Topic Brainstorm

Here are some topics that I brainstormed about for this assignment:

1. Greek Constellation Stories

Since I have always been into Greek Mythology, I thought this would be a fun topic to choose because I can work with something that I love while also learning more about the topic. I might delve into the female stories more; I know I will most definitely work with Cassiopeia if I choose this topic, only because she is one of my favorite women in Greek Mythology, and I have a tattoo of the constellation on my arm. Not only would I work with her, but also her daughter, Andromeda (who also happens to be a constellation - lucky for me!) I'd like to know more about some other female oriented stories in this mythology. I think I'd retell their stories to make them less of victims - like they are in the myths - and have them own up to whatever flaws and problems they faced within their stories. It'll be fun to make them less of a figurehead for the male-oriented telling of these tales and to actually give them a voice.

Personal photo of my Cassiopeia constellation tattoo. Taken January 22, 2016.

2. Dutch Fairy Tales

Since my father's side of the family originated from the Netherlands (he can go back eleven generations and tell you each of their names), I thought it would be fun to research some of the folklore/fairy tales that come from that area of Europe. I don't know much about Dutch fairy tales, which would make this a fun way to learn more about the culture and stories that little Dutch girls grew up on. I would probably focus on stories that are told around specific parts of the Dutch culture, and that are better known to the general public. For example, a lot, if not most, people know about clogging shoes, and I would retell the story, "The Legend of the Wooden Shoe." I would tell the stories as if they are from different characters from each tale - maybe center it around one specific character and then use each story to give them a look into their friend group, or something of the like. Each different story would be told from a different character, therefore giving the readers a different viewpoint with each new tale.

3. Fairy Tale Princesses

With this project, I would use my previous knowledge of well-known fairy tales and try to delve deeper into the tale. Not only that, but I would like to make the commonly known, Disney princesses into something closer to their original stories. For example, using the idea that the step-sisters actually cut off their feet in the original Cinderella, or how Ariel actually turned to sea foam in the end of her tale. These will make the stories seem less romantic and more realistic (at least, in the sense that not everyone gets a happy ending). This idea would combine both stories from the Grimm Brothers, as well as stories from Hans Christian Anderson. I think I would tell the stories almost in the form of a Gossip Girl-like tale, so that it's more modern and something that a lot of people like and are familiar with. For people who aren't, telling the story in such a way will allow the audience to look at the princesses differently than they would have if it was in a Disney movie.

4. The Women of Camelot 

I think it would be a lot of fun to write up a project that focuses on the women of Camelot, because it gives the audience a different look at a very famous tale. People are aware that there are women in this tale - the Lady of the Lake, who helps Author on his quests, and Guinevere, who destroys Author and Camelot - but I think they see them more as a plot point rather than an actual character. It would be fun to give the characters their own voices and allow their stories to expand to something more than a small part of the story. I would probably write this project by using each character and having them tell their own story, with one of the women being the ones that introduce each female. For example, since the Lady of the Lake is the ruler of Avalon, she might introduce each other woman and then also telling her own story as well.

I'm really excited to start researching and to see which one of these projects I start to lean more toward. It's an even tie between the four of them so far, so we'll see how it goes!

Week 2 Story: The Griffin and his Beauty

Maeve sat staring out the window, the book that she had been reading resting on her lap, open to the page that she had lost interest on. Her two older sisters were bickering over one of the gentleman down the street; the topic of conversation was whether or not the young man, Henry, was genuinely fond of his new fiancee, or whether it was a match of convenience. 

Maeve was leaning more toward the latter, since Henry had tried to court her only months prior, but she certainly was not going to tell her sisters this. Not that they ever cared about her opinion anyway. They oftentimes overlooked her, or told her that her thoughts were not well developed, or just blatantly wrong.

Her eldest sister, Arabella, was just about to give her explanation as to why she believed that Henry is genuinely fond of his beloved when the familiar sound of Maeve’s mother’s horse came through the open window. The three of the sisters shot up – their mother should not have been home from the market for a few more days. She had only left two days prior, in fact.

The three young women raced outside, tripping over their skirts and falling over one another as they found their mother clinging to her horse’s reins. Their mother - who Maeve had always seen as put-together, a woman who never had a hair out of place – looked frantic, and Maeve helped her off the back of her horse.

Her mother clung to her with a tight grip, Maeve’s arms the only support that was seemingly keeping her upright. When she spoke, her voice was desperate, and one of her hands reached upward to point to the saddlebag hanging off her steed. “We do not have long, Maeve. You must leave!”

Three roses hung loosely out of the top of the bag, and Maeve frowned. She had asked her mother for three roses from the market, but despite the fact that her mother had crushed them in her bag, they looked to be in pristine condition.

Maeve turned her head to her mother once more. “What are you talking about, Mama?” She asked, her voice wary.

“The… The Griffin! I took his roses, and there was no way out. I had to get back to you and your sisters, but I had to give one of you up.” Her mother’s eyes traveled to Maeve’s, and she shook her head as if ashamed.

She couldn’t possible mean…

“You. I had to give you up, Maeve.”

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The Griffin mostly kept to himself. He only came out of the West Wing of his castle for meal times, and when Maeve begged him to take a walk around the castle grounds. She was only allowed to leave the confinements of the castle walls with an escort, and since she could rarely find a living soul besides the giant, winged creature prowling around, he was her companion.

There was no doubt that the creature had been lonely before he had forced Maeve to come and stay with him. There was nothing that he required of her except her company; on her first day in the castle, he had commanded her that she was to spend a few hours with him each day, simply talking. Nothing more than that.

It was not for months that she realized she might feel something for the Griffin other than resentment. Maeve started to miss him when he was not around, and at first, she blamed it on the fact that he had locked her up with no one for company but himself. After a while, however, she had to admit to herself that it was because of him that she was not going completely insane with loneliness. In fact, he was the reason she was… happy.

“Tell me something about griffins. Something that no one else would know,” Maeve said one day, as they walked casually through the garden. Maeve’s fingers brushed over the petals of a red rose, and a small smile graced her lips.

“We mate for life.” The Griffin replied, after a few long moments. His giant paws, however big, made soft thuds on the ground as they walked. Maeve found the sound soothing.

“Oh.” Maeve said, surprised, and she blinked down at him. He was staring up at her, bright blue eyes meeting her dark brown irises. “Did you have anyone? You know, before?” The young woman gestured to his large form.

He shook his head. “No.”

፨

Maeve’s eyes stared widely at the very human, yet very naked, form of the Griffin that now stood before her. Her hands clung tightly to the sword in her hand, her entire body shaking with leftover energy from their encounter.

“Maeve.” He said, his voice so familiar yet not.

She blinked rapidly and tried to meet his eyes, a blush coming to her cheeks at what she found in his face. He was handsome, incredibly so, and she couldn’t help but notice it.

The Griffin – no, his name was Griffin – smiled at her, and he stepped nearer, despite his lack of clothing. “You set me free.” He breathed out, his voice as disbelieving as Maeve was in that moment.

He had asked – more like commanded – that she kill him and set him free from his beastly prison. But the young woman couldn’t do it – she wasn’t going to kill the only being that she had ever loved in her life. And when she had refused, had confessed her love for him, he had changed.

Now he stood before her, beautiful and human, and she couldn’t think to do anything but stare.

“I guess this means that you’re my mate now.” He said, and Maeve let out a tearful laugh as she dropped the sword in her hand and flung her arms around the Griffin’s neck. His own arms wrapped around her, and he pressed his face into her neck.

“And you’re mine.” She whispered back.

Roses Flower Swoosh by GDJ on Pixabay

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Author's Note: So, I started out with the traditional story of the Three Roses, or the Beauty and the Basilisk . In this tale, similarly to mine, the mother of the protagonist  - Mary - comes and tells her daughter that a monster forced her to give up one of her daughters in replacement of her own punishment for stealing his roses. In the original story, the monster is a basilisk, and the creature forces the Mary to nurse him for three hours everyday. I decided to change this because I thought it was creepy and basilisks freak me out (ew, snakes), so I went with a griffin instead. Griffins, according to medieval lore, mate for life, so I used that aspect of the creature's mythology in the story because I thought it would make a good plot point. That, and at the end of the story, the basilisk turned prince basically forced Mary to marry him, so in this, it was Maeve's choice to choose Griffin. So for my retelling, I simply used the outline of the original piece and the idea of the story and wrote my own instead, since I liked the general idea of the Beauty and the Basilisk tale, just not the details that were in it. 

Bibliography: The Three Roses from the Czech fairy tale, The Key of Gold by Josef Baudis (1922).

Reading Notes: Beauty and the Basilisk

As I have stated before in previous blog posts, fantasy is one of my favorite genres. It was no surprise to me that I was lured to the retelling of the Beauty and the Beast story, with the new title being "The Three Roses,"  since it is not only fantasy, but one of my favorite fairy tales (I might have accidentally saw the new rendition of the Disney movie four times while it was in theaters).

I like the idea of the Beauty and the Beast story being about a monster that is more known throughout literature. The fact that the "beast" is a monstrous serpent gives the story, however, a more biblical feeling than I would have liked.  Making the creature more familiar is something I would be willing to keep, but I would rather it be a griffin, or something of the like. A fun aspect to play around with is, according to Medieval lore, griffins mate for life. So the griffin in the story choosing to love our protagonist forever would be a romantic aspect that adds a little more life to the characters and the story.

Griffin from Cosmographia. Found on Wikipedia Commons.

I also liked the idea that the main character had sisters. Since I am one of three girls, like in the retelling, it was more relatable to me than having the character be an only child - something that I am unfamiliar with. I think that I will keep this aspect of the story the same, while also making the sisters have a larger role in the story.

I want to add a conflict into the story. There seemed to be nothing to create tension throughout the tale other than the main character's own shortcomings (i.e: she did not want to chop off the basilisk's head). Adding a conflict to the story will make the tale more three-dimensional and not so plain. Making the conflict between the three sisters, maybe, or having the griffin and the main character argue over more than just killing one half of the pairing would suffice. I do not want to make the story cliche with the aspect of usual literary romances where one side of the couple has been in love with the other for a significant amount of time without letting anyone know. It is overdone, and if we're being honest, annoying.

Why Teenage Boys in YA novels are boring by bookbookchai on Tumblr

The language used in the story is quite simple, and the grammar/how sentences are laid out makes the text kind of confusing to read. I would try to extend my descriptions so that the readers are aware of their surroundings throughout the story, but try to keep it so they are not confused with the language that I choose. Using more modern language will not only make the story easier to read, but it will make an already fantastical tale just a little more relatable for the audience.

All in all, I'm looking forward to rewriting this story into something that I will enjoy, and hopefully others will enjoy reading as well.

Reading Options

While I was going through the UnTextbook's units, I noticed that I went toward units that I have been interested in in the past. Mythology and fairy tales are familiar to me, sure, but they also intrigue and excite me the most. While many of mythological stories are consistent - for example, the reason behind most conflict in Greek Mythology is because Zeus could not control himself for five seconds - the stories still keep me entertained.

What Causes Most Problems in Greek Mythology Graph by weknowmemes 

I did end up looking into something that I surprised myself by choosing, which was Bible Women. I did not grow up in a religious home, so I never got to read the Bible as closely or as much as some people that I know. My roommates, for instance, could tell you lines off the time of their heads word for word, and it amazes me constantly. I mean, there is a lot of words in the Bible. The stories that I looked into, mainly of Delilah and Herodias, intrigued me enough where I hope to look into the stories a little more in the future.

Another unit that I looked up was Celtic fairy tales, both I and II. My name is actually Gaelic, and after doing a 23AndMe test  on my DNA over this past summer, I found out that part of my DNA goes back to the Irish, British and Scottish people. My great-great grandmother and grandfather actually immigrated to the United States and Ireland in the early twentieth century. I would love to know more about the Celtic folklore, as it is my heritage as well as something that seems to be right up my alley. Tales of fairy maidens and horned women, both of which are a part of the first Celtic fairy tales unit, are something that I am looking forward to reading about, as they seem to be something that I will enjoy and may be some of my future inspiration for my own stories.

As I said before, mythology is one of my favorite genres when it comes to stories, and since I wanted to extend from my love of Greek myths, I also looked into the Egyptian Mythology unit on UnTextbook. I would love to see the similarities and differences between the gods and goddesses that I have read about and the ones that other cultures used to worship. My interest leaned me towards Ra and Osiris, two divinities that I have heard more about in terms of Egyptian Mythology, but two that I also do not know much about.

Last but certainly not least, as I browsed through the Women Saints unit, because I am always looking for more information about badass women in literature. I want to learn about every single saint that is talked about throughout the unit, so I didn't delve too far into the information provided, as I want to really be able to sit back and read about these holy women that have made such an impact on the Christian faith.