Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Fair, Brown, and Trembling
Fair, Brown, and Trembling is a story from Ireland. It begins as a seemingly normal "Cinderella" tale, but has some strange deviations throughout in the text. One interesting aspect is that it concentrates on color throughout the story. Trembling (the Cinderella character) goes to mass (ball) three times, and each time, her attire is described in a full paragraph. Colors are included in every description, even insignificant parts. Not only are colors described in detail, but other small aspects o the story are intricately explained (for example, a specific mark of the belly of a whale...). Also, after the wedding of the prince and Trembling, the story is only half complete. There is an entire second story-line where the prince fights for the hand of Trembling and saves her from an enchanted whale. Yeah, I know. Weird. She is swallowed by the whale after her sister pushes her into the ocean (her sister is in love with her husband) and a little cowboy must alert the prince to rescue her. Finally, the story doesn't include a parental unit of any sort, which deviated from normal Cinderella stories, where the evil stepmother is a key player in the plot. This eliminates any oedipal ties that some Cinderella tales have and make it more about clear-cut good versus evil.
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Your comment about the inclusion of detailed color descriptions is very interesting; however, you didn't mention about the significance of the specific colors used. Although this is a gander at their symbolism, my bet is that the use of white, black and color is used to advertise the various aspects of a woman's virtue. The first white dress and green pair of shoes is used to show that she is pure and chaste. The black dress and red shoes is used to advertise that she is a sexual being (during the night). The last multicolored outfit is worn to demonstrate that she possesses many skills and personality traits that will make her a successful woman and good wife. In more general terms, however, the colors could also symbolize birth, death, and fertility, respectively.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Maggie on this front. I think the strength of this story is that there are no parents.
ReplyDeleteThis differentiates this story from the other versions. In addition, this allows for the sisters to play a more confrontational role. I think this confrontational role allows for a stronger Cinderella characterization.