Love stories and fairy tale retellings crowd the bookstore shelves in the young adult fantasy book section. My teens and I bee-line our way to the aisle and spend, literally, hours in them. We sigh over the beautiful covers and wonder how this or that author will remold our favorite love stories. But why do we want fairy tales retold? What continues to draw us to them time and time again?
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Why We Love Stories of Fairy Tale Retellings
Now, of course, not everyone loves a fairy tale retelling. But I doubt those readers are visiting my site here, so we won’t worry about them. Let’s chat instead of the reason we love to retell a fairy tale. Fairy tales that have a habit of being retold have a quality of wonder. There is clear evil and there is clear good. Though in modern fairy tale retellings you will often find those lines blurred {because, let’s face it, none of us are completely good} the original source material has a familiar beauty of love triumphing over what is broken. And right now, in our dark world, that gives us hope and fills us with joy.
Our Favorite Fairy Tale
I find the question, “What is your favorite fairy tale?” enlightening. I was sitting on my counselor’s couch (not lying down, mind you) when she asked me this question. She shared how our favorite fairy tale reveals a great deal about ourselves. Do we have one? We probably believe in happy endings. Is it Cinderella? Perhaps we feel mistreated. Is it Sleeping Beauty? Maybe we are waiting to be rescued.
She shared she had one unnamed client who adored the story of Beauty and the Beast. I perked up, that was one of my favorites too, long before Disney made it into an animated film. The woman who loved it had a penchant for attaching herself to men who were much like the beast at the beginning of the story. This patient had spent her life trying to transform each man she dated into a prince, but only got abused in the process. I was so glad that I hadn’t said that, but I had answered, “Rapunzel.” I don’t remember her reply, because, like most counselors, she didn’t tell me the answer. I had to figure out for myself why it resonated with me.
Do All Fairy Tales End Happily?
Why does your favorite strike a chord with you? Is the idea of the story like a well-worn book you’ve smoothed with your hands so many times that the pages now feel like silk beneath your touch? Do you picture yourself as the heroine or the hero? (I hope you don’t see yourself as the villain, but I have those days, myself.)
In my early twenties, much like now, I was suffering from chronic migraines. But at the time, I had left college because they had become so debilitating. I had had these chronic migraines since high school and learned to live with them. So why had they suddenly become so bad as to cause me to drop out of living my life? My counselor knew that there were some mitigating factors, and looking back, I can see that Rapunzel was an enlightening piece of the puzzle.
Like Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel is waiting, always waiting in her tower. When she finally decides to take a risk and love someone enough to allow him to rescue her, the witch who imprisoned her finds out. Rapunzel watches as her beloved is thrown from the tower into thorns far below and then Rapunzel is cast out into the wilderness to wander for years.
The Greatest Love Story isn’t just a Fairy Tale Retelling
Though I didn’t see it at the time, I felt similar to Rapunzel, isolated by my pain. It wasn’t just the migraines, I had fallen in love with someone who didn’t love me back. I was left feeling alone, betrayed. Unsaid words became the pain in my head and the depression in my spirit.
Here’s the amazing part, God used that hard time to show me that He wanted to rescue me out of the wilderness. He would care for my heart whether or not I ever found my prince. After all, the true Prince had already come to this world and paid the ultimate price to ransom me. (John 3:16) I just needed reminding.
I suppose it only makes sense that I remained attached to Rapunzel. Only a few years after getting better and graduating from college, I began to write my own retelling. It grew and changed from the original story and became one of a different rescue. And this Valentine’s Day, while love stories and fairy tale retellings are pictured all over Bookstagram, I smile, knowing my true Prince rescued me long before my husband ever knew my name. You can start here with a free novella, Before the Tower, and I’ll connect you with more bookish fun at least once a month in my newsletter.
About JacQueline
As the author of The Journey series, a young adult fantasy retelling Rapunzel’s misadventures, JacQueline also wrote Memoirs of a Headcase: Held by the God of Hope, to share hope in the battle against chronic pain and depression. Currently she lives in North Alabama with her karate husband and three book-crazy kids. All opinions expressed on this website come from her own experience. Do not substitute it for professional therapy or medical advice. Any affiliate links used on this website will provide additional income to JacQueline’s family at no additional cost to you.
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Photo credit: Natasha Brazil, Derek Story, Lenin Estrada, and Rose
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