Comments | deliasherman: Searching for a fairytale . . .

deliasherman

Searching for a fairytale . . .

Jul 08, 2011 15:29

Years ago, I remember reading a story in which a girl disguises herself as a man in order to fulfill a quest, in the course of which another girl falls in love with her. At the end of the story, the heroine is granted one wish, which is to become a man indeed. I thought it was "The Satin Surgeon," but I just re-read that story, and it so isn't. ( Read more... )

inquiring minds, teaching

Comments 47

hilleviw July 8 2011, 19:37:54 UTC

I think you might mean "The Girl Who Pretended to Be a Boy" in The Violet Fairy Book by Andrew Lang.

csecooney July 8 2011, 20:32:58 UTC

http://mythfolklore.net/andrewlang/053.htm

I googled that title.

deliasherman July 8 2011, 20:50:04 UTC

Strange little tale, isn't it? It gave me furiously to think.

csecooney July 8 2011, 21:51:57 UTC

Phew. Just read it.

About halfway through I was like, "Who the heck is FET-FRUNERS?" All of a sudden, that's what they were calling the princess. As soon as the other princess was introduced, I guess. What a weird name. "Fet" is a cute short version though.

IT IS VERY STRANGE!!!

They deserve each other, those two...

I wonder if the nuns were doing more with the hermit than merely "talking" to him.

And the weird horses! With their weird ears full of stones and branches, and their weird nostrils full of FELL WINDS!

I liked it, but I want to read your version.

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oneminutemonkey July 8 2011, 20:10:07 UTC

I so need to read that story also. It sounds like it's ripe with potential.

deliasherman July 8 2011, 20:50:22 UTC

It is. Oh, it is.

Also very infuriating.

oneminutemonkey July 8 2011, 21:17:11 UTC

I just ...

Wow, that's weird, even for fairy tales. It's like one of those serial tales where they picked it up every night for a week until it was done, and there was much drinking involved.

I loved the line: "For your sake, father, I would cut the devil himself into small bits, or even become a devil myself."

There's SO much you could do with this tale, even just bits and pieces of it, to make it coherent and awesome. I mean, do you turn it into a transgender story? Or just a gender-bending adventure? Or what? Wow. (The horse was a magician! Of course!)

I've recently read through Grimm and Anderson, researching fairy tales for various reasons. I think it's time to go back and look at Lang's stuff, just for comparison and inspiration.

deliasherman July 9 2011, 01:34:29 UTC

Do that. You may be frustrated, irritated, bemused, and bewildered, but I suspect you won't be sorry.

julieandrews July 8 2011, 20:21:16 UTC

I remember reading _about_ a story something like this, and then not being able to find it..

Oh, it was in Baba Yaga Laid an Egg. It referenced a fairy tale like this, but my Googlefu failed me.

I'll definitely check the violet fairy book (Hurray PG!) like the commenter above suggested.

deliasherman July 8 2011, 20:50:53 UTC

I'll be curious to know what you think of it.

rymenhild July 8 2011, 21:49:15 UTC

See also Iphis and Ianthe in Book 9 of Ovid's Metamorphoses.

rymenhild July 8 2011, 21:50:30 UTC

...Oh lord, that phrasing. Can you tell I've written too many footnotes this week?

deliasherman July 9 2011, 01:35:25 UTC

*giggle*

And I shall do that thing you said, too.

erikagillian July 8 2011, 22:22:28 UTC

Ok, doesn't seem to be the same story, but I just skimmed the Lang. In the Tale-Type Index there's a tale type called The Shift of Sex (514): The sister becomes a soldier in place of her brother, marries the daughter of the king, she is driven away and rescued by her companions. The change of sex in the ogress' house, marriage with the princess. (I left the motif references out, can list them if someone wants them ( ... )

deliasherman July 9 2011, 01:37:48 UTC

This helps loads.

I do not have the Aarne-Thompson, but I covet it greatly. I do have an Index, but it's in New York and I'm in Roanoke, so I don't know which one it is. I've had it for roughly eons, and don't use it often. Clearly I should.

Thank you.

erikagillian July 9 2011, 02:06:54 UTC

Oh, no problem at all! Glad to help :) I was an anthropology major on the way to being a librarian (that was the plan anyway) but it turned out I was a damned good folklorist but never took it up. But I have the motif index of folk literature, it's six volumes (I worked in a bookstore and it came through), and I managed to get my hands on the Aarne-Thompson as sort of a fluke, it appeared on Amazon for 20$ and I just got it :)

If you want me to look up the motifs, or if I could help with that end of things, let me know, erikagillian at gmail dot com. I adore fairytale retellings, and would be pleased to help.

rose_lemberg July 9 2011, 03:27:45 UTC

Ok, sorry to barge in, but I now am suffering from massive envy.

You probably know this, but there's an Aarne-Thompson-Uther (ATU) in progress now.

Thread 13