Earlier on in the book is the poem "Rampion," another word for Rapunzel, the name of a type of wildflower, where Ms. Valente gives us her take on that particular story. In this version Rapunzel is a compendium of plants parts and grows accordingly. Her mother is a witch who had no milk to feed her with and so she was raised on vegetables of all kind until she became onto a plant herself. "Can you not love me, libeling / who nestled you in a tower / a plant will grow only so great as its pot," says the witch to her foundling who she has raised so big, strong, and healthy.
When the hero comes to "rescue" her he saw "a tower wrapped in vines / in cornstalks like knotted ropes / You slashed into them, searching for a door / and I cried out three times. You heard only the sweetness of wind singing through basil and mint / and looked up, starving / your teeth wet and white." Poor Rapunzel - just another flower to be devoured by a man who sees without understanding. Women throughout history have been taken for delicate flowers and treated accordingly, and now here is one who really is, and what happens? She's devoured.
From Rapunzel and Cinderella to Persephone and Sita, women from all over the world — from reality, myth, and folktale — are given a voice of their own through the words of Catherynne M. Valente. They may not be the voice some of you are used to, or some of you even like, but that doesn't make them any less valid than the voices they have spoken with at any other point in time.
Folktales speak with the voice of the folk who are writing them and as an expression of the community the writer represents. Ms. Valente's early education as a Classicist and her history of publishing critical analysis of myths are sufficient to give her authority to tackle this project credence, but it's her imagination and beautiful use of language that make it work.
A Guide To Foktales In Fragile Dialects is a magical journey into the world of folktales and myth led by a guide with a definite passion for the subject. Each of the pieces makes for thought provoking and sometimes humorous reading. They're all tales my kind of folk would tell. How about yours?
Article comments