Fairy-Tale Files: Let’s Make a Deal

by | Mar 6, 2015 | Fairy-Tale Files

BearskinIn this story, originated by Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen and retold by the Brothers Grimm, a German solider deserts his regiment by hiding in the woods. Just as he is about to starve to death, an evil spirit tempts him with nourishment and...

Fairy-Tale Files: True Love's Kiss

by | Feb 27, 2015 | Fairy-Tale Files

Or, Life, Death and the Amphibians in BetweenDisney’s The Princess and the FrogPrince Naveen is convinced that Tiana’s kiss will reverse the spell placed on him by voodoo practitioner Doctor Facilier, though her kiss is ineffective, as she’s a waitress. Alas, Frogs:...

Fairy-Tale Files: Angered Ogres

by | Feb 6, 2015 | Fairy-Tale Files

Hop o’ My ThumbA Hansel and Gretelesque tale, the witch is replaced by an ogre who possesses a strong body, great height and cannibalistic streak. Published by Charles Perrault in 1697, these characteristics laid the template for ogres to come. Of note, Hop’s...

Fairy-Tale Files: Silent Skin

by | Jan 23, 2015 | Fairy-Tale Files

Several fairy tales have used the theme of hiding in another creature’s skin—usually a donkey’s or cat’s—in order to escape a dysfunctional home, the dysfunction often incest-related. T.S. Eliot reimagines the animal skin disguise in this excerpt from his 1925 poem...