tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6968132365438511409.post4399771940754389553..comments2024-03-26T02:27:06.176-05:00Comments on Tales of Faerie: Unusual Births in Fairy TalesKristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01097525403940409218noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6968132365438511409.post-78546210571015959222021-01-19T04:37:09.232-06:002021-01-19T04:37:09.232-06:00Thank you for sharing such uplifting story. I had ...Thank you for sharing such uplifting story. I had two miscarriages a year apart. I was told it was nothing to worry about despite having multiple fibroids. The doctors were not concerned about the position of the fibroids. Miraculously, I became pregnant within a month after i order spell and herbs from Priestess Hallifat .i recommend you try her out : lifecentre@live . com Raj Chandrakanthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16079059561291035826noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6968132365438511409.post-41496516448651296332016-11-08T09:12:55.191-06:002016-11-08T09:12:55.191-06:00I'd be interested in reading those stories! I ...I'd be interested in reading those stories! I guess the bestiality implication makes sense, although in fairy tales it's so common for characters to shapeshift back and forth the whole concept of marrying an animal seems to be no big deal to anyoneKristinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01097525403940409218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6968132365438511409.post-86208031257816456012016-11-07T21:09:48.447-06:002016-11-07T21:09:48.447-06:00I'm thinking now of a couple of stories where ...I'm thinking now of a couple of stories where the mother gives birth to an apple or a sprig of myrtle. I think I also read somewhere that in the stories where the mother is accused of giving birth to an animal, the implication was bestiality.Sarahhttp://writinginmargins.weebly.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6968132365438511409.post-64419390898819121682016-11-05T09:41:28.856-05:002016-11-05T09:41:28.856-05:00That's a very interesting thought! I've re...That's a very interesting thought! I've read that many pregnant women feel they have the right to indulge themselves simply because of all the things we're denied now-from alcohol to lunchmeat to certain activities and medicines, it can be really overwhelming, so we figure we deserve a big bowl of ice cream at the end of the day! I'm not sure how much pregnant women were told to limit in earlier cultures, but they would still be sacrificing a lot, from morning sickness to aches and pains (and probably all the while still expected to cook and clean for the family and raising other kids!). <br /><br />And, as far as taking ownership goes, there are rumors floating around about how certain things you eat may make you more likely to conceive a boy or girl, and some women who really want one of the other will try to control the outcome by altering their diet. Certain foods are also thought to help your fertility in general so there's definitely a link today, and I wouldn't doubt it was there in past generations too!Kristinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01097525403940409218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6968132365438511409.post-36664316924496457132016-11-05T09:34:22.176-05:002016-11-05T09:34:22.176-05:00I know, I'm already getting nervous because an...I know, I'm already getting nervous because any of the discomforts I'm feeling now I know will only get worse as this little one gets bigger and bigger! But I know it will all be worth it...even despite the challenges.Kristinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01097525403940409218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6968132365438511409.post-68279340228367994762016-11-05T09:30:47.541-05:002016-11-05T09:30:47.541-05:00That makes sense, that many stories would be the c...That makes sense, that many stories would be the child's own speculation. But, I would think that legends like the stork would be relatively recent, like from the Victorian period. Before then, wouldn't most children have been more aware of the facts of life from seeing livestock and/or sharing a one room house with their parents? <br /><br />I didn't even think of connecting "unnatural" births to these stories too, but it's very true that many women who end up having unplanned C sections feel very guilty afterwards, like they failed at giving their child the best possible birth experience, even though most children born that way are very healthy! The main thing I seem to be learning as I try to come up with a birth plan is to keep an open mind and be prepared for anything. Women who want drugs may go into labor too quickly and end up doing it the old fashioned way; women who aim for totally natural may have complications and need interventions. It's another powerful reminder than we can't control our children, before or after birth!Kristinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01097525403940409218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6968132365438511409.post-15123627625152182892016-11-05T09:24:11.893-05:002016-11-05T09:24:11.893-05:00I'd like to see that list too! Especially the ...I'd like to see that list too! Especially the Japanese ones, which I'm not as familiar with, I've only heard of some of these through other bloggers like yourself!Kristinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01097525403940409218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6968132365438511409.post-81878006211161810802016-11-05T05:53:09.628-05:002016-11-05T05:53:09.628-05:00Thank you for such an interesting and thought prov...Thank you for such an interesting and thought provoking post (as per usual!) This has triggered a half-formed idea; I've recently been reading around addiction and addictive behaviours and food is commonly used and abused, especially by young women, as a form of control. I'm imagining that hundreds of years ago when a woman was confined to the domestic sphere food was something she had most control over...I'm wondering if there is a link between food and women taking ownership of their fertility? Rapunzel, again, being the obvious one to consider for this possibility. Not a fleshed out thought by any means but thought I'd leave it here to be pondered! xA.L. Lovedayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16205189160121469082noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6968132365438511409.post-46429112983966492362016-11-04T21:19:10.958-05:002016-11-04T21:19:10.958-05:00Kristin, the metaphor continues when your child st...Kristin, the metaphor continues when your child starts shoving your organs around inside you to weird and uncomfortable locations - even your heart! It's so very weird, but also cool. Under normal circumstances there would be something very wrong if that were happening, but instead, that's life pushing it's way into your world. Very intimate. For many parents, when the baby is born it feels like your heart now exists outside your body, in the form of that child. It's terrifying and wonderful all at once. Not easy though - never easy. But fairy tales are very good at reminding us f that part.Gypsy Thorntonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05376146830985305127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6968132365438511409.post-71147673197375880932016-11-04T21:14:49.709-05:002016-11-04T21:14:49.709-05:00Gotta love those! I'd love to see a collection...Gotta love those! I'd love to see a collection of unusual fairy tale baby stories.Gypsy Thorntonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05376146830985305127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6968132365438511409.post-3538131469546909982016-11-04T19:10:19.551-05:002016-11-04T19:10:19.551-05:00Walter Scherff suggests that some stories of unnat...Walter Scherff suggests that some stories of unnatural births actually come from children's phantasies about childbirth. For example in the German Tale Hans Törfsoden (sod of peat), the parents get the advice from a witch to churn a peat in a butter tub and from that sod of peat a baby boy is created. This might seem very random, unless you know that like some cultures parents tell small children that babies are brought by the stork, in some regions of northern Germany they were told instead that babies were made by churning peat - just like butter is made from churning milk. The story of the Snow Maidenis reminiscent of children ascribing the snow men they made human qualities and getting very upset once they melt. In these stories the unnatural birth is often not the cause of a misshapen, sstigmatized child, but something positive. Perhaps because to children it does not seem unnatural.<br />Other stories of unnatural births seem to come from a mother's perspective though. Tales like King Lindorm in which a mother's mistake results in a catastrophe(which interestingly is resolved not only by a woman, but also in a scene that has sexual connotations), a fear that today still is very real, with pregnant women often being critizized for their lie choices like exercise and diet, because of the assumption it will harm their child. Even thoughthe advice is probably well intentioned it can cause great anxiety in expecting mothers.<br /><br />Some tales adress both perspectives. In Hans my Hedgehog a mother'scareless wish, results in the birth of a "freak", but after the birth the story explores the hardship of an "unnatural" i.e, deformed child from the sons perspective. LaterHans my Hedgehog is quite successful and the image of a hedgehog riding a rooster is bizarre, but in a funny, not an appaling way. So the positive outcome of the unnatural birth is still present.<br /><br />Nowadays many women feel pressure to have a "natural" birth and women who had cesar sections are often stigmatized for their decision, even if they had good reasons. Similarly processes like artificial insemination are still not seen as acceptable by large parts of the population. The notion that "unnatural birth" means "wrong birth" and can only result in "wrong" children is still embedded in our subconscious it seems. The latently racist and sexist urban myth about the woman who gave birth to a black baby after artificial insemination, because the wrong sperm was accidentally inserted, shows that. If you're ever faced with such prejudices it might help not to think of King Lindorm, but of Hans Törfsoden and Hans my Hedgehog, who became smartboys and in My Hedgehog's case successful adults, despite the unusual circumstances surrounding their birthAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11593854763215902252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6968132365438511409.post-23141420640436553992016-11-04T18:15:13.859-05:002016-11-04T18:15:13.859-05:00Someday I'll have to do my own "Top 7&quo...Someday I'll have to do my own "Top 7" post on unusual births/babies.<br /><br />Interestingly, Japan has a whole bunch of tales with unusual babies in them. There's Momotaro, who was born from the center of a peach. The Princess Kaguya, who was born out of a stalk of bamboo. Issun-Boshi, who's basically a Japanese Thumbling. Strong Tarou, who was molded out of dirt. There's even one where a child was born as a pond snail.Adam Hoffmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16129844426168129584noreply@blogger.com