Fairy Tale Spotlight: The Kiss

I don't think I need to explain to you the very personal nature of a kiss between a man and a woman. This blog is really about the prince/maiden mechanic that is generally employed within old and even new fairy tales. So Romeo and Juliet don't really belong here.

Kisses in fairy tales do not often happen simply because someone is in love. Those petty kisses are simply assumed. When a kiss actually occurs in narrative, it is a demonstration of a pure heart over a cursed one. It is a matter of great import when these kisses occur.

There are a number of fairy tales out there that either end in kisses or specifically strive for them. The common reason is a need for spiritual cleansing, and it is almost always on behalf of a female. The woman is either cursed or made unclean in some way. She seeks or is in need of one with a pure heart to cure her of these woes. Often the man in question ends up being a prince, but the latter is not always the case. In some cases, the prince has brothers who do not live up to the qualifications of the one true prince who is pure-hearted enough to cleanse the woman of her taint.

Although it is not necessary for the prince to love the woman, it is almost always a trope that he does. For this reason, it is usually referred to as a "Kiss of True Love." This sometimes removes the pure-hearted aspect and trades it for a new concept--that being the power of love. It's all very girly and fun, but I am more interested in the purity of the heart rather than just simple love. Love can be an awfully selfish thing sometimes. I'm not too sure how it would be very good at cleansing the blight of a cursed female.

The kissing scene in fairy tales are more loved in modern times then I believe they were in days of old. Many fairy tale adaptations include them where the originals seemed to be lacking. This is not a bad thing at all. "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves" in its original version did not have a kiss in it at all. The later editions, as well as the Disney movie, actually fixed a very poorly written scene by adding the now famous kiss to it. These scenes are often very moving and add a lot to it with the male/female dynamic playing very strong to the reader or viewer. Relationships are important. And let's all just be honest and admit that a kiss is far more dramatic than an apple piece flying out of Snow White's mouth when her coffin falls over. I mean really.

Probably the greatest example of a well-accomplished kissing scene was in "Sleeping Beauty in the Wood" which we now commonly just shorten to "Sleeping Beauty." In this scenario, you have a beautiful woman who was cursed to sleep for many years. A prince finds her and instantly falls in love with her beauty. He is compelled to kiss her, and all at once, the curse is removed. This is likely the most profound example, and it is often copied over into other stories whether the originals have them or not.

When it is done right, the famous kiss is intended to be a purifier. It is the male and female dynamic in full display and magically so. Yes, the man is the purifier. Where I am sure there might be a political motive to have the woman be the one to save the man, this always hits me as a forced narrative. The exception, I guess, would be the "Frog Prince," but this story has the woman humbling herself in order to save a cursed man. It is really the same thing at the end of the day--not to mention that story in its original form did not even end with her kissing anybody. Fairy tales as old as time have shown man to be the great purifier of women. It is a beautiful thing not to be sullied in the slightest. It is a brimming example of true love and an honest relationship in motion.

Thank you for reading my blog! Did you like or hate what you read here? Either way, you can comment below, or you can email me at tkwadeauthor@gmail.com. Smooch!