L is for...Love!

Today for my L post, I'll be focusing on Love in fairy tales! A nice gooey love post, yay! Most fairy tales involve love in one way or another, whether it's parental love or romantic love. There is also a lot of 'Love at first sight' in fairy tales, which I'm not sure I like, because I don't really believe in love at first sight!
Taken from here
Beauty and the Beast is one of my favourite love stories, because the love isn't based on looks - Belle falls for the Beast when he's still a beast. It's after she declares her love for him that he turns into the handsome prince. I also love that they don't fall in love at first sight - they spend weeks talking and spending time with each other first, and Belle has those dreams that show her the real "beast" as the handsome prince (although she doesn't realise it's him.) Another type of love shown in the story is that of the father for his daughters, as it is because of him picking a rose for Belle that causes the whole thing in the first place!
Taken from here
In Hansel and Gretel, the main focus is the love between the siblings, and their father's love for them. Although, I hate the fact that he let his wife send them away in the first place, surely if he loved them that much he wouldn't have let her? But then the story wouldn't happen, so I suppose...Anyway, they live happily ever after in the end, so it doesn't matter!
Taken from here
In The Little Mermaid, it depends which version you read but there are still examples of love in both of them. In the early version where the mermaid dies because she can't have her prince, we are still shown the love that her sisters have for her, in that they try to get her to kill the prince so that she can live and be them. We are also shown the love the mermaid has for the prince, as she refuses to kill him even to save her own life. In the later version, the prince loves the mermaid back and marries her, and they live happily ever after.
Taken from here
I'm not sure about The Princess and the Pea, as the love seems very superficial to me. The prince would only love the girl if it was proven that she was a princess, so therefore he loves what she is, and not who she is.
In Rapunzel I think it's true love, because like in Beauty and the Beast, the two lovers get to know each other first, before getting engaged. I also find it really romantic that it's Rapunzel's singing which brings the prince back to her, and her tears cure his blindness.
In Thumbelina, there are a lot of different creatures who want Thumbelina's hand in marriage, but in the end she finds the perfect man, because he's the perfect size for her!
And then you've got the classic love stories, like Cinderella, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty, where the prince comes into the story at exactly the right moment and either wakes up his princess with a kiss or whisks her away from her unhappy life.
Taken from here
I have one more to mention, just because it's one of my favourite fairy tales ever, but it doesn't contain romantic love. I'm talking about The Little Match Girl, which I used to read over and over again when I was little, because I love it! The love in this tale is between the girl and her grandmother, who is dead during the events of the story. The grandmother was the only person who was ever kind to the little girl, and when the girl dies at the end of the story, her grandmother carries her up to heaven. A beautiful picture of love, in my opinion.
So there you go, love in fairy tales! Hope you enjoyed :)

Comments

  1. Gossip_Grl13 April 2012 at 21:30

    Love-The best part of many fairy tales

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ghadeer13 April 2012 at 22:20

    I love this post! I agree with all your analysis of good and bad love examples!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sara13 April 2012 at 22:46

    Great post, and great examples of Fairy Tale Love.

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    Replies
    1. Laura Clipson14 April 2012 at 13:36

      Thanks :) There were loads more (obviously) but I chose the ones I thought were the best examples :)

      Delete
  4. Lisa Southard13 April 2012 at 22:52

    For the heartbreaking love element, I favour a bit of Oscar Wilde- The Nightingale and the Rose in particular. The Princess and the Pea is ridiculous! But it also fun- in my old Ladybird book the Pea is placed on display in a museum. Something about a pea in a glass case always made me laugh!

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    Replies
    1. Laura Clipson14 April 2012 at 13:37

      I haven't read that, I'll have to give it a try! You're right, that sounds hilarious! A pea in a museum, oh dear...

      Delete
  5. beccabooklover13 April 2012 at 23:10

    Great post. Beauty and the Beast is such a lovely love story :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Julie Daines14 April 2012 at 06:48

    I LOVE Beauty and the Beast too for the same reason: the love is not based on looks. That's also why I liked the movie Shrek, because in the end, Fiona stayed a troll. Great post! (The Little Match Girl is also a favorite, but it always makes me cry so I try to avoid it.)

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    Replies
    1. Laura Clipson14 April 2012 at 13:39

      That's why I like Shrek too, she chose the different guy instead of the typical one princesses are supposed to go for! It makes me sad too, but I love things that make me sad (I'm strange!) so I like reading it :)

      Delete
  7. Miss H14 April 2012 at 15:59

    Aww this was lovely! I adored the film Thumbelina!

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    Replies
    1. Laura Clipson14 April 2012 at 16:21

      I do too, I used to watch it all the time when I was little! :)

      Delete

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