Comments on Diamonds and Toads: Garden of Eden and Fairy Tales

After reading this blog I was amazed at the connec...

2011-04-22T18:30:00.160-07:00

After reading this blog I was amazed at the connections that can be made from the bible to the fairy tales. There are a few examples one that was listed was the “Snow White” and the Garden of Eden, another that I was thinking of kind of was “Jack and the Beanstalk” and the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11). Now this one can be a little bit of a stretch but the idea of getting gains from both the beanstalk and from the tower are similar. One gets you money and riches, the other gets you to heaven. Now to see these connections is really not that strange if you look at the history of the writers of these stories. Most of them have a history of being involved or practicing some sort of religion and I am sure many of them know about the stories of the bible. Now the Garden of Eden story if one that many people would know about however the Tower of Babel may not be as well known. Either way it is nice to see this connection between the two.
--Tyler Biller

The connection of the temptation between Snow Whit...

2011-02-22T09:47:00.977-08:00

The connection of the temptation between Snow White and Eve is really quite beautiful. It is also interesting that the Torah (the first 5 books of the Hebrew Scriptures), the continued Biblical text, and the stories in fairy tales all started out as oral traditions. No matter their beginning, these mediums are powerful communicators in story form. They invite the listener to be transported into a picture of the characters lives. They also give the listener an opportunity to recognize themselves as one or many of the characters in the story. It is not surprising that Eve and Snow White show similarities. People in general struggle with temptation. As a culture, many women wrestle with their desire to be beautiful. Snow White shows us the danger of buying in to that ideal, just as Eve showed us the danger of buying into the desire to be "all knowing". I agree that neither female character showed self control. I would also add a thought that is spoken of in Biblical themes. Snow White shows us that temptation comes more often than once. Although she is a 7 year old child, is she not also similar enough to an adult that we can identify ourselves in her response again and again? How often do we, the readers, give into temptation? Her vice was vanity. We, as the readers, may be tempted by something different like greed, gossip, dishonesty, or a myriad of other evils. How often do we need to be reminded not to give into our particular vice? Just as Snow White was tempted 3 times, another Biblical character, Peter, someone who followed the way of Jesus, was also warned that he would give into temptation 3 times. When he was warned that he would lie to protect his reputation, he dismissed it and thought he was strong enough to tell the truth. Likewise, I also believe Snow White thought she would heed her caretakers' warning and not "open the door" on temptaion either. They both stood alone in making the decision about whether to do right in the face of temptation. Both characters, drawn in by their self-centered desires, gave into the evil temptation 3 times. Snow White's third choice, in spite of the forewarning by those who cared about her, lead her into a death/ sleep. Peter's third denial, brought the cock's crow, which had been forewarned as a reminder of his betrayal. He too, fell into a death/sleep of his spirit. It wasn't until the Christ came and continued to offer His love in spite of Peter's "sins", again 3 times, that he was "redeemed" from living in the "death" of the weight of the sins. Snow White, also found redemption in the form of a prince who "loved" even though she still lay in her vice's grip of "death". Whether people believe the Bible as truth or not, it can still be read in story form with fantastic pictures of forgiveness and redemption, just as we find in fairy tales. -tlc*

Throughout the last class discussion i was trying ...

2011-01-20T12:38:03.709-08:00

Throughout the last class discussion i was trying to examine the symbolism of many word in Snow White, and of course like many of you the color red, as well as the apple stood out. Of course they would stand out for red its self is a vivid color that often attracts attention. I strongly believe that the apple is correlated to the Biblical perspective. Though, the Bible does not specically name the fruit of the forbidden tree, it has over time been labled and believed to be an apple. I strongly see the correlation to the temptation of Eve as well as Snow White. i still believe there many be more meanins to it. The apple is not just symbolic of religion it is also symbolic in other perspectives. In Nortic legends the believe the fruit to represent eternal youth. Roman Myths veiw it as immortal and in China the veiw the apple blossom to represent womans beauty. Therefore, I can see that there may be many reason for the fruit in Snow white to have been choosen as an apple. :)
-JCS

It does not surprise me to see people drawing conn...

2010-04-29T08:34:36.370-07:00

It does not surprise me to see people drawing connections between Judeo-Christian sacred texts and fairy tales. As most people know, Genesis is in the Old Testament, and as such is the first book of the Torah. We live in a culture which has been greatly influenced by this tradition, but we must understand that as with much in our sacred texts, there is ambiguity and a lack of clarity to much of what Judeo-Christian culture takes as doctrine. The inherent evil of humanity, which is considered to stem from Eve’s temptation, should be discussed as a product of its time, a time which did not value half of society as anything more than chattel. We can see this attitude trickle down through the centuries right into fairy tales. In the tale of “Snow White,” the prince is overcome with the desire to posses Snow White, even in death. What I gather from linking ecclesiastical teachings to fairy tales, is that we should continually analyze both in meaningful ways.

I never once thought the Bible would be related to...

2010-03-17T18:00:21.968-07:00

I never once thought the Bible would be related to fairy tales. It does make me think after reading this blog if these stories would be okay introduce to our children. We teach our children how to live their lives based on what God says, and when we use something, like an apple in Snow White, to show the evilness our children may become confused on what is right and wrong. We think that most children grow out of this fairy tale life, but when we’re young we learn and take so much with us and I believe that this could make children question what the right thing truly is. Then again, maybe this is something that we do not realize until we are older, understand what is real, and make believe, but it still makes me question if these stories will make a negative impact on how our children become.
Brittany C.

When I think of fairy tales I never would have cor...

2010-02-02T19:08:34.842-08:00

When I think of fairy tales I never would have correlated it to any biblical stories. On the other hand, I never knew the truth behind fairy tales. The more I break down fairy tales, the more I can relate to some of the bible teachings. The connection of Snow White eating the apple and Eve eating the apple indicates a curiosity which humans obsess and the greed of wanting more or just what they can’t have. Throughout fairy tales and the Bible we find stories of individuals searching for more than what they have, only to find themselves in a worse scenario. For instance, Beauty and the Beast, the father only wanted to please his daughter by bringing home one rose, but forgot what was already given to him and we know how that ends. Similarly, the story of David and Bathsheba, David had all the women a king could have, but wanted Bathsheba and the cost was the life of Uriah and the eventually the throne. Fairy tales and Bible mostly resemble themselves by the consequences that individuals find themselves in because of choices they make even with good counsel.
Terry B.

I’m glad this idea of relating fairytales back to ...

2010-01-29T13:51:38.579-08:00

I’m glad this idea of relating fairytales back to the bible finally came up in the blogs. We just recently discussed this issue in our lecture class and it really hit home for me. It seems interesting that some people fail to realize that stories, particularly fairy tales, can be related back to the bible. Take the classic Snow White example of being tempted by her evil stepmother. If we, as children, were taught by our parents about temptation and the connection to the bible, these fairytales might’ve meant even more to us. Fairytales were meant for adults, in many ways, and this is just another way to show that. I have to admit that by seeing the Disney version of Snow White, I failed to realize the connection back to Eve being tempted in the Garden of Eden. However, when I read the real version of Snow White written by Tatar, I finally realized there was more meaning to all the temptations from the stepmother.
-Jessica L.

I never really thought about the Bible being a par...

2010-01-21T09:11:56.990-08:00

I never really thought about the Bible being a part of fairy tales even when reading them. I never even actually had the thought cross my mind until reading this post. Now that I stop and read it WOW how amazing it is that someone actually connected that link between the two. I find it particulary amazing that in the end a lot of things come back on the Bible and have a major impact on us as humans for the rest of our lifes. Snow White was warned many times by the dawrfs but yet she still let the stepmother in, aftering reading this post I do find the common things between the story and the Bible. I give you props for actually making that connection as this thought would have never crossed my mind. Now that I have noticed this connection in the story Snow White I will look for it as I continue to read over many more fairy tales.
K.A.

It seems like the apple being a symbol of love and...

2009-12-23T01:32:50.743-08:00

It seems like the apple being a symbol of love and affection would make the deception that much worse -- if the characters of Snow White or Brother could be assumed to be at all familiar with the symbolism, the betrayal would have been that much more unaccepted. Like a poisonous bouquet of red roses or a deadly teddy bear!

The illustrator of the image is Gustav Tenggren, w...

2009-12-22T12:22:01.559-08:00

The illustrator of the image is Gustav Tenggren, with the title "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," created in 1923.

Jayne

Your students have some extremely interesting theo...

2009-12-22T11:10:10.827-08:00

Your students have some extremely interesting theories. The fact that the bible may have played a role in some of these fairy tales isn't unlikely once you consider it, yet you don't think about it when you first read or hear about fairy tales.