For Valentine's Day: Love and Marriage Celebrated in Fairy Tales (and Movies)

 A Fairy Tale Courtship

Reading the Fairy Tale Sweetheart Roland

True Love Enkindled 

Even the title of the fairy tale, Sweetheart Roland, suggests a romantic love story. But the themes of courtship and marriage are often grim and violent events in fairy tales and this story does not disappoint. Before Roland the Sweetheart is even introduced, a mother mistakenly chops off the head of her only child and we see a girl lying in a pool of blood, all because of apron-envy.  This story suggests that on the road to marital bliss, one must always remember the primary obstacles to happiness; in the opening scenes of this tale, jealousy is the hurdle.  Survival (let alone happiness) depends on overcoming this destructive, obsessive, and deadly force.  But the primary theme of this story, I think, is not human survival, but the survival and endurance of love. This tale describes the vicissitudes and trials encountered when pledging one’s self to a sweetheart. 

Besides encountering surprising amounts of blood and gore in the opening sentences, one of the first oddities in the narrative is that the precise hands of the stepmother are described when she chops off the head of her daughter. She holds the axe in her right hand while groping with her left. This level of detail in oral narrative is striking. Why not just say she held the axe in her hands, or she simply chopped? This type of right hand versus left hand distinction is also encountered in Rapunzel, when the powerful sorceress cuts off the girl’s hair. Rapunzel is a similar story describing the hazards of negotiating a successful marriage, but at its heart this story focuses on the violation of marriage taboos. It would be interesting to track down this right-hand versus left-hand motif in other stories to determine if it really alludes to some obscure marriage rite or only pops up when a taboo is broken (or when it pops up at all).

But back to Sweetheart Roland. Most of the courtship or wooing in this tale takes place when the two protagonists are on the run.  They undergo a process of transformation, assuming forms that are interdependent yet mutually advantageous for surviving the wrath of a treacherous world (here: an evil stepmother).  In both instances Roland functions as the protector, in his guise as the sea and in his role as the fiddle player. The maiden is the quick-thinker, nimbly designing and adapting the forms of escape.  Marriage requires a versatile skill set, including adaptability, quick thinking, persistence and constancy. This last virtue is poignantly alluded to when the maid assumes the shape of a granite field stone, waiting patiently for her lover to return. Love is a rocky road, as this fairy tale underscores. Even abandonment must be endured with good cheer and patience. Forget the seventies adage “love means never having to say sorry”. In this fairy tale “love means always loving”. It weathers hardship like a stone, it prevails over disappointments. It survives, somehow.  

Contrast these ideas about love and partnership with modern notions, for example, the relationship at the center of the hit movie “No Strings Attached”.  It’s hard to imagine that the heroine in the movie has found the type of love that would keep on loving, over vast amounts of time or even geological time as alluded to in the fairy tale . For a a very funny review of the movie read the New Yorker article by David Denby http://www.newyorker.com/arts/reviews/film/no_strings_attached_reitman

But go see the movie and then remember Sweetheart Roland.

Which story do you prefer?


To read the fairy tale Sweetheart Roland:
http://www.fairytalechannel.com/2011/02/sweetheart-roland.html


Film versions of endless love:

No Strings Attached

Love Story 

Modern Versions of Courtship, Love and Marriage

FairyTaleChannel.com

Sweetheart Roland

 The Mysterious Power of Music 

Grimm’s Fairy Tale No. 56:   Sweetheart Roland

There once lived a woman who was really a witch and she had two daughters. One was ugly and bad and the woman loved this daughter because it was her real daughter. The other girl was beautiful and good. This one she hated because she has her stepdaughter. At the time, the stepdaughter had a beautiful apron, which the other girl sorely wanted. She became envious and said to her mother that she desired it above all else and had to have the apron. “Quiet, my child,” replied the old woman, “you shall indeed have it. Your stepsister deserved to die a long time ago. Tonight, when she sleeps, I will come and chop off her head. Make sure that you lie on the far side of the bed and push her to the front.” Now it would have been over for the poor girl if she hadn’t been standing in the corner and heard everything. When it came time for bed, the first daughter had to get into bed first; but when she had fallen asleep the stepsister pushed the girl forward and took the place near the wall. At night the old woman came creeping into the room holding an axe in her right hand. With her left hand she felt the bed to see if anyone was lying in front. Then she seized the axe with both hands, and struck and chopped her own child’s head off.

When the woman had gone, the girl got up and went to her sweetheart, who was named Roland, and knocked on his door. When he came out she said to him “Listen, Sweetheart Roland. We must flee quickly. My stepmother wanted to strike me dead, but she killed her own child instead. When dawn breaks and she sees what she has down, all will be lost.”

“But I advise you to first take her magic wand away, otherwise we will not be able to save ourselves when she pursues us.” The girl fetched the magic wand and then took the severed head and scattered little droplets of blood, one on the earth in front of the bed, one in the kitchen and one on the stairs. Then she hastened away with her dear one.

In the morning when the old witch got up, she called to her daughter and wanted to give her the apron. But the girl did not come. Then she called out “Where are you?” “Here on the stairs, I am sweeping,” replied one of the blood droplets. The old woman went out and did not see anyone on the stairs and called out again “Where are you?” “Here in the kitchen, I am warming myself,” called the second droplet of blood. She went into the kitchen but did not find anyone. Then she called out again “Where are you?” “Oh, here in bed, I am sleeping,” the third blood droplet cried. She went into the chamber and to the bed. What did she see? Her own child lay there swimming in blood, the one whose head she had chopped off.

The witch fell into a frenzied rage and leaped to the window. She could peer out far into the world where she saw her stepdaughter with her Sweetheart Roland hastening away.  “That won’t help you,” she called after them. “Even if you are far away from me, you shall not escape.” The witch put on her magic mile boots, in which she could travel an hour’s distance in one step. It did not take long before she had caught up to them both. When the girl saw the old woman rushing toward her, she took the magic wand and transformed Dear Roland into a sea and she herself into a duck, which swam in the middle of the sea. The witch stood on shore and threw bread crumbs and tried as she would to lure the duck ashore. But the duck would not be lured and the old woman had to return home in the evening defeated.

The girl and her Sweetheart Roland then took on their human forms and hastened away . They fled the entire night until dawn broke. Then the girl changed into a beautiful flower in the middle of a thorn hedge but her Sweetheart Roland she changed into a fiddle player. It wasn’t long until the witch caught up to them and said to the fiddle player “Dear fiddler, may I break off this beautiful flower?” “Oh yes,” he replied “I will play while you do it.” In her haste the witch now crept through the hedgerow and wanted to break the flower because she knew who the flower really was. The fiddler began to play and whether she wanted to or not, the woman began dancing, she had to dance because it was a magic dance. The faster he played, the more violent the old woman was forced to jump. The thorns tore at her clothing and pierced her skin until bloodied and wounded, she fell to the ground dead.

Now the two were redeemed. Roland spoke “I will go to my father and prepare our wedding.” “I will stay here and wait for you,” the girl replied. “So that no one recognizes me, I shall turn myself into a red field stone.” Now Roland went out and the girl stood in the middle of the field as red stone and waited for her sweetheart. But when Roland returned home, he fell into the trap of another and he soon forgot the girl. The poor girl stood a long time, but when he did not return, she became sad and turned herself into a flower and thought that soon someone would come and trample her.

But it happened that a shepherd was watching his flock in the field and saw the flower. Because it was so beautiful, he broke off the stem, took it home and placed it in a box. From that time on wonderful things happened in the shepherd’s house. When he got up in the morning, all the work was already done; the rooms were swept, tables and benches cleaned, fire and stove were warm and water already carried. At noon when he returned home, the table was set and a good meal was presented. He could not understand how it happened because he never saw anyone in his house and no one could have hidden in such a small cabin. The good care was of course welcomed but finally he became unsettled by it. He went to a wise woman to seek council. The wise woman said “Magic must be behind it; tomorrow morning early, hold a watch and see if anything stirs in the chamber. When you see anything move, regardless of what it is, throw a white cloth over it, the magic will be over.” The shepherd did what she said and the next morning when day broke, he saw how the box opened and a flower emerged. Quickly he jumped toward it and threw a white cloth over it. The magic was now undone and a beautiful girl stood before him. She admitted that she had been the flower and had kept his household for him. She told him about her fate and because he liked her he asked whether she wanted to marry him. But she replied “No,” because she wanted her Sweetheart Roland, even though he had abandoned her. But she promised not to leave and would continue to keep house for him.

Now the time came that Roland’s wedding was to be held. According to ancient custom it was announced that all the young maids should gather at his house and sing to honor the wedding couple. When the faithful girl heard it, she was very sad and thought her heart would break in two. She didn’t want to go but the others came and took her with them. When the other girls turn came to sing, she stepped back, until only she was left. She could do nothing but had to sing. When she began her song and it reached Roland’s ears, he jumped up and cried “That voice I know. That is the rightful bride. I do not desire any other.” Everything that he had forgotten suddenly returned and filled his heart with joy. Now the true maid celebrated the wedding with her Dearest Roland. Her suffering was over and her joy now began.

To read more about the poignant tale of true love:

http://www.fairytalechannel.com/2011/02/for-valentines-day-love-and-marriage.html

And to read more fairy tales:

Translation FairyTaleChannel.com

Fairy Tale Resolutions for the New Year!

Overcoming Inner Demons

Fairy Tale Resolutions for the New Year!

January is the month of fresh starts and working on New Year’s resolutions. The January postings on this website feature fables by Aesop and Lafontaine in addition to a fairy tale by Grimm. They offer a springboard for reflection and self-improvement. These stories highlight human faults of various kinds, including perceived physical and spiritual defects. While reflecting a strong moral impulse, they are not too heavy-handed or moralizing. Change is practical, even ethical, they seem to say. Have you acted upon your own New Year’s resolutions this month? These tales might help:

The Old Beggar Woman by Grimm

A New Year’s Resolution based on this tale is easy to formulate but it might be more difficult to put into practice: To have more compassion toward others, and to develop a stronger feeling of responsibility for community and environment.

Aesop’s Fable No. 19: Tale of the Viper and the File 

Possible New Year’s Resolution: To avoid self-defeating behavior in all its sinister forms, especially no more chewing on iron files!

Aesop’s Fable of the Lion and Mouse

It’s easy to agree with the sentiments of this fable: A small act of kindness is often received with enormous gratitude. However, we often perceive ourselves as the mouse in this tale, but our actions are more like the bumbling lion.

New Year’s Resolution: Don’t be a bumbling lion. Be kind to mice.

Lafontaine’s Fable of The Stag Who Saw His Reflection in the Pool

Lafontaine might actually have been making fun of noblemen at court with spindly legs, who thought a good calf was a reflection of virility.  New Year’s Resolution: Be good humored and don’t take yourself too seriously. The expression on the stag’s face speaks volumes. (Click on picture to enlarge.)

Lafontaine's Fable: The Stag Who Saw His Reflection in the Pool

The Stag Who Saw His Reflection in the Pool

In a deep crystalline pool of water a stag gazed

lovingly at his own reflection.

The beauty of his antler array  

impressed him.

But his slender legs

vanishing in the water

tortured his inner thoughts.

He vainly stood  there  

in satisfied self-regard.

Only his slender legs did not speak to

what a fine fellow he was.

“What dumb luck!” said he

“that I should bear such branches on my proud head,

as if I had robbed a tree, yet

my legs are spindle-thin!”

While the stag was thus complaining bitterly

came panting a wild hunting dog.

The stag by running into the

wooded preserve thought to save himself.

But his antler piece – treacherous ornamentation –

stopped him in his tracks.

His legs would save his life,

but his antlers became tangled  in the bush,

where he did curse aloud those very gifts,

that heaven had bestowed so plenteously year for year.

Beauty corrupts; what is useful we forget.

We call marvelous what brings us down.

The stag abjures his legs that make him mobile.

It’s his antlers, he thinks, that make him noble.

 

Read more fairy tales:

FairyTaleChannel.com

Fables, a Type of Fairy Tale New Year's Resolution

Fable of the Lion and Mouse

A small act of kindness is often received with enormous gratitude, as this fable teaches.

A lion once lay sleeping in the forest when a group of mice were frolicking merrily. One fell on the lion causing him to awake abruptly. The lion snatched the poor mouse enraged. But the mouse cried, “Spare my life!” for he hadn’t strayed near the sleeping lion intentionally. He had been playing with the other mice and they had all quite forgotten themselves.  The lion reflected and came to the conclusion that a small imposition from a little mouse was nothing to get excited about, so he let the creature go. The mouse promptly ran away in gratitude.

A few days later the lion fell into the net of a hunter. When he realized his end was near, he roared and bellowed and howled. Soon, the little mouse heard him, came running and gazed on the accident that had befallen the lion. But when the mouse recognized the lion he said “I will reward your prior kindness to me.” And he immediately began to gnaw on the ropes and break the knots of the netting, so that the lion was soon free and could return to the forest.

Fresh Starts and False Starts in the New Year: A Viper in the Smithy's Shop

Aesop’s Fable No. 19: Tale of the Viper and the File 

Moral: This fable teaches caution in handling sharp-toothed objects.

A hungry viper went to a smithy’s forge, where he found a sharp-toothed file, which he promptly began to gnaw upon. The file spoke to the little snake: “Oh you silly one! What are you doing? Do you want to ruin your teeth completely?  Don’t you know that I, with my sharp little teeth, can destroy the strongest, hardest iron? And you want to gnaw on me? One can only laugh at such false starts!

Fairy Tale of the Beggar Woman and the Fire

(Pablo Picasso, Weeping Woman with Handkerchief, 1937)

Grimm’s Fairy Tale No. 150: The Old Beggar Woman

There once lived an old woman, surely you have seen this type of person begging?

When the old woman went out crying for alms, if she received something, she said to her benefactor, “May God give you your just reward.” Now the beggar woman arrived at the door of a rapscallion, a young chap warming himself by the fire. The fellow greeted the woman friendly enough and asked why the woman stood at the door shivering. “Come here, old mother and warm your bones.” She approached the fire but came too close so that her old rags began to burn, but she did not notice what had happened. The youth stood quietly, and saw it all. He should have done something! Even if he didn’t have any water, then he should have cried bitter tears so forcefully, that two watery streams flowed from his eyes to quench the fire.


Copyright FairyTaleChannel.com

Fairy Tale New Year's Eve Celebrations

Fairy Tale Parties, and Dancing, and Feasting on New Year's Eve

Designing your own New Year's Eve Traditions:
Starting at 11:59 p.m.:

1. Ring bells to signify the ending of the New Year

2. Sing a song or recite an appropriate verse

3. Open the front door to let in the New Year (and close it again)

4. Raise a toast to commemorate events in the past year

5. Raise a toast to mark your hopes for the New Year

6. New Year's resolutions

7. Open the back door to let the old year out

8. Ring bells to celebrate the New Year

We must learn to trust the future…..
but for those who are curious about what the future has in store…
Augury for the 21st century (adapted by the fairytalechannel.org editorial staff)
Love augury to foretell one’s future true love during the course of the year:
Unmarried maids take four onions and place them in the corners of the room, assigning a young man’s name to each of the bulbs. Let the onions stand from Near Year’s Day until Three King’s Day (Jan. 6). Whichever onion sends out a green shoot, the person associated with that onion will become a suitor during the year; if no onion sprouts, no wedding will be celebrated during the year.
On New Year’s Eve, those persons who find themselves in a city at midnight, and who will make their way to a festive communal celebration (like fireworks at midnight), can follow this custom:
City dwellers buy a roll and divide it into three parts. As they walk down the first street, they eat the first part of the roll. In the second street they eat the second part of the roll. In the third street they eat the third part and there they shall meet their future true love.

Weather augury to foresee the New Year’s weather patterns.
The weather on December 31st forecasts the trend for the entire month of January and so on, see table below:
December 31st : Weather for month of January
January 1st : Weather for month of February
January 2nd : Weather for month of March
January 3rd : Weather for month of April
January 4th : Weather for month of May
January 5th : Weather for month of June
January 6th : Weather for month of July
January 7th : Weather for month of August
January 8th :Weather for month of September
January 9th :Weather for month of October
January 10th : Weather for month of November
January 11th : Weather for month of December

Example: If the weather on December 31st is mild most of the day but a winter storm hits an hour before midnight: expect a January with wildly fluctuating weather, but the predominate theme for January weather is mild with surges of excess.

Coin toss to predict a year of failure or success.
(If you don’t like the first outcome, you can always take the average of several tosses).
Bread under the pillow to predict one’s future true love.
Buy a perfectly shaped roll, carve out an emblem or face with a knife, place under pillow and sleep on it New Year’s Eve. In the morning, try to determine whose face the roll most closely resembles. (However, a perfectly smashed roll means there is little hope of marriage during the New Year.)

Customs to follow on January 1st and month of January:
Extend good wishes for the New Year to friends and family (a phone call, card, or personal greeting).
Make resolutions for the New Year, think about things you would like to change, self-improvement, goals, hopes or aspirations for the New Year. Think about your blessings and joys. Write all this down on a piece of paper and put it in a safe spot. (Read your list again Next New Year’s Eve.).

The custom of giving New Year’s gifts is outmoded but should be revived. This is a great time to give small tokens of appreciation, not fancy or expensive gifts. For example: a jar of home-made jam, honey from a local farmer, a loaf of freshly made bread, a small New Year’s wreath you have made yourself with fresh greens from the yard or a card you made especially for the person. If all this seems too involved, a simple E-mail message is also quite nice!

And if you dance on New Year's Eve, follow the example in the picture above only metaphorically, by severing yourself from those things that have frightened or sapped your energies in the past year, thus chopping off a head.




Translation Copyright FairyTaleChannel.org
Please read and enjoy this article. Pass on to friends or link to.

The Farmers of Kolbeck Dance on Christmas Eve

(Illustration Tomi Ungerer, Das Grosse Liederbuch)

Grimm’s Saga No. 232: The Farmers of Kolbeck

 

In the year 1012 a farmer in the village of Kolbeck near Halberstadt by the name of Albrecht started to dance on Christmas Eve. He began his dance in the churchyard with fifteen other farmers while the other villagers celebrated mass inside the church. There were three women among the dancers. The priest came out of the church with the intent of punishing each and every one of them. Finally the farmer stepped forth and said “They call me Albrecht, you are called Ruprecht; You are happy inside, so let us be happy outside. You sing your songs inside, so let us dance our roundelay outside.”

The priest replied: "May God and the Holy St. Magnus make you dance for an entire year!”

And so it happened. God gave those words power so that neither rain nor snow nor frost touched the heads of the dancers. Nor did they feel the pangs of heat, hunger or thirst, but rather they all danced and their shoes did not become worn. The verger ran over to the throng and wanted to pull his sister out of the dance, but she only flapped her arms and continued. When the year was over, Bishop Heribert of Cologne came and broke the spell. Four of the dancers immediately fell to the earth and died. The others became very sick. It was said that they danced until their shuffling feet had hollowed out a huge hole in the earth, which can still be seen today. A nobleman had as many stones erected as there were dancers. They still stand in the churchyard today as sign of what has passed.

A Medieval Christmas Carol: King Charles the Fat Encounters His Christmas Ghost

Grimm’s Saga No. 467: King Charles Sees his Ancestors in Hell and in Paradise

On Christmas Eve King Charles (The Fat) lay in bed early in the morning wanting to rest after the long mass. He was almost asleep when he heard a terrifying voice that spoke to him: “Charles, your spirit shall now leave your body, you shall see God’s judgment and then you will return again!” Immediately his ghost left his body and he found himself in the presence of a spirit that was completely white. It held an illuminated thread that shone as brightly as a falling star and said: “Hold onto the end of this string, bind it firmly around the thumb of your right hand. I will lead you to the place of infernal agony.” After these words the spirit stepped in front of him, unwound the thread from a glowing ball and led him through deep valleys filled with smoking pools and fountains. In these fountains boiled sulfur, pitch, lead and wax. There he recognized the bishops and priests from the time of his father and ancestors. Charles fearfully asked them why they were to suffer such torments. They replied, “Because we spread war and discord among the nobility instead of admonishing peace.”

While they were still talking, black demons flew toward him riding glowing hooks and they all tried to seize the string the king was holding. But they could not do it because of the king’s quick thinking and they all had to fall back. Now coming from behind, the devils  wanted to pull Charles with their long hooks and induce him to fall. But the spirit guiding him wrapped the thread around his shoulders and held him back tightly.

They then climbed a high mountain, at the foot of which smoldering rivers and seas lay. Here he found the souls of his father’s people, his ancestors and brothers submerged by the boiling water up to their scalps, others stood up to their chins, still others were submerged up to their navels. They lurched toward him crying “Charles, Charles. Because we committed murder, war and robbery we must remain in these tortures!” And behind them others screamed. He turned around and saw on the banks of the river iron ovens full of dragons and snakes, and he recognized the faces of many men known from among the nobility. One of the dragons flew toward him and wanted to ensnare him. But his guide bound a loop of the thread around him a third time, restraining him by the shoulders.

Finally they reached an enormous valley, which was light on one side. But the other side was completely immersed in darkness. Several kings, all of them his ancestors, lay there in  darkness in horrible agony. Peering through the light emanating from the thread, Charles recognized his own father in the boiling water, King Ludwig, who now pitiably admonished him and showed two equal-sized vats to the left. They had been prepared for him if he did not do penance for his sins. He was terrified but his guide brought him safely to the illuminated side of the valley. Here Charles saw his Uncle Lothar sitting on a large gem. Other kings sat round him, crowned and in bliss; They warned him and announced that his kingdom would not last much longer, but his realm would go to Ludwig, Lothar’s daughter’s son. When Charles saw this child, Ludwig, standing there, Lothar his ancestor said  “Here is Ludwig, the innocent child. Now you must give him the power of your realm via the string you hold in your hand.” Charles unwound the string from his thumb and gave the child his kingdom. In that moment the thread unfurled, shimmering like a ray of sunlight, in the child’s hand.

After this the spirit of Charles returned to his body; he was completely exhausted and fatigued.

Copyright Translation FairyTaleChannel.org

Please pass on to friends and enjoy!

Do not plagiarize, copy or pilfer. Thanks!