Once upon a time.

[cielamara]

What is your favorite classic fairytale?
Has it always been thus?
What do you like about it?
Do you identify with any of the characters?
What do you think your favorite fairytale says about you?

Comments

[wyrdmuse]

The Snow Queen

I think so. I never really had a favorite until I read this one because Kay, the boy, gets kidnapped-ish and Gerta, the girl, goes after him. She has adventures typical of fairy tale stuff, is helped by an old woman that also escapes the life she doesn't like and then Gerta rescues Kay from the Snow Queen because she loves him. In the translations I've read, it's always platonic, so I don't know if it's a "true love" like a lot of other tales or not.

I don't know if I identify with Gerta, but I definitely was inspired by her. For the first time (I read this when I was rather young), I realized that girls can be the heroes and rescue boys. Also none of that icky kissing and presumably many kids afterward.

[cielamara]

You have excellent taste, Valentine.

I saw a film adaptation of the Snow Queen a few years back in which Kay and Gerta were teenagers and were falling in love in a very sweet sort of way when the Snow Queen happened along.

Here's a question--do you consider the Snow Queen evil, or just a force of nature?

[wyrdmuse]

Okay, so Hotmail no longer works on Opera, which I did not realize until a few days ago, so forgive the extreme lateness of this reply, Valentine.

First, that adaptation sounds amazing. I've had Vinge's sci-fi Snow Queen on my list for a while now, so I should probably read that too.

I don't really consider the Snow Queen evil. You never find out enough information about her to really call her evil the way Cinderella's stepmother was or Maleficent in Disney's Sleeping Beauty was. I think she's a force of nature. There wasn't even a confrontation or a come-uppance at the end of the story like there are in some of Andersen's other fairy tales, so I can't call her any sort of villain.

[cielamara]

I was thinking Andersen/Grimm/Russian fairytales/etc. But I will accept Robin Hood in this. I'm not surprised you'd like Robin Hood.

I am not sure what it says about you. It speaks to your sense of justice.

[jessycat_techie]

What is your favorite classic fairytale?
1. Beauty & the Beast
2. The Little Mermaid
Has it always been thus?
1. Pretty much.
2. Not until I read an original (not Disney) version of it.
What do you like about it?
1. Magic. Books. <3
2. Love.
Do you identify with any of the characters?
1. Yes
2. No
What do you think your favorite fairytale says about you?
1. BOOKWORM (ahem)
2. Pisces.

That's all :)

[cielamara]

I am not at all surprised by either of those choices for you.

I think this may be a sign we've known each other a really long damn time. ;)

As it happens, my favorite of all time is the Snow Queen.

[horosha]

I've loved The Tortoise and the Hare ever since I was little (although The True Story of the Three Little Pigs has also been one of my favorites, too). I like how how it romanticizes stubborn determination, and presents reality as determined by our choices and our attitudes rather than fate. I also like how it reminds me of Zeno's Paradoxes. I'd say the tortoise and I would prolly get along. We share an "oh yeah? Well check this out" response to boastful pride, and deep down I like to believe doggedness will eventually triumph in the end.

[cielamara]

That does not surprise me, that you would identify with stubborn, dogged characters. You're such a Capricorn sometimes, Adric. ;)

Food for thought for you: what fairytale do you avidly dislike or find disturbing?

[horosha]

Haha, I so am! And that's a good question! The original Little Red Riding Hood always creeped me out some. I mean, the wolf swallows the her and her grandma whole then they get cut out of his stomach and replaced with rocks. That's totally a creepy dream someone had right there. How about you?

[horosha]

By the way, I love this post idea :)

[cielamara]

I enjoy posts like this, honestly. Often I am thinking about something but can't really formulate it into words, so discussing it with my flist means I can sort through whatever's floating in my head without having to actually use my words.

Besides, it makes me happy to learn more about the people on my flist.