My Favorite Cherokee

Today is a very special day-the birthday of my brother, one of my best friends. Half Cherokee Indian, he was adopted into our family 17 years ago. So in honor of him, I'd like to share some Cherokee folk lore.

First, the legend of Spearfinger, from here.
"Spearfinger, once upon a time, could appear in any shape she wished. She was a master of disguise. However, beneath her disguises, she was a stone monster whom no one could harm. She was most dangerous in the autumn, for then she could walk out of the mountains hidden in smoke from bonfires. One day, late in October, out of that smoke she appeared to a group of children, disguised as an old woman. The children saw only an old woman, and they offered her a seat. Then she smiled at a little girl. "Sit on my lap, and I will brush your hair," she said. The innocent girl sat upon her lap and then, with her special stone finger, Spearfinger stabbed the child's side. The girl never felt a thing. Later the girl walked home, and that night she grew very sick. Then the villagers knew. Spearfinger had struck again.Month after month, year after year, she struck at the children.
Eventually, the people called a grand council. "We must stop her," they agreed, and the medicine men spoke. "Here is how to catch Spearfinger. We will dig a pit, cover it, and lure her into our trap. Afterwards, we will find a way to get rid of her forever." Then they made a huge bonfire, and when Spearfinger saw the smoke, she came down into the village and chased the young men right to the trap. Just as the medicine men had planned, she did not see the pit, and so she fell in."Now what do we do?" the people wailed. That's when the chickadee came. It flew to the witch's hand, and there it sang. So the people fired at that hand, and true enough, that was where Spearfinger's heart was.The people watched as Spearfinger sank to the ground, dead at last. Today the Cherokee still honor the chickadee, calling it "tsi kilili," or truth-teller."

C. H. DeWitt

This blog post has information on the different kinds of Cherokee fairies, called Yunwi Tsunsdi.

This picture is entitled Standing at the Pool of Creation. The site it comes from includes a description of the Cherokee creation tale:

"Old Grandfather saw how the land above the sky had become crowded and he knew he would need to create a place for his Cherokee children to live. The world at first was covered with water and there was no good place for the Cherokee. The raven went first to find a place but to no avail, finally the water beetle said he would find a place and everyone laughed. The water beetle dove down and brought up the mud that would become the Smokey Mountains. I believe good and evil must have taken animal forms and came to earth with the Cherokee."

Basile's Cinderella

I'll be posting lots of Cinderella-themed posts in the near future, as I've started going through the book Cinderella: A Casebook. This is one of my all-time favorite books on fairy tales; it's full of essays on Cinderella which all take different approaches and is very helpful in getting an overall feel for the tale's history and meanings, without just reading into one person's personal interpretations. Someone needs to make a Beauty and the Beast: A Casebook.

Cinderella's history is very long and complicated, but as far as European history goes, Giambattista Basile's Cat Cinderella is one of the first recorded versions.

Sir John Everett Millais

The heroine's name is Zezolla. Her father, a Prince, doted on her completely, but remarried a harsh woman who hated Zezolla. But the girl had a governess who loved her, and Zezolla wished her governess could be her mother instead. So the governess instructed her to murder her stepmother (by asking for a dress kept in a large chest, and slamming the lid on her head while it was looking in the chest) and then persuade her father to marry her governess. Zezolla does this, and for a few days her new stepmother is kind towards her, but later forgot Zezolla's kindness towards her and became cruel again. She also brought out six daughters of her own she had kept hidden, and they all forced Zezolla to do the work, calling her "Cat Cinderella." This element of having two separate stepmothers seems odd, as they fulfill the same function in the story, and the reader is less inclined to sympathise with Zezolla, as she partially brings her struggles on herself, and is a murderer. Nevertheless, the story continues:

A dove flew to Zezolla after the marriage of her father to the governess and told her, "If you ever desire anything, send to ask for it from the dove of the fairies of the Island of Sardinia, and you will at once have it." The Prince shortly had to go to Sardinia on a trip, and offered to bring presents home for his daughters. The stepdaughters all asked for clothes, cosmetics, games, and the like, but Zezolla asked for the dove of the fairies to bring her something. Her father continued on the trip, remembering all the presents but his own daughter's. When it came time to leave, his vessel would not leave the harbor. The captain was told in a dream that because the Prince broke a promise to his daughter, that is why the ship would not leave. Once he told the Prince this, he hastened to fulfill his daughter's wish.

This strikes me because it is similar to a very common motif in most Animal Bridegroom/Beauty and the Beast tales: the father goes on a trip and asks his daughters which presents they would like. The elder/evil sisters ask for material goods, and Beauty asks for a rose-part of nature. Zezolla's gift, as we will see, ends up being from nature as well.

Felix Lorioux

By the way, once I uploaded this picture I realized it's not appropriate to this post because Basile's story doesn't have a fairy godmother. So, this is the part in the story that will later have a fairy godmother in it, when Perrault gets around to it. But in this version (and the Grimm's,) we have a magical tree instead. So, the fairies' gift to Zezolla was a date tree, and all the things necessary to cultivate it. Zezolla was overjoyed with her gift, and planted the tree, which grew to the size of a woman in four days. A fairy steps out and asks Zezolla what she wants. She says she wanted to get away from the house without her sisters knowing. The fairy told Zezolla a spell she could use to be robed in beautiful clothes, thus serving as her disguise.

On a feast day, Zezolla ran to the tree and got her magical outift and hurried after her sisters, who did not recognize her. The King happened to see her and was enchanted. He ordered a trusted servant to follow her, but Zezolla cleverly threw coins on the grounds, and the servant was too tempted by the money. The King was later angry at the servant and made him promise he would follow the girl next time.

However, the next time Zezolla cast down pearls and jewels. The King was now furious with his servant, and he was the one to be clever the third time-he fastened himself to the carriage with thread. When Zezolla saw he wasn't being distracted, in her agitation she lost her patten, or shoe covering. (Note the absence of the time restriction or the significance of midnight.) The servant brought this to the King, who spouts out a little ode that begins with this: "If the foundation is so fair, what must be the mansion? Oh, lovely candlestick which holds the candle that consumes me! Oh, tripod of the lovely cauldron in which my life is boiling!" and goes on with ever more ridiculous metaphors.

Warwick Goble

So the King threw a feast for all the women in the land. After eating, he went around and tried the shoe on every foot, but it fit no one. So the King had another feast for the next day, and ordered that no woman be left at home. The Prince admitted he had a daughter, but that she was a "sorry, worthless creature, not fir to take her place at the table where you eat." The King's response: "Let her be at the top of the list, for such is my wish."

When Zezolla entered the next day, the King thought he recognized her, but said nothing. Note that, because Cinderella critics often point out that the Prince (who's a King here) is a)shallow, and b)stupid because he can't recognize Cinderella's face, only counts on her being alone in her shoe size. Stupidity especially applies to the Grimms' Prince, who starts riding away with both stepsisters, thinking they are Cinderella, and has to be told by birds that their shoes are leaking blood. So at least in Basile's world, though the King might have fallen in love at first sight, he still recognizes Zezolla in her rags, and the shoe is more like a confirmation. In fact, the shoe "darted forward of itself to shoe that painted Lover's egg, as the iron flies to the magnet." Zezolla becomes Queen and the stepmother and sisters are duly humiliated.

More Disneyland Videos

I swear this is my last Disneyland post, unless I share a few pictures when I get back...I leave for the Happiest Place on Earth in FOUR DAYS...

Above: the original footage from the Opening Day of Disneyland, July 17, 1955. Complete with the bloopers I mentioned in the History of Disneyland post. (My favorite is when the camera switches to one of the hosts, who is caught kissing a girl.) As always, feel free to click on the links to continue onto the next parts.

And documentaries of the making of two popular rides:
Pirates of the Caribbean

Haunted Mansion

Stravinsky-The Fairy's Kiss

"One of Stravinsky's most tender scores – a love letter to the Russia of his childhood – The Fairy's Kiss lovingly adapts more than a dozen songs and piano pieces by Tchaikovsky. The action of the ballet depicts a child kissed by a Fairy; later, on his wedding day, he is carried off to the Land of Eternal Dwelling. The story suggested to Stravinsky "an allegory with Tchaikovsky himself. The Fairy's kiss on the heel of the child is also the Muse marking Tchaikovsky at his birth" – and later terminating his mortal existence at the height of his powers. The static coda (not to be found in the Divertimento) is among Stravinsky's most sublime inspirations."
Information from Boosey & Hawkes

For anyone in the Chicago area, the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra is performing Stravinsky's The Fairy's Kiss this Wednesday and Friday night in Millenium Park-lawn seating is free. The music depicts Hans Christian Andersen's The Ice Maiden (not to be confused with his The Snow Queen), the full text of which can be found here. It is also performed as a ballet:

Biblical Beauty

"Don't judge with your eyes and above all, don't abandon me"-the Beast

"A more illustrious fate awaits you. But if you have to attain it, beware of allowing yourself to be swayed by appearances." -the good Fairy-both quotations from Madame de Villeneuve's Beauty and the Beast

Edmund Dulac


"Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature...for the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart."-I Sam. 16:7, ESV

Fairy Godmother-in-Law

Lest we think fairy tale parodies are only a recent phenomenon, I stumbled across a delightful book from 1905 at an antique bookseller's stall this summer; Oliver Herford's The Fairy Godmother-in-Law. The book contains several humorous poems, beginning with the title story.

The preface:
"It is not always well to place
Unbounded Faith in Fairy Lore,
Believing that in every case
They all lived Happy evermore.

Stranger than Fiction though we deem
The Truth, it does not follow, too,
That Fairy Tales, because they seem
Still Stranger, must be still more True.

Far be it from me to assail
The Truthfulness of Fairy Writ,
But let us take a Well-Known Tale
And see what really came of it."

The story is very short- only 25 small pages of verse, with illustrations. It describes the Prince as "most industrious- at Play; a Leader too-in Fashion's Set; and Deep-that is to say, in Debt." Cinderella's fairy godmother comes to pay a visit to the castle, where she plays magical tricks on everyone, making herself quite a nuisance (at one point she even gives the Prince wings instead of arms, much to his dismay, but they change back at midnight.)

Attempting to do a favor for the Royal couple, the godmother replaces their outfits for an upcoming ball with more beautiful, enchanted ones-yet since they do not realize their garments are magical, they don't know to escape before midnight, and are revealed in their woolen undergarments to all their guests, thus starting a craze for wool materials.

The story ends:
"Poor God-mamma, 'twas her last caper;
One night to throw some Light about
She changed herself into a Taper,
And Cinderella blew her out.
The Princess then divorced the Prince,
And Both lived Happy Ever Since."

A little word from Beethoven

"Music is the one incorporeal entrance into the higher world of knowledge which comprehends mankind but which mankind cannot comprehend." -Ludwig van Beethoven

So, not directly related to fairy tales, but a beautiful quote about the power of music and the supernatural. In general Beethoven was not a fairy taleish guy, so the closest music of his I could find that had anything to do with fairy tales was what we now call his Moonlight Sonata, but what he originally called, "Quasi una fantasia," or "Almost a fantasy."

You'd pretty much have to have lived in a cave not to have heard the famous first movement, above, but the other movements are wonderful too. Below is the much flashier third movement.

Superheroes vs. Fairy Tales

Sometimes I wonder if superheroes are our generations contribution to, or extension of, the fairy tale genre. They have some basic things in common-the possibility of the supernatural, the battle between good and evil. Although, as far as the supernatural goes, superheroes often have scientific explanations as to how they got their powers.
But that got me thinking about the differences and similarities between superheroes and fairy tales. One thing I find interesting about the heroes is that there are so many different versions, like fairy tales. Even among the comics themselves, there are so many issues, and different authors who keep creating tales for the heroes, not to mention the various tv shows and movies that have been so popular. This is most interesting to me because there is still a definite "authentic source" for them, yet that doesn't stop people from creating their own versions. With fairy tales, even our "authentic" sources are really just well-known ones but not at all authentic. The Grimms just collected (and altered) tales they heard. Even "The Little Mermaid," whose plot is attributed to Hans Christian Andersen, contains basically the same plot as Friedrich de la Motte Fouque's "Undine," which came out 26 years before Andersen's tale, in 1811.


It's normal for books to be made into movies, but superheroes have a whole host of media attributed to each of them, much more so than other popular book characters.


But one of the main differences between superheroes and fairy tales is that superhero stories revolve around the character, and mainly, their power. Fairy tales revolve around plot. Any story about an underprivileged girl who rises out of her situation is a Cinderella story, and romance where someone is loved by someone else who is "out of their league" is a Beauty and the Beast story. The traditional fairy tale characters are pretty vague, and all heroines are pretty much the same, just as all villains and parents tend to fit the same profiles from story to story. So modern versions of fairy tales explore and deepen the characters while keeping the plot the same, and versions of superhero stories keep the characters the same while adding new plot elements.

Yet both of these genres have the element of longevity. Fairy tales have been around as long as humans have, and some of the same ones we love today were loved-though in different forms-hundreds and thousands of years ago. Superheroes are much newer, but several are household names even years after they first came out, and I really don't expect to see Superman or Batman go out of popularity anytime soon. Who knows-in the future they may be categorized with classical fairy tales the way several children's books of the Victorian period are (like Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland).

There are two little-known Grimm fairy tales called "The Six Servants" and "Six Soldiers of Fortune." Each of the named characters possess an unusual ability-one who can hear any sound from any distance, one who basically has laser vision, one whose body feels the inverse of the actual temperature, a tall man who can continue to stretch as as high as a mountain, one who can see anything in the world, one with perfect aim, a fast runner, one who creates frosts, a strong man...etc. Each of the men is able to use their gift to solve problems or save the lives of the rest of the group. When I first read these, I was all excited that I had discovered the forerunner of X-Men: a group of people with unique abilities who work together creatively to achieve their goals. Even some of the powers are the same ones we see in modern superheroes-laser vision is Cyclops, the fast runner is Pietro, the frost man would be Iceman...

Happy Birthday, Disneyland!

Today, July 17, is the anniversary of the day Disneyland opened. NOT ONLY THAT, but Disneyland opened in 1955. It is now 55 years since that day! So it's sort of like the park's Golden Birthday, but not. (There's gotta be some term for that, though.)

So this is the perfect day for a brief history of the park.

The idea for Disneyland started one day when Walt had taken his daughters out. Saturdays were his day to spend time with the girls, and he started wishing there could be some place he could take them where the whole family could have fun together, rather than the parent waiting while the child plays. People had been asking for him to arrange tours of the Disney studios, but he thought tours of animation studios would be relatively boring. He wanted people to experience something more interactive, and a park would be the perfect thing.

At the time, amusement parks were in existence. But they were dirty places with gum all over the ground, grumpy employees who would bark instructions at the guests, and the same set of rides-a tunnel of love, a ferris wheel, roller coasters, a ball toss. When Walt tried to describe what he had in mind for Disneyland, people didn't understand what a "theme" park would be. They were shocked he intended to have no tunnel of love or ferris wheels, and told him no one would come. But Walt in his mind saw an ideal place, where the employees treated each guest with enthusiasm, and everything was clean and visually appealing. For this reason, gum has never been sold in the park. Walt had the curbs on Main Street all rounded, as it's more pleasing and comforting than 90 degree angles.

Walt was determined to make his dream a reality. Walt and his brother Roy made many personal sacrifices in order to finance the park. Walt sold his vacation home at a loss, borrowed against his own life insurance policy, and mortgaged his home.

In the 50s, Annaheim, California was not the major city it is today. The land on which Disneyland stands was originally orange groves, surrounded by open farm land. Walt wanted it this way-he didn't want the area around Disneyland crowded with cheap motels and diners. Ironically, the success of Disneyland has made Annaheim a crowded city and detracted from the "escape from reality" concept Walt wanted, but the inside of the park is blocked off from viewing the outside.

Walt was determined not to push back the opening date. Unfortunately, that meant that some shortcuts were taken and opening day was a disaster. The asphalt had been poured only hours earlier than the opening and was so hot still that ladies' heels sank in. A power outage stopped Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. A gas leak led to early closing for Fantasyland, Adventureland, and Frontierland. No fault of Disney's were other contributing factors, like the unbearable heat. A plumber's strike meant Walt had to either have functioning bathrooms or drinking fountains. Walt wisely chose operational bathrooms, saying that people could "buy Pepsi, but they can't pee in the street." The lack of drinking fountains, though, caused people to suspect that they were being forced to spend money on drinks.

In addition, the crowds were more than anyone expected. The premiere was an invitation-only event, with 11,000 passes sent out. But between counterfeit tickets and people climbing over the walls, the attendance count was 28, 154. The heat and the crowds made the day very uncomfortable.

Not only that, but the day was recorded live on camera. To increase support for the park, Walt had created a Disneyland t.v. show. But the live filming was full of bloopers, which are funny now, but were embarrassing at the time.

Because of the disastrous opening day, and because the next day, the 18th, was the day the park opened to the public, sometimes the 18th is called Opening Day. So, it's like a two-day birthday celebration! I read somewhere that employees all wear black ribbons on July 17th to commemorate that first day.

Yet, obviously, despite the problems with the original park, Walt and his team-and later the Disney company-have continually changed and expanded the park, continuing to make it better and better. Walt's death in '66 was a huge shock to the world, but especially to the Disneyland team. Walt intentionally wanted the atmosphere to be like a family. He was often in the park, observing the guests to see what their experience was like and how to make it better. But he also cared about the employees-from the lead operators to the janitors, and would often ask for their opinions about certain ideas he was contemplating. Those who knew him say that his heart was primarily concerned with the guests, and giving them a good experience. Money was secondary, although necessary. After the Disney company came into other hands, the priorities got switched. Make the people happy so that they'll pay more.

But Disneyland has been well-loved by many people-from employees to guests, who range from people all over the world to locals, from families who save for years to be able to afford their trips to royalty and Presidents. Author Ray Bradbury (one of my personal favorites) said of his visit to Disneyland, "I've never had such a day full of zest and high good humor...I found in Disneyland vast reserves of imagination before untapped in our country."

Random

I had always wondered about the line "Screw your courage to the sticking place" in Disney's Beauty and the Beast's "Mob Song." Where exactly is the sticking place for our courage? Who knew it had to be screwed in?

Today I was reading Macbeth and came across the line. Lady Macbeth says it while she's persuading Macbeth to go through with Duncan's murder in Act I, Scene 7.

I was all excited about my discovery, but it's already on IMDB's trivia page, which I've read before but hadn't remembered everything. Those IMDB guys don't miss a thing. So, I'm not posting anything revolutionary here, but it's more exciting when you find something out yourself rather than read it on a list of trivia.