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Story #49 from Children's and Household Tales, by J. and W. Grimm: The Six Swans
Summary, sort of: the youngest daughter of a king must not utter a word for six years, neither speaking nor laughing, in order to save her brothers from a witch's spell. During that time, she is married to a king, gives birth three times, has her children stolen from her, is accused of murdering them, and is nearly burned at the stake, herself, when the six years finally are up and she can speak in her own defense. ...And they all lived happily (yeah, right) ever after.
Part of me wants to put this story in my blog Plato's Nightmare / Aesop's Dream as an entry into discussing the experiences of those who are considered "non-verbal" -- the way they are often at the mercy of authority figures.
But on the other hand, her muteness is voluntary, and all of her "virtue" is tied to her ability to silence herself for the sake of her brothers. So another part of me thinks the story is more "about" misogyny than ableism.
---
In the meantime, this story has spawned two different plot bunnies in my head:
1) What happened to each of the three children her stepmother stole from her? Did the stepmother keep them hidden in a secret castle, the way the girl and her brothers were hidden at the start of the story? Did they get left out in the wilderness to die (and then were adopted by peasants/wild animals/fairies (a reverse changeling)? Each of the above?
2) What sort of life did the youngest brother have, after the "happily ever after" (he was mostly turned back into a human, except for his left arm, which remained as a swan's wing)?
disability]Story #49 from Children's and Household Tales, by J. and W. Grimm: The Six Swans
Summary, sort of: the youngest daughter of a king must not utter a word for six years, neither speaking nor laughing, in order to save her brothers from a witch's spell. During that time, she is married to a king, gives birth three times, has her children stolen from her, is accused of murdering them, and is nearly burned at the stake, herself, when the six years finally are up and she can speak in her own defense. ...And they all lived happily (yeah, right) ever after.
Part of me wants to put this story in my blog Plato's Nightmare / Aesop's Dream as an entry into discussing the experiences of those who are considered "non-verbal" -- the way they are often at the mercy of authority figures.
But on the other hand, her muteness is voluntary, and all of her "virtue" is tied to her ability to silence herself for the sake of her brothers. So another part of me thinks the story is more "about" misogyny than ableism.
---
In the meantime, this story has spawned two different plot bunnies in my head:
1) What happened to each of the three children her stepmother stole from her? Did the stepmother keep them hidden in a secret castle, the way the girl and her brothers were hidden at the start of the story? Did they get left out in the wilderness to die (and then were adopted by peasants/wild animals/fairies (a reverse changeling)? Each of the above?
2) What sort of life did the youngest brother have, after the "happily ever after" (he was mostly turned back into a human, except for his left arm, which remained as a swan's wing)?
