QUEST
FOR MEANING
by Aubrey Cole Odhner|
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SPIRITUAL THEMES AND THE Myths tend to be about gods and supernatural beings, legends tend to feature heroes, often historical male figures, but the protagonists in our most popular fairy tales are usually girls -- enchanted princesses. In the opening scene of most fairy stories there is great sorrow because the mother has died and/or the father has lost his fortune, the wicked stepmother is cruel, or the royal person has been enchanted into some menial form. There is usually a faint memory of an earlier, paradisal life, but the action, the story itself, does not begin until the downfall or miserable situation. Literary critics call this lowly condition where the action begins the "lack."
When preparing for what I thought would be a tracking of miscellaneous motifs, I was riveted by a statement which tied the motifs into one all-inclusive theme. In their book, Fairy Tale Reader (Harper Collins, 1993, p. 10) John and Caitlin Matthews make the following observation: Possibly the best known and most frequent of motifs is that of paradise lost and regained, of which the story of Cinderella is the classic example, though the theme runs through most fairy tales in the form of initial misfortune leading essentially to a happy ending. The reason I was so struck by this statement is that the Writings tell us that the first prophecy of the Lord's birth is in Genesis, describing the Fall -- paradise lost! It was at the time of the Fall that the Ancient Word was written, and Moses copied the first chapters of Genesis from the Ancient Word (AR 11, TCR. 265, 279). Many myth and fairy tale symbols seem to cluster into motifs traceable to the following verses from Genesis: And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life; And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head and thou shall bruise his heel. (3:14-15) One of these easily recognized motifs is that of the forbid-den fruit. For example, Persephone eats pomegranate seeds in Hades, Rapunzel's father steals the rampion from the witch's garden, Beauty's father steals the rose from the Beast's garden. This motif is often connected with a secret walled garden or paradise, a symbolic Eden. Another recognizable motif is that of the vulnerable spot. The most famous, perhaps, is the story of Achilles, whose mother held him by the heel and dipped him into the River Styx, ensuring that he was invulnerable -- unwoundable -- everywhere except where her fingers prevented the sacred waters from covering him. He was later wounded in his heel and died from it, which correlates with the Genesis prediction that the Manchild will be bruised by the serpent. Some of the lesser known legends are these of Euridyce (of myth and opera fame) who strolled in a garden paradise with her lover, Orpheus. She was stung in the heel by a poisonous serpent and then propelled out of the garden, down to Hades. The Scandinavian hero Siegfried, after slaying the dragon, bathed in the dragon's blood. He became invulnerable to all wounds, except where a linden leaf had fallen on his shoulder preventing the magic blood from totally protecting him on that spot. A treacherous spear pierced this spot, causing the hero's death. And finally, there is the tale of the most beautiful of Northern hero gods, Baldur, the radiant Sun God, beloved by all. The gods played a game called "Honor to Baldur," in which he was the target of their hurled spears and arrows, all of which were deflected because everything in the world had promised his mother, Frigga, not to harm Baldur -- everything that is, except the little mistletoe high up in the oak tree from which Frigga had neglected to extract a promise because it seemed so insignificant. The glorious god was downed by an arrow fashioned from mistletoe by the mischievous Loki and placed in the innocent hands of Baldur's blind brother. This slaying of the Sun god brought about the final twilight of the gods, the end of the world. Hot on the trail of these Genesis-related motifs, I proceeded to verify the assumption that the overall connecting
we've looked at. In Sleeping Beauty, the old uninvited fairy predicts death from the prick of the spindle. In Beauty and the Beast, the rich merchant loses everything, and his daughters must cook and clean while his sons must till the soil. Snow White's mother pricks her finger and dies, and her wicked stepmother plots her death. Cinderella is compelled by her stepmother to do menial work. Note that in three of the stories there is a wound caused by a sharp needle or spindle (or an assumed thorn on Beauty's Rose). These are echoes of the Vulerable Spot motif -- the poisonous arrows and the deadly serpent bite. The sense of' "lack" which begins each story also begins the process of what Jungian psychologists call "individuation": separation from past dependency, the birth of consciousness and independence. III. THE ANCIENT CHURCH: NOON/SUMMER/YOUTH Arcana Coelestia 612 states that "the essential of the Ancient Church is charity." This is of interest for our discussion for two reasons. First is that there is a correspondential relationship between charity and good, and in each of the four stories the heroine is described as beautiful, good and kind. Cinderella was said to be like her mother-- of unparalleled goodness. Beauty was described as sweet-tempered, obliging, kindly, patient, humble and industrious. Snow White was said to be so sweet and lovely that the woodsman could not harm her. The second reason this Arcana quote is relevant is that charity is essentially about helping the neighbor and in many stories we see a "helper" character who aids the protagonist in meeting the trials and overcoming them to find the "happily ever after." The "helper" is the fairy godmother, the good fairy, and even the Rumpelstiltskin type who helps cryptically, not telling all but giving out clues. I believe this Merlin-like Magician character is derived from the idea of the Holy Spirit the Comforter. It is interesting to note that the New King James version of the Bible uses "Helper" when translating "Comforter" where, in the older version, the Lord says: "I will not leave you comfortless, I will come to you." (John 14:18) There is also a merciful substitution which takes place at this time in most of the stories. It correlates with the Lord's restoration of His true church after the fall of the Most Ancient Church, though it was in a different form (the Ancient Church emphasized the understanding of truth rather than the perception of good, which was dominant in the Most Ancient Church). This is seen in the Biblical story of Abraham and Isaac, when the Lord sent a ram into the thicket instead of exacting the sacrifice of Isaac. This merciful substitution of an animal for a human sacrifice was said to represent the essential of the worship of the "Second Ancient Church." The helpers in our sample fairy tales are the dwarfs, woodsman and fairy godmothers. The substitutions occur when Snow White falls into a coma as a substitute for death which happens because the woodsman substituted a lamb's heart for hers. In Beauty and the Beast, Beauty returns to the Beast's palace as a substitute for her father. Similarly in Sleeping Beauty, one hundred years of sleep is substituted for Sleeping Beauty's death. And in Cinderella, the fairy godmother substitutes a beautiful gown and a coach for rags and pumpkins. IV. THE ISRAELITISH CHURCH: EVENING/AUTUMN/MATURITY Mythologists recognize a call to action and adventure at this stage of the hero or heroine's development. In the Biblical history of the Church this is recognized in the establish-
In the broader themes of the changes of state in the individual process of regeneration, the person must go forward to regain paradise, while recalling (by the reactivation of early remains) the nature of the lost paradise, and while holding on to a faith in the value of the goal so as not to be continually confused and lost in the wilderness. This correlates with the Israelites wandering in the wilderness, and despairing time and again only to have the Lord encourage them, often with cryptic signs. In fairy tales we also see wanderings and trials, and even frightening journeys to the underworld. Although this stage is not detailed in all the stories, the story of Cupid and Psyche, as forerunner of Beauty and the Beast, describes the same moves forward and then the constant backsliding as those of the children of Israel. In many stories there are tests and tricks and repeated challenges and usually at least three despairing failures. In the basic form of this, a command comes first and then there are frequently three opportunities for success. The dwarfs told Snow White not to open the door, but the witch tricked her into disobeying three times. Cinderella was told to return by midnight; the responses and failures were repeated on three separate nights. And consider Rumpelstiltskin's challenge to the Miller's daughter to guess his name in return for sorting seeds, and for turning straw into gold, and finally in exchange for her child. She failed the first two times he returned for her guess, but on the third visit she finally succeeded in guessing his name. In the Word also we see commands given with failures to comply, and repetitions of three. For example, the Lord commanded Adam and Even not to eat of the tree; He also predicted at the Last Supper backsliding and faithlessness: "Before the cock crows, you will deny me three times" (Luke 22:34). IV. THE FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH: NIGHT/WINTER/OLD AGE The Lord, the Prince of Peace was miraculously born in his human form to reestablish His Church on earth. In the fairy tales this is reflected in the glorious appearance of the prince, who often comes at the end of the story. In Sleeping Beauty, after one hundred years we see the arrival of a king's son fighting through thorns and fire. In Snow White the prince finally finds her and asks the dwarfs for the glass coffin in which she sleeps. In Beauty and the Beast, the Beast becomes a prince, released from his enchantment because of the consent of Beauty, a virgin who would not lie. In Cinderella the prince sends a messenger to find her and restore her to him so they may live happily ever after. One of the most famous legends, that of the search for the Holy Grail, comes to the fore at this stage, for this legend is recognized widely as reflective of the Lord's life on earth. The legends of King Arthur are also interwoven with stories of the Grail, and so notably parallel the Lord's life. Consider, for example, the following: the Lord was born into the world with no biological father, but rather a Divine One -- the King of Kings. He came to re-establish His Church on earth, to bring His heavenly Kingdom to mankind, but even after the Lord came in His human form, the Church failed Him again -- He was betrayed, tormented, and slain on the cross; His body disappeared, and He died with the promise that He would come again. In the stories surrounding King Arthur's valiant search for the Grail, Arthur's father was unknown, but was said to be a royal king. Arthur established a beautiful civilization (Camelot), then was betrayed and treacherously slain. He disappeared through the mists to the Isle of Ayajon, but there remained the promise that he would return. Universally recognized as a "retelling" of the Lord's story, we can see in the Grail and Arthur legends many of the
V. THE NEW CHRISTIAN CHURCH The warning in fairy tales not to eat of the forbidden fruit and the subsequent woundings in the vulnerable spot are correspondential retellings of the Lord's initial warning against evil, for although the upper levels of our minds are not pervertable we can be wounded, tempted in our lowest, sensual degree -- the proprial "heel" which touches the ground. We will then fall into the enchanting illusion that life is our own, and we must embark on the arduous climb to the upper reaches of our minds where we will discover and realize that life is from the Lord. In our fairy tales, after trials and journeys, but spurred on by the memory (remains) of their first recognition (which correlates with the honeymoon state in marriage), the prince and princess find each other again and marry, and live happily ever after. This is seen in Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast, where a beautiful lady of dreams reappears and says "you have chosen each other." In Sleeping Beauty we are told that the prince and Beauty live happily to their life's end, and in Snow White we are told that the prince and Snow White reign over all the land happily. This "happily ever after" ending in the history of the Church is the final return of the eternal King which was predicted in the Ancient Word. A challenge remains, however, since the truths from that Word were separated and fragmented throughout the world into separate motifs. These have been preserved in the tales and legends we learn as children, and which help form the remains that support us in pursuing our spiritual goals. These fragments can be gathered together again though, and woven into the garment of the New Church, designed by the new Doctrines. By seeing more clearly the pattern of the Lord's life, the universal pattern of the religious history of the human race, the objective story lines and patterns of fairy tale and folk tradition, and the deeper psychological pattern of growth in the individual, we can better chart our own mental and spiritual journeys through the wilderness. Aided by beautiful remains of the celestial and spiritual states of our infancy and childhood, we can recognize help when it is given and find our Grail -- conjugial love, our eternal home. By recognizing and declaring the eternal return of the King/Prince, the Church will receive Him anew, and become a Church which can "live happily ever after." Indeed, the significance of ancient myth and literature to our lives is perhaps best illustrated by William K. Kilpatrick in his book Psychological Seduction (Thomas Nelson, Inc., 1983), where he explains the compelling appeal of legends and folklore. He says: The final chapters of the Odyssey are among the
most And so, if we consider the parallel in fairy tales and legends -- and especially the Word -- to the epic story of our own lives from the celestial states of our infancy through the
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