Oh yeah. Death is handled so cavelierly in them. Not just things like Hansel and Gretal's witch burning up. Like Big Hans and Little Hans and the dead grandmother.
And did you ever notice how frequently talking animal guides meet aweful fates? The Goose-Girl? With the disembodied horse's head hanging over the city gates and yet still giving her advice. Or Billy Budd's bull. Or that one with the talking fox? I remember that one because the fox was actually a female in that one and most of the time all the characters were male. She aids the youngest son (of three, and the older brothers are cads, of course) with a variety of tasks and then asks to be killed and her body mutilated as a reward. (Of course, this breaks the enchantment that returns her to her human form)
Yeah, I probably spent an unhealthy amount of my youth reading the Lang "Fairy" book stories and ancient myths.
It would explain why even my very young childhood imagination games involved not birthday parties and "mommy's having a baby!" but capture and slavery and enchantment and persecution.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2007-08-25 08:58 pm (UTC)And did you ever notice how frequently talking animal guides meet aweful fates? The Goose-Girl? With the disembodied horse's head hanging over the city gates and yet still giving her advice. Or Billy Budd's bull. Or that one with the talking fox? I remember that one because the fox was actually a female in that one and most of the time all the characters were male. She aids the youngest son (of three, and the older brothers are cads, of course) with a variety of tasks and then asks to be killed and her body mutilated as a reward. (Of course, this breaks the enchantment that returns her to her human form)
Yeah, I probably spent an unhealthy amount of my youth reading the Lang "Fairy" book stories and ancient myths.
It would explain why even my very young childhood imagination games involved not birthday parties and "mommy's having a baby!" but capture and slavery and enchantment and persecution.