MovieChat Forums > Peter Pan (1953) Discussion > On The Subject of Fairies

On The Subject of Fairies

posted 12 years ago by HijodelCid
4 replies | jump to latest

One perplexing, even disturbing, characteristic of fairies is that many of them like to play pranks that are cruel, even sadistic, such as inviting humans to a nightime party, only it turns out the party lasts an entire century, and thus the human finds himself all alone with no family or friends.
What is the reason for this characteristic that makes fairies not as lovable as they are usually regarded?

God is subtle, but He is not malicious. (Albert Einstein)

[–] coney_island_baby 12 years ago

May I recommend a book to you called 'Troublesome Things' which deals with the fairy tradition in exactly that context. It brings up the point that fairies have only very recently in our history been associated with good deeds/sweetness and light etc. (possibly down to disney!)

Early european fairies/pixies/sprites etc were generally mischievous and wicked creatures who liked to play tricks on people and steal them away. In some stories fairies are the souls of unbaptised children. The book goes into much more detail, you'd really enjoy it!

[–] HijodelCid 12 years ago

Sorry I did not thank you before, as I have been busy moving to another city.
The book you recommend sounds very interesting; I'll definitely look it up. I certainly want to know better these creatures that were so popular in the Victorian Era, the time of Barrie.
Again, my most sincere thanks.

PD: I apologize for the duplication of messages, which happened because my laptop was going slow; most likely a gremlin was having fun at my expense.

God is subtle, but He is not malicious. (Albert Einstein)

[–] HijodelCid 12 years ago

Sorry I did not thank you before, as I have been busy moving to another city.
The book you recommend sounds very interesting; I'll definitely look it up. I certainly want to know better these creatures that were so popular in the Victorian Era, the time of Barrie.
Again, my most sincere thanks.

PD: Sorry for the duplication; a poltergeist tripped up my laptop.

God is subtle, but He is not malicious. (Albert Einstein)

[–] [email protected] 12 years ago

Poltergeist? I'm guessing it was a fairy, those nasty little...