On Reproductive Rights, Eugenics, and Fetal Personhood

North Dakota is trying to push a fetal personhood bill through the legislature this session, and I’ve been thinking a lot (at night, in bed, staring at the ceiling while my brain whirs) about the long, long history in this country of our preoccupation with the bodily rights of people capable of giving birth.

In the 20^th Century, you see, we were obsessed with THE WRONG PEOPLE having babies. The justification of Eugenics (which I have written about elsewhere and address also in fiction) was used by the state to PREVENT “undesirable” people from reproducing. Mostly these people were poor and disenfranchised (though generally speaking, as a category, disenfranchisement for women was the status quo on the whole for much of history, so it feels kind of silly to use that word here.) They were people who were perceived to be mentally incapable in some way—though it’s important to note that it really WAS about perception alone.

There was no method to this madness. Just men proclaiming that such and such a person should not be allowed to reproduce for reasons that amounted to hearsay. Maybe the person in question was deemed anti-social, somehow. Maybe they were an embarrassment of some kind to their wealthy family which could not afford the risk to their reputation (remember, those wealthy families were happy to lobotomize their daughters if they were considered too uncontrollable). Maybe they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time, or subject to abuse that left mental scars. It literally did not matter. 

Equally as important to note: It would not have been less horrific if it had been grounded in science or any kind of real means testing.

We like to believe we’ve evolved as a society, that these kinds of programs, if they existed, were VERY PROMPTLY abandoned after World War II and Hitler’s genocide showed us the end result of giving the state the power to decide who is worthy of—well, life. Unfortunately, that isn’t true. Sterilization programs continued well into the 80s, from what I’ve found. And we still see cases of the reproductive rights of people deemed “incapable” going before the courts today.

But more pernicious still, you can hear the echo of this unexamined, unconfronted social agreement every time someone talks about how “people should have to pass a test before they’re allowed to have children.” Because we don’t talk about Eugenics, you see, or our very big role in supporting the movement, in our schools. We prefer to see ourselves as the heroes of WWII and erase our culpability in its atrocities altogether, as a result. (Convenient, really.)

In the 21^st Century, plagued by the outrageous and white supremacist notion of the “Great Replacement” in combination with the Capitalist need for an unending supply of labor (as in people able-bodied enough to work), legislation has tried to move in the other direction. Instead of PREVENTING people from having children, the law wants to force them to do so (under terms, of course, still dictated by the state.) This is where Abortion Bans and Fetal Personhood bills come into play.

First you tell people that any pregnancy MUST be carried to term, and then you criminalize and punish them if they fail to accomplish that goal. There is no recognition of the fundamentally adversarial relationship of a fertilized egg inside a womb from the moment of implantation onward. No understanding of the fact that gestation is an INCREDIBLE metabolic strain for the person carrying that fetus, and not every body is capable of carrying that load while also trying to survive in a capitalist society that refuses to provide basic necessities like food, shelter, and healthcare as a baseline right, or even carrying that load under the BEST of circumstances (which these are… not). No consideration of the fact that miscarriage, is, in fact, an incredibly common experience among pregnant people, or how dangerous carrying a child to term can be for the person doing it.

Anecdotally, nearly ALL my friends with children have some firsthand experience of the heartbreak of miscarriage OR some horror story about how they nearly died of blood loss or other complications during the process of giving birth. Decades of people not talking about it because of propriety or shame does not make a thing rare. The reality of reproduction is that you can do everything right, take every precaution, employ every possible mitigation, desperately want a child, and still NOT BE ABLE to produce a baby that can survive outside the womb. There is NO MEANS by which humans can control what the outcome of the implantation of a fertilized egg in a womb will be which, fundamentally, makes legislating it ENTIRELY RIDICULOUS.

North Dakota’s personhood law does contain vague exceptions for “spontaneous miscarriage” and the “life of the mother”, but by leaving those exceptions vague, it makes the state itself the judge of what will be considered an acceptable level of risk to a person’s life, and what will or will not be ruled “spontaneous miscarriage” vs “purposeful abortion.” You can certainly see, I hope, how problematic that might be for the person who has just suffered a loss—of a child they desperately wanted, or a child they were still coming to terms with the idea of bringing into the world, or a baby they did not feel themselves capable of caring for properly.

If the person dares to express relief at a miscarriage, will they be subject to investigation? Just to be CERTAIN the miscarriage was truly “spontaneous” after all? If a person expressed reservation about becoming pregnant, and then found themselves in that state, will they be asking for the additional trauma of criminal charges in the event of a miscarriage? Just to be CERTAIN they didn’t do anything that could have caused it? If a person has a history of drug use, or mental health issues (which North Dakota already exempts from the category of threat to a mother’s life, of course, though our mental health is as physical as any other illness), and something goes awry during gestation, will we criminally investigate them, also? For a relapse, or a mental breakdown? Declare the results of either a murder though there is no knowing if that fetus would have survived to term or not, regardless?

And what will that investigation do to someone already mentally ill, already struggling with addiction? Is that not also a threat to the life and well-being of the Actual Person Living? Do you really think that anyone takes lightly the responsibility of bringing a life into the world? That they (BOTH PARENTS, THE ENTIRE FAMILY) won’t already be SUFFERING enough both physically and mentally, without also being accused of murder?

Ask yourself for a moment what you would be feeling in that scenario. And then, once you’ve reassured yourself that you’re a good person who would feel properly devastated, ask yourself why you can’t trust that OTHER people would not already be suffering in the same way that you would be? Why you feel it is necessary to impose the terror of criminal charges to ensure it?

None of this is about protecting lives, unless you don’t actually believe that PREGNANT PEOPLE are also LIVING PERSONS worthy of FULL and EQUAL protections under the law.

---

 Amazon | Barnes&Noble | Amalia Dillin/Theresa on Goodreads

 Amazon | Barnes&Noble | Amalia Carosella on Goodreads

Amazon | Bookshop

15th Century Music to Celebrate TAMING FATE! Released Today!

Taming Fate is here! In paperback and ebook, and available for your reading pleasure -- and in case you missed the memo, I've got cover copy below, and! an excerpt!

But first, since this Fate of the Gods installment is set in the 1400s, I thought some 15th Century music might be in order to set the mood. A little taste of what Eve might have heard in church or at a banquet, or maybe even danced to with the Marquis DeLeon. (As an added bonus, there's a lot of great 15th Century art in the accompanying video -- to check out when you're not too busy binge reading Taming Fate to these fantastic tunes, of course.)

Taming Fate
Fate of the Gods: Book 2.5

Goodreads

Amazon (kindle) | B&N (Nook) | Amazon (Paperback)

For the first time in her many lives, Eve would rather be anywhere but home.

In 15th Century France, Eve would have burned as a witch if it hadn’t been for the too-timely arrival of the Marquis DeLeon to save her skin. But Eve didn’t ask to be rescued, and their hasty marriage is off to anything but a smooth start. As tensions in the town grow and plague threatens, Ryam DeLeon knows if he and Eve cannot find common ground, their first Christmas may be their last.

Previously published in the anthology A Winter’s Enchantment.

Chapter One (Excerpt)

The man who sat across the table was a stranger. Dark hair, dark eyes, his face so familiar, and yet so different. The Marquis DeLeon showed more affection to his dogs and his horses than he did to his wife. It wasn’t that he hadn’t tried, Eve reminded herself. That he didn’t still try. But from the moment she had not thrown herself into his arms, weeping with gratitude and relief, he had been at a loss as to what to do with her, how to move forward.

Oh, they’d married, of course. And even consummated their vows, not that the Church had not been known to ignore such evidence when it suited them. Which was why the Marquis wished to have children, as quickly as possible.

And he believed simply by saying so, by announcing this desire to her, for the security of their marriage and her own personal safety, she would welcome him unreservedly to her bed. And why shouldn’t she? Weren’t children the entire point of her existence? Shouldn’t she wish to carry on her line, expand her family? She pressed her lips together to keep them from curling at the memory of his words. His entire attitude.

Arrogant, pig-headed, insufferable man. From someone else, she might have expected it, but from a DeLeon—from her husband, when he knew her for what she was, knew she was more than just Anessa, daughter of some minor nobleman from Avignon—it was all the more frustrating.

“Will you go riding today?” he asked politely, tossing a bit of bread to the dog at his feet. A lean hound, tall and fast and elegant. She’d watched the Marquis working with it, sending it running after balls and sticks and the occasional servant, equipped with some sort of lure.

“I ride every day,” she answered, just as polite. A servant placed a plate of cheese between them, on the table. The last of the breakfast offerings, and more than she would have had elsewhere after St. Martin’s day. “Thank you, Robert. You needn’t serve us further.”

Her husband sat up, his eyes narrowing at her dismissal of the servant. But of course he didn’t contradict her. He wouldn’t, for appearances. She was, after all, the lady of the manor as his wife. And his dislike of her methods would not stop her from employing them. Not as long as he treated her with the same consideration he showed a brood mare.

“Anessa,” he began, after the room had cleared of servants. “You cannot truly mean to go on this way. Not permitting the servants to do their work, taking so much upon yourself. It is all well and good to give them some small holiday during Christmastide, but—”

“Christmastide is nearly here,” she interrupted. “And the running of this manor is mine, as your wife.”

“And what do you intend for Christmas itself? That we return from the mass and make ourselves some cold plate? It’s hardly a fitting way to end forty days of fasting!”

“The servants and maids have fasted too, all this time, and why shouldn’t they have some relief from their burdens?” The cheese was soft enough to spread, but she missed the butter they’d given up as an extravagance. For a religion neither one of them believed in. “I’ll cook the Christmas feast myself. For all of us.”

The Marquis opened his mouth, then shut it with an audible snap, his jaw tight. “And I suppose you insist upon this? That your mind is made up? You’ll not attend the mass yourself, then, either, I suppose.”

“Not if it can be avoided.” It wasn’t as if Christmas day was anything more than the church’s attempt to appease the pagans who would have celebrated solstice, even after their conversion. Jesus hadn’t been born in winter, and she should know. It had been her body which had brought him to term and birthed him, so long ago.

“Had I known you were such a stubborn thing—”

“What, my lord?” she demanded, the last thread of control over her temper snapping. “You would have left me to the inquisitor’s justice? Let me burn alive? Had it come to that, I would have survived, and it would have served as proof enough of my innocence. I never asked you to come for me. I never asked for this marriage. For any of this!”

“Nor will you ever need to ask for our protection, the protection of your own family,” he said tightly. “Why you insist on punishing me for doing my duty to you, I cannot understand in the slightest.”

“If you did not wish to marry me, you need not have bothered. You might have let the whole of it be a farce and left me to my own devices. I would have drawn no attention to myself as your ward. I have no need for position or power, you must know that.”

“And yet I chose to give it to you, all the same. To give you the respect you deserve beneath my roof. Oh, how I have wronged you!”

“Don’t be snide, my lord Marquis. It does not suit such a noble name.”

“And the lady of the manor roasting venison for le Réveillon does?” he mocked. “Or avoiding Christ’s mass, for that matter? I cannot protect you if you will make no effort to keep appearances.”

And this was what her family had become? Slaves to the Church, slaves to the King, when she had given up her innocence in the Garden, at the dawn of Creation, to make them free. The Church was as bad as Adam, crushing its people beneath its heels, and she refused to fear it. No matter how many times the priests threatened to burn her as a witch.

“This is my family, my lands, if I cannot be true to myself here, where might I find any whisper of freedom?”

He dragged his fingers through his hair as if he wished to tear it from his head altogether. “I do not mean to tell you that you cannot be free,” he bit out. “Only that some sacrifices must be made to avoid further difficulties. Turning the manor upside down with these strange customs of yours serves nothing but to draw attention to yourself and me. And once the Church notices, if your escape here is realized and the inquisitors are sent once more, there is little I might do to stop them from doing you harm, my lady.”

“They were bought once,” she mumbled, looking away. He was right, of course. Priests talked, and the absence of the Marquis’ wife from the midnight mass was not something that would be overlooked for any excuse. If word reached Avignon, the inquisitors would come.

All the more reason why they never should have been married.

“I did not buy an inquisitor,” he said gently. “I bought only a lesser priest, and it cost me a goodly fortune. The repairs to the palace in Avignon will not come cheap, nor does his silence on the matter.”

“Repairs to the palace?” She stared. “You can’t be serious, surely. I thought it was only some small stipend…”

His lips pressed together, forming a grim line.

“You are serious.” It was hardly believable, the expense, and for what? To prevent the inconvenience of her trial, the trauma of the result?

One of the blessings of being Eve was that she could not be killed. Not before her time. Not even by an inquisitor, invoking God. And even if by some miracle they managed it, she would be born again, live again for another life.

“Why, Ryam? It was hardly worth so much.”

“You are worth more, still,” he said. “Your safety is bound to my honor.”

“Ah,” she breathed. It all made so much more sense when he put it that way. He was sworn to protect her, and if he did not, he would be dishonored. Perhaps not in the eyes of any others but himself, his own family, but it did not matter. Any stain was too great. And in the end, it wasn’t about her at all.

“The estate can well afford it,” he went on. “I would not have you worry on that account. There is gold enough for three palaces, were it needed, I promise you. And better spent upon your safety than in any other pursuit.”

Better spent upon his honor. That was what he meant, whether he realized it or not.

Arrogant, insufferable, impossible man.

“Sadly, the fortune we’ve amassed is not near enough to buy Rome itself,” he was saying. “And even if they burn you and you survive, that will only bring you even more beneath her eye. You would have no peace, after. No peace until they had you crushed beneath their heel. Anything less only threatens them, and with all that has happened so recently—the popes and the renegades who claimed the title for themselves, the division of the Church in these last years—they can hardly risk another rallying cry. Surely you see that.”

Yes, she saw. She’d seen for some time that her very existence, were it known, threatened everything the fools had built. They pointed to their gospels and their letters, but she had lived it all. From the Garden, to the birth of Moses, to Jesus’ crucifixion. She knew the truth, and it had little to do with popes and palaces and midnight mass. But it would hardly have mattered if he had not insisted upon marrying her.

“You don’t believe any of it, and still you serve them.”

He stopped, hand half-way to his mouth with more bread, and met her eyes. He set the bread aside. “Unlike you, I will not survive if I am punished for heresy. And worse, I destroy the legacy you made for us. I am a Lion, my lady. Nothing matters more than that. If we ally ourselves with the powers of the land to ease our passage through time and maintain our heritage, at least we yet live.”

“Those powers are corrupt,” she said, lifting her chin. “And as long as you support them, you are painted with the same brush, stained by the same filth. If your honor is so dear to you, perhaps you ought to reconsider.”

His jaw worked, the muscles twitching beneath the skin as he struggled with his own self-control, and then he rose. “If you’ll excuse me.”

She watched him leave, but for some reason, it didn’t feel anything like victory.

15th Century Fashion was Awful (And Eve Totally Agrees)

A (re)post of illustrated evidence, because really, I'm not sure the 15th century was a good look for anyone. Here are a few examples of why:

From Wiki Commons and it has ANNOTATIONS! GO LOOK!

The woman in red is the queen consort of France, I guess, Queen Isabeau, who I am told is, herself, Bavarian. The sleeves are pretty wicked but seriously the rest. I may be put off in part by the shaved gleaming white pasty forehead look and the crazy horned headdresses also, if I am being honest here. But I do kind of love the patterning on the red fabric so. There's that? I would so trip over those skirts all the time, guys. all the time. And speaking of tripping over things...

Another of the Queen (from wiki commons, natch). Talk about fancypants. How did they keep dresses like that clean? I mean really. I had a train on my wedding dress, and my white skirt was scuffed and dirty within 40 minutes of putting it on, even though I tried to keep it draped over my arm for 30 of those minutes. I'm just saying. Impossible. 

So maybe not everyone was as crazy as the French, hm? Maybe there were better looks! BEHOLD THE SPANISH! 

(from wiki commons)

These dudes, dudes. Those robe-like things! But I have to admit, that woman in the background with the black and blue and white dress is pretty sharp-looking, and if I had to pick one of those dresses to look kind of pregnant in (because seriously they all look like they are a little bit pregnant), it would be that one. 

And only that one. 

Lest you believe the lower classes had any kind of better deal in fashion, let me just give you a glimpse of what every man was wearing under those super long and ornate robes.

wiki commons

And now you know.

There are days I curse myself for including this particular period in the history of my novels. Thank goodness Eve can defy convention and skip the headdresses of doom when she's at home. And if you're curious how I made this all work when it came time to take the clothes OFF for some romancing, be sure to grab a copy of TAMING FATE, which is releasing as its own novella in paperback and ebook on June 24th, and tells the story of Eve's marriage to the Marquis DeLeon in 15th Century France! With some divine guest stars, of course. Mark it to-read on Goodreads today!

There also might have been something to do with rats and fleas involved in the production of this novella, too, just in case that's more interesting to you...

TAMING FATE, now with Cover Art and Pre-orders!

As some of you may be aware, TAMING FATE is coming out on June 24th as a stand alone novella in ebook AND Paperback!! This means, of course, Cover Art, and I am happy to share it with you, today! First, a little refresher on the SUBJECT of Taming Fate (which is maybe one of my favorite didn't-make-it-into-the-books side stories, P.S.):

In 15th Century France, Eve would have burned as a witch if it hadn’t been for the too-timely arrival of the Marquis DeLeon to save her skin. But Eve didn’t ask to be rescued, and their hasty marriage is off to anything but a smooth start. As tensions in the town grow and plague threatens, Ryam DeLeon knows if he and Eve cannot find common ground, their first Christmas may be their last.

Previously published in the anthology A Winter’s Enchantment.

And the cherry on top about this release? You can pre-order it via World Weaver Press! Huzzah!! (And of course you can mark it to-read on goodreads, too!)

And tune in next week for some 15th century Fashion talk on the blog!

On the Subject of Citrus

(crossposted a long time ago in a galaxy far far away...)

Citrus had not yet made its way to Greece during the Greek Bronze Age. No lemons and limes for cooking, no oranges, no grapefruits on the table, much to my dismay. Sweet Oranges took their (sweet) time making an appearance in general, really, and in northern Europe they suffered from a lack of availability and cultivation as late as the 15th century AD. But though these fruits weren't yet being cultivated in the west during the bronze age, they were absolutely being cultivated elsewhere.

In the Far East of Asia, there are mentions of citrus fruits as far back as 2400 BC in China (and this website by Mark Rieger originally put together for his horticulture class at UGA has everything you'd ever want to know about citrus today, if it's a bit sparse on the days of yore). And if there's one thing we know about the Greek Bronze Age, it's that they weren't shy about trade, nor were heroes like Theseus and Pirithous likely to be afraid of exploring new oceans, seas, or rivers.

In Homer's Odyssey, in fact, there's a reference to Odysseus wearing a material which is believed to be silk:

"And I noted the tunic about his body, all shining as is the sheen upon the skin of a dried onion, so soft it was; and it glistened like the sun" (19.233).

This attestation to another commodity of the Far East which had not spread widely allows the savvy writer a little bit of leeway when it comes to bringing Homeric myths into the historical world. While it's clear these kinds of luxuries were absolutely not available to even the common king or queen, it isn't outside of the realm of possibility for a hero to have collected such spoils, or even to have gone out of his way to present them as incredibly valuable gifts for a special occasion.

And if there's one thing we know about the Heroes of Greek Myth, Homeric and otherwise, it's how much they loved raiding, rustling, and sacking everyone from their neighbors, to the richest cities and kings they could find.

Of course, we already knew that Bronze Age kings likely also fulfilled roles as priests, or religious leaders -- but we shouldn't forget that kings like Pirithous or Theseus? They were most definitely Pirates, too.

Cover Reveal for the Fae Anthology

Long time readers of the blog will know Fae and Fairy Tales aren't always my cuppa -- I mean, I love Beauty and the Beast and all things which retell THAT tale, but the reading of the complete brothers Grimm in two weeks in high school has left a lasting impression of "please make it stop" which I haven't yet quite been able to overcome.

HOWEVER. Fairy tales are not something that anyone interested in mythology can overlook completely. They're important packages of cultural insight on their own, and certainly an evolution of myth in some cases. And that makes their retellings important too. Just as retellings keep Mythology alive and healthy, I think the same is true for Fairy Tales and their ilk. Which is why I'm taking part in this cover reveal for the FAE anthology, which releases July 22, 2014!

Here's some more info:

Meet Robin Goodfellow as you’ve never seen him before, watch damsels in distress rescue themselves, get swept away with the selkies and enjoy tales of hobs, green men, pixies and phookas. One thing is for certain, these are not your grandmother’s fairy tales. Fairies have been both mischievous and malignant creatures throughout history. They’ve dwelt in forests, collected teeth or crafted shoes. Fae is full of stories that honor that rich history while exploring new and interesting takes on the fair folk from castles to computer technologies and modern midwifing, the Old World to Indianapolis. Fae covers a vast swath of the fairy story spectrum, making the old new and exploring lush settings with beautiful prose and complex characters. Enjoy the familiar feeling of a good old-fashioned fairy tale alongside urban fantasy and horror with a fae twist.

With an introduction by Sara Cleto and Brittany Warman, and new stories from Sidney Blaylock Jr., Amanda Block, Kari Castor, Beth Cato, Liz Colter, Rhonda Eikamp, Lor Graham, Alexis A. Hunter, L.S. Johnson, Jon Arthur Kitson, Adria Laycraft, Lauren Liebowitz, Christine Morgan, Shannon Phillips, Sara Puls, Laura VanArendonk Baugh, and Kristina Wojtaszek.

And the Art!

So check it out, mark it to-read, and hey, there's a giveaway on goodreads, too!

Cover Reveal for Timespell: Perilous Waters!!!

So my fabulous and amazing Critique Partner/Alpha/Beta-Extraordinaire Diana Paz is publishing the second book in her TIMESPELL series May 15th, and I am absolutely THRILLED to be part of her cover reveal today -- TIMESPELL itself was a fantastic blend of timetravel, fantasy, history, and mythology for young adult readers, and I like to think Di's Timespell books are creating readers who will appreciate my FATE OF THE GODS series a few years down the line!

So let's get to business, shall we? FIRST, the cover copy:

After nearly losing their lives defeating the creatures of Mythos in Revolutionary France, Julia and Kaitlyn finally understand what Angie has known all along… being a Daughter of Fate isn’t so fun when one mistake can mean their deaths. Haunted by visions and horror-filled memories, the girls have spent the summer honing their newly discovered magical abilities, determined to grow in power and prepare for the uncertain time when the Fates summon them to their next mission.

But their protector Ethan, still embittered by Julia’s betrayal, refuses to engage in the girls’ magical research or power-enhancing spell practice. That is, until his brother’s loyalty to Julia causes him to unwittingly uncover ancient magic greater and more binding than any force the girls have encountered so far. Before the girls or Ethan grasp the full extent of what his brother has done, the girls are jettisoned through time into the madness of the Caribbean during the golden age of piracy.

Only by working together can the girls harness the full power of their magic and secure the world timeline, but with the lives of those close to Angie and Julia at risk, and Kaitlyn designing a dark agenda of her own, all three girls harbor secrets that threaten to drive their fledgling trinity apart. Small treacheries, mounting fear, and the use of dark magic have not gone unnoticed by those trapped within the Nether… those who would stop at nothing to unleash their destruction upon the world once more.

Publication date: May 15th 2014
Add it on Goodreads

And if that doesn't sell you, here is the FANTABULOUS cover art for TIMESPELL: PERILOUS WATERS!

More about Diana Paz:
Diana Paz writes books about magic, adventure, and romance. She was born in Costa Rica, grew up on Miami Beach, moved to Los Angeles in high school, and went to college in San Diego. Basically, she’s a beach bum. Diana graduated from California State University, San Marcos with a Bachelor’s Degree in Liberal Arts. She loves old movies, epic fantasy, all kinds of music, and heading to the beach with a good book. Preferably sipping a highly sweetened iced coffee. Find her at her blog: dianapazwrites.blogspot.com or on Twitter @dianapazwrites

I can't wait for this book to come out!! And if you haven't read TIMESPELL, don't worry -- there's a giveaway for that! :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Inspiration of Mythic Proportions Part II (from Kristina Wojtaszek)

This is part two of a two part series from Kristina Wojtaszek, author of OPAL. Her novella is part of A Winter's Enchantment alongside mine, TAMING FATE. Part One is just one post ago, and discussed Hephaestus, the Tin Soldier, and Hans Christian Andersen, so be sure to check it out! --Amalia

2) Cronus wears a Big Bad Wolf suit

Charles Perrault wrote his fairy tales in defense of courtly society in France.  It was, in fact, his duty to glorify the king in his works.  A large motif in upper class French society was arranged marriage, which depended on the virginity of the young woman, who may have even been cloistered (kept as a nun) to ensure such purity.  All of Perrault's fairy tales ended with a moral, and despite the more modern retellings of Little Red, the original by Perrault was the story of a young woman of society, not that of a little girl.  She wore a red cap; red signifying the color of sin, and hers was a preordained fate believed to befall single women who were allowed to socialize with men.  Not only was her fate the destruction of her worth as a virgin, but death itself; that ultimate fate of sinners.  And that is where Perrault's story ends for Little Red and her grandmother, in death.

But the Brothers Grimm retold the tale with a much younger Little Red, and the sexual connotations pared down.  They also introduced a woodcutter into the tale, to save the grandmother and granddaughter from death.  The woodcutter was careful not to shoot the wolf, lest he injure those inside his belly.  Instead, he cut open the wolf's belly and the grandmother and Little Red leapt out, still alive.  The wolf, too, was still alive (my, what strong anesthetics you must have, Mr. Woodcutter) and in order to fool the wolf so that he wouldn't miss his meal, they filled his belly with stones.  But when the wolf woke, the stones were too heavy for him to run away with, and he fell down dead.

Tell me, why in the world would the woodcutter feel the need to put stones in the belly of the wolf, when he could simply have killed him?  Why try to trick the wolf first?  Was it out of some sinister want of revenge for the wolf's trickery?  Or, could the Brothers Grimm have had other tales in mind as they rewrote this unusual ending?

The image of the wolf's belly full of stones immediately came to mind when I read the story of Zeus's birth.  His father, the Titan Cronus, was determined to avoid the prophesy that foretold his own demise at the hands of one of his children  So he ate every one of his infants as soon as they were born; except his youngest, Zeus.  Zeus's mother hid her newborn (finally!) and fed Cronus a large stone wrapped in swaddling instead.  When Zeus grows up, he confronts his father and either gives him an herb to induce vomiting, or, in some versions, cuts his father's stomach open to free his siblings.

Sound familiar?  The Brothers Grimm weren't, in fact, out to collect tales for children, but were devoted to the study and collection of German folklore and mythology, including sagas about mythical heroes similar to the sagas of ancient Greece.  Although they later softened many of their tales, knowing how popular they were becoming with children, the Brothers Grimm had an initial goal of recording the stories of their Germanic culture before they faded from use, and using these stories to understand the history of their people.  I don't know if a myth similar to that of Cronus influenced their reshaping of the Little Red Riding Hood tale, but they must certainly have known of such a myth, and there is tremendous possibility here.  For my part, I can't help seeing the larger-than-life Cronus in a wolf suit, and the gleam of an all-knowing Zeus in the eyes of the woodcutter.

The analogies between fairy tales and their mythic ancestors are endless, even if they aren't all directly related.  It's a good lesson for any writer, as we find our own imaginings aren't entirely our own, but are often a conglomeration of our emotional lives and those stories that have influenced us more than we know.

---

Amazon | B&N

Kristina Wojtaszek grew up as a woodland sprite and mermaid, playing around the shores of Lake Michigan. At any given time she could be found with live snakes tangled in her hair and worn out shoes filled with sand. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Wildlife Management as an excuse to spend her days lost in the woods with a book in hand. She currently resides in the high desert country of Wyoming with her husband and two small children. She is fascinated by fairy tales and fantasy and her favorite haunts are libraries and cemeteries. 

Follow her @KristinaWojtasz  or on her blog, Twice Upon a Time.

And don't forget to grab a copy of OPAL, or our Anthology together, 

A WINTER'S ENCHANTMENT!

Inspiration of Mythic Proportions Part I (from Kristina Wojtaszek)

Amazon | B&N

This is part one of a two part series from Kristina Wojtaszek, author of OPAL. Her novella is part of the winter romance anthology, A Winter's Enchantment, alongside my own contribution, TAMING FATE. Part two will be posting Thursday, March 6th! --Amalia

---

Nothing is written that hasn't been told before, or so it's said.  And when you begin reading the oldest fairy tales you can find, those firstborns sired by folkloric fathers and mythical mothers, you realize it must be true.  There is always something older, something that came before.  Even the gods and goddesses of myth have parents; even they have some unfathomable beginning.  So it shouldn't surprise us when we find a Beauty in the Beast in the story of Persephone and Hades, or that East of the Sun, West of the Moon is so like the tale of Cupid and Psyche.  Ever wondered if Pandora was really married to Bluebeard, or if Snow White's vain stepmother had any relation to Aphrodite?

As I began to reacquaint myself with Greek mythology, I kept finding scattered seeds of fairy tales within the fruit of their stories.  Even the infamous Hans Christian Andersen and Charles Perrault, who are celebrated as fathers of many well-known fairy tales, gained inspiration from older folklore.  But how much mythology did they know, and did it play any part in the creation of their fairy tales?  Here I explore two of their fairy tales that have quite striking mythological equivalents, which may or may not be coincidental.

1) Hephaestus pounds out a Steadfast Tin Soldier  

Biographer Jackie Wullschlager tells us that Hans Christian Andersen's Steadfast Tin Soldier “is the first tale he wrote which has neither a folk tale source nor a literary model, but comes straight out of his imagination…"  Now that I have begun reading Wullschlager's stunning biography of Andersen, I cannot help but see a bit of his own life story in this beloved tale of a little soldier who is pushed along on many a journey by fate, and who never quite fits in or finds an equal in love, but sacrifices himself wholly to his art, being ultimately steadfast in the vision of his future.  So I think the connection I've made between The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Greek god of metallurgy is really one of my own imagining.

Still, the resemblance is remarkable between the disfigured godling who is cast from his mother, Hera, at the sight of his ugly, twisted, and useless leg, and that of the tin soldier whose maker ran out of tin and left him with but a single leg to stand on.  Whether Hera exiled Hephaestus from Olympus due to his birth defect, or Zeus exiled him for coming between he and Hera (and his throwing Hephaestus down from Olympus caused his leg to become injured and lame), Hephaestus was the only exiled god to return to Olympus, where he worked (steadfastly!) hammering out the powerful weapons and armor of the gods.  He was an outcast who was literally cast out, just as the tin soldier was blown, or thrown, from his place out the window.  And Hephaestus journeyed to earth, just as the soldier journeyed through many realms, and yet both returned to serve; Hephaestus at work in his special place in Olympus, and the soldier at the side of his love, the little paper dancer, even as she fell into the fire.

Though it is doubtful that Hephaestus had any influence on the tale of the Steadfast Tin Soldier, his ability to create animistic statues, as those that guard the gates of Olympus, and his steady dedication to his work despite all that debilitated him, is very like Hans Christian Andersen himself, who was one of the first children's authors to give animation to toys and voices to everyday objects, in order to tell in some small way the greater story of his life.

Tune in Thursday for Part Two, Featuring Perrault, Little Red Riding Hood, and Cronus!

The Fairies and The Volsungs

Fairy tales are important. I recognize that, and understand it, particularly as snapshots of cultural ideas and, similarly to Mythology, a kind of "what the people we came from were like" manner. But, I don't love them. Much like Arthurian Legend, there's just something about the idea of them that kind of turns me off. I fully acknowledge this as a defect of my character -- as someone who loves and studies mythology, I really SHOULD love Fairy Tales, too, precisely because there are ways in which Fairy Tales intersect with myth, legend, and Saga, and if I don't read and enjoy them, these are connections I'll miss.

So imagine my surprise when I started reading BEYOND THE GLASS SLIPPER: Ten Neglected Fairy Tales To Fall In Love With, and on the third fairy tale, I got smacked in the face with the familiar story of a woman who can only be won through the accomplishment of an impossible task -- an echo of Brynhild and Sigurd from the Saga of the Volsungs. 

Kate Wolford's annotation is what woke me up to it, in the included tale "The Three Pennies." She says:

The prophecy of the princess marrying a man who comes to her in a leaden boat is in keeping with stories about sleeping beauties behind deadly briars, princesses set upon glass mountains, and girls locked away in impenetrable fortresses and towers (p 58).

It isn't even that the annotation was telling me something I didn't know. Sleeping Beauty is one of my favorite Disney movies, after all, and I loved Tangled. Disney didn't shy away from using these same tropes. (You could even say it exists in Frozen, for that matter, when Elsa creates her ice-castle.) But something about the phrasing finally tipped me toward the realization that this isn't limited to fairy tales. It's a HUGE part of the Norse Sagas, too. 

In the Saga of the Volsungs, for example, Sigurd first comes upon (a sleeping) Brynhild in the midst of a battlefield, where he falls in love with her for her wisdom and general awesomeness. They promise to marry one another (though Brynhild warns him it will end badly and they shouldn't exchange any vows) and after they part, she hides herself away behind impossible trials of magic in order to prevent herself from being married to anyone BUT Sigurd. Sigurd is then tricked by his supposed friends into accomplishing these trials, disguised as his brother-in-law (he was tricked into marrying, too), who covets Brynhild, and through this deceit, wins her and gives her over to the other man, who she is then honor bound to marry because she believes he met the impossible circumstances she had sworn to uphold. 

Now, the difference here is that Brynhild was her own boss, and we know she set those impossible tasks herself to limit the pool and more importantly, uphold her vow and promise to Sigurd (who has since failed to keep his side of the bargain -- but I won't get into that, because frankly, Sigurd is a fool, and it makes me want to beat my head against a wall.) We have no such understanding when it comes to the woman in The Three Pennies. In fact, it only says:

"Beyond the sea there is a princess of whom it was predicted that she would be married only to a man who should come across the sea in a leaden ship (p 57)."

But there's something else these two stories share in common, too -- the man who intends to win the lady can't do it alone. He requires the supernatural aid of his friend. In the case of The Saga of the Volsungs, the supernatural aid comes from Sigurd, in order for Gunnar to win his bride. In The Three Pennies, it comes from a ghost, who is helping a poor Soldier make his fortune, after the soldier rescued his body from grave robbers.

So my question is this: Which came first? The Sagas or the Fairy Tales? Or did they share these elements back and forth, back and forth, as the oral traditions became written stories? Or! Could they have each developed this trope independent of one another?

The Saga of the Volsungs is dated back to events in the 5th century, though what we have today was not written down until the 13th. We'll probably never know how old The Three Pennies is, or how many generations told and retold it before it was written down and preserved for us today, but as a Danish tale, geographically, it's very likely that this story wasn't told in isolation from the Sagas. And maybe all my consideration is pointless -- maybe both the sagas and the fairy tales pulled this trope from something lost to us which predates them both. But it sure is fascinating to me, to think about. Much like the parallels between Fairy Tales and Greek Myths.

More on the Saga of the Volsungs:

Saga of the Volsungs (III -- Genealogy)

Saga of the Volsungs (II)

Saga of the Volsungs  (I)

Concerning Brynhild 

Related: Fairy Tales/Myths/Legends/Fables

Semi-Related: The Nix of Tiveden