Showing posts with label Household Tales Grimm. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Household Tales Grimm. Show all posts

Monday, January 22, 2018

Facebook to Film Ten-Part Series 'Sacred Lies', Based on The Handless Maiden

Maiden Without Hands Blythe Doll by Kat Caro
Note: The Blythe Doll art photos shown throughout are by Kat Caro and the various poses show aspects of her story. We thought it was a good time to show this tragic and touching art that we've been saving to share at the right time.

Sacred Lies is partly based on The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly, a novel by Stephanie Oakes, and partly on Grimm's 'The Handless Maiden'.
(Sacred Lies is about a) handless teen who escapes from a cult and finds herself in juvenile detention, suspected of knowing who killed her cult leader. Casting is currently underway. (Deadline)

The ten-part series, is set to start production sometime between March and May this year (2018) will be screened on the new SVOD* platform Facebook Watch, which was set up last year. Facebook is partnering with Blumhouse Productions, who are known for specializing in "converting low-budget horror stories into major international hits" (eg. the Insidious franchises, the Paranormal Activity movies and the acclaimed Get Out.)
“Sacred Lies is an inventive twist on a time honored fairytale which we believe will surprise and stir the Facebook Watch audience and we’re excited to be the studio producing this provocative series.” (Marci Wiseman and Jeremy Gold, co-presidents, Blumhouse Television) 
“This a young female protagonist we’ve never seen on screen before,” said (showrunner Raelle) Tucker**. “She’s complex, brave, funny…and sometimes dangerous. And she has no hands. But she refuses to let that, or her bizarre, brutal past define her or limit her. That’s the message of our series: no matter what life throws at you – ultimately only you have the power to decide what you believe and what you become. I’m beyond excited and honored to bring this unique, inspiring, badass character to life. “
                                  
                       
             
   
Facebook Watch will be taking quite a departure from their current fare. Facebook Watch is currently known for it's "gimmicky reality shows and clips from popular internet creators" (to quote The Verge) and will be taking quite a departure for, Sacred Lies, Facebook Watch's first scripted drama, the first of many projects the social network giant is planning on, with a projected budget of $1bn on contact (yes, billion - which is still modest compared to Hulu, Amazon and Netflix for 2018), something which has intrigued filmmakers and property holders because of the "stated intent".
                     
Translation - filmmakers: time to pitch your series and movie ideas! This is a great time for fairy tales. People are finding expression, solace, hope, a new perspective - as well as escape - in old tales and in retelling old tales in new (and needed) ways rat present, and, wonderfully, lesser known ones are coming back into popular circulation. 'The Handless Maiden' is one example of this. 'Baba Yaga', in her various complex iterations, along with 'Vasilisa', is another, as well as 'Snow White and Rose Red', and it's worth also mentioning that Krampus is once again a known figure among pop culture geeks and beyond.

As a side note, it's nice to see fairy tale protagonists who deal with disability as well. It's representation that's been lacking, apart from various mermaid explorations, but mermaids are more seen to represent previously marginalized groups such as LGBT folk. Acknowledged physical disability, whether by birth, accident or other, could use some hero representation and hopeful fairy tale retellings.


* Streaming Video On Demand
** Raellee Tucker was formerly Executive Producer on the popular HBO series, True Blood

Sources: KFTV, Deadline.com, The Verge


Kat Caro's Blythe Doll art was created for and shown in the Fairies & Folklore Once Upon A Blyth International Doll Exhibition in 2015

About her art doll, Kat Caro says: "The Maiden without Hands - My submission for the Fairies and Folklore show at Auguste Clown Gallery in Melbourne, Australia in 2015. She was inspired by Grimm's fairy tale, The Maiden without Hands, which I have always been fascinated by. She specifically reenacts the moment she is told to flee the kingdom with the newborn prince to escape the devil's false message that she be executed. She has removable sterling silver hands, as given to her by the king, but she still carries her chopped off hands on her back and the prince in a sling."

Thursday, March 26, 2015

Monthly Discussion: "From the Forest" with Tales Of Faerie - March (Story)

Kristin & Gypsy discuss
12 MONTHS - 12 FORESTS - 12 TALES
UK Title: “Gossip from the Forest: The Tangled Roots of Our Forests and Fairytales”

MARCH: Airyolland Wood & a retelling of Thumbling
(see the 1st part of the discussion at Tales Of Faerie HERE)
************************************
Note: Welcome to a new monthly feature we're beginning, in cooperation with Tales Of Faerie! Kristin and I are both reading one chapter of this book each month, discussing our thoughts on both the chapter portion and the story/retelling at the end, then sharing that on our blogs. Each month we will swap discussion parts. This month Kristin started things off by posting the main discussion of the chapter (Part 1) and this is our chat about the story (Part 2). We will alternate who posts Part 1 and Part 2 each month and link to each other's posts so you can follow along. This is the first time for both of us reading this book, so you're getting our thoughts right out of the oven! Enjoy. (I'm putting the jacket summary below for this first round, only, to help you orient yourself. The story discussion is below.)

Jacket summary: Forests are among our most ancient primal landscapes, and fairy tales some of our earliest and most vital cultural forms. In this fascinating and illuminating  book, Maitland argues that the two are intimately connected: the mysterious secrets and silences, gifts and perils of the forests were the background and source of fairytales. The links between the two are buried in the imagination ad in our childhoods.

Maitland journeys in forests through a full year, from the exquisite green  of a beechwood in spring to the muffled stillness of a snowy pine forest in winter, explaining their complex history and teasing out their connections with the tales.

There are secrets in the tales, hidden identities, cunning disguises, just as there are surprises behind every tree in a forest; there are rhythms of change in the tales like the changes of the seasons; there are characters , both human and animal, whose assistance can be earned or spurned and there is over and over again - the journey or quest, which leads to self-knowledge and success. The forest is the place of trial in fairy stories, both dangerous and exciting. Coming to terms with the forest, surviving its terrors, using its gifts and gaining its help, is the way to “happy ever after.”

As a fiction writer, Maitland has frequently retold fairy stories, and she ends each chapter with an enchanting tale, related imaginatively, to the experience of being in that specific forest.

Richly layered, full of surprising connections, and sparkling with mischief, From the Forest is a magical and unique blend of nature writing, history and imaginative fiction.

On “Thumbling


SOURCE: Grimm’s Household Tales
SOURCE TALE SUMMARY: Childless couple have teeny miracle child; never grows bigger than mother’s thumb. Growing up is a hazard & still, he wants to see the world. Tricks & fast thinking help him escape disaster, death & circuses, to return home, no bigger but much wiser.
FROM THE FOREST THUMBLING SUMMARY: The classic fairy tale is retold from the mother’s perspective. After longing for a child, she gives birth to and raises a tiny son. As he grows, he begins to long for adventure and love. His parents agree that they need to let him go and experience life on his own, and despite their worry he returns home safe and happy, and the family continues on as before.
*******************
Thumbling by Kiri Østergaard Leonard
GYPSY: It wasn't... as absorbing to me as I expected when it started, because I was completely touched by the beginning. The story was told almost entirely from the mother’s point of view, which makes sense when you remember it came out of the author talking with her own son in the forest to start with (and telling him a tale).  It even fits as a “Mother’s Tale” choice in this instance,with Thumbling being so very small and the mother feeling like she has to be an “UberMother” - someone who has to do more than usual to care for and protect her child. I’m sure the situation in the forest, camping, feeling the weight of the forest in both actuality and metaphor at the same time, amplified that feeling for Sara, the author, so Thumbling was a natural choice of story.

The problem for me, is that I was ultimately left dissatisfied.

Initially, I loved hearing about Thumbling growing, the challenges of caring for him, how he was protected, how the village reacted and the couple grew together as people and as a family (and as a community too) during this time. But then, after a certain point, specifically when Thumbling went “adventuring”, it felt that there was no point to the story anymore, because all three main characters returned to a previous point in their lives/understanding/comfort zone and nothing really changed. They lived their lives afterward exactly the same way as they did before. Actually, no, not exactly the same way, with less “life” than before.

Artist unknown
Did the mother not learn anything about letting go? Or about anything at all after a certain point? What about the need to encourage her son into the forest? How does that fit with the beginning of the story in which she was at first over protective and then realized she had to let him go? When he comes back, she’s.. what? - relieved she doesn’t have to deal with reality? It felt odd. Didn't the mother find her own stories/freedom/adventure, just like she was talking about having done in the process of learning tales and exploring the woods? It seemed to me during the main portion of the chapter that this is the very thing the author was explaining to her son, Adam, and that she was pleasantly surprised to find that, not only was she helping her son, but he was able to add to her learning and journey (specifically with the fungi story) as well. While reading the main chapter I was most interested in this aspect of their conversation, and how his input ultimately informed hers. To the author’s surprise, she had a moment of realization that her son had matured enough to be teaching her as well as her teaching him. It’s like evidence that you’ve done your job as a parent, that your child can do this.

I guess I expected that to be reflected more in the story but instead it seemed like the opposite is what happened: keep him in the pretend forest forever and ever more. I know the Thumbling story was supposed to be partly about coming back home but I felt it started well and developed well then it just ended up being sentimental, without a good reason for coming home except to escape reality. The impression I’m left with is that he’ll be cared for and coddled the rest of his life now and never be encouraged (let alone forced) to experience the world as a mature person, and build his own future, add to the world and his village etc. (At least, until his parents die and he’s left with having to deal with that. Then what will he do? Yikes.)  I should state this is my immediate impression only. I wrote my initial notes straight away specifically as I felt it resonated while the words were still in front of me. I have a feeling there is more to my disquiet with the resolution (or lack of from my perspective) with the story but it would need some more read throughs and more reflective time to nut that out.

What were your impressions Kristin?
Illustration and text taken from "The History of Tom Thumb" from the Mary Bell's Series published by Peter G. Thomson of Cincinnati, Ohio.
Tom went with his mother to see a dun cow : The leaf of a thistle he took for a bough ; He sat down upon it, but, shocking to tell, The cow seized the thistle, and Tom Thumb as well. To the cow's upper jaw Tom manfully clung ; He kicked her front teeth, and he tickled her tongue. The cow could not ask him what he was about, So she opened her mouth and she let him out.
KRISTIN: I thought it was a sweet story (for most of it), I liked the theme of the importance of communicating well within a marriage and underlined a couple of quotes there. Then I liked the mother’s sacrifice in letting her son go and experience freedom, which I thought reflected the sacrifice every mother has to go through-but like you I was surprised by the ending, it seemed sudden and unrealistic that Thumbling would never again yearn for a normal life, or as an adult have increased conflicts with being dependent on his parents.  It missed the fact that letting go is an essential part of being a successful parent, in most cases, although it did remind me of many of the families I interact with who have children with disabilities (although this didn’t apply to the author…) because for them, their children grow up physically but never quite become independent. In a way it can be comforting because the parents know they don’t have to worry about their children rebelling and getting into sex/drugs/etc., but that ideal happy family life doesn’t stay that way forever. Even with people with disabilities, eventually their parents are going to get too old to take care of them but those individuals have to keep on living, so letting go and moving on is even part of parenting for those cases.
The Birth of Tom Thumb, illustration from Our Nurses Picture Book,
engraved by Kronheim and Co., 1869, a painting by Horace Petherick.
GYPSY: I think you nailed it: that fact about letting go is an essential part of being a parent. Especially with this being almost completely from the mother’s POV, it didn’t matter as much what Thumbling’s journey and arc was as hers, but her maturity as a parent didn’t happen. She didn’t fail either. She just… continued.
I like the parallel with disabilities. I never thought of Thumbling as having disabilities before! I can totally see that being a great metaphor, but even when children can’t become fully independent there is usually an effort to help them be as independent as they can manage and to live as vital a life as possible, including giving back to the community if they can. (That’s my experience anyway.) I would have like to see that type of development - or “shift” in thinking - toward a sustainable future for Thumbling beyond the natural life of his parents. Or the opposite - a complete “fail” in which the failure to encourage thriving becomes apparent. (But I’d prefer the happy ending please because that’s just me!)

KRISTIN: Absolutely, a healthy goal for people with disabilities is to point them towards as much independence as they are capable of (worked at a group home briefly)-in household tasks, getting jobs, etc. The ending of the story almost seemed like a creepy version of a mother’s desire to keep her kids innocent and childlike and with her forever, which was weird especially since she’s there telling it to her adult son. It almost seemed like we’re not supposed to take it seriously because it’s so obvious that any lessons learned were completely undone? The ending contradicts everything else in the story, maybe it was just a convenient way to wrap up and end it?
Different Toms: From Our Young Folks, Vol 1, No.1, An Illustrated Magazine (artist unknown); The National Nursery Book (unknown); The Beacon Second Reader (Edna T. Hart)
Come back next month to see Kristin & Gypsy discuss “April - Saltridge Wood” and Sara Maitland’s retelling of “The White Snake”.

Saturday, March 21, 2015

Gilliam's "The Brothers Grimm" Being Adapted for TV Series

Looks like we will be getting another fairy tale series to watch weekly soon! (ish)

Announced Thursday this week:
According to reports, The Ring screenwriter Ehren Kruger will adapt Terry Gilliam’s 2005 adventure film The Brothers Grimm into a TV show. The film, which starred Matt Damon and Heath Ledger as the titular brothers, followed the two men as they uncovered that the folklore passed down from generation to generation was based on real supernatural happenings. 
The screenwriter also wrote Gilliam's screenplay, but he's better know now for Transformers: Revenge Of The FallenTransformers: Dark Of The Moon, and Transformers: Age Of Extinction

From Deadline:
The new series will follow the swashbuckling adventures of brothers Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm, who discover startling mythology and supernatural stakes behind the folklore sweeping 19th century Europe.
(And I now understand the timing of releasing The Brothers Grimm to Netflix streaming.)

So, swashbuckling? I always imagine pirates when they use that word, but I guess they sort of are in Gilliam's version. Why do I have this weird feeling we may see a little steampunk added to the mix? About the only thing those tales with their darker, "thrilling spirit" (see below) don't have in terms of violence, is giant explosions.
“The tales of the Brothers Grimm are beloved around the world and offer an endless well of story and character to draw from. It’s a natural fit for television,” (said Devine, Miramax’s Executive VP of Film & TV.) “We reached out to Ehren Kruger and producing partner Daniel Bobker to see if they had any interest in making The Brothers Grimmmovie into a TV show and the pitch Ehren came back with blew us away,” added Pipski (Miramax VP of Television). We’re thrilled to be working with a writer of his caliber.” 
“The original stories the Brothers set out to collect were not for the faint of heart and we’ll be making a show that gets back to those origins and their cautionary, scary, thrilling spirit,” said Kruger.
I'm not surprised to see a variety of tales coming to a series because older tales (thanks in large part to Schonwerth and the "reboot as live action fairy tale movement") are vogue once again, but Gilliam's Brothers Grimm? I guess they need something adventure-y and with a different setting (ie, the 19th Century) to distinguish it from other shows.

I'm not confident about the team, but the concept has promise. More details as they are revealed...
Custom  DVD cover
Sources: HERE & HERE


Friday, March 13, 2015

Family Theater: "The Brothers Grimm & A Showgirl" & "Cinderella Italiano"

Despite the implication in the name, The Brothers Grimm & A Showgirl is a family theater production and has a short run starting TONIGHT. Pantochino Productions Inc ("ridiculously entertaining") is an award winning professional non-profit family theater productions company specializing in family friendly musical theater with a large dollop of fun.

From the New Haven Register:
The show features spoofs and goofs of favorite fairy tales such as Snow White, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel and Sleeping Beauty. In the play, the Brothers Grimm arrive to perform their stories and are taken by surprise when a sequined and feathered Showgirl appears and helps tell the tales in her own special way.

More information can be found on the Facebook page HERE and at the Pantochino theater company website HERE. You can see some photos via BroadwayWorld HERE.

The company is also staging an intriguing production titled Cinderella Italiano. Cinderella Italiano begins on April 24th, 2015.
                   

Friday, January 23, 2015

"The Mythology of Grimm" by Nathan Robert Brown

Spotted (and snagged) in Barnes & Noble last week was the relatively new release The Mythology of Grimm. (Actually, for the first time in a VERY long time, the fairy tale and folklore section was both full and had a good selection of newer books I hadn't seen in the wild before.)

The book is not authorized/endorsed by anyone affiliated with the NBC TV series Grimm but is written by someone who has published several works with regard to mythology and pop culture.

The book is much more than a fan discussion of the TV show elements. It begins with a condensed but clear historical overview of popular fairy tales collectors and their work. As you would expect, the Grimm brothers and their work on Household Tales feature prominently, but also Perrault, Joseph Jacobs and the Aarne-Thompson-Uther tale classification system and other well known names (to readers here anyway) are mentioned as well.
It then heads into a discussion of the weaponry used in Grimm, which is what you'd expect from a fan-aimed book but in the show a weapon is usually creature/Wesen-specific and directly related to the mythology surrounding the creature or tale the overall story is drawing from. in this way, it's a good overview of the types of challenges and creatures within the stories.

The rest of the book goes into (essentially) tale types used and retells the Grimm version of the most popular incarnations. For example, Little Red Cap is retold with a brief introduction to the tale's context/history but with commentary and a good sense of humor).

Here are the chapter titles discussing the tales (I'll put an explanation next to the title in brackets, in case you're not familiar with the show and the titles reference isn't obvious):
The Illustrated Grimms Fairy Tales - Pop Up Book
by V L A D I M I R stankovic

  • Red Hoodies and Cross-dressing Blutbaden
  • Bears, Blondes, and Butchery
  • Dancing to the Piper's Tune
  • Ultimate Showdown - Blutbaden vs. Bauerschwein (Three Little Pigs)
  • Sexy Goats and Eager Beavers (The god Pan and Bluebeard)
  • Wild Chicks with Long Hair (Wild children & Rapunzel)
  • Giants, Ogres, and Giant Ogres
  • Bread Crumbs and People Eaters
  • Coins of Blessing, Coins of Curse
  • And Now... Dragons! Or Dåmonfeuers (The Four Skillful Brothers)
  • Cabbages andCookies, Donkeys and Love Spells (Donkey Cabbages)
  • Chicks in Comas
  • Weird Little Guys with Funny Names
  • Foxy Fuchsbau (The Fox and the Cat)
  • Wesen of the NewWorld (multiple legends/folktales/lore)
  • Greco-Roman Wesen (Greek myths - Minotaur & The Slave and the Lion & Pompeii

After the retellings, the author discusses how each tale was referenced in the TV show with well considered research details that won't overwhelm a non-academic. I think he's done a good job at drawing people into the tales this way.

But it doesn't stop there. The chapter on Red Hoodies and Cross-Dressing Blutbaden, looks at legends that echo the motifs, violent crimes and mental illnesses that could be seen to be related to the tale and much more. Each chapter discusses real world related scenarios, personalities, legends and more, giving the idea that perhaps these tales aren't quite as fanciful as they first appear.

Each chapter also has "sidebars" (though they're often at the top of bottom of the page) of related trivia (titled Tasty Morsels) and definitions of less-common words (eg "nosegay"), a breakdown of what a German word used in the show means and more (these are titled Grimm Words). I'm a big fan of side bars and these aren't just for show. They definitely are designed to intrigue and keep the reader going back to the text (in other words, they do their job well).

I haven't read much of the book yet but it's only due to time. For me this will be a quick read (if I can get more than ten minutes in a row to concentrate!) and while readers looking for a light read will go more slowly, it should still easily keep their interest throughout. The reviews I've seen are in the very good to excellent range, which is great to see, especially as all the reviews I've read are by people who don't really read fairy tales or even had any idea there was a whole field of fairy tale scholarship.

So far, I'm impressed with the book (especially since I expected it to be more along the lines of fan writing and not really be "scholar-light") and am really glad to see it sitting with other pop culture studies such as those of Supernatural and True Blood. These shows have all inspired people to study myth, folklore and fairy tale in depth and I couldn't be happier to see that happening.

My one complaint is that the books focuses on the first season of Grimm and the show has referenced many, many lesser known tales since (and some popular ones too, but it's the lesser ones that are fascinating to me). But I wouldn't want it to be any bigger. It's already a little hefty and any larger would be daunting so instead of really complaining I'll just request that a second book is written and released so all the tales and folklore and legends are covered/revealed to the fans (and spawns more folklorists!).

Note: For easy reference two glossaries are included at the end: "Wesenology" and Grimm Terminology.

Here's the blurb:
NBC’s hit television series Grimm pits modern detective Nick Burkhardt of the Portland Police against a cast of terrifying villains—lifted directly from the pages of classic fairytales. In the world of the show, the classic stories are actually a document of real events, and Nick himself is descended from a long line of guardians, or Grimms, charged with defending humanity from the mythological creatures of the world. From The Big Bad Wolf to Sleeping Beauty, The Mythology of Grimm explores the history and folkloric traditions that come into play during Nick’s incredible battles and investigations—tapping into elements of mythology that have captured our imaginations for centuries.

Saturday, May 17, 2014

Grimm's Season 3 Finale Quotes "The Robber Bridegroom"

Note: Apologies for a late post today. It would appear our neighborhood internet was fried in the heat but we are back online now, just in time to turn back into a pumpkin.
So NBC's Grimm just used a quote from The Robber Bridegroom (actually, it's from the song within the story) in their season finale last night (Friday, May 16, 2014) and they did a great job of making the themes of this fairy tale echo through the multiple story lines, including, of course, the long-anticipated wedding, though, thankfully, not in too obvious a manner.

If you know the tale, you'll appreciate the way the twists happen in Grimm's season 3 finale. It's wonderfully layered (right down to one of the characters being a female fox-like creature, echoing, of course, the related tale of Mr. Fox*) and it makes for a terrible mess for the characters, of course. (No spoilers - you will have to watch it yourself.)
Season 3 Episode 22 (finale) "Blond Ambition". The quote is from The Robber Bridegroom.

The writers for Grimm are clearly people who do their research into the old tales (they said this when the show was launching and over time I've come to believe that it wasn't just a marketing point but actually true). Although they're not trying to retell any one story anymore (thankfully, though it was deemed necessary at the beginning of the series to be more obvious about the use of fairy tales to draw in an audience), they've gotten great at weaving in the fairy tale (and occasionally mythic) inspirations for the twists in their writing, which are usually shown in the opening quotes (see below for a good example of the episode prior to the finale, the themes of which carried over into the last one as well).
Season 3 Episode 21 "The Inheritance". The quote is from The Water of Life.
As someone who adores seeing the lesser known fairy tales used and referred to, being able to recognize a lot of the opening quotes as the show begins makes for a highly enjoyable viewing. (And I live in hope that, that also means the cast and crew of Grimm are becoming aware of these tales too.)

I can't wait to see what "obscure" fairy tales they weave into the writing in Season 4!

*A variant of the Bluebeard & The Robber Bridegroom tales, collected by Joseph Jacobs for English Fairy Tales.

Thursday, October 31, 2013

For Your Late Night Halloween Storytelling: “The Tale of the Boy Who Went Forth to Learn What Fear Was”


This is actually courtesy of the smart and talented Cate Fricke at Something To Read For the Train, and is so perfect for today, that I'm re-blogging a portion before sending you over to her site to read the rest.

This is a "freewrite" inspired by the perfect-for-Halloween Grimm's tale:
004. The Tale of the Boy Who Set Out to Learn What Fear Was
*This post is part of A Grimm Project, a series of short fiction pieces using each of the Brothers Grimms’ Nursery and Household Tales as writing prompts. For more information about the project, click here. For more about the story which inspired this freewrite, click here.* 
When the bed stopped its bucking and the cats had gone to find milk, I straightened my suspenders and set off to explore the final wing of the castle. What fun I’d had so far—sheets askew and cards scattered, the castle had the look of a gaming den. One final hallway, one final door. I rapped my knuckles loudly, and the door gave way. 
Ah, it’s you, someone said. 
I could see no one in the dark. The voice was quiet and raspy. 
Nursing a cold there, eh, sir? I said. 
I heard a scratching noise near my feet. Fumbling in my pockets, I found the last match and lit it against my shoe sole. The small light flickered—two eyes looked up at me from the stone floor, reflecting the match’s dance...
Go HERE to read the rest of todays delicious entry and don't forget to also click on the link to Cate's notes and thoughts on the original tale.

BUT before you leave - please make sure you ALSO check out her inspired and wonderful Grimm Project, of which this story is a part.

I have been remiss in not mentioning it till now but it's one of those wonderful things I felt deserved more than a quick mention and, as a result, intimidated myself out of writing anything about it at all (when really I should be doing the exact opposite *red face*).

By the way, if you're looking for something to kick you into NaNoWriMo, which starts TOMORROW - this would be a perfect starting point!

Here's an excerpt from the "about' page to whet your writing appetite.

... read the rest at The Grimm Project HERE.

And Happy Halloween...

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

A Real Life Glimpse Into Snow White's Revenge

From Camille Rose Garcia's Snow White
Warning:
This post is NOT for everyone.
It discusses historical torture methods.
Skip this if you have a sensitive stomach.
At first she did not want to go to the wedding, but she found no peace. She had to go and see the young queen. When she arrived she recognized Snow-White, and terrorized, she could only stand there without moving.Then they put a pair of iron shoes into burning coals. They were brought forth with tongs and placed before her. She was forced to step into the red-hot shoes and dance until she fell down dead. (Grimms Household Tales 1857)
Although I've yet to finish this (and am late in getting it done), I'm working on putting together a slideshow retelling of Snow White for one of the tech challenges in the fairy tale MOOC. Since I'm focusing on how the Queen and Snow White affect each other, I did a little digging into history to see if I could make a little more sense of the "red hot iron shoes" the Queen was forced to dance in at Snow's wedding.
Dance to death - Kelly Mccracken
✒ ✒ ✒  ✒ (click the "Read more" link below this line) ✒ ✒ ✒ ✒ ✒