The Primer

I suppose I knew that all literature could be traced back to sacred texts, but I had never really considered the progression from one to the other. The connection between the Book of Hours and the Primer was not one I had ever made or been told about. My mother is a church goer and a fairly devout person, although her focus is on works rather than prayer. On the other hand, my father is an atheist. They respect each other's beliefs and there was never a religious quarrel between them, but I think they compromised by teaching "salvation" through reading literature- secular or otherwise. So I suppose literature is a kind of religion for us, one that ties my family together far more extensively than any codified religion.

Isn't this a pretty picture... I didn't see the fairy, but I did see the water fall if you want to see it in color check out my other, personal blog. (in voice of Shake N' Bake girl) I made it myself!

My displaced fairy tale, enjoy!

I know I'm being paranoid, not too mention presumptuous, that any one would bother to abscond with my fairy tale, but I'm gonna take it down anyway. Besides most of you got an emailed copy anyway. Thanks :)

Film Poster from Cocteau's "La Belle et La Bete"

Cocteau's La Belle Est La Bete

In this film the character of the suitors who want Beauty's hand are all squeezed together into a single man, Avenant, played by Jean Marais. Jean Marais also played The Beast and Prince Ardent (the beast in handsome prince form). In the DVD commentary there is discussion of how Cocteau had structured the revelation of the prince to be an anticlimax, and seeing this it suddenly struck me why I always dislike the prince. He's boring. As the beast there was real character, real emotion, real conflict, but after his transformation everything is perfect and boring. And I also dislike how the moral seems to be gender biased: The Beast is good DESPITE his ugly (and therefore evil) form but Beauty's attractiveness is a manifestation of her virtue. So a good girl should be able to look beyond an ugly man's features and see that he's a good guy, but an ugly girl is probably evil. Doesn't seem fair.