Sunday, February 28, 2010

Where did February go?

I've fallen behind in my blogging but not my writing or researching. The library's become my second home and I've lost count of how many times I've requested a novel/resource book. I knew there'd be some research involved but I didn't expect this much, and I must be careful and not lose myself in the research.

With that said, I recently checked out Tales from the Fjeld. The tales are pretty brutal, which I like since there's this tendency to sweeten fairy tales/folklore. Not the case here. Take "The Sweetheart in the Wood." Our heroine's set to marry this dashing suitor and heads out into the woods to his home/castle for her wedding. She arrives a day early and finds the castle empty except for a room of gowns, a room of jewels, and lastly a room of rotting, bloody corpses. Yep, he's a serial killer. She ducks under the bed in time to witness the suitor return home with another potential bride...

I know, it's a cautionary tale, but it rocks some vengeance and who doesn't enjoy a little revenge in a story. Happy reading and writing.

2 comments:

  1. This reminds me of Angela Carter's _The Bloody Chamber_, a collection of short stories that kinda give a gothic theme to typical fairytales. There's a short story in there (same name as the book's title) with that similar storyline.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I checked out Angela Carter's Burning You Boats, which has "The Bloody Chamber" along with other stories from the same collection. You're right, it's very similar to the fairy tale I read.

    ReplyDelete