put, trust your instincts. It’s good to give people a chance, but don’t be fooled by flattery or popularity or something else superficial. You can usually see through the façade if you can get over your ego.

And finally, just as we need to safeguard ourselves from cats, we also need to make sure we don’t turn into a cat.

First image courtesy of the National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.; Second image in the public domain

Posted on by Stephanie McGann

Fairy Tales #8: The Fisherman and His Wife

The Fisherman and His Wife is one of the lesser known tales by the Brothers Grimm, but it is right up there with the best of them. It is has a gripping, imaginative plot that offers many lessons about the dangers of greed. Better still, those lessons are not black and white, so there is ample room for debate. Let’s begin by looking at the plot and then examine two controversial questions my students engage.  

PLOT SUMMARY
Exposition – The Background

A fisherman and his wife pass their days living in a shack by the sea.     

Inciting Incident – The Problem
The Fisherman and His Wife by Alexander Zick

All of that changes one day when the fisherman catches a magical, talking fish who had once been a prince. The fisherman at first plans to cook and eat his catch like any other, but the fish begs him not to. Being of a generous heart, the fisherman releases the fish.  

Rising Action – The Build-up

His wife, however, reprimands him gravely for letting the fish off the hook without first demanding a wish. She insists her husband go back the very next day, find the fish, and demand a wish in exchange for letting him go. When the fisherman asks his wife what they should wish for, she quickly responds that she wants a nice cottage instead of their “filthy” shack.

The husband obeys his wife, goes back to the seashore, calls out to the fish who readily comes swimming back, and presents his wife’s wish. The fish, in turn, changes their shack into a nice cottage.

When the fisherman returns home later that day, his wife seems happy with their new home. Feeling satisfied himself, he says, “This is quite enough.”

“We will see about that,” the wife retorts.

Thus ensues a daily progression of new wishes, each trading out one home for another and always increasing the wife’s station in life. She next contrives to have a palace over which she is lord, then a kingdom over which she is king, then an empire over which she is emperor, and finally all of Christendom over which she is pope.

The fisherman begs his wife not to keep demanding more wishes but fears her too much to refuse her bidding. Like an errand boy, he goes back day after day and fishes for wishes on her behalf. Though the fish keeps granting them in turn, the water and clouds turn ever more murky and grey.  

Climax – The Point of No Return

Still not satisfied, the wife racks her brains all night long trying to think of what could be better than being pope. When the first rays of light streak across her bedroom, she asks, “Could not I cause the sun and the moon to rise?”

Falling Action – The Unraveling

The fisherman fears his wife more than ever as he realizes she wants to be like God. Amidst thunder and lightning, the man obediently runs away from her like a madman, calls out to the fish, and presents his wife’s newest wish. 

Anti-resolution – Not So Happily Ever After

Upon hearing it, the fish simply replies, “Go home. She is sitting in her filthy shack again.” And just like that, the fisherman and his wife lose everything they had gotten from the fish.

PLOT ANALYSIS

When reading this story with my students, it is always interesting to see how intently they follow the plot. Their inquisitive eyes and furrowed brows race through the storyline, eager to find out what will become of the fisherman and his wife.

With the first wish, it is not at all obvious what is going to happen. It even seems like a good thing that they get to upgrade their “filthy” shack to a nice cottage. As the wishes become greedier and the sky turns darker, however, the students soon realize things have not gotten better for the fisherman and his wife but much, much worse.

The First Wish

During our discussions, students unanimously condemn the fisherman’s and his wife’s greed. Many say familiar expressions like, they should have “quit while they were ahead.” Or, they should have been “careful what you wished for.” Indeed, there are dozens of similar adages that can be readily applied.

It gets a lot more complicated, however, when we discuss whether or not the fisherman and his wife should have wished for anything at all. Some inevitably think it was okay that they tried to improve their station in life. The problem, in their opinion, was that the fisherman and his wife went overboard.

Others argue that even one wish was too much because it set them on an insatiable path. Both viewpoints are certainly valid, so the object of debating the prudence of making the first wish is not to come up with the “right” answer. Rather, the goal is to have students think deeply about the nature of greed.

The Final Wish

We also have a rich discussion about the final wish. Specifically, I ask my students whether or not the fisherman and his wife got what they wished for. Did the wife get to become like God?

Of course, the literal answer is no. Indeed, they lost everything they had previously gained.

With a little prodding, though, they begin to come up with figurative interpretations that are extremely insightful. Some say they become slaves to their newfound wealth, distancing themselves further and further from God. As such, they end up losing any semblance of likeness they ever had to Him.

Others suggest that since the fisherman and his wife are humbled in the end, they have a newfound chance of being like God, who has perfect humility alongside absolute power.

Still others argue that the wife does get her final wish because she has power over her husband. In their little world, filthy as it is with the vice of greed, she has absolute power. She didn’t need an empire or a kingdom to “rule” over her husband, so she got her original shack back. Though hers is a corrupt kind of power, it is precisely the kind she foolishly sought.

CONCLUSION

The Fisherman and His Wife offers many real-life lessons about greed, albeit with plenty of grey area. While my students never agree on “how much is enough,” they certainly agree that too much is a bad thing. Likewise, they realize that fortunes can easily be turned into misfortunes. That is not to say wealth is bad, per se, but that it comes with a price.

Image in the public domain



Posted on by Stephanie McGann

Fairy Tales #7: The Mermaid

Magical. Mysterious. Heartbreaking. Perplexing. It’s hard to come up with just the right adjective to describe The Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen. His storyline does not fit squarely into the fairy tale world that rewards virtue (think Cinderella) nor does it fall neatly into the anti-fairy tale world that punishes vice (think Godfather Death). It’s a little of both, kind of like real life, and that makes it surprisingly uncomfortable in a child’s story.

Nevertheless, I include it in my line-up of fairy tales because that discomfort makes it a powerful teaching tool. Let’s take a look at the plot and then try to understand the lessons Hans Christian Andersen was trying to get across. There is tremendous wisdom there for parents and children alike.

PLOT SUMMARY
Exposition – The Background

Though no humans have ever seen it, a great kingdom exists deep under the sea. It is ruled by the sea king who lives with his mother and six charming mermaid daughters. Like all mermaids, they are created to live 300 years, upon the expiration of which they will turn into seafoam.

The daughters have a strong fascination with the human world above but are not permitted to go there until their fifteenth birthday. In the meantime, they content themselves with their grandmother’s stories about humans and collect various artifacts from shipwrecks and the like. One by one, each sister has her turn to go to the surface until it comes to the youngest, called simply “the little mermaid.”

Inciting Incident – The Problem

The little mermaid spends her first night above the surface of the ocean watching a party aboard a great ship. As it turns out, the crew was celebrating the sixteenth birthday of a handsome prince. A storm sweeps in, lightning strikes, and the ship begins to go under.

The little mermaid, who was watching the prince most intently, sees that he has been knocked unconscious. She at first plans to take him home to her collection but then realizes he would die under water. She instead swims him to shore and leaves him on the beach.

Rising Action – The Build-up

From that day forward, the little mermaid falls into a downcast state. She thinks of the prince all the time and hopes in vain to see him again. As her grandmother explains, mermaids are not made for the human world. Not only do they lack legs, but they also do not have souls. Not willing to give up her dream of being with the prince, she eventually goes to the sea witch and begs her help.

Climax – The Point of No Return

The sea witch agrees to change the little mermaid’s tail into legs so she can join the human world. In exchange the little mermaid must give up her voice, which is her most alluring asset and the essence of who she is. Though her legs will be beautiful on the outside, they will cause her great pain. With each step, she will feel as though she is walking on knives.

Additionally, the little mermaid must win the love of the prince to stay a human. If he marries another, she will die and instantly turn into seafoam, forfeiting the 300 years she otherwise would have had.  Even knowing all this, the little mermaid accepts the bargain, drinks a magical potion, and gets legs.

Falling Action – The Unraveling

On land, the little mermaid soon meets the prince. He is taken with her and eventually confesses that he loves her better than anyone else, but he nonetheless pines after the elusive woman who had previously saved him from the shipwreck. All the while, the prince has no idea that the little mermaid is indeed she. Without her voice, the she is unable to tell him who she really is.

The prince’s father arranges for him to be married to a princess from a nearby kingdom. The prince reluctantly agrees to meet the princess and ends up believing her the woman who saved him. (Unlike in the Disney version, the princess does not try to deceive the prince, he simply believes it of his own will. She’s the one, so to speak.)

The two are married at once in a grand ceremony at sea with the little mermaid in attendance.

Resolution – Almost Happily Ever After
The Little Mermaid’s Sisters by Anne Anderson

The poor little mermaid is miserable during the ceremony and reception, for she knows that she will die upon the following morn. In the final moments before the sunrise, her mermaid sisters rise to the surface and try to help her. They present her with a magical dagger they got from the sea witch and beg her to kill the prince. If she does so, she will get her mermaid life back.

The little mermaid nearly kills him but thinks better of it. No sooner does the sun come up, then she dies according to the terms of her agreement with the sea witch.

Unexpectedly, however, the little mermaid finds herself in the presence of beings called “daughters of the air.” In her new state, she will have 300 years to win a soul by doing unseen good in the human world. Though in the end she does not get to live happily ever with the prince, she will get to live eternally in heaven.

PLOT ANALYSIS

Few of my students ever like the ending of The Mermaid though they mostly see the justice of it. The reason the little mermaid does not get to live happily ever after with the prince is because she was not created for that purpose. She was made to be a mermaid, not a human. What’s more, she clearly compromises herself when she bargains with the sea witch, so the human life she assumes is false.

But if she does not deserve to get the prince, then why does she get to win a soul? After all, mermaids are supposed to live their mortal lives for 300 years and then turn into seafoam—no soul, no heaven, nothing. And yet she gets something better than her mermaid family when she rises up with the daughters of the air upon her death.  

In order to answer that question, we need to first examine the world of the story.

Ocean, Earth, Sky, Heaven

Hans Christian Andersen builds a natural hierarchy into his setting that begins with the ocean on the bottom, moves up to the earth, then onto the sky, and concludes with heaven.

The mermaids of the ocean are akin to animals in that they have bodies but do not have souls. As such, they are lower than their earthly counterparts, the humans, who have bodies and souls. The daughters of the air are kind of in limbo. They have neither body nor soul but the promise of both. Finally, heaven is the highest place, and it can only be reached with a soul.

The “Voice” of the Soul

Though the mermaids do not have souls, they do have beautiful voices. In fact, their voices are their essence. That means that when the little mermaid bargains with the sea witch and sells her voice, it is kind of like she is selling her soul to the devil.

So intent is she on marrying the prince that she is willing to compromise herself beyond recognition. One drink of the sea witch’s potion and her mermaid tail turns into legs. She likes that trade, despite the physical pain it entails, because it makes her more attractive to the prince. But she also loses her voice, which makes her less attractive. Not only is she unable to win his love through her songs, but she cannot even tell him who she is.

Literally, her identity is gone; figuratively, her true self, her very essence, is lost.

My students generally have mixed feelings about the little mermaid’s deal with the sea witch. Many are inclined to see it as a rather innocent or even commendable action because she is “following her heart.” The problem with that interpretation, however, is that it forgets that the little mermaid does not have a human heart to follow. She is less than a human, so to speak. Thus, her heart is not guiding her in a virtuous sense but in more of an instinctual, covetous sense.

To Be Human

Luckily, the little mermaid finds her true self in the final moments of her life when she is given the chance to kill the prince in order to save herself. As we know, she chooses to let herself die rather than kill him. This act is the first selfless one she has performed.

To review, everything in her life up to that point was designed for her sake. She wants to marry the prince because she wants him and the immortal soul marriage could give her. Of course she saves his life on the shipwreck, but she does so to add him to her collection. Hence, even that service is rendered thinking first of herself.

In contrast, she saves the prince’s life in the end, full-knowing she will lose her own. Her sisters, well-intentioned as they are, behave like mermaids when they give her the knife. “Look out for yourself,” they remind her in short. Theirs is a survival instinct. Yet, the little mermaid has overcome that instinct in herself. She has become like a human in that she finally knows the meaning of love. She knows that true love, agape, is about sacrifice.

In that final act of sacrificial love, she wins a place among the daughters of the sky. She likewise gets her voice back and wins the promise of a soul.

CONCLUSION

Even if you are extremely faithful, this ending is a hard one, especially for a child. Hans Christian Andersen knew that to be the case, yet he wrote it anyways. Simply put, he wanted to teach children to consider the full weight of their actions. His message, though grave, is not meant to scare.

We can tell this by looking at his narrative voice. Hans Christian Andersen is what I call a parent narrator. His voice is wise and discerning, gentle and reassuring as he tells what turns out to be a very sad story. As readers, we know he cares for his little mermaid much as the sea king does. He does not want the little mermaid to trade her voice to the sea witch for a false promise of happily ever after, nor does he want any of his readers to make similarly fatal mistakes.

Yet he does not scold or rebuke the little mermaid. He knows such headstrong desires are a part of life. Like a good parent, he trusts his little mermaid will figure out her mistakes and expects her to make amends for them, even if it takes 300 years.

Posted on by Stephanie McGann

Fairy Tales #6: The Twelve Brothers

I don’t recall ever having a student who was familiar with The Twelve Brothers by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm before I passed out copies of it. In fact, I was not familiar with it myself until I became a teacher and started designing my first unit on fairy tales. I was looking for something a little different than the usual line-up, and The Twelve Brothers was perfect.

It has just the right amount of hardship and heartache to warrant its happily ever after ending. Not only that, its bizarre storyline provides tremendous insight into the mindset and realities of the Middle Ages.

PLOT ANALYSIS
Exposition – The Background

There once lived a king and queen who had twelve sons. It happened that the queen was expecting, and her husband said, “If the thirteenth child which thou art about to bring into the world is a girl, the twelve boys shall die, in order that her possessions may be great, and that the kingdom may fall to her alone.”

Inciting Incident – The Problem

The queen was so sad upon hearing this order that her youngest son, Benjamin, would give her no peace until she explained the reason for her sadness. So hearing, he came up with a plan to hide with his brothers in the woods until the baby was born. If the child was a boy, they would return to the palace. If a girl, they would leave forever.

To the boys’ disappointment, the baby was a girl. So they ventured deeper and deeper into the woods until they came upon an enchanted cottage, which they made their home.

Rising Action – The Build-up

After the passing of ten years, the girl, who was beautiful and good and had a star on her forehead, learned she had brothers who nearly died for her sake and set off to find them. She chanced upon their very cottage and found Benjamin home alone for his brothers were out hunting, and it was his job to keep the house.

The two were happily reunited, but he feared his brothers would not share his joy. As it turned out, they had vowed to kill all maidens since they had suffered on the account of a maiden. Benjamin then used the lure of gossip to persuade his brothers not to kill the next maiden they met. Having obtained their word, he brought his sister out of hiding. Just like that, the old vendetta vanished, and the siblings were happily united.

Climax – The Breaking Point
The Twelve Brothers by Henry Justice Ford

One night soon thereafter, however, the sister picked twelve flowers from the garden of their enchanted cottage, and her brothers were all transformed into crows. By some unexplained sorcery, the brothers’ lives were contained in the flowers, and the only way for them to become men again was for their sister to stop talking for the next seven years.

Falling Action – The Unraveling

The sister immediately made a vow of silence. Alone as she was, it might not have been that hard to fulfill, but she soon found herself sought after by a king who wanted to marry her. Nevertheless, she stayed true to her vow during their courtship and marriage, even in the face of slanderous talk from her evil stepmother-in-law that ultimately condemned her to death by fire.

Resolution – Happily Ever After

Just as the first flame from the fiery stake was about to burn the sister, the term of her seven years of silence expired, and twelve crows flew down to stomp out the fire. Instantly, they turned into her brothers. The siblings were reunited; the king took his wife back; and the evil stepmother-in-law was killed. In short, everyone (but the stepmother-in-law) lived happily ever after.

MOTIFS
Primogeniture

In order to understand the bizarre twists in this fairy tale, we have to read it as a critique of primogeniture, which refers to the passing of wealth, land, and titles onto the oldest male heir. That was common practice in the Middle Ages. A king, for example, needed a son to bequeath his realm to. Only in the rarest of circumstances would a daughter receive the crown. In such cases, the daughter would really give the power of rule over to her husband.

(Queen Elizabeth is one such example. She refused to marry because she knew it would strip her of power. Not only that, her dad, King Henry VIII, married and divorced SIX times in large part to get a son.)

Against this backdrop, the king in The Twelve Brothers is rather odd. Though he has sons in spades, he not only wants a daughter but prefers to give her everything. He is even going to kill his sons to make sure they have no chance of claiming their lawful inheritance. Hence, the story turns primogeniture on its head to show how unfair it is. Primogeniture figuratively “killed” daughters in the same way that the king plans to kill his sons.

Once my students realize this, they stop thinking the story bizarre and realize that it’s really quite progressive. Children should be treated equally, whether male or female, youngest or oldest.

Girl Power

What’s more, the story celebrates “girl power” and even suggests that women would be great rulers. Beginning with her birth and ending with her vow of silence, the sister holds the power of life and death over her brothers. Yet, she does not wield that power for her own benefit. Rather, she does so sacrificially.

She gives up her inheritance in order to take care of her brothers and later gives up her voice and everything that went with it in order to turn her brothers back into men.

Her “power,” therefore, is not simply something she inherited. Indeed, she gave that kind of worldly power up. Instead, she has true power, that which is born out of sacrificial love. We see this represented by the star on her forehead. It is not just a birthmark; it is an outward sign of the inner grace that “crowns” her very self.

CONCLUSION

That kind of crown is the birthright of everyone, and whether we wear it or not is always within our power. Therein lies the full message of The Twelve Brothers. We may not always get what we deserve in life, but we should always live as the kings and queens God made us to be. Put differently, life is not about getting; it is about giving.

Like so many fairy tales, the message of The Twelve Brothers transcends time and place, offering lessons well beyond the literal storyline. It reminds us that we are all born to greatness.

Posted on by Stephanie McGann

Fairy Tales #5: Little Red Cap

No fairy tale collection would be complete without the story of Little Red Cap, otherwise known as Little Red Riding Hood. Its beloved title character has captured the imagination of generations of little girls and taught them not to trust the big bad wolf.

The story has been reinvented over and over again, often with the goal of “softening” the darker details or painting it with a more secular brush. The Brothers Grimm would have had none of that, however. Their version is “dark” by today’s standards precisely because they wanted to paint a gripping picture of what could happen if one wanders off the path.

PLOT ANALYSIS
Exposition – Background

Once there was a good little girl who was loved by everyone. Her grandmother especially doted on her and made her a little red velvet cap, which she wore so much that everyone called her Little Red Cap.

Inciting Incident – The Problem

Her life takes an unexpected twist one day when she is sent on what would seem a rather benign task. Her mother says, “Come, Little Red-Cap, here is a piece of cake and a bottle of wine; take them to your grandmother. She is ill and weak, and they will do her good. Set out before it gets hot, and when you are going, walk nicely and quietly and do not run off the path…”

Little Red Cap’s story unfolds from there. Her challenge is to stay on the path and complete her errand safely.  

Rising Action – The Build-up

Along the way, she meets a sly wolf who pretends to be good. He tricks Little Red Cap into straying from the path to pick wild flowers so that he can run ahead to Grandmother’s cottage.

Once there, the wolf knocks on the door and pretends to be Little Red Cap. Grandmother is deceived and invites him to “lift the latch” and enter her cottage. The wolf then goes to her bedroom and swallows her whole. He wastes no time disguising himself as Grandmother and lays in wait for Little Red Cap, whom he intends to eat next. 

Climax – The Breaking Point

When Little Red Cap arrives, she senses that something is not right, but she still walks into the back bedroom expecting to find Grandmother. Thus ensues the famous “Grandmother, Grandmother…” lines wherein Little Red Cap notes how different the wolf’s ears, eyes, hands, and mouth look than those of her real grandmother. No sooner does she realize that it’s the wolf, then he goggles her up. 

Falling Action – The Unraveling

Luckily, the wolf is so full from his two-course meal that he falls asleep in Grandmother’s bed and begins snoring loudly. A nearby huntsman hears the loud snoring and decides to check on Grandmother, thinking she may be ill. When he goes inside, he sees the wolf and shouts, “So here I find you, you old sinner.” He gets ready to shoot the wolf but thinks better of it and decides to cut his stomach open instead.

Resolution – Lesson Learned

Out pops Little Red Cap and Grandmother. Though they’re both a little worse for the wear, they eat the basket of goodies and feel much better.

MOTIFS
Journey through the Woods

Woods are dark and scary places. Just ask any little child to venture deep into the woods on his own, and see how he responds.

Little Red Cap does not seem afraid, however, when her mother tells her to walk through the woods to Grandmother’s house. Ironically, she’s too young to get scared. She doesn’t know, or at least doesn’t understand, that danger awaits. She has grown up in the safety of her mother’s home and expects that safety to stay with her in the woods. But, of course, it doesn’t. The wolf greets her almost immediately and plans to devour her.

Красная шапочка

So, too, in life does danger always lurk. The woods, then, is a metaphor for life’s figurative journey from beginning to end. It starts in the safety, certainty, and comfort of one’s own home with parents who, like Little Red Cap’s mother, try to teach the ways of the world. In its most primitive sense, those teachings are designed to heighten a child’s chances of survival. One day, ready or not, that same child must face the world alone.

Many, like Little Red Cap, wander off the path and even get devoured. Sure, Little Red Cap gets a second chance when the huntsman cuts her out of the wolf’s belly, but that’s hardly something she could have counted on.

By extension, the woods also symbolize our earthly journey to Heaven, with sin as the ever-present danger.

The Big Bad Wolf

This brings us to the infamous big bad wolf who metaphorically represents sin. He’s no stranger to this role either, as there are seemingly endless stories with wolves as bad guys. Even Christ used this metaphor in His Parable of the Good Shepherd.

If the wolf’s so big and bad, though, why doesn’t he just eat Little Red Cap right away and then go gobble up Grandma?

Little Red Riding Hood by J.W. Smith

The answer to this question reveals much about the nature of sin. Thanks to free will, we can either invite sin into our life or turn it down. Likewise, the wolf cannot do anything to Little Red Cap without her participation. For that matter, he cannot even get into Grandmother’s house without permission. Remember—the wolf opens the door himself but only after Grandmother invites him to do so.

Of course, both Little Red Cap and Grandmother are tricked by the wolf. He’s a liar and a master of disguise, feigning to be good and dressing as someone he’s not. Sin is the same way. It, too, pretends to be good, or at least not that bad. After all, Little Red Cap was trying to do something nice for her grandmother when she stopped to pick flowers. Nevertheless, by doing so she disobeyed her mother and gave the wolf his chance.

Once he has it, he takes as much as he can. He isn’t satisfied with one meal. He has to have two. And so his appetite would have grown had the huntsman not come along. Likewise, sin always gets bigger and hurts more people unless it is killed entirely.

To do so, we must see it for what it is—sin. The huntsman immediately sees through the wolf’s disguise, notably calling him “sinner,” and that’s why he is able to kill him.     

CONCLUSION

One of the nice things about Little Red Cap is that it can be read at so many different levels. At its most basic, it reminds children to listen to their parents and not to trust strangers. That’s a pretty good point by itself. Indeed, my students often think that’s what it boils down to.

“We know where this one’s going,” they seem to think when I pass out the story.

After we unpack the metaphors, however, they suddenly look at the story differently, almost like they’re hearing it as little children for the first time. They once again fear for Little Red Cap when she walks into Grandmother’s room and examines the wolf’s ears, eyes, hands, and mouth. They can imagine themselves in her shoes, realizing too late that sin has crept into the most treasured corners of their lives.

In truth, we have all been in Little Red Cap’s shoes when we would rather be in the huntsman’s.

Posted on by Stephanie McGann

Fairy Tales #4: The Snow Queen

Disney’s Frozen is supposed to be loosely based on Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen, but, sorry to mix metaphors, “loose” is a pretty big “stretch” in this case. Aside from some overlap with their symbolic use of coldness, there is not much else in common between them. Both are good stories in their own right, though, so why try to connect them in the first place?

The only explanation I can come up with is that Disney values being able to trace its movies back to the original fairy tales, full of history and tradition and that extra something special they have. After all, what better way to produce an instant classic than to hang on the coattails of a true classic? Nevertheless, “classic” is no more than a stamp on Frozen because it is so far removed from the original.

So what, then, is so wrong with The Snow Queen by modern standards that Disney had to discard essentially the whole thing? Let’s first look at the plot and then try to figure this out.

PLOT ANALYSIS
Exposition – Background

The Snow Queen begins with a story behind the story, one that has many similarities to the fall of man in salvation history and serves as the premise: A mischievous sprite seeks to create discord in the world, so he makes an evil mirror that can distort the appearance of Goodness, Beauty, and Truth. Some of his sprite buddies get their hands on the mirror and shatter it into a million pieces that spread across the world, each separately retaining the power of the whole.

Inciting Incident – The Problem

One of those pieces falls in the eye of a good little boy named Kay, and another takes hold in his heart. The glass, which symbolically represents sin, turns him cold to the warmth of love and friendship and makes him a stranger in his own garden. He no longer sees the flowers as God made them but as the evil sprite wants them to be seen.

Rising Action – The Build-up

And so Kay grows apart from his best friend and playmate, a little girl named Gerda, and starts getting into a lot of trouble.

The Snow Queen by Elena Ringo

A wicked Snow Queen, presumably born out of the mirror somehow, eventually lures him away to her palace where he turns black with cold. So blinded is he by the glass in his eye, though, that he does not even feel the coldness that grips him. He spends his days as a prisoner, listlessly playing with blocks of ice and arranging them into all sorts of different patterns. He hopes in his own numb way to form them into a magical word that will set him free, a word the Snow Queen wants to keep hidden from him

Meanwhile, Gerda sets out to find Kay. She gets carried from one place to another, each offering her a different path for her own life. She turns down the comforts of a never-ending childhood, the splendors of life in a royal court, and the thrills of banditry all in favor of finding Kay. The further she travels, the colder it gets and the more difficult her journey becomes. Yet, the warmth of Gerda’s goodness and her frequent prayers protect her from danger, even when she ends up barefoot in the snow. 

Climax – The Breaking Point

At long last, Gerda arrives at the palace of the Snow Queen and sees Kay playing with the ice blocks, but he is completely unaware of her presence. Gerda goes to him and sheds “burning tears” that melt the lump of ice in his heart. She then sings a song from their childhood:

“The rose in the valley is blooming so sweet, The Child Jesus is there the children to greet.”

The song awakens his conscience, and Kay weeps so much that the glass rolls out of his eye. Next, the ice blocks form themselves into the magical word that can set him free—eternity.

Falling Action – The Unraveling

Kay and Gerda then travel back over the lands from whence they came, seeing everything anew with unblemished eyesight. Flowers and verdure awaken in their path as they find their way home.   

Resolution – Happily Ever After

They return both changed in age and wisdom. Kay and Gerda have grown up, not just literally but also spiritually, for they have learned to see the world as God does, to embrace Goodness, Beauty, and Truth with childlike simplicity.

In connection to salvation history, the story has come full circle. Kay and Gerda have gotten their innocence back by overcoming the sin in the world. As such, they have been figuratively readmitted into the eternal garden that is Heaven.

THE DISNEY EFFECT

It’s little wonder Disney changed the story so much given all the Christian messages. Some fairy tales, like Cinderella, only have Christian undertones, but The Snow Queen is much more overt. While it might be nice for a major filmmaker like Disney to keep those intact, it’s not surprising they don’t since their audience has all sorts of religious affiliations. More viewers equals more sales.

What does surprise me is that Disney made Frozen so exclusively about girls. Sure, I understand the “girl power” idea, but I actually think transforming Kay into the far-off character of Elsa (the older sister) weakens that message. After all, Gerda saves Kay, not the other way around. Hans Christian Andersen had already turned the knight in shining armor archetype on its head.

What’s more, Gerda does it out of the purest love there is—sacrificial love. We can infer that she and Kay will live happily ever after as husband and wife, but Hans Christian Andersen leaves out any hint of romance. His really is a story for kids because it celebrates childhood as the goal of life, not marriage or some other grown-up ideal. After all, Kay and Gerda learn that they must be like children to enter into the Kingdom of God. 

Another big difference with Frozen is that it is set against the backdrop of royalty whereas Kay and Gerda are common folk. Once again, I get it. Princess themes sell lots of movies.

But in my view, Gerda could hold her own with the best of the fairy tale princesses and the princes, even without a crown. That’s the beauty of The Snow Queen. Its heroine is a real-life character who overcomes the dangers in the every-day world. Gerda could be any little child, girl or boy, rich or poor, who brings the warmth of love to others.

CONCLUSION

Hans Christian Andersen may have liked Frozen, but it’s doubtful he would have found much in common with his own story. In either case, Disney breathed new life into The Snow Queen for a new generation of children, including my students.

They always enjoy comparing the versions and learn much about the differences in our world today and that in which Andersen lived. By examining the cold and ice imagery, they also come to a better understanding of the dangers of sin.

As I frequently tell my students, the more one sins the more he becomes desensitized to sin. That’s a pretty difficult concept for them to understand on its own, but it makes perfect sense when they hear a story about a little boy who gets glass in his eye and eventually becomes a prisoner of the Snow Queen without even realizing it.

Now, that’s something kids can imagine and understand and even relate to.

Posted on by Stephanie McGann

Fairy Tales #3: Godfather Death

Disney has pretty much figured out what makes a fairy tale worth turning into a full-length feature film: it needs to have a likable protagonist, a worthy struggle for said protagonist, and, of course, a happily ever after ending. Godfather Death does not have any of those things. Its main character is self-serving; his struggle is to advance himself in society; and (spoiler alert) he dies in the end. It’s not exactly Disney material.

In fact, it’s not exactly a fairy tale either. Godfather Death is actually an anti-fairy tale, meaning it pivots around the punishments of succumbing to vice instead of the rewards of pursuing virtue. As such, they were traditionally told to warn children and even scare them from going astray.

Though Godfather Death doesn’t fit into the Disney paradigm, it works extremely well in a classical classroom. Not only does it give insight into the medieval mindset, but it also poses many powerful questions about justice, truth, and equality that can still be applied today. Plus, it makes for great classroom dramatizations. Let’s take a look at the plot first and then address some of those larger issues.

PLOT SUMMARY
Exposition – Background

At the outset of the story, we learn that a thirteenth child has been born to a very poor family.  

Inciting Incident – The Problem

As if having another mouth to feed wasn’t problem enough for the parents, they are also at a loss over whom to name as their son’s Godfather.

Rising Action – The Build-up

Unlike many a parent today who might make a short list of candidates to be vetted, the father simply decides to choose the first person he meets on the street. It’s not that the father is reckless but that he’s desperate. After all, he probably tapped all of his connections on his first twelve kids.   

As luck would have it, the father meets God Himself! We might expect that to be the end of story with the son being blessed to live happily ever after, but the father foolishly turns God down saying, ”Thou givest to the rich, and leavest the poor to hunger.”

No sooner does God leave, then the Devil offers to be the son’s Godfather. The father turns him down as well saying, “Thou deceivest men and leadest them astray.”

Finally, Death offers himself as the Godfather and even promises riches for the child. The father replies, “Thou art the right one; thou takest from the rich as well as the poor, without distinction; thou shalt be godfather.”  

Death then takes the boy into his special guardianship and mentors him to become a doctor, but not an ordinary doctor with ordinary medicine. Instead, Death shows his Godson a special plant that can be used to heal the sick. The one caveat is that Death will always dictate who gets the medicine. It is up to him who will get to be saved and who must die.

Death says, “If I stand by the head of the sick man, thou mayst say with confidence that thou wilt make him well again, and if thou givest him of this herb he will recover; but if I stand by the patient’s feet, he is mine, and thou must say that all remedies are in vain, and that no physician in the world could save him.”

Climax – The Breaking Point

Their partnership thrives for a long time, and the Godson becomes rich and famous. Then he foolishly decides to “cheat” death by saving someone Death wants to claim. Death warns the Godson not to do it again, but the Godson can’t resist the urge to save a princess on her deathbed, for whoever does so is promised her hand in marriage.  

Falling Action – The Unraveling

Though Death lets the princess live, he declares that he must have the Godson’s life in her place.

Resolution – Not So Happily Ever After

True to his word, Death takes his Godson into a deep cave below the earth. The cave is full of candles, each representing someone’s life. The Godson realizes that his candle is just about to go out and begs Death to light him a new one. Death acts like he is going to but then cruelly stomps his Godson’s candle out.  

A LESSON ON VIRTUES

The Middle Ages was full of poor, big families like the one in Godfather Death. When we realize just how desperate their plight often was, it is hard not to sympathize with the father in the story. He wants to provide for his family but can’t. What’s more, he has grown bitter about his lot in life, and he quite literally turns his back on God. This causes him to have a distorted view of the meaning of justice, truth, and equality. He displays his misunderstanding of each of these virtues in turn when he meets the prospective Godparents.

His interaction with God revolves around justice, or the state of getting what one deserves. No doubt the father felt he deserved better in life. Let’s assume he is a hard-worker as many fathers in the Middle Ages must have been. Yet, he clearly has not gotten what he thinks he deserves for his efforts. Instead, his life is full of hardship, and he blames God.

His interaction with the Devil focuses on truth, which is seeing things for what they are. The father knows the Devil is a liar and does not want that for his son. Yet, although he turns the Devil down and tries to walk away from his lies, the father has actually already figuratively embraced the Devil’s lies in that he believes God unjust, which is not true.

The father is so confused that he ends up believing Death a true representative of equality. After all, doesn’t everybody die, whether rich or poor, good or bad? In that simplistic sense, Death does indeed appear the great equalizer.

But equality is not just about making everything the same in a quantifiable way. It’s much more fundamentally about recognizing the equality of everyone based on their dignity as a child of God. Put differently, equality is derived from the love God has for us. Paradoxically, the more we lessen ourselves through humility and obedience, the greater our love is returned to God.

RAGS TO RICHES AND BACK AGAIN

Like Cinderella, this story has a “rags to riches” motif, but the eventual wealth and fame of the Godson is neither to his credit nor is it lasting. Instead, it was born out of making a deal of sorts with Death. True, his dad made it on his behalf in the first place, but the Godson is complicit nonetheless in that he goes along with it as he grows.  

If we look at this from the Godson’s perspective, we might say that he was “trapped” by his family just as many children in the Middle Ages must have felt. If the father was poor, so too would be the son. While the Godson in this story escapes his father’s poverty, he does not escape his father’s distorted view of the world.

Like him, the Godson does not understand the meaning of justice, truth, and equality. He thinks he deserves his wealth and yet is willing to lie to attain it. What’s more, he wants Death to treat him differently than others simply because he is his Godson. Such exceptions would have been the very thing his birth father would have deplored.

As my students heartily agree, the Godson gets what he deserves in the end. While none seem to like that he dies, it is a fitting sort of justice. With Death as a Godfather, he should not have expected life.  

CONCLUSION

After discussing this story with my students, they tend to agree that anti-fairy tales, complete with all their grim details and unhappy endings, are good for kids to read. It shows them—albeit in an exaggerated way—what could happen if they make bad choices.

Sure, it might be a bit dark, but it becomes less so when we tease out the themes and look at what they are trying to shed light on. Even a very young child would be quick to realize that everything went wrong in Godfather Death when the father turned his back on God. And hopefully, that same child would learn from the mistakes in the story and embrace God instead, especially in difficult times.