I found solace in this story back then, and again now as we face a return of the dark that we have fought so hard for so long. Fairy tales have always been and will always be political. They are some of the most subversive stories of our culture, and they were born in part out of an underground resistance that hid in kitchens and parlors and children’s bedrooms. And over the centuries, those stories have become part of our DNA. We know how to recognize the bad guy and the helpful animal and the trickster who would lead us to ruin. We understand the importance of doing the right thing when no one is looking. We know you should always listen to old women in the woods because they know shit. And we know - if we know the stories in their original form - that’s it’s never all love and light … that things get dark and scary and bad things can happen to good people (and even to good dragons). This knowledge and so much more lives in our bones. We just need to remember it and believe in its wisdom. Thank you for sharing what you know and helping us find the path through the forest. You may not be an old woman yet, but you still know some stuff. 😉
You’ve got me crying at my gate in the airport with those last two paragraphs. This helped in 2016 and it’s helping again now. Staring down four (?) years of this conjures a dread so deep, and it’s important to be reminded that this is not the end.
I found solace in this story back then, and again now as we face a return of the dark that we have fought so hard for so long. Fairy tales have always been and will always be political. They are some of the most subversive stories of our culture, and they were born in part out of an underground resistance that hid in kitchens and parlors and children’s bedrooms. And over the centuries, those stories have become part of our DNA. We know how to recognize the bad guy and the helpful animal and the trickster who would lead us to ruin. We understand the importance of doing the right thing when no one is looking. We know you should always listen to old women in the woods because they know shit. And we know - if we know the stories in their original form - that’s it’s never all love and light … that things get dark and scary and bad things can happen to good people (and even to good dragons). This knowledge and so much more lives in our bones. We just need to remember it and believe in its wisdom. Thank you for sharing what you know and helping us find the path through the forest. You may not be an old woman yet, but you still know some stuff. 😉
Stuff that people think isn't political often is; Michelangelo's David celebrated the expulsion of the Medici.
You’ve got me crying at my gate in the airport with those last two paragraphs. This helped in 2016 and it’s helping again now. Staring down four (?) years of this conjures a dread so deep, and it’s important to be reminded that this is not the end.
How do I love thee? Right in the face. 💕
I like this comment x one million!
Thank you. Thank you for giving me some solace through this story eight years ago, and thank you for reminding me today. 💜
Thank you. This was a story I needed to read, today.
Thank you, Cat. I'm going to read this to my son tonight.
I believe in stories too
Thank you
Minor style observation, the link to the book ought to be the publishers. :)
https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250010193/thegirlwhocircumnavigatedfairylandinashipofherownmaking
Thank you, so very much and with all of my heart, for this gift.
I ordered tge boxed set. Maybe my 10 year old grandson will enjoy it too!
🖤
Your story comforted me before, and I was going to seek it out again, and there it was in my inbox today. Thank you, Cat.