Wednesday, February 24, 2010
The father figure in the varied beauty and the beast tales is the parent that always sets the story in motion. The father typically has multiple daughters, with one naturally being the favorite. This love for the favorite daughter is what brings the story to a conflict. The father must gather items for his daughters and it never fails that his favorite daughter's is the hardest to get. Whether it is a rose in the middle of winter or a singing springing lark. When the father finally locates these treasured goods, he always gets caught by some form of beast. This beast stakes claim to whatever object is in question. In exchange for his life, the father promises whatever greets him first when he gets home. This inevitably ends up being the daughter he loves so much. This selfish sacrifice the father makes is always overshadowed by his daughter's good will and devotion to the father. Even if the father wishes to break the deal, the daughter is so pure of heart that she insists the promise must be kept. If the father shows up later in the story, it is generally due to an illness or a sister being married. Regardless the circumstances the daughter who is with the beast wishes to return home and see her father whom she still loves.
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I like how many similarities you brought up here. Although it's easy to see some of them, the detailed similarities are striking once you see them (like the fact that it's always the youngest, most loved daughter who first greets the father upon his return). I'm seeing these as fulfilling many of those little "themes" that help fairy tale analysts to catalog and compare the stories.
ReplyDeleteI like the way that you really thought about the father's role in a general way in regards to all of the stories. I think that many of us are seeing the father as setting the story in motion as well. And I wrote that I had a hard time dealing with the selfishness of the father in the stories. I do believe though that many of the stories reconcile this and portray the father in a better light than merely promising the first thing he sees at the door knowing that it will be his daughter.
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