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fandomhigh2012-07-23 08:31 am
world-enchanted.livejournal.com) wrote in fandomhigh2012-07-23 08:31 am
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Clasics of Magical Literature, Monday, 7/23
The young -- very young -- woman at the front of the classroom did not look as though she had expected to teach, even though she'd been doing it for the better part of three months now. Her soft voice was laced with a stammer, and faint scarred writing was visible on her hands even though her long sleeves hid the bulk of it.
"Um, hi," she said tentatively, once everyone seemed to be more or less seated. "This week we're t-taking a break from the magical works to discuss an, um, Muggle fairy tale called 'Hansel and Gretel.' I'm ... n-not sure if everyone knows it, so, uh, I'll just ... read a modern retelling. The Brothers Grimm original is in your handouts"
Tara drew a deep breath and began to read. "Once upon a time a very poor woodcutter lived in a tiny cottage in the forest with his two children, Hansel and Gretel. His second wife often ill-treated the children and was forever nagging the woodcutter..." she began, and went right through to, "And they all lived happily together ever after."
And then she stopped and looked at the class. "So," she said, "it seems like H-hansel and Gretel got away with it at the end." But any subversive potential there was quickly undercut by the words of her next sentence, even if the tone showed she didn't really believe herself on this. "But -- we should probably think about how much better it would have been for them if they'd just st-stayed away from things they didn't understand. If they'd just, um, said 'oh, okay, this is a magical house, we should k-keep going,' the witch ... wouldn't have had to trap them in cages. Th-they would have been fine and wouldn't have blood on their hands, and the poor witch would still be alive."
She paused there, drew another deep breath. "Today during class," she said, "I want you to write a reaction to the story from the point of view of the witch. It can be f-fiction or an essay. I'm ... here if you need me."
"Um, hi," she said tentatively, once everyone seemed to be more or less seated. "This week we're t-taking a break from the magical works to discuss an, um, Muggle fairy tale called 'Hansel and Gretel.' I'm ... n-not sure if everyone knows it, so, uh, I'll just ... read a modern retelling. The Brothers Grimm original is in your handouts"
Tara drew a deep breath and began to read. "Once upon a time a very poor woodcutter lived in a tiny cottage in the forest with his two children, Hansel and Gretel. His second wife often ill-treated the children and was forever nagging the woodcutter..." she began, and went right through to, "And they all lived happily together ever after."
And then she stopped and looked at the class. "So," she said, "it seems like H-hansel and Gretel got away with it at the end." But any subversive potential there was quickly undercut by the words of her next sentence, even if the tone showed she didn't really believe herself on this. "But -- we should probably think about how much better it would have been for them if they'd just st-stayed away from things they didn't understand. If they'd just, um, said 'oh, okay, this is a magical house, we should k-keep going,' the witch ... wouldn't have had to trap them in cages. Th-they would have been fine and wouldn't have blood on their hands, and the poor witch would still be alive."
She paused there, drew another deep breath. "Today during class," she said, "I want you to write a reaction to the story from the point of view of the witch. It can be f-fiction or an essay. I'm ... here if you need me."
OOC [7/23]