A Favorite Quote

One of my favorite quotes from His Dark Materials is on page 274. Lord Asriel says, "But think of Adam and Eve like an imaginary number, like the square root of minus one: you can never see any concrete proof that it exists, but if you include it in you equations, you can calculate all manner of things that couldn't be imagined without it."

This idea goes along with one of my earlier blogs about children being able to believe anything and everything. Having an open mind will never hinder you, it can only introduce you to more than you previously thought.

The Perception and Portrayal of Beauty in Fairy Tales

“Mirror, mirror, on the wall,
Who’s the fairest one of all?”

The portrayal of beautiful women as the main characters in fairy tales may subconsciously instill, into impressionable, young girls, the idea that beauty is an essential element in relation to personal satisfaction. The vision of physical perfection represented by princesses in many children’s stories emphasizes a woman’s appearance as the most important trait, potentially impacting the self esteems of young girls. Young girls are not only entertained, but influenced by seemingly harmless tales, which primarily focus on beautiful maidens, who, by virtue of their physical appearances, mesmerize prince charming, attain vast treasures, and “live happily ever after.”
A study titled “The Pervasiveness and Persistence of the Feminine Beauty Ideal in Children’s Fairy Tales” by Purdue University sociologist, Liz Grauerholz, and assistant professor of women’s studies at Western Illinois University, Lori Baker-Sperry, and supported by the Purdue Department of Sociology and Anthropology examined the notion that society’s beauty ideals stem from the perception of beauty in fairy tales and that this ideal can negatively impact young girls. The study examined the depictions of physical beauty in 168 Brothers Grimm fairy tales. “Beauty or ugliness is referred to in 94 percent of the Grimms’ fairy tales, with evil characters often being described as ugly” (Hanafy, 1). In Cinderella alone, beauty in a woman was referred to 114 times. The average reference of beauty per story was 13.6.
The study further illustrates a correlation between the perceptions of beauty with regard to fairy tales and the drastic measures adolescents take in attempting to meet implausible ideals. This behavior can ultimately lead to eating disorders or plastic surgery. There is also concern that women will “seek beauty at the expense of other pursuits, such as careers or education” because there is such a powerful message telling them they need to be beautiful (Purdue News, 3). These messages, created by a patriarchal society, may deter women from certain activities or careers including competitive sports or labor jobs because they do not convey femininity. Society’s beauty ideals may limit a woman’s “personal freedom, power, and control” (Purdue News, 3).
Stories such as Snow White, Cinderella, Vasilisa the Fair, and Sleeping Beauty depict that life is dependent upon one’s appearance. For example, the reason Snow White is exiled from her kingdom and subsequently rescued by the prince is because of her “fair” appearance. Had the prince come along and found a hideously, ugly maiden lying in her glass coffin, it is unlikely he would have decided to take her back to his kingdom. In much the same way, Cinderella is forced into a life of misery by her jealous step-sisters because she is more beautiful and kind than they, and she is noticed by the prince because she is more beautiful than all of the other maidens at the ball. The prince does not ask to meet Cinderella or get to know her; he simply desires to marry the breathtakingly gorgeous woman without the need for her to divulge any details regarding her likes and dislikes. Similar to the prince in Cinderella, the tsar in Vasilisa the Fair wants to marry Vasilisa as soon as he sets eyes on her. He does not care about her personality; physical looks are all he needs to make his lifelong decision. In the story Sleeping Beauty, The prince decides to rescue Briar Rose only after hearing how “fabulously beautiful’ she is. Again, it is doubtful that the prince would have risked his life to see the princess had she been ugly or even average or normal looking. All of these stories insinuate that, although beauty will lead one through obstacles, it is that same beauty that will save one in the end.
The Little Mermaid is the only fairy tale in which the princess does not get her prince, but this is simply because she loses part of that beauty, her voice. Though this story encourages girls to give up family and physical attributes and go through unbearable pain in order to get a man’s attention, at least it conveys the message to girls that you don’t always get what you want, and that the cruel world is filled with harsh realities and disappointments. Nevertheless, this story further depicts the necessity of physical beauty and a man’s desire for “perfection.”
The title, The Ugly Duckling, allows the reader know immediately that the story revolves around the importance of physical appearance. Only when the duckling becomes “the most beautiful of all the birds” does he find companionship and live a happy life. Until his blossoming, the poor little duck lives in lonesome misery. No one likes him because he is ugly. He is attacked by ducks, hens, and maids because he is ugly. He cannot even find food or shelter in the winter because he is ugly. As one of the side notes to the story explains, “the duckling’s suffering is so intense (due to his ugliness) that it moves him toward self-immolation.” The desperate duck longs for the salvation of death as long as the executioners are beautiful swans. If there were ever a story that drills into one’s mind the importance of being physically attractive, The Ugly Duckling is the one. How can one expect a young girl to come away from this story without feeling desperation for being as beautiful as a swan? This story conveys the message that only those who are beautiful have friends.
Stories such as Beauty and the Beast, East of the Sun, West of the Moon, and Hans My Hedgehog also illustrate the importance of physical appearance with regard to happiness. Even though Beauty does eventually love the Beast, despite his appearance, he still becomes handsome before the happily ever after arrives. And in both East of the Sun, West of the Moon and Hans My Hedgehog the young daughters do not love the prince until they see him in his handsome human form, then they are willing to walk to the ends of the Earth for him. Hence, it all comes down to being handsome or not receiving the love of the one you admire.
No less important is the impact the view of ugliness plays in fairy tales. “Ugliness is seen as a sign of evil in 17 percent of the stories” (Hanafy, 1). This leads to the idea that beauty and ugliness are indicators of good and evil. If you are ugly, then you are an evil witch or stepsister. Maybe this is the reason many children shy away from the old and decrepit.
This lack of self confidence and vanity in women found in the American culture is further perpetuated by boys also seeing, in these stories, the importance of beauty and in turn inspiring the desire to find a lover based on beauty. It is plausible that many men look at women and subconsciously compare them to the princesses they envisioned as young children. Fortunately, not all men base their love on the physical appearance of their significant other, but many do.
Though I have never realized this before taking Children’s Literature, I think some women’s self esteems and vain behaviors are a direct effect of being told through fairy tales that beauty is the key to happiness. This is an idea that has been instilled in them from childhood. There has never been a fairy tale in which the prince chooses his princess based on the fact the she is intelligent, fun to be around, or interesting. Some women feel they need to rely on looks to get their man, not on who they are as a person. I am sure women would want to be beautiful despite the princesses portrayed in fairy tales, but I am also sure that this desire to be visually appealing and the lack of self confidence related to not being beautiful are amplified by these stories.

Believing Like a Child

In class on Monday we talked about of how children believe. I think the beauty of children is that they can believe everything at once. Pullman's book is a good example of how children are free from the boundaries a set belief can create. In this book "God," angels, witches, polar bears with opposable thumbs, magic spells, ghosts, medicine men, and separate universes all exist together. A child doesn't point out that these are conflicting ideas. They just believe that anything is possible. I wish so much that I could still look at the world through the eyes of my nine-year-old self. I wish I could believe in everything without having to judge and question each credence. Today I was watching the news when a story about a little boy who was home alone when a robber tried to break in came on. When the boy was being interviewed the reporter asked what he did. He said that he hid in his room and dialed 911, but if he would have had super powers he would have arrested the bad guy himself. I loved it. I wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. This boy made this proclamation with such conviction that it was beyond great. Honestly, I felt so jealous of this boy and I can't even explain why.

My Daemon

After thinking about it for a couple days, I can't decide what kind of daemon I would want. I just can't choose between all of the options. Having a wolf or a hawk would be cool, but there really aren't too many animals I would be disappointed to have. From what I know about myself I would assume I would have some sort of cat as my daemon. I'm very catlike in many ways. I took two separate quizzes on quizilla.com and was told I would have either an ermine or a cougar. The quiz that told me I would have an ermine only asked one question that I thought was poorly worded. The quiz that told me I would have a cougar asked a good amount of questions. I like what the site says about having a cougar, this does match my personality.

"Cougar~ Yay for you...you are a cheerful hyper kind of person...but you do like your space sometimes. Annoying people is fun and you always play fair.....well almost always. You don't like the rat because you think he/she is a cheater and a con. In your opinion."

Dust as God

I found an extremely interesting site in which the discussion of rather dust represents god is debated. It comes down to how you interpret the meaning of "god." Of course dust does not represent the Biblical or Christian version of God, but if you relate god with human consciousness than yes, you could say dust is a "cosmic life-force," or a god. I think the most interesting part of this site is how one decides to interpret what an author is saying. If you believe in something enough, you will always twist things around to fit into your own preconceived notions. Here is a quote from the site that shows how many different ways there are to see what you are reading. The funny thing is, I don't believe in God and yet this quote makes perfect sense to me. The idea of believing in some significant force that makes humans human is not too far fetched. I still don't fully agree, but I like his way of thinking.

"Having read the books from a Christian perspective, I've come to the conclusion that the Authority portrayed in the books is most certainly not God. Instead, the Authority represents all of the cruelties and atrocities committed over the years by people 'in the name of God', such as the Crusades or the Spanish Inquisition. The Authority displays what mankind has turned the idea of God into - a tool for mankind's use. Pullman has also portrayed the true God, in the form of Dust. Dust is the unseen but always present representation of love, conscious thought, and free will. It is what makes us human beings."

http://www.facingthechallenge.org/ppfaq03.php

Religion in His Dark Materials

Though we have been told in class to trust the tale and not the teller, I found it hard after hearing about all of the controversy in the news to not think about Pullman's religious views while reading the book. Since I am not religious, I personally did not find it offensive, but I can see how someone of the Christian religion would. The church and God are the bad guys. If I worshipped a being that someone else portrayed as being a coward who tricks his followers I would probably be upset. Then again, other authors have written books that contain witches or mythological gods/creatures or people who travel to other universes, and no one makes a big deal about those stories. I think it is just human nature to get overly excited about any hint of controversy.

To be agnostic means that you are simply skeptical about rather God exists, it does not involve claiming true atheism. An atheist is one who believes there is no deity. I don't think Pullman's intentions were to change the world's mind about religion. It was just good material for a good book. As a side note, it is interesting that the gnostic gospels are a collection of writings about the teachings of Jesus. And gnosis is the "practical spirituality at the base of all religions."

Lyra and Little Red Riding Hood

I was googling His Dark Materials and found an interesting site (http://www.darkmaterials.com/golinter01.htm) comparing Little Red Riding Hood with Lyra. Though Little Red Riding Hood is a simple fairy tale and His Dark Materials is a complex novel, the similarities are quit obvious. Both stories deal with a young adolescent female confronting the desire for independence, both deal with sexuality, and both deal with the young female being stripped of her innocence. Both characters stray from the safe path. Lyra refused to listen to the people trying to keep her from harms way like L.R.R.H refused to listen to her mother. Both character have "idealized familial figures who turn out to be vicious predators." "Both have corresponding antagonists who destroy the heroine while in the role of her benefactor and protector." Both girls are betrayed by someone they trusted: L.R.R.H. by the wolf and Lyra by both of her parents. Innocence and maturity are the themes in both of these stories. I thought this was an interesting comparison even worthy of a term paper topic.