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Fairytales, This is one of the few stories where we see a strained father…

- - - - "but Love, who some times busies himself in doing kindnesses to those who are unfortunate, had foreseen everything, and had already commanded Green Serpent to become what he was before his penance. However great was Magotine's power, she could do nothing against Love.
        
        Quite literally Love transforms the Green Serpent into his princely nature because of the completed arduous tasks of the Serpent's wife. It is love that changed the princess heart to see past the snakily nature of the prince and love his personality. Her demonstration of this love ultimately was enough to change her husband to his princely form, despite her ignorance of his true nature. When love is pure, without expectation of something "better", the magic of fairytales allows for true transformation of the condemned and the lover.
  - - - The Orthopaedia
        
        The idea of scientific transformation is not a new found discovery. Since the 1700s with books like Orthopaedia society has viewed disabilities as something needed to be corrected.
        
        The front image reveals children submitted under the rule of the straightness or rectitude. The one child who is "above" this rule symbolizes the unruly body and does not garner any attention from Lady Orthopedia.
        
        Fairytales and this scientific book make it clear that transformation is the only answer for what society deems unnatural
  - - - Subversion of the Fairytale Transformation
  - - - In this story we see social transformation of a young man through the calculated steps of a "surrogate" mother, the cat.
        
        Step 2: Creation of a Body. The cat fakes a drowning episode in which he gains royal clothes.
        
        Step 3: Attainment of Land/Domain.The cat threatens the farm worker to identify their master as Marquis de Carabas or else they would die. At this stage, the man now has a name, a body, and a sign of wealth.
        
        Step 4: Living in a Castle. This step is a "conquest" moment where the cat dominates and officially gains his master a home.
        
        Step 5: Alliance. This is formed through the marriage with the princess. By this final step, the young poor man has now become a prince bearing an immense amount of riches.
        
        Step 1: Naming. The cat gives his master a noble name "Marquis De Carabas", thus acting as the foundation of his identity
  - - - "Why did I refuse to marry him? I should be happier with the monster than my sisters are with their husbands; it is neither wit, nor a fine person, in a husband, that makes a woman happy, but virtue, sweetness of temper, and complaisance, and Beast has all these valuable qualifications. It is true, I do not feel the tenderness of affection for him, but I find I have the highest gratitude, esteem, and friendship"
        Beauty towards the end of the story has a change of heart with regard to her feelings for the Beast. Despite rejecting his numerous advances, she decides that his physical appearance is no match for his personality and decides to love him as is. So much so that because she had grown accustomed to his appearance, she is shocked when he becomes a prince.
- - - - The Little Red Riding Hood
        
        Bluebeard
        
        Sometimes, it is better to not know
        
        The idea that knowledge should always be sought after is challenged through the character of Mrs. Bluebeard. It is her thirst for knowledge of her husband's secret room, that led to her potential death. So while knowledge is desirable it can ultimately be a curse if the knowledge will lead to some sort of violence or evil.
        
        Mrs.Bluebeard does not even apply the knowledge she learned because she ends up marrying a man exactly like Bluebeard: “un fort honneste homme”
      - In the end the Pretty Princess changes her perception of Riquet and his different exterior. She has a change of heart and loves him for who he is, and he expriences no outward transformation
  - - - Benjamin- “The Storyteller”
        
        Walter Benjamin warns present day society that we are losing stories and knowledge like that seen in The Bewitched Canoe. After World War II, veterans became less inclined to share their war time stories because of the magnitude of death and destruction. While understandable, Benjamin points to this phenomenon as the first step that lead to the decline of fairy tales and oral stories. Although sometimes less explicit, fairytales transmit information from one generation to the next. Benjamin tells us that this tradition is dying out, leaving the next generation without valuable knowledge.
  - - - Lack of Application of Wisdom
        
        Pumpkin Seed
        
        While wisdom and knowledge is a good thing, it is not very useful if it is not applied correctly. The neighbor understood the steps needed to acquire a magical pumpkin, which was to show kindness out of the goodness of her heart. Yet, she hurts a bird and does not care for it. Therefore, she receives a pumpkin that reflects her internal wickedness.
      - Similar to a Pumpkin Seed, we have a character who knows how to acquire a desired object. The husband has been granted three wishes to transform his life. Yet, his own anger and foolishness prevent him from changing his life for the better. He spends his own wishes to punish his wife and then reverse this same punishment. he has the knowledge on how to improve his life, but rather temporarily caused strained in his relationship and remains unchanged. Wisdom does not necessarily translate to success or a the fruition of a desire goal, especially if not applied well
- - - - From the very inception of Ashkins' new family, her and her sisters were pitted against each other.
        
        The stepmother demeans Ashkins to complete household tasks and chores, in order to make it clear that the step sisters are superior
        
        The names Ashkins itself was an insult in reference to her grief and lament over the death of her mother
        
        In the Grimm Brother's version of the story, there is no restoration of the relationship between the sisters. In fact, it becomes cemented, quite literally, that there is no future in sight for the three girls. The text reads: "When the bridal couple walked into the church, the older sister walked on their right side and the younger on their left side, and the pigeons pecked out one eye from each of them... And thus, for their wickedness and falsehood, they were punished with blindness as long as they lived"
        
        The Fairies
        
        Yet again we see a clear picture of fractured relationships both at the maternal and sibling level
        
        On the maternal level ,similar to Cinderella, we see a mother pitting two daughters against one another due to the mother's own selfishness and bitterness. In addition, at the end of the story when the evil daughter does not posses the same gift as the beautiful daughter, both daughters are kicked out of the house for good.
        
        On a sibling level, there is no restoration of the relationship. In fact, there's not even a mention of the relationship between the two girls proving to be in a way non-existent.
        
        This story also reflects the theme of wisdom. While the rude daughter had knowledge on how to obtain the favor of the fairy, she failed to apply it. Wisdom or Knowledge is not everything, rather knowing how to apply it is more valuable.
    - - Bettelheim contends that fairy tales equip children with knowledge to face issue in their own lives. Cinderella is his prime example of how children apply lessons from this fairy tale
        
        He also contends that children internalized strained family relationships in real life, allowing them to identify with characters like Cinderella
        
        "From her triumph [the child] gains the exaggerated hopes for his future which [they] need to counteract the extreme misery [they experience] when ravaged by sibling rivalry
        
        "Fearing that in comparison to [their siblings] that [they] cannot win the parents' love and esteem is what inflames sibling rivalry?"
        
        Real Life Applications from Cinderella's Peril
  - - - Although not related by blood, the prince's mother and his wife experience an extreme of a strained relationship. The appetite of the former growers as the story progresses, leading to a spiral of lies and deceit
        
        "For my dinner tomorrow," she told him, "I will eat little Dawn."
        
        "For my supper," she announced, "I will eat little Day."
        
        "I have a mind," she said, "to eat the queen with the same sauce as you served with her children."
        
        Unlike many of the other fairytales we have seen where resentment grows due to differences in morality and values, there is no origin story for the mother-in-law. Yet, like most stories, there is again no reconciliation because this time the mother in the story kills herself.
  - - - The Little Thumb's family experiences a transmission crisis that leads to a strain. The mother, despite loving her children, decides to go along with her husband and eave their children to die in the woods. We witness a perverse decision made by a paternal figure.
        
        "You see plainly that we are not able to keep our children, and I cannot see them starve to death before my face. I am resolved to lose them in the woods tomorrow."
        
        We also see strained family relations within the Ogre's family. The Ogress attempt to hid the Little Thumb and his brothers from the brooding Ogre. Yet her attempt fail, causing the ogre to berate his wife. So even within this marriage there is deceit, lies, and anger at the foundation.
        
        "I see then how you would cheat me, you cursed woman; I don't know why I don't eat you as well
        
        Once again within the Ogre's family there is strain. This time because of the loss of their seven daughters. We witness a fractured bloodline, because in many of the fairytales we have read, we encounter a transmission issue. Except this time, it is not due to lack of material possessions, but a lack of children to now transmit anything to. Although the Little Thumb is eventually reunited with his family, we still have the destruction of one family line.
        
        "She went up, and was horribly astonished when she saw her seven daughters with their throats cut and lying in their own blood."