Comments on "The Green Heron" - Faerye Net

Re: A classic fairy tale

2004-06-10T10:48:19+00:00

I don’t know—I’m intrigued by what I know of Jung, but haven’t delved into it as yet.

My guesses as to the meaning so far have been these: A) recovering the ‘lost’ boys requires sacrifice and/or hard work on the part of the sister - see the seven swan princes, where the girl has to make seven shirts out of nettles with her bare hands and not speak a word until they are finished - and that, in some way, this is supposed to be about the idealized place/role of woman in society. Women are the preservers of home, and the weapons they bring to the fight are their own sacrifice and diligence. I, of course, took a different tack with my own story, making the required virtues more in line with my own ideals. Although the sacrifice element is still there, as I think it usually is in any family love story.

The other symbol I wonder about is—why birds? Is it because men in a traditional society are more free than women? As Flaubert had it,

A man, at least, is free; he can explore each passion and every kingdom, conquer obstacles, feast upon the most exotic pleasures. But a woman is continually thwarted. Both inert and yielding, against her are ranged the weakness of the flesh and the inequity of the lawâ€¦. Always there is the desire urging, always there is the convention restraining.

Or is it a cautionary image of the dangers of adolescence to a young man? That in exploring his freedom, he risks losing himself, his identity, his family, which are, of course, intimately connected? That’s what I see in the bird as symbol…freedom and isolation/irresponsibility/loss of identity (flocking, and they’re dumb.)

Re: A classic fairy tale

2004-06-09T20:10:46+00:00

A popular occurrence, obviously. Perhaps there is some deeply rooted connection between a sister’s love of her (younger) brother – or perhaps it’s really a mother’s love of her son, possibly projected to and assimilated by a female sibling – and this image of transformation and loss? I wonder if this is covered in any degree by Jungian symbolism.

Re: A classic fairy tale

2004-06-09T10:59:45+00:00

Thank you very much! I love fairy tales and think about them often, and I believe I was in a ‘let’s write a fairy tale mood’ when I remembered that there are several fairy tales where a girl’s brothers (usually around 7) are transformed into birds—the whole thing grew out of that. I can’t recall if those are included in Grimm or not.

I checked your link, and apparently the Grimms found three – judging from the classification work that site creator had done (he had three with ‘Type 451, The Brothers Who Were Turned into Birds’ in the classification)

A classic fairy tale

2004-06-07T19:40:51+00:00

This reminds me of the Children’s and Household Tales of Brothers Grimm. Perhaps you’re a fair amount more eloquent than the Grimm brothers, but all the elements of a good fairy tale are certainly there. Very nice.

Re: No subject

2004-05-27T11:57:05+00:00

:) Thankee.

Re: Ha!

2004-05-27T11:56:39+00:00

It is what some people desperately need.

No subject

2004-05-27T08:33:33+00:00

I like it, too. It’s comforting.

Ha!

2004-05-27T07:49:37+00:00

...a few salutary applications of the marble floor to the chamberlain’s head…

Indeed.

Wow.

2004-05-26T14:27:23+00:00

Wow.

I really, really like it.