Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Interpretation of The Vegetational Fatherhood
This story was interesting in that it contained certain elements of a fairy tale, however, it seemed to work in reverse. The main idea this pertains to is the element of transformation. This transformation was not a curse or anything, but rather a willing occurrence. Also, the transformation did not end and ultimately led to the death of the young girl. It seems that in other tales read, the transformation ended after the hero solved the problem. In the Juniper Tree for example, once the stepmother was killed, the little boy was no longer a bird. In the Donkeyskin stories, the transformations protected the girls from harm. In the story The Seven Ravens, after the sister completed her quest, her brothers were restored. There are many examples of instances like these. Upon reading The Vegetational Fatherhood, this reversal of the element of transformation seems to characterize the story as a different take on fairy tales. It shares a very common aspect, but reverses "the norm."
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I agree. In fact, it seems as though the author uses this fact to directly criticize the characters in the tale. Logically (or in any case, in the usual flow of a fairytale), the doctor should have in some way restored the girl to speak or to full human physiology. Instead, this process was interrupted by the doc's misunderstanding of the way a fairytale is supposed to work. Silly him, right?
ReplyDeleteI like your idea of the reversal of the element of transformation - it's an interesting way to look at that element of the fairy tale. I agree that this tale is somehow saying that the norm is maybe not the truth.
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ReplyDeleteI enjoyed that you pointed out the reversal in the tale compared to what we have read. However I do wonder if it was a reversal because it was forcefully straying and playing with the original Fairy Tale elements or not.
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