Fairy-Tale Files, published once weekly, feature three variations of a fairy tale chosen by one of Fairy Tale Review’s editors.
In The Juniper Tree, a jealous stepmother kills her stepson and feeds his bones to the boy’s father. Later, the boy’s sister buries the bones underneath the family’s juniper tree. He arises a few days later as a bird and reveals, in song, the sins of his stepmother and the caring of his sister. The tale ends with the stepmother’s death when the bird drops a millstone on her head. Following this, the bird dies and regenerates into the boy.
A phoenix is an enduring bird in Greek mythology that is reborn if wounded or dies of old age. Throughout history, the bird has been symbolic of renewal and rebirth. In the Harry Potter series, Dumbledore’s Phoenix has healing powers. Jean Grey (aka Phoenix) of the X-Men has resurrected herself at least once per decade since the 1970s. That’s a lot of bell bottoms and web browsers…
The Juniper Tree (1990) is a film starring Björk which adapts the above-mentioned fairy tale. Notable for its experimental use of black and white footage, the story is set in Iceland during the Middle Ages. Björk plays the role of Margit, one of two sisters the story centers around. The greatest divergence occurs when another character’s deceased mother returns as a raven prone to magic feathers. Not to be confused with Björk’s swan couture worn at the dawn of the millennium…
This fairy-tale file brought to you by editorial assistant Jared Hughes and poetry editor Jon Riccio.
