'Tangled' The Series Revisits Mother Gothel

Nice to see the series dealing with the (some of) the reality that you can't wish away your previous life and bad care givers (understatement!). We know it's been a huge wish of folks who've identified with Rapunzel, to see that her experience of being raised by Gothel, wouldn't get conveniently swept under the rug. Getting you 'happily ever after' doesn't erase the trauma of a horrible upbringing and at some point, it has to be dealt with - more than likely continuously over a lifetime.

While we don't know how this is ultimately handled, or if this is an issue that will recur/be touched on over time, we're glad to see there is an attempt at addressing this enormous issue in the first place.

See the official clip, with proper resolution on YouTube HERE.

We particularly like how there's indication of a headache and mental strain, that is, turmoil from inside Rapunzel (as opposed to her getting zapped from the outside, as if your bad-parent is only an external problem), not to mention the physically manifest messy aftermath of this encounter. We know there are more than a few folks who will appreciate the not-so-subtle symbolism and will feel validated that even though that problem-person is (possibly) in the past, it doesn't mean you've completely escaped your internal prisons.

The episode aired last week (March 24th we believe) so there's a good chance it will repeat again this week for those wanting to catch up.

Kudos to the Tangled: The Series team for addressing this important issue!

Note: For some reason, the embedding function has been disabled on the original clip, which is unusual so the one above is (obviously) someone's at-home recording of the sequence. If you can't see the one embedded above, you can watch the official clip on YouTube HERE.

Happy Mothers' Day!

Thumbelina and her mother by N. C. Wyeth

♚❊❊❊❊❊❊♚

I found out today that a friend of mine who has been praying and wishing for a child for about fifteen years, has finally had her dreams come true on Mothers' Day. 

I couldn't be happier that the empty arms of a childless mother, and those of a motherless child, have finally been filled with each other's embrace, their hearts full to over-flowing with a real and lasting case of love at first sight. 

There is more magic in this phrase than we could ever truly realize: 

Happy Mothers' Day.

Congratulations P&S! xx

♚❊❊❊❊❊❊♚

On Wishing For Children When Magic Is Around (& the Consequences Thereof)

Snow White's mother at the window by Charles Santore

Following on from last night's post on magically assisted conceptions and births (in which we discussed Frozen and Tatterhood) I wanted to share a page (available for viewing in preview mode online) from one of the books I've been coveting wishing I could afford for quite a while now.

This brief section covers Natal Mothers in fairy tales but also discusses the bargains these want-to-be-mothers make with whomever (or whatever) magical personage is about to hear their wishing (and sighing and pleading). Obviously, these women (usually it's a woman in fairy tales who wishes a child but there have ben want-to-be-fathers as well) are just too good a target for mischief by the magically enabled beings and the deal is rarely the sort of bargain the parent expected they'd agreed to. Unfortunately, the burden of the agreement - usually in the form of a curse or weird and/or inconvenient trait (from fast-growing hair to narcolepsy to being half-animal or extremely ugly or extremely stupid) - falls on, not the parent, but the child who is born under the effects (side effects?) of the "gift".* Poor kiddos! Makes for good stories though.

While the section isn't completely relevant to my post yesterday there's still so much interesting information, I thought anyone who was intrigued might like to read it for themselves.

Hans (my) hedgehog & his mother by Jessica Boehman

The book this excerpt is from is The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Folktales and Fairy Tales, edited by Donald Haase. There are currently three volumes, each of which sells for over $100. The e-book volume of 3 is around $300 (!!!! choke !!!!) and I'll be wanting the paperback/hardcover... O.o

                      

 

One of the days I'll win the lottery find a way to get myself a copy of the volumes and finally feel like I'm better on the way to having a decent tale type research library.... (Just as soon as I get my own Aarne-Thompson copy, complete with supplementals for the folkloric sections of the world that were kind of skipped over as well...  And NO! I did NOT say I would give up my first born for these! Just to be absolutely clear to any mischievously magical onlookers..!)

* I should note here, that sometimes that curse is the simplest but worst ever in that the mother doesn't get to be with her child at all, and, like Snow White, the offspring is left motherless which is a very hard curse to rise above indeed.