Fairy Tale Spotlight: The Steadfast Tin Soldier

This blog contains spoilers. You have been warned.

I am the first to admit that most of Hans Christian Andersen's stories are very depressing. I really did not enjoy many of his stories. Grimm was always the uplifting collection, and I blew through those with great enjoyment. Nevertheless, I have favorites from both authors. In the case of Andersen, it's "The Steadfast Tin Soldier."

I was first introduced to this story through an old cartoon. I wanted to tell you a bit more about where the cartoon came from and who made it, but I haven't had much luck in my research. I did later find a vintage comic book adaptation of it, and that ended up being very good. Last year, I actually read the story finally, and it was definitely my favorite story in the Andersen collection. This also led to me making my own version of the story of which I plan to publish later on.

"The Steadfast Tin Soldier" is about a living tin soldier with one leg who falls in love with a tin ballerina. It is heavily suggested that there is a dark creature inhabiting a nearby jack-in-the-box who seems possessive of this ballerina. The story is about the tin soldiers desire to save the ballerina from her oppressor. Despite his efforts, the story ends in tragedy.

Having an Andersen story end in tragedy is not unexpected. It was the way it ended in tragedy that caught many people's attention. Likely do to the actions of the scornful jack-in-the-box, the boy who owns the toy tosses the soldier into an oven. A gust of wind then blows the ballerina next to him so that they die together. In the original version, the soldier melts into the shape of a heart, and the ballerina is entirely incinerated leaving only her spangle behind. In the cartoon I saw, they were melted together to form a single heart. I preferred the latter more than the original.

I guess the main beef I had with the original version was that the woman was not being treated very well by the author. The ballerina seemed to die at his side because she was expected to; not necessarily because she was truly in love with him. It was more that it was her duty because she was the girl he had chosen. My point is that if you are going to die for someone, let it be for love not duty.

Another problem with the original story was that the tin soldier was kind of a stiff portrayal of a soldier. He never really did anything other than stand at attention, and it seemed, to me at least, that he was worried about saving face rather than actually being a developed person. Other versions have tried to remedy these flaws and have done pretty well.

Probably the most subtle aspect of the Andersen story was the character of the jack-in-the-box. Andersen is not clear at to why bad things were happening to the family. He barely hints that the jack-in-the-box may be the culprit, but you never know for sure. Some of the cartoons, and the vintage comic went out of there way to expand on the jack-in-the-box character, showing him to be the demon-possessed villain that he truly was.

Whatever the case may be, "The Steadfast Tin Soldier" is one of the most beloved fairy tales in history. There have been so many adaptations of it. Even Daft Punk's music video "Instant Crush" was inspired by that story. Andersen laid the groundwork that inspired others to do better, and the later adaptations are better.

Thank you for reading my blog. Have an opinion that you want to share about this? You can comment below, or you can email me at tkwadeauthor@gmail.com. Goodnight!

Fairy Tale Spotlight: The Devil

I have actually read a surprising number of fairy tales that features "the Devil" as the main antagonist. This generally is referring to Satan but can also represent an evil creature such as a simple imp. I have encountered them mainly in western tall tales and in a few stories by Hans Christian Andersen. Let's talk about what this creature is intended as and who he truly is.

Almost always, the Devil is depicted as a hideous creature with horns and a pointy tail. The frightening aspects are intended to portray the devil as a creature of evil. He will sneak around and plot against human beings and sometimes even make deals with them. I don't have a problem with them depicting the Devil like this at all; however, I do believe that it is quite distant from the truth.

A common trope in fairy tales is that he will make a deal with you in exchange for your soul. I don't know about you, but if a horned, red-skinned creature who talks like Tim Curry tried to make a deal with me, I would be less than enthusiastic about it. These writers often try to promote the idea that the ends justify the means. They swallow back the idea that the Devil is ugly, and take the deal anyways for their benefit. Where the latter may be true for some people, I see a far more powerful deal-maker if he is beautiful in form.

The Devil is almost never portrayed as a pretty boy in old fairy tales. They do sometimes remove the monstrosities from his form, but they still will give him the looks of an old man or something less than pretty. Once again, that is fine. The idea is for you to be against this character. Just remember that in real life, that is very likely a falsehood.

It seems to be a far more realistic thing that the Devil, namely Satan, is a very beautiful man. A sort of Fabio type. He is very charming and friendly. His mannerisms are calm and lovely. It is a very hard thing to deny him anything. Unfortunately, he is quite good at putting on facades. He is so good at it that if you actually knew who he was and what he was up to, your efforts to get one over him would still fail. He is simply that convincing.

Evil is not always ugly on the outside. Fairy tales tend to paint a darker picture of these creatures so that you can see them more easily. As long as you understand that they are doing that. Don't get lost in the sensationalism of the Devil when the real one is a bit more subtle.

Thank you for reading my blog! If you enjoyed it, you can comment below, or you can email me at tkwadeauthor@gmail.com. Thanks!

Fairy Tale Spotlight: The Terrible Trivium

Showcase time! Norton Juster wrote an amazing fairy tale in 1961 called "The Phantom Tollbooth." This book is written with such rhythm that it just about compels you to read it out loud even if you are trying not to. It is also largely an allegory and demonstrates facts of life in the form of symbolism. Nevertheless, we can imagine seeing the things Milo saw in the book as if they were very real.

The book's most prominent villainous resource came from a creature known as a demon. There a lot of those in this book. The one we shall be discussing in brief shall be The Terrible Trivium. Pay close attention.

The Terrible Trivium is a faceless/featureless individual who is dressed not dissimilar to Batman's the Riddler. He comes across as very charming and convincing. He offers to be your friend and claims to have your best interest at heart. I want you to understand that this creature is actually very real and he is to be avoided in the same way as in the book

This demon wants you to keep busy doing meaningless things until the end of time. For example: moving a pile of sand from one place to another with only a pair of tweezers, dig a hole with only a needle, or emptying a well with only an eyedropper. Here is the scariest part: he is extremely convincing. The victim will believe he is better off doing those meaningless things than actually striving for better. Yes, this is real, and Norton Juster knew that just as well as I do.

There are demons in this world who want us grinding our lives away at ultimately meaningless jobs. They want us to be faceless individuals just like them and never truly meet with out potential. Let me be clear: Nobody was ever meant to spend there entire lives working at a McDonald's. If that happens, it is the saddest thing ever. Human beings were meant for more than that.

The Terrible Trivium is all about taking away human potential by literally grinding them into dust over the span of their miserable lives. As charming as he is, he hates humanity. He wants them all to be nothing and freely absorbs from them everything they could have been. He is real. Norton Juster did not create a fictional character at all. You see it all around you, and he must be fought against.

Life is hard and unfair, but you have to fight it to your dying breath. Be human! Be more than what you came here as! Find your talent, or love, or whatever and make this world a better place, Don't just be a faceless cog in the machine. You were always meant for so much more, my friends. You are the human race. Please... Please, don't give up your birthright.

"If you only do the easy and useless jobs, you'll never have to worry about the important ones which are so difficult. You simply won't have the time, for there is always something to do to keep you from what you should really be doing." ~The Terrible Trivium

Thank you for reading my blog! If you enjoyed it, you can comment below, or you can email me at tkwadeauthor@gmail.com. Dedicated to Shawn O'Toole.

Fairy Tale Spotlight: Fairies Becoming Animals

Fairies would sometimes take the form of animals in fairy tales--especially in the Grimm stories. Sometimes, they would do this by choice, but there are quite a number of cases where it was forced upon them. As to the latter, these animals may actually be humans who have been transformed; however, I personally think they were fairies all along. Let's chat a little about these specific type of fairies.

Fairy creatures come in all types. They are magical and often have the ability to change their forms. What animal they choose often reflects their character. A talking finch or a bunny might be a very pleasant sort of fairy, while a talking vulture or snake might be ones to be wary about. Nevertheless, I would rather focus on the nice ones. The reason for this is because the outcome generally reflects the nature of the human that runs into them.

Some of these animals are just trying to help without exposing what they truly are. Call it shyness! Either way, these animals will often offer to assist the protagonist with something. They may give them a present or tell them the direction they wish to go. More often then not, these encounters are good. A fairy who changes themselves into a nice animal willingly generally does so because they already like the person they are going to help.

As I said earlier, there are a number of incidences where princes were enchanted into animals. I have mixed feelings on the wording used in these stories. Many of these so-called princes seem to have an understanding of fairy magic that they should not be privy to. Why would a creature turn them into an animal as well as give them very useful magic they can use. Seems a bit like being sent to prison where the prison is a paradise resort. No, I think these princes may be fairies. They may be princes too. Why not? But the fact remains that they are simply not normal.

Probably the most famous example of the latter situation would be the Grimm story "The Fisherman and his Wife." By the way, this is one of my all time favorite fairy tales. It is a very bold tale and even frighting at times. The fairy prince in this case is some sort of fish--often a flounder.

This fairy animal had powers that were pretty much off the chart. These powers seemed--at times--next to God's. I've heard some speculation that the fish was actually Satan; however, this is only a theory. Not even I am prepared to admit to that. The fish had the power to grant almost every wish no matter how grand. In the story, the wishes were so extravagant that it began to reflect the darkness and corruption in the one making said wish. When it came down to it, the fish was not really the one who was causing the problems. For all its power, it was the one making the wishes who was truly evil. I'll go into this story a bit more in depth later.

Now, here is a question: If you met an animal who tried to assist you or perhaps asked you if you wanted a wish granted, how would you react? I believe these things have really happened in our history. Sometimes the encounters have been good and other times they have been very bad. It is something to think about.

Thank you for reading my blog! If you enjoyed it, you can comment below, or you can email me at tkwadeauthor@gmail.com. Tweet!

Fairy Tale Spotlight: The Manikin

The term manikin in fairy lore tends to refer to a very small man of about 2 to 3 feet tall. These are not to be confused with dwarves. In almost all cases, the manikin is a very bad entity that should be avoided at all costs.

If you encounter a manikin, you are already in trouble. Simply being in their presence is like signing a contract. You have to deal with them on their terms, and attacking them will only end in folly. It's a bit like breaching the contract, giving them the leeway to destroy you. In fact, legality is very important to the manikin. They have a certain set of rules that guide them and allow them to proceed with their evil ways. I'll do my best to help you if you ever come across one.

A manikin always wants something. It could literally be anything. Here are some examples:
1. He may want to take your child away.
2. He may want you to marry him.
3. He may simply wish to have sex with you. Very bad.
4. He may wish to murder you and/or your family.
5. He may wish to turn you into some other form such as a useless animal or just into a rock for his own amusement.

Upon encountering a manikin, you should be afraid but also as calm as you can. Your situation is dire but not altogether impossible to overcome. Here is some advice:
1. Don't try and fight him or run away. He will instantly win what he wants.
2. Listen carefully to his offer. Bargain as much as you can, but if it is only making it worse, stop.
3. The manikin's offer will require you to accomplish a near-impossible feat which is likely rigged. Agree to his terms and walk away if he will let you.
4. In some cases, the manikin will promise a reward if you play their game. Politely decline all his attempts if he tries to trick you in this way. Once again, do not fight him or run away.

The last stage of a manikin encounter is the puzzle. You have to perform some incredible act that most would think impossible. Here are some tips:
1. Loopholes work. Try and find a clever way to beat his logic.
2. Cheat. Sneak around while he does not know you are there. Listen to him mumble to himself. He may give you the secret unknowingly. You may also find his journal and learn from it there. Manikins are extremely vain and tend to brag to others and themselves.
3. If you have found a way to beat the manikin, beat them with as much flare as you can. If you do a very good job at it, it may actually kill the manikin where he stands. That will save others the trouble of dealing with him.
4. If all else fails, there is not much you can do after that. You can defy him and be destroyed, or you can go along with his deal. I am very sorry if this happens to you.

Easily, the most famous manikin in fairy lore was "Rumpelstiltskin." In the case of that story, the manikin actually tries to portray himself as a savior to a woman by preventing the king from chopping her head off. She agreed to his assistance, but she must give him her first born. She attempts to change the deal, and he agrees to her terms. If she can guess his name, she can keep her child. Luckily, she overheard him singing about his name being Rumpelstiltskin. She was able to turn that knowledge against him in such a clever way that he ends up committing suicide simply because he cannot handle the shame of losing.

Manikins can sometimes be called gnomes, but the latter term is not exclusive to this particular creature. Manikins are always evil in fairy lore. They are selfish demon creatures that wish horrible and nasty things on human kind. They still exist today but may not look the same as they did in the olden days. Beware.

Thank you for reading my blog! If you enjoyed it, you can comment below, or you can email me at tkwadeauthor@gmail.com. Beware!

Fairy Tale Spotlight: The Witch

Witches are real. I am not talking about the ones who bite the head off chickens and dress all goth. The contemporary farce called Wicca or Pagan Witchcraft is nothing more than a club where social rejects go to feel like they belong. I am not even afraid of them. No. Real witches fill me with true fear, and I greatly believe that we are better off without them.

Fairy Tales are full of witches. Just about every famous author of the genre has done something with them. Often they are haggish and ill-tempered viragoes that the protagonist has an unfortunate run-in with. Other times, they can be quite beautiful; however, the latter can sometimes be the result of a simple illusion.

In many of the Grimm tales, the witch is usually stumbled upon and engages the protagonist with a trap. She will often attempt to force the victim into being her slave because she is too lazy to keep her place tidy. She may also send the victim out on a quest that cannot be overcome in order to ensnare them for their failure.

The whole idea of the witch is that they are bitter women who turn to magic to take out their hate and anger on the world around them. They care about nobody else but themselves. Even if they have a proper daughter, they will treat her like a piece of property. I have met people like that in real life, but they don't have magic. Thank goodness! Needless to say, witches are bad, and the hero of the story should do everything in their power to put them out of business.

Sometimes the witch is a person in power. In "Snow White," the witch is actually a queen. She is even naturally beautiful, but vanity has a way of sullying ones perception of the truth. She envies Snow White's beauty even though such a thing is ultimately pointless. Here, the witch is so desperate to destroy an innocent for her own ego, she casts a spell to make herself hideous--as to trick Snow White into eating a poisonous apple. As a kid, I thought this transformation was permanent, and it made me wonder why someone would go through such lengths to appease themselves.

In the Oz universe, L.Frank Baum introduced us to the ideal of good and bad witches. This has been latched onto by people ever since the book and movie came out. Very popular with feminists. That was actually the idea too. Interestingly, the whole concept of good and bad witches were dropped just a few books later. The word witch was soon vilified. Glinda was thereafter refereed to as a sorceress, where evil Mombi was the resident witch. I'm sorry, but I agree with this decision. Witches bad. Witches always bad.

Today, witches live among us. They know magic and use it against those they consider a threat. They are haggish and ugly and have to use either spells or a hell of a lot of makeup to hide the truth. We do not see them because we do not believe them. We point at Wiccans and shrug, but the truth is less obvious. Witches are a part of our fairy lore since the beginning of time, and the reason they are is because they have always been among us. They are villains, and we still need heroes to take them out.

...

No, I'm serious.

Thank you for reading my blog! If you enjoyed it, you can comment below, or you can email me at tkwadeauthor@gmail.com. Yes, I'm really serious!

Fairy Tale Spotlight: The Princess

Although there are exceptions, the fairy tale princess has generally been the prize for the prince at the very end of the story. If she is the protagonist, her fate often still ends in marriage. The purpose of this spotlight is to showcase the protagonist princess in a similar light to the prince. We'll talk about normal women who become princesses at a later date.

Sometimes, the princess of a kingdom--generally the daughter of a king--must go out on an adventure. There are a number of reasons why she should do this, because in all honesty, that sort of business is not commonly expected of a princess. The most common reason is love. Whether the king approves or not, sometimes the princess will go out of her way to save the one she loves. Sometimes, she will make many sacrificed to make this happen such as never speaking a word for 3 years.

Many of these stories involve the princess being reduced to the state of a vagabond in order to complete her quest. She may live like a beggar looking for a clue that may lead to her lover. In most cases, the old stories do not favor princesses very much. At the very least, she will find the one she loves and achieve a pleasant life as a wife.

If anyone has read more than the first Oz book, they would have heard of a princess named Ozma. This character breaks many of the tropes of the Grim stories. She was a true princess being the daughter of the former king of oz, King Pastoria. Ozma represented everything it was to be a women while at the same time going on grand adventures throughout the land of Oz. I've read 19 of these stories so far and she is tossed out there quite often. Ironically, when a prince ends up proposing to her, she was entirely uninterested.

The point of this spotlight is to show that princesses do sometimes get out and do some of the dirty work, but I am happy when they do. I personally think anyone who strives with all their might for something good deserves it--whether they be man or woman. Don't get me wrong, I think the whole damsel in distress genre is a great trope, but remember that the characters are the ones who drive the story forward. If a woman has the gumption to stand up and be a true heroin, then there is nothing wrong with letting it inspire you.

On one final note, I recommend you all see the new Wonder Woman movie that came out this year. It is a good example of what I've been talking about. I don't want to spoil it, but needless to say, she is a princess and she is most certainly not the one in distress. Enjoy!

Thank you for reading my blog! If you enjoyed it, you can comment below, or you can email me at tkwadeauthor@gmail.com. Thanks!