Taryn Tyler's Blog, page 2

Cottagecore and Transcendentalism. How Photos of Girls in Flowery Fields Have Roots in a Gentlemen Only Philosopher’s Club.

The cottagecore aesthetic has taken the internet by storm. Our feeds are teeming with photos of flowers, picnics, baking, rolling fields, and girls in flowy summer dresses. The images are a lovely break to the constant onslaught of stressful articles and distressing world events but where does this new craze come from? Why do so many of us seem to be craving the quiet simplicity of nature and stillness right now? 

It is commonly said that the stress of the covid 19 pandemic combined with the necessary stillness it has required of us has awakened this longing for an idyllic, comforting stillness. This may be part of what has allowed this trend of romanticizing a past that never existed to blossom but it’s roots go much deeper.

Historically artistic trends have always flowed back and forth between the two extremes of structure and form to feeling and wildness. Neoclassicism fades into Romanticism which fades into Realism which fades into Impressionism. Each generation gets tired of what the previous generation’s preferences and swings back in the opposite direction. The same could be said for historical periods of music and literature as well as visual art. We constantly teeter back and forth between the extremes of Reason and Emotion. Our efforts as human to balance Reason and Emotions go back as far as Plato in western traditions.*

One major literary and artistic movement that favored emotion took place on the British Isles during the industrial revolution. Romantic Era combated the utilitarian mindset of factory owners and an increasingly prominent urban lifestyle with ideals of beauty, feeling, and a return to nature. It was an antithesis to the rigid utilitarian mindset brought on by industrialization. 

Just as Romanticism began winding down on the British Isles, the colonies experienced a literary and philosophical renaissance of their own. Transcendentalism shares similar characteristics to Romanticism such as appreciating nature and rejecting an overly industrialized life. However, while Romanticism focuses primarily on emotions, art, and aesthetics, American Transcendentalism focuses more on political discourse, simplicity, and rejecting worldly goods. 

The most prominent and well known piece written on Transcendentalism, which unlike Romanticism was conscious of being a movement, is Henry David Thoreau’s Walden. In it he reflects on his time living in simplicity in a place called Walden Pond. Some other writers from the movement include Nathaniel Hawthorne who wrote the House of Seven Gables, a gothic novel in which a girl from the country brings a dreary village back to life in manic-pixie-dream-girl fashion and Ralph Waldo Emerson whose poetry collection Leaves of Grass celebrates nature, contemplation, and quiet. Margaret Fuller, a prominent feminist writer was the only woman amongst them and worked several years as editor and writer for their Magazine The Dial.

A lesser known writer who belonged to the Transcendentalist movement is Amos Bronson Alcott, father of Louisa May Alcott the author of Little Women. Louisa, however, was critical of her father’s philosophy. His commitment to poverty and simplicity left her, her mother, and her sisters to fend for themselves to make an income in a male dominated world. This suggests a lack of awareness of the practical ramifications of his intellectual purism.

Similarly, while Thoreau wrote Walden in a period of isolation from society he did so at a wealthy friend’s cottage. Food was brought to him while he wrote and his mother continued to do his laundry. Both scenarios show the limitations of the movement as it was cultivated by those who had the means to survive comfortably at a slower, simpler pace rather than those who needed to work constantly to survive.. 

Similar criticism has been applied to modern movements meant to counter the constant pressure of hustle culture in a data driven society similar in many ways to the industrial revolution. The criticism is valid. Not everyone is able to slow down and enjoy the simple pleasures of life. However, that does not negate the value in taking things slow when possible.  Recognizing that one does not always need to achieve more and taking time to experience and appreciate what one already has fosters gratitude and contentment rather than stress and anxiety. 

Another criticism of cottagecore is the supposed hypocrisy of appreciating nature and savoring the moment while posting about it online. However, an aesthetic that represents a state of rest and appreciation of simple things can allow its participants to post about those moments if they enjoy doing so. That enjoyment is part of the appreciation.

In this way allowing these images to exist in a digital space suggests more awareness than the original Tandensendalist movement. The idyllic world flowers and picnics and homemade bread does not claim to actually exist. It’s a place for one’s tired mind to rest before returning to nine to fives and frustrating phone calls with automated voice systems. Society now exists in digital form and in order to interact with it we all must eventually return to that reality in some form or another.

While the popularity of cottagecore may be partially brought on by the isolation of the pandemic and the mental fatigue and stress of an international crisis it is also influenced by the desire to escape the rapid change of the digital world, the collective stress of globalization, and the data driven push of hustle culture.  It cannot be a coincidence that the onset of both Romanticism and Transcendentalism were also preceded by a massive change in technology and push towards standardization and optimization. The natural counterbalance to such utilitarianism is a craving for simplicity and stillness and appreciation of beauty and purposelessness. 

*Presumably other traditions of thought also grapple with the seeming disconnect of Reason and Emotions but, unfortunately, I am less familiar with specific writings of those traditions and would not like to comment on them without further research. If you know of a non-western writer who wrote of this subject please share! I would love to learn more about how other cultures have explored this topic. 

The post Cottagecore and Transcendentalism. How Photos of Girls in Flowery Fields Have Roots in a Gentlemen Only Philosopher’s Club. appeared first on Taryn Tyler.

Bisexual Representation in Fantasy Literature

Bisexuality is a largely underrepresented and often misrepresented identity in fiction. At first glance it’s easy to pass judgement on writers for not writing more bisexual characters. In some cases that judgement might even be warranted but how easy is it to depict bisexuality in the short span of a story? Is it possible to represent bisexuality accurately and avoid harmful stereotypes?

Bisexuality is hard for a lot of people to wrap their minds around. We tend to want to see things in definitive terms. Having a fuzzy answer like “Sometimes” to questions like “Do you like girls?” tends to make people uncomfortable. People assume that either you haven’t figured out what you like yet (rude) or that you’re polyamorous or hypersexual. There is nothing wrong with being polyamorous or hypersexual but those two things do not necessarily coincide with bisexuality. A person can just as easily be bisexual, monogamous, or demi sexual. These same assumptions made about bisexuals in real life are likewise projected onto bisexual characters in fantasy novels. 

The very first fantasy book I read with an LGBTQ+ protagonist was Wolfcry by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes. In this novel Olizia, heir to the throne must choose a pair bond but there are a lot of political considerations that make the choice difficult. Lots of men are vying for her attention and the throne when she meets Betia and falls in love. It turns out a marriage to a woman with no possibility of an heir takes a lot of the political pressure off of the decision and allows her to choose her pair bond for love.  Still, it takes her some time to realize that the deep friendship she has formed with Betia is romantic love because she has never considered falling in love with a woman. 

 I loved this book. It was well written and had an underrepresented protagonist. Looking back it was probably the first positive exposure I had to lesbianism. I think I was seventeen when I read it. I distinctly remember thinking that I was supposed to be weirded out by it but actually quite liking it and that was a big step in discovering my own sexuality. Unfortunately, however,  stories like Wolfcry where a protagonist must discover their sexuality can contribute to the idea that a bisexual character is a “confused” character who hasn’t completed their story arch yet. That’s not to de-validate the experience of discovering your sexuality. In a heteronormative world a lot of us assume we’re heterosexual before we’re old enough to have a preference. But, for some, on the other side of discovery is an attraction to both genders and the “gay discovery” narrative does not always address this possibility. 

A well loved fantasy series that features mostly bisexual characters is Ellen Kushner’s Riverside books, Swordpoint, The Privilege of the Sword, and the Fall of Kings. It’s an exciting series, brimming with duels, affairs, decadent parties, and strange ancient magic. The first book, Swordpoint, follows Richard as he fights duels for hire. He is a dangerous, charming swashbuckler who appears to have had many lovers of both genders throughout his life. His current lover is a mysterious and somewhat rude man named Alec whom he appears to be especially besotted with. Their romance is not the central plot but it is very well written with a lot of nuance and complex character development.

Alec appears in the next book, The Privilege of the Sword, as the uncle of the new protagonist Katherine. He is no longer with Richard but instead has many lovers including an actress who is impregnated with his child.  Katherine, a young adolescent girl, challenges a horrible rich man to a duel for raping her friend and while she is training for it learns some things about her own sexual desire  She has a brief crush on the aforementioned actress  and ends up fooling around with her best friend Marcus. It’s unclear whether this relationship lasts. Katherine appears as a minor character in the last book in the series, The Fall of Kings, unmarried with Marcus nearby as an old family friend. This book is full of sex positive messages as well as caution against too much naivety.

The Riverside series depicts a lot of bisexual characters but most of these characters are also hypersexual and many of them have multiple partners at once. Polyamorous representation is great and so is destigmatizing hypersexuality but coupling those two things with bisexuality does reinforce the the idea that bisexuals are more promiscuous than those attracted to a single gender.

A book I read recently featuring a bisexual protagonist is The Wolf and the Hawk by Julian Greystoke. In this book the plot focuses on a heterosexual romance but it is mentioned in the narrative that the protagonist has slept with women in the past. Her sexuality is not a part of the plot at all, just a minor detail about her character. I actually really liked this casual, underwhelming approach to bisexual representation, but it could be argued that reducing that part of her character to a throwaway comment about her past could be read as dismissive. She ends up with a man after all. Doesn’t that mean her dabbling with women was just a phase?

The same could be said of Rose in my own Snow Roses. She ends up with Snow but she is bisexual. Yes, she is using Boris as a distraction because she and Snow are drifting apart, and yes, he ends up being a horrible monster, but her attraction for him is genuine. Unlike Snow who has no attraction to Otto even when she agrees to marry him for political reasons  It’s surprisingly hard to make sure that comes across in the narrative. Something we often forget when we talk about tropes, stereotypes, and representation, is that readers project their preconceived biases onto characters. Unless the writer takes a lot of care to subvert certain assumptions most readers will see them as if they were written into the narrative.

This makes bisexuality particularly difficult to represent. The focus of any romance story is going to be on the end game couple. Any distraction from them getting together can be read as a mere dalliance or experiment if the reader is predisposed to see it that way. On the other hand if a bisexual character does not have an end game partner it reinforces the idea that bisexual people are necessarily more promiscuous than those attracted to exclusively one gender.

Bisexuality is hard to represent for the same reason it’s hard for a lot of people to wrap their minds around. People don’t like their definitions of people to be hazy and inconclusive, sometimes one thing and sometimes another. Bisexuality is by definition two things at once and that ambiguity not only makes some people uncomfortable it is difficult to convey to those who aren’t looking for it.

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The post Bisexual Representation in Fantasy Literature appeared first on Taryn Tyler.

Is Good Bisexual Representation in Fantasy Literature Possible?

Bisexuality is a largely underrepresented and often misrepresented identity in fiction. At first glance it’s easy to pass judgement on writers for not writing more bisexual characters. In some cases that judgement might even be warranted but how easy is it to depict bisexuality in the short span of a story? Is it possible to represent bisexuality accurately and avoid harmful stereotypes?

Bisexuality is hard for a lot of people to wrap their minds around. We tend to want to see things in definitive terms. Having a fuzzy answer like “Sometimes” to questions like “Do you like girls?” tends to make people uncomfortable. People assume that either you haven’t figured out what you like yet (rude) or that you’re polyamorous or hypersexual. There is nothing wrong with being polyamorous or hypersexual but those two things do not necessarily coincide with bisexuality. A person can just as easily be bisexual, monogamous, or demi sexual. These same assumptions made about bisexuals in real life are likewise projected onto bisexual characters in fantasy novels. 

The very first fantasy book I read with an LGBTQ+ protagonist was Wolfcry by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes. In this novel Olizia, heir to the throne must choose a pair bond but there are a lot of political considerations that make the choice difficult. Lots of men are vying for her attention and the throne when she meets Betia and falls in love. It turns out a marriage to a woman with no possibility of an heir takes a lot of the political pressure off of the decision and allows her to choose her pair bond for love.  Still, it takes her some time to realize that the deep friendship she has formed with Betia is romantic love because she has never considered falling in love with a woman. 

 I loved this book. It was well written and had an underrepresented protagonist. Looking back it was probably the first positive exposure I had to lesbianism. I think I was seventeen when I read it. I distinctly remember thinking that I was supposed to be weirded out by it but actually quite liking it and that was a big step in discovering my own sexuality. Unfortunately, however,  stories like Wolfcry where a protagonist must discover their sexuality can contribute to the idea that a bisexual character is a “confused” character who hasn’t completed their story arch yet. That’s not to de-validate the experience of discovering your sexuality. In a heteronormative world a lot of us assume we’re heterosexual before we’re old enough to have a preference. But, for some, on the other side of discovery is an attraction to both genders and the “gay discovery” narrative does not always address this possibility. 

A well loved fantasy series that features mostly bisexual characters is Ellen Kushner’s Riverside books, Swordpoint, The Privilege of the Sword, and the Fall of Kings. It’s an exciting series, brimming with duels, affairs, decadent parties, and strange ancient magic. The first book, Swordpoint, follows Richard as he fights duels for hire. He is a dangerous, charming swashbuckler who appears to have had many lovers of both genders throughout his life. His current lover is a mysterious and somewhat rude man named Alec whom he appears to be especially besotted with. Their romance is not the central plot but it is very well written with a lot of nuance and complex character development.

Alec appears in the next book, The Privilege of the Sword, as the uncle of the new protagonist Katherine. He is no longer with Richard but instead has many lovers including an actress who is impregnated with his child.  Katherine, a young adolescent girl, challenges a horrible rich man to a duel for raping her friend and while she is training for it learns some things about her own sexual desire  She has a brief crush on the aforementioned actress  and ends up fooling around with her best friend Marcus. It’s unclear whether this relationship lasts. Katherine appears as a minor character in the last book in the series, The Fall of Kings, unmarried with Marcus nearby as an old family friend. This book is full of sex positive messages as well as caution against too much naivety.

The Riverside series depicts a lot of bisexual characters but most of these characters are also hypersexual and many of them have multiple partners at once. Polyamorous representation is great and so is destigmatizing hypersexuality but coupling those two things with bisexuality does reinforce the the idea that bisexuals are more promiscuous than those attracted to a single gender.

A book I read recently featuring a bisexual protagonist is The Wolf and the Hawk by Julian Greystoke. In this book the plot focuses on a heterosexual romance but it is mentioned in the narrative that the protagonist has slept with women in the past. Her sexuality is not a part of the plot at all, just a minor detail about her character. I actually really liked this casual, underwhelming approach to bisexual representation, but it could be argued that reducing that part of her character to a throwaway comment about her past could be read as dismissive. She ends up with a man after all. Doesn’t that mean her dabbling with women was just a phase?

The same could be said of Rose in my own Snow Roses. She ends up with Snow but she is bisexual. Yes, she is using Boris as a distraction because she and Snow are drifting apart, and yes, he ends up being a horrible monster, but her attraction for him is genuine. Unlike Snow who has no attraction to Otto even when she agrees to marry him for political reasons  It’s surprisingly hard to make sure that comes across in the narrative. Something we often forget when we talk about tropes, stereotypes, and representation, is that readers project their preconceived biases onto characters. Unless the writer takes a lot of care to subvert certain assumptions most readers will see them as if they were written into the narrative.

This makes bisexuality particularly difficult to represent. The focus of any romance story is going to be on the end game couple. Any distraction from them getting together can be read as a mere dalliance or experiment if the reader is predisposed to see it that way. On the other hand if a bisexual character does not have an end game partner it reinforces the idea that bisexual people are necessarily more promiscuous than those attracted to exclusively one gender.

Bisexuality is hard to represent for the same reason it’s hard for a lot of people to wrap their minds around. People don’t like their definitions of people to be hazy and inconclusive, sometimes one thing and sometimes another. Bisexuality is by definition two things at once and that ambiguity not only makes some people uncomfortable it is difficult to convey to those who aren’t looking for it.

The post Is Good Bisexual Representation in Fantasy Literature Possible? appeared first on Taryn Tyler.

What is a ���Penny Dreadful���? The Origins of Sweeney Todd and Victorian ���Shiping���

A ���Penny Dreadful��� or ���Penny Blood��� is a sensational story published in serial pamphlets and newspapers and sold for a penny during the 1800s and early 1900s.They share the dark, thrilling themes of many famous gothic novels such as Dracula and Frankenstein and the same serial format as popular fiction of the time such as Great Expectations and Tess of D’Urberville. but were considered much less literary and often blamed for causing crime due to their violent and sometimes sexual content.

Humans have always been fascinated by their own darker nature. Tales of murder and mayhem have been whispered in the dark since the very first campfire. The forbidden can be as intoxicating as it is frightening. Before ���Penny Dreadfuls���, however, most of these dark tales were told orally. Printing books was costly and reserved only for the elite. As a result, literature from the enlightenment age was largely philosophical and moralizing. This changed when the printing press became industrialized. The stories people had always whispered to one another on a cold winter’s night could now be printed and serialized in mass to be clutched by a maid in her room after dark or a stable hand between chores.

Novels of all kinds were serialized in the 1800s. Classics such as Tess of D’Urberville by Thomas Hardy and Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations were published one chapter at a time in popular newspapers. People would anxiously await the weekly installments and discuss them with strong opinions. It was said that hosts of dinner parties would make sure not to put certain guests next to one another for fear that an argument might erupt over whether or not Tess from Tess of D’Urberville was a lady and Dickens rewrote the ending of Great Expectations when there was public outcry that Pip did not marry Estella. These serials, however, were much more costly and read mostly by the upper and middle classes.

Novels featuring the sensational and supernatural were nothing new. What is often regarded as the very first novel, Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes, was a parody of such romances (here meaning a long tale of adventure popular in the renaissance) such as The Faerie Queen by Edward Spencer, La Morte d’Arthur by Sir Thomas Mallory, or Orlando Furioso by Ludovico Ariosto. Dracula and Frankenstein both came from a resurgence of such tales during the romantic period (see more on romanticism here). These gothic novels have stood the test of time but many other novels of the genre such as The Mysteries of Udalpho are less acclaimed and regarded as inferior literature.

Jane Austen’s novel Northanger Abbey is a parody of gothic novels. Unlike the rapturous beauties in  a gothic novel the heroine, Catherine, is described to be quite ordinary. The hero, Mr. Tilny, is not drawn to her out of any unbridled passion but simply because she was pretty, relatively level headed and seemed quite fond of him. The story takes a humorous turn when  she  spends page after page wondering what the origins of a mysterious slip of paper is only to discover that it is an old laundry list.

However much derision gothic novels and romances received for their sensational content and less sophisticated themes it did not compare to the derision heaped upon the ���Penny Dreadful���. The earlier “Penny Dreadfuls” focused mainly on “true crime” but then began to focus on fictional criminals such as the Barber of Fleet Street. Soon more fantastical stories began to join them such as the Vampire Varney and Wagner the Weir-Wolf. These stories featured riveting beauties who both killed and required rescuing, murders, kidnappings, love affairs, duels, robbers, vows, lies, and nobles in disguise. They were violent melodramas focusing more on plot and device than themes or character development. Literary critics called them ���trash��� and they were cited in police reports as the cause of murders and suicides. There was more than one attempt made to have them banned but they continued to be written and circulated in droves .

Louisa May Alcott, author of Little Women, wrote more ���Penny Dreadfuls��� -or “Blood and Thunders” as they were more often called in the states- under the pseudonym A.M. Barnard, than polite novels about young girls. Her novel A Long and Fatal Love Chase was commissioned by a publisher but ultimately rejected for being ���too sensational��� and not published until 1995, more than a hundred years after her death. It is often suggested that her ���Blood and Thunders��� were written for money while Little Women and her other similar stories were her true voice.. However, quotes such as an admission that she had grown “tired of providing moral pap for the young” after the success of Little Women suggests the opposite or, at the very least, that all her stories were written for money.

Much like today, sex, as well as violence sold in the Victorian era. Sexual content was less direct than it is today but it was very often implied. In A Long and Fatal Love Chase the heroine lives with a married man not knowing he is married. When she learns the truth she flees in horror of what she has done, implying that their relationship had not been a chaste one. Nicida, the murderous lover of Wagner in Wagner the Weir-Wolf is kidnapped by pirates and almost “possessed”  by the pirate captain before she is rescued. She and Wagner then live together on the Island for months and the narration refers to them as ���husband and wife���, again implying that their relations are not chaste.

The public���s craving for thrilling, sensational stories has never gone away nor has the critic���s assesment that such stories are inferior literature. In later years ���Penny Dreadfuls��� and ���Blood and Thunders” gave way to “Pulp Fiction”, mass produced paperbacks made with cheap pulped paper. A modern equivalent to a ���Penny Dreadful��� might be a�� TV show such as the True Blood or Supernatural. It���s not meant to be high quality storytelling. It���s not meant to make it���s consumers reflect on social issues or come to terms with pieces of their own nature. It���s pure entertainment meant to provide escape and an outlet for the natural human fascination with darkness. It may never take the place of more sophisticated and meticulously crafted stories but it will also never stop being popular.

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The post What is a ���Penny Dreadful���? The Origins of Sweeney Todd and Victorian ���Shiping��� appeared first on Taryn Tyler.

What is a “Penny Dreadful”? The Origins of Sweeney Todd and Victorian “Shiping”

A “Penny Dreadful” or “Penny Blood” is a sensational story published in serial pamphlets and newspapers and sold for a penny during the 1800s and early 1900s.They share the dark, thrilling themes of many famous gothic novels such as Dracula and Frankenstein and the same serial format as popular fiction of the time such as Great Expectations and Tess of D’Urberville. but were considered much less literary and often blamed for causing crime due to their violent and sometimes sexual content.

Humans have always been fascinated by their own darker nature. Tales of murder and mayhem have been whispered in the dark since the very first campfire. The forbidden can be as intoxicating as it is frightening. Before “Penny Dreadfuls”, however, most of these dark tales were told orally. Printing books was costly and reserved only for the elite. As a result, literature from the enlightenment age was largely philosophical and moralizing. This changed when the printing press became industrialized. The stories people had always whispered to one another on a cold winter’s night could now be printed and serialized in mass to be clutched by a maid in her room after dark or a stable hand between chores.

Novels of all kinds were serialized in the 1800s. Classics such as Tess of D’Urberville by Thomas Hardy and Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations were published one chapter at a time in popular newspapers. People would anxiously await the weekly installments and discuss them with strong opinions. It was said that hosts of dinner parties would make sure not to put certain guests next to one another for fear that an argument might erupt over whether or not Tess from Tess of D’Urberville was a lady and Dickens rewrote the ending of Great Expectations when there was public outcry that Pip did not marry Estella. These serials, however, were much more costly and read mostly by the upper and middle classes.

Novels featuring the sensational and supernatural were nothing new. What is often regarded as the very first novel, Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes, was a parody of such romances (here meaning a long tale of adventure popular in the renaissance) such as The Faerie Queen by Edward Spencer, La Morte d’Arthur by Sir Thomas Mallory, or Orlando Furioso by Ludovico Ariosto. Dracula and Frankenstein both came from a resurgence of such tales during the romantic period (see more on romanticism here). These gothic novels have stood the test of time but many other novels of the genre such as The Mysteries of Udalpho are less acclaimed and regarded as inferior literature.

Jane Austen’s novel Northanger Abbey is a parody of gothic novels. Unlike the rapturous beauties in  a gothic novel the heroine, Catherine, is described to be quite ordinary. The hero, Mr. Tilny, is not drawn to her out of any unbridled passion but simply because she was pretty, relatively level headed and seemed quite fond of him. The story takes a humorous turn when  she  spends page after page wondering what the origins of a mysterious slip of paper is only to discover that it is an old laundry list.

However much derision gothic novels and romances received for their sensational content and less sophisticated themes it did not compare to the derision heaped upon the “Penny Dreadful”. The earlier “Penny Dreadfuls” focused mainly on “true crime” but then began to focus on fictional criminals such as the Barber of Fleet Street. Soon more fantastical stories began to join them such as the Vampire Varney and Wagner the Weir-Wolf. These stories featured riveting beauties who both killed and required rescuing, murders, kidnappings, love affairs, duels, robbers, vows, lies, and nobles in disguise. They were violent melodramas focusing more on plot and device than themes or character development. Literary critics called them “trash” and they were cited in police reports as the cause of murders and suicides. There was more than one attempt made to have them banned but they continued to be written and circulated in droves .

Louisa May Alcott, author of Little Women, wrote more “Penny Dreadfuls” -or “Blood and Thunders” as they were more often called in the states- under the pseudonym A.M. Barnard, than polite novels about young girls. Her novel A Long and Fatal Love Chase was commissioned by a publisher but ultimately rejected for being “too sensational” and not published until 1995, more than a hundred years after her death. It is often suggested that her “Blood and Thunders” were written for money while Little Women and her other similar stories were her true voice.. However, quotes such as an admission that she had grown “tired of providing moral pap for the young” after the success of Little Women suggests the opposite or, at the very least, that all her stories were written for money.

Much like today, sex, as well as violence sold in the Victorian era. Sexual content was less direct than it is today but it was very often implied. In A Long and Fatal Love Chase the heroine lives with a married man not knowing he is married. When she learns the truth she flees in horror of what she has done, implying that their relationship had not been a chaste one. Nicida, the murderous lover of Wagner in Wagner the Weir-Wolf is kidnapped by pirates and almost “possessed”  by the pirate captain before she is rescued. She and Wagner then live together on the Island for months and the narration refers to them as “husband and wife”, again implying that their relations are not chaste.

The public’s craving for thrilling, sensational stories has never gone away nor has the critic’s assortment that such stories are inferior literature. In later years “Penny Dreadfuls” and “Blood and Thunders” gave way to “Pulp Fiction”, mass produced paperbacks made with cheap pulped paper. A modern equivalent to a “Penny Dreadful” might be a  TV show such as the True Blood or Supernatural. It’s not meant to be high quality storytelling. It’s not meant to make it’s consumers reflect on social issues or come to terms with pieces of their own nature. It’s pure entertainment meant to provide escape and an outlet for the natural human fascination with darkness. It may never take the place of more sophisticated and meticulously crafted stories but it will also never stop being popular.

The post What is a “Penny Dreadful”? The Origins of Sweeney Todd and Victorian “Shiping” appeared first on Taryn Tyler.

A Spirit of One���s Own: A Contemplation on Virginia Woolf and What One Needs to Create Art

In Virginia Woolf���s long, 1929 essay ���A Room of One���s Own��� she writes about the conditions necessary to create works of art. She is specifically concerned with why there have been so few women authors and poets throughout history due to the lack of material resources available to them. 

Creation requires a certain amount of leisure time. Those who do not enjoy that leisure time cannot create as easily or as often as those who do. Throughout her essay Woolf stresses that physical needs must be met in order for the mind to find this leisure time. Physical needs, however, represent the ability to preserve and protect the real resource needed to create works of fiction. 

Energy. 

Mental, emotional, and physical energy can be drained in a variety of ways. While it may seem as if free  time alone can give you the pathway to creativity that is not always the case.

Virginia Woolf states in her essay that ���A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction.��� but the reason for these needs is more important than the specific needs themselves. These needs represent not only the physical necessities of survival but the lack of stress spent worrying about how to obtain them. ���Leisure time��� is not time by itself. It is time to be at leisure. Time not to worry. Not to stress. Time to allow inspiration to take hold.

The iconic image of a starving artist has long been cemented in our minds. A poet alone with nothing but their pen and parchment, crouched beneath a leaking roof in their one room apartment, using their last candle to create their greatest masterpiece. But does this iconic image hold up to fact? Virgina Woolf says not. The majority of successful writers throughout history, according to Woolf,  have been university men. Men who were granted the time and means to study in an era when resources to do so were very rare. These men did not have to cook or clean, or in some cases, even shop for themselves. Some did not even have secondary professions. Their minds were free to explore and wander and weave fascinating stories and brilliant philosophies with paper and ink. 

Women, on the other hand, were tasked with the more mundane duties of housekeeping and child rearing. They were not given books to study as girls. They were not allowed to hold most professions and could often not even inherit wealth from their brothers and fathers. For a large portion of our history it was almost impossible for a woman to make a living without a husband or brother or father whom they were then required to care for. They seldom had the time –or energy–to scribble sonnets and craft novels and discover great truths. The women who were able to create works of art in spite of these obstacles were exceptional. 

Conditions for women are much better today but there is still, for many families, an unequal amount of responsibility placed upon women in the home just as there is still a large pay gap between what a man is paid for the same work as a woman. Even to this day a woman���s time is not valued as much by most of society as a man���s.

Women, of course, are not the only ones who face such challenges in today���s society. The same obstacles belong to any persons or demographic that struggles to obtain the basic necessities required to survive. This unequal amount of effort required by some to obtain resources is a large part of what we call ���privilege” and puts many at an unfair disadvantage. Some people are simply required to expend more energy to produce the same results whether because of gender, race, sexuality, mental health challenges, or economic status. 

The drive to create can so easily be thwarted by a lack of resources because resources are what a creative needs to protect their energy. The fact that so many struggle to obtain these resources means that many creative voices are not being heard. 

In a very literal sense food and rest sustain energy but worrying about how to fulfill those needs drains energy. According to poet William Wordsworth poetry is ���intense emotions recollected in tranquility���. Extreme conditions and traumatic experiences can inspire beautiful works of art but tranquility is also needed in order to do the creation itself. Leisure time is required. Time that is not only free of hard work but also free of worry and distress. Because, no matter how passionate an artist is about their work it is still work. Like any job it requires the use of mental, emotional, and sometimes even physical energy. 

Productivity is highly valued in our society. We are addicted to being busy and constantly ���producing��� results. We have apps to track our ���progress��� and surveys to compare our results. This constant need to be moving and doing as if one were a machine can be detrimental to anyone���s mental health but it  is especially detrimental to creation. 

Creativity is not the same thing as productivity. They both require mental, emotional, and physical energy as well as self discipline but while productivity is about what a person does. Creativity is about who a person is. 

Creativity cannot be manufactured. It cannot be reduced to a formula or measured on a chart. It cannot be guaranteed. One might be able force oneself to be productive despite poor energy levels but one cannot force oneself to be creative. 

Creativity requires the reflection of oneself. It requires giving the mind the freedom to wander aimlessly from thought to thought. It requires letting go of the utilitarian mindset -the desire to ���optimize��� or ���utilize��� everything -and embracing the richness of every moment for the sake of the experience. It requires the luxury of being still. A luxury that is almost impossible to obtain without the basic necessities of life.

It is absolutely true that in order to write one needs money and a room of one���s own but that is only the outward part of the requirement. The means to the end. In order to write -or create any work of art -one needs a spirit of one���s own. 

Protect your spirit my creative friends. It is the most valuable thing you own. All of our voices deserve to be heard.��

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The post A Spirit of One���s Own: A Contemplation on Virginia Woolf and What One Needs to Create Art appeared first on Taryn Tyler.

A Spirit of One’s Own: A Contemplation on Virginia Woolf and What One Needs to Create Art

In Virginia Woolf’s long, 1929 essay “A Room of One’s Own” she writes about the conditions necessary to create works of art. She is specifically concerned with why there have been so few women authors and poets throughout history due to the lack of material resources available to them. 

Creation requires a certain amount of leisure time. Those who do not enjoy that leisure time cannot create as easily or as often as those who do. Throughout her essay Woolf stresses that physical needs must be met in order for the mind to find this leisure time. Physical needs, however, represent the ability to preserve and protect the real resource needed to create works of fiction. 

Energy. 

Mental, emotional, and physical energy can be drained in a variety of ways. While it may seem as if free  time alone can give you the pathway to creativity that is not always the case.

Virginia Woolf states in her essay that “A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction.” but the reason for these needs is more important than the specific needs themselves. These needs represent not only the physical necessities of survival but the lack of stress spent worrying about how to obtain them. “Leisure time” is not time by itself. It is time to be at leisure. Time not to worry. Not to stress. Time to allow inspiration to take hold.

The iconic image of a starving artist has long been cemented in our minds. A poet alone with nothing but their pen and parchment, crouched beneath a leaking roof in their one room apartment, using their last candle to create their greatest masterpiece. But does this iconic image hold up to fact? Virgina Woolf says not. The majority of successful writers throughout history, according to Woolf,  have been university men. Men who were granted the time and means to study in an era when resources to do so were very rare. These men did not have to cook or clean, or in some cases, even shop for themselves. Some did not even have secondary professions. Their minds were free to explore and wander and weave fascinating stories and brilliant philosophies with paper and ink. 

Women, on the other hand, were tasked with the more mundane duties of housekeeping and child rearing. They were not given books to study as girls. They were not allowed to hold most professions and could often not even inherit wealth from their brothers and fathers. For a large portion of our history it was almost impossible for a woman to make a living without a husband or brother or father whom they were then required to care for. They seldom had the time –or energy–to scribble sonnets and craft novels and discover great truths. The women who were able to create works of art in spite of these obstacles were exceptional. 

Conditions for women are much better today but there is still, for many families, an unequal amount of responsibility placed upon women in the home just as there is still a large pay gap between what a man is paid for the same work as a woman. Even to this day a woman’s time is not valued as much by most of society as a man’s.

Women, of course, are not the only ones who face such challenges in today’s society. The same obstacles belong to any persons or demographic that struggles to obtain the basic necessities required to survive. This unequal amount of effort required by some to obtain resources is a large part of what we call “privilege” and puts many at an unfair disadvantage. Some people are simply required to expend more energy to produce the same results whether because of gender, race, sexuality, mental health challenges, or economic status. 

The drive to create can so easily be thwarted by a lack of resources because resources are what a creative needs to protect their energy. The fact that so many struggle to obtain these resources means that many creative voices are not being heard. 

In a very literal sense food and rest sustain energy but worrying about how to fulfill those needs drains energy. According to poet William Wordsworth poetry is “intense emotions recollected in tranquility”. Extreme conditions and traumatic experiences can inspire beautiful works of art but tranquility is also needed in order to do the creation itself. Leisure time is required. Time that is not only free of hard work but also free of worry and distress. Because, no matter how passionate an artist is about their work it is still work. Like any job it requires the use of mental, emotional, and sometimes even physical energy. 

Productivity is highly valued in our society. We are addicted to being busy and constantly “producing” results. We have apps to track our “progress” and surveys to compare our results. This constant need to be moving and doing as if one were a machine can be detrimental to anyone’s mental health but it  is especially detrimental to creation. 

Creativity is not the same thing as productivity. They both require mental, emotional, and physical energy as well as self discipline but while productivity is about what a person does. Creativity is about who a person is. 

Creativity cannot be manufactured. It cannot be reduced to a formula or measured on a chart. It cannot be guaranteed. One might be able force oneself to be productive despite poor energy levels but one cannot force oneself to be creative. 

Creativity requires the reflection of oneself. It requires giving the mind the freedom to wander aimlessly from thought to thought. It requires letting go of the utilitarian mindset -the desire to “optimize” or “utilize” everything -and embracing the richness of every moment for the sake of the experience. It requires the luxury of being still. A luxury that is almost impossible to obtain without the basic necessities of life.

It is absolutely true that in order to write one needs money and a room of one’s own but that is only the outward part of the requirement. The means to the end. In order to write -or create any work of art -one needs a spirit of one’s own. 

Protect your spirit my creative friends. It is the most valuable thing you own. All of our voices deserve to be heard. 

The post A Spirit of One’s Own: A Contemplation on Virginia Woolf and What One Needs to Create Art appeared first on Taryn Tyler.

Keeping the Human Spirit Alive Through Romanticism

“The Nightmare” by Henry Fuseli

Romanticism. The word might inspire thoughts of roses and candlelight. Long walks in the countryside or lyrical prose. Perhaps it puts you in mind of someone who is out of touch with reality or who caves in to their emotions too readily.

Romanticism was an intellectual movement at the beginning of the nineteenth century that has greatly impacted our literature and media. It is often associated with idealism and “softening” harsh truths, but true romanticism invites us to embrace darkness right along with the light. It is a philosophy that seeks beauty and depth in all experiences and encourages us to embrace life with complete abandon.

Romanticism was birthed at the beginning of the nineteenth century right at the onset of the industrial revolution. Rural life, which had remained more or less the same for centuries, was turned upside down as people moved to cities for jobs in factories. The familiar world of tending the land gave way to standardized time and machines. People who were used to spending large amounts of time outside were now cooped up indoors for long hours completing repetitive tasks. Philosophies such as utilitarianism gained popularity as things -and people-were valued based on their usefulness and efficiency.

Romanticism was a counter culture to this new way of life. It emphasized nature and emotions and doing things for the sake of doing them rather than for a practical purpose.

The romantic poets, who  were the major forerunners of the movement along with painters and musicians, were like rock stars in their time. Most of them died early deaths from their passionate, aimless lifestyle but they were able to capture the intensity of the human spirit in their work and inspire not only the people of their own time but generations of people after their deaths.

There are several components to their philosophy that allowed them to capture this spirit. One of which was the celebration of nature.

Gothic novels from the romantic era, paintings, and romantic poems are littered with rich, elaborate depictions of lakes and trees and birds. The romantics believed that nature was a soothing and therapeutic source but they also celebrated the darker components of nature. Earlier generations often saw nature as a dangerous reality that must be conquered but to the romantics a deadly storm or hungry beast could still be beautiful.

Caspar David Friedrich’s “Wanderer above the Fog” is a perfect example of how the romantics depicted dangerous pieces of nature as beautiful and awe inspiring.

“Wanderer Above the Fog” by Casper David Friedrich

Monster’s, both real and supernatural, were also depicted as fascinating, awe inspiring, and sometimes even sympathetic. Both Dracula from Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula and Frankenstein’s monster from Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein are described in fascinating and tantalizing detail. Frankenstein’s monster (or Frankenstein Jr.) is even described with sympathy. He is not monstrous by nature but a tragic hero who is pushed into murder and terror by an ostrosizing society.  

This idea of romanticizing darkness is often misunderstood by today’s generation. Our minds are so trained to label things as “good” or “bad” that the idea of seeing beauty in something harmful is hard for us to comprehend. It is, however, the very act of embracing things that we fear that gives us the power to overcome them.

This is illustrated when Van Helsing, the man who studies vampires, is the only one with enough knowledge to defeat Dracula. Similarly, depicting Frankenstein’s monster as a tragic hero does not condone his murderous deeds. Rather it serves as a caution for us to consider the pain we inflict when we osterosize and be more aware of what path we may be heading down when we find ourselves ruminating against those who have harmed us.

It is in our nature to be drawn to frightening things. Romanticism acknowledges this. This is not the same as calling them “good” or pretending that these things are safe. On the contrary, the acknowledgement of the allure of darkness allows us to explore ourselves and our world with more depth so that we can understand them more. With understanding comes the tools we need to overcome.

Another way the romantics explore this need for acknowledging the darkness is through their emphasis on emotions. William Woodsworth called poetry an “overflow of powerful feeling.” (Lyrical Ballads) Some such contemplations feature happy, listless feelings but many feature dark emotions or, more frequently, a combination of dark and light emotions that more accurately represent the human experience.

Keats’ “Ode to a Nightingale” is one such poem in which Keats – who lived much of his short life knowing that he was dying of consumption- lauds the beauty of a bird’s song in comparison to his painful and fading life. The beauty of the song reminds him of his plight and serves as a wake up call to reality.

Forlorn! the very word is like a bell
To toll me back from thee to my sole self!

And yet the beauty of the song also reminds him of his own spirit. The piece of him that recognizes the beauty of the song and fills him with longing.

Thou wast not born for death, immortal Bird!
No hungry generations tread thee down

Emotion is not something that is regulated in romanticism. It is not controlled or fought against. It is embraced. Experienced. Chased. It is let loose in passionate declarations of love, perilous journeys through storms, and dark laments of despair. Emotion cannot be harnessed or manufactured by a machine in a factory. Rather it is a wild and beautiful part of the human experience that cannot and should not be tamed.

This belief in intense emotions was one of the ways the romantics manifested their belief in keeping the human spirit alive. Particularly the spirit of the “common man”. They were hearty supporters of the French Revolution because of their admiration of commoners who stood up to the aristocracy. This is depicted most clearly in Robbie Burns’ “A Man for A that”, a poem written in beautiful Scottish vernacular declaring that any man, no matter how poor, is still a man.

Is there for honest Poverty
That hings his head, an’ a’ that;
The coward slave – we pass him by,
We dare be poor for a’ that!

This unapologetic celebration of the common man is in direct opposition to one concept that is often mistakenly associated with romanticism: Idealism. 

We often associate the word “romantic” as being out of touch with reality or imposing unrealistic expectations on a person or situation. In actuality the idea that there is a perfect mean that should be conformed to has more to do with classicism than romanticism.

While the Greeks and Romans sought perfection and symmetry in their art the romantics sought to depict what is. To the romantics imperfections are beautiful because they are a part of the truth and truth, not appearance, is most valued. The reality of what is, not the ideal of what should be, is what they strive to embrace and understand. 

This is most succinctly expressed in Keats’ poem “Ode on a Grecian Urn”. In the ode he admires an ancient Urn from Greece. His admiration, however, is not for its perfect shape and pure white color but for how it cannot be altered by time. This unalterability is reverent to him in a world that is constantly changing. He ends the ode with the line

 “Beauty is truth, truth beauty,—that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.”

The romantic ideal is to embrace reality, to revel in it and see the beauty in it. This is why they write so seductively of darkness and savor even their most brooding thoughts and emotions. Romanticism is not a glorification of darkness nor is it a blind belief in pretty ideals. Romanticism is to chase life with complete abandon, to embrace every moment of it and revel in the irrepressible fire of the human spirit. 

At the onset of the 21st century we find ourselves once again at a crossroads in how we live our lives. The digital age, like the industrial revolution, has greatly altered the ways in which we earn a living and how we interact with each other on a daily basis. Bars and public houses have given way to social media and online forums as sources of gossip, information, and social interaction. Large portions of our days are now filled with spreadsheets, org charts, statistics, averages, templates, and autocorrect. So much that cold, detached words like “longevity” are now used to describe our relationships with friends and family while we are constantly encouraged to look for ways to “optimize” our lives as if it were a computer program.

For all the conveniences and mobility this digital world has given us it can leave us feeling detached or  even deficient for not adhering to the statistics we read or being able to perform with the uniform precision of a computer. We stare at our devices, not living out the promise of possibility and connection, but out of touch with the reality around us. Numb. Strangers to ourselves and to each other and unable to face or acknowledge the inevitable darkness in our lives.

It is time for a new romantic era. Don’t let statistics and averages shape who you are. Chase the things that scare you. Explore your emotions without judgement. Look around you and appreciate, savor, and embrace the things that are. Find the beauty in each moment. Because you -the common man, woman, or anything in between-matter and your spirit deserves to be kept alive.

Thou wast not born for death, immortal Bird!

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The post Keeping the Human Spirit Alive Through Romanticism appeared first on Taryn Tyler.

Frozen 2 and The Hero’s Journey

Frozen 2 is not based off of a fairytale but it uses an old format steeped in mythology as the structure of Anna and Elsa’s adventures. 

WARNING: MAJOR FROZEN 2 SPOILERS.

In 1949 Joseph Campell described seventeen stages of what he called the monomyth, or the Hero’s Journey in his book “The Hero With a Thousand Faces”. The monomyth is the story of a hero or heroine who leaves home for a quest and returns changed. Campbell based the structure off of his observations and the observations of scholars who came before him of myths across cultures that have been told for centuries and contain motifs that consistently repeat themselves. According to Campbel not all stories use all seventeen stages of the monomyth –in fact few do–but all stories contain at least one.

The Hero’s Journey offers a clear skeletal structure that has been taught in film school and literature classes for years. Hollywood has long used it as a template to manufacture their films and Disney’s Frozen 2 is no exception. In fact, I have seldom seen a more direct and literal manifestation of the monomyth. It encompasses at least eleven of the seventeen stages and contains a song (or two in some cases) to represent seven of them.

The monomyth begins with the “status quo” or ordinary life. This is where we meet the hero or heroes and learn what their life is like, who they are, and what they care about. They have no idea what is about to change their lives and push them into their great journey of discovery and self actualization. One could almost say that they believe that “Some Things Never Change” as Anna so blissfully sings in Frozen 2’s second musical number. Elsa and Kristof join in, clearly chronicling their goals and desires. Anna wants merely to frolic and enjoy life with her friends, Kristof wants to propose to Anna, and Elsa wants things to remain stable as she enjoys each moment. All three characters want to hold on to the hard earned connections with each other that they won in the first film. This theme of connection vs separation is repeated throughout the film.

Next comes the call to adventure (also called the unknown), often accompanied by a refusal to the call. These stages are woven together in Elsa’s flagship ballad “Into the Unknown”, in which a voice quite literally calls her out of her castle into the cold night air for reasons she can’t explain. She resists at first but in the end succumbs to the siren pull of the voice. This surrender enacts dangerous elements that quickly threaten the life she knows and send her and her sister off on a quest to seek answers. Here she has already taken the first step toward transformation and there is no going back.

The stages meeting the mentor and crossing the threshold are not sung about but they can be very easily identified in the moment Anna speaks to the troll king and the moment when Anna, Elsa, Kristof, and Olaf cross into the magic forest. The troll king gives Anna valuable advice that she will need later when things are at their darkest and and once the characters have entered the forest they are literally sealed in until they finish their quest. Both moments are very literal. Olaf even says as they cross into the forest “Forests are a place of transformation.” This cheeky, direct acknowledgement of the film’s format is another motif that is repeated throughout, creating a literal representation of things that are usually more metaphorical and symbolic. 

The stage tests, allies, and enemies, is divided into two songs. In Olaf’s “When I’m Older” the snowman meanders through the dangers of the wood unable to make sense of it all without his friends near him.This is an ironic representation of his naivety as he becomes acquainted with darkness.  He believes that his fear is because of his immaturity but in reality he is barely escaping destruction at every turn. Kristof’s “Lost in the Woods” is another metaphor turned literal turned metaphor again as he laments feeling lost without Anna while he is also, of course, quite literally lost in the woods. In both songs the real enemy seems to be division and separation as the trials only appear when the characters are separated from one another. This separation is in direct opposition to their mutual desires expressed at the beginning of the film to hold on to each other.

The stage known as the dragon’s lair is where the hero faces their biggest danger yet and gains wisdom.This stage is capsulized with Elsa’s song “Show Yourself”, a moment of self-actualization in which she uses her powers to find out the truth and the source of the voice that had been calling her -herself. Here she begins to come to terms with the idea of separation and change as she realizes how powerful she really is. She listens intently to her own voice and gains knowledge. At the end of the song, however, in another metaphor made literal Elsa goes too far and freezes herself to death with the cold, bitter truth.

Next comes the moment of despair. Anna takes this one with her dark, almost depressing, number “The Next Right Thing”. Here she remembers the advice the troll king gave her and rallies herself literally from the floor of a cave, completely alone, and finds the strength to make things right again. Not for herself but for the new friends and allies she has met in the woods. This marks a very real moment of growth for her as she must rely completely on herself for, possibly, the very first time. This growth and independence is the ultimate treasure. Both sisters have now undergone a complete internal transformation. They have traveled all this way to seek the truth of a mysterious voice but what they have really discovered is truths about their own inner strengths.

As Anna uses her new strength to set things right she enters the homeward bound stage of the sisters’ shared journey. She must return to the rest of the world with her new gift -her own independence. It is interesting that the phrase “homeward bound” is used in the only song in the film that does not correlate directly to a stage of the monomyth. “All is Found” is a lullaby sung by Anna and Elsa’s mother at the very beginning of the film and is, in a sense, the riddle the girls are trying to solve. So the story ends where it began. With both girls coming back home to themselves by learning self reliance from the very source that nurtured them in their infancy. 

Finally, there is the resurrection and final transformation stage. When Anna puts things right Elsa is restored to life. She emerges with more power than ever and saves her kingdom from eminent destruction. This is the final threshold. The final ordeal. The transformation is complete and she kicks ass. As the film comes to a close both Anna and Elsa have overcome their fear of separation with independence and self trust and can now work together with their very different strengths. Because even though independence is their treasure interdependence is how they can use it. Elsa needed Anna to bring her back to life just as Anna needed Elsa to stop the raging waters from destroying their kingdom.

Frozen 2 is not the first or only film that uses the monomyth format but the directness with which it uses the archetypical story structure is charming and more than a little bit meta. It’s almost as if Disney is saying to its audience, “Yes, we know you’ve seen this story before but we also know you want to keep seeing it.”

Not every manifestation of the monomyth is good. There are plenty of flat and lackluster versions of the hero’s journey but there is also a reason we keep telling it over and over. We use stories to better understand ourselves so watching a character learn about themselves through an epic journey is already meta. We all want to understand the world and ourselves better so that we can be transformed and kick ass too.  Perhaps that is why the monomyth has been frozen in time.

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The post Frozen 2 and The Hero’s Journey appeared first on Taryn Tyler.

Frozen Fractals of the Hero’s Journey

Frozen 2 is not based off of a fairytale but it uses an old format steeped in mythology as the structure of Anna and Elsa’s adventures. 

WARNING: MAJOR FROZEN 2 SPOILERS.

In 1949 Joseph Campell described seventeen stages of what he called the monomyth, or the Hero’s Journey in his book “The Hero With a Thousand Faces”. The monomyth is the story of a hero or heroine who leaves home for a quest and returns changed. Campbell based the structure off of his observations and the observations of scholars who came before him of myths across cultures that have been told for centuries and contain motifs that consistently repeat themselves. According to Campbel not all stories use all seventeen stages of the monomyth –in fact few do–but all stories contain at least one.

The Hero’s Journey offers a clear skeletal structure that has been taught in film school and literature classes for years. Hollywood has long used it as a template to manufacture their films and Disney’s Frozen 2 is no exception. In fact, I have seldom seen a more direct and literal manifestation of the monomyth. It encompasses at least eleven of the seventeen stages and contains a song (or two in some cases) to represent seven of them.

The monomyth begins with the “status quo” or ordinary life. This is where we meet the hero or heroes and learn what their life is like, who they are, and what they care about. They have no idea what is about to change their lives and push them into their great journey of discovery and self actualization. One could almost say that they believe that “Some Things Never Change” as Anna so blissfully sings in Frozen 2’s second musical number. Elsa and Kristof join in, clearly chronicling their goals and desires. Anna wants merely to frolic and enjoy life with her friends, Kristof wants to propose to Anna, and Elsa wants things to remain stable as she enjoys each moment. All three characters want to hold on to the hard earned connections with each other that they won in the first film. This theme of connection vs separation is repeated throughout the film.

Next comes the call to adventure (also called the unknown), often accompanied by a refusal to the call. These stages are woven together in Elsa’s flagship ballad “Into the Unknown”, in which a voice quite literally calls her out of her castle into the cold night air for reasons she can’t explain. She resists at first but in the end succumbs to the siren pull of the voice. This surrender enacts dangerous elements that quickly threaten the life she knows and send her and her sister off on a quest to seek answers. Here she has already taken the first step toward transformation and there is no going back.

The stages meeting the mentor and crossing the threshold are not sung about but they can be very easily identified in the moment Anna speaks to the troll king and the moment when Anna, Elsa, Kristof, and Olaf cross into the magic forest. The troll king gives Anna valuable advice that she will need later when things are at their darkest and and once the characters have entered the forest they are literally sealed in until they finish their quest. Both moments are very literal. Olaf even says as they cross into the forest “Forests are a place of transformation.” This cheeky, direct acknowledgement of the film’s format is another motif that is repeated throughout, creating a literal representation of things that are usually more metaphorical and symbolic. 

The stage tests, allies, and enemies, is divided into two songs. In Olaf’s “When I’m Older” the snowman meanders through the dangers of the wood unable to make sense of it all without his friends near him.This is an ironic representation of his naivety as he becomes acquainted with darkness.  He believes that his fear is because of his immaturity but in reality he is barely escaping destruction at every turn. Kristof’s “Lost in the Woods” is another metaphor turned literal turned metaphor again as he laments feeling lost without Anna while he is also, of course, quite literally lost in the woods. In both songs the real enemy seems to be division and separation as the trials only appear when the characters are separated from one another. This separation is in direct opposition to their mutual desires expressed at the beginning of the film to hold on to each other.

The stage known as the dragon’s lair is where the hero faces their biggest danger yet and gains wisdom.This stage is capsulized with Elsa’s song “Show Yourself”, a moment of self-actualization in which she uses her powers to find out the truth and the source of the voice that had been calling her -herself. Here she begins to come to terms with the idea of separation and change as she realizes how powerful she really is. She listens intently to her own voice and gains knowledge. At the end of the song, however, in another metaphor made literal Elsa goes too far and freezes herself to death with the cold, bitter truth.

Next comes the moment of despair. Anna takes this one with her dark, almost depressing, number “The Next Right Thing”. Here she remembers the advice the troll king gave her and rallies herself literally from the floor of a cave, completely alone, and finds the strength to make things right again. Not for herself but for the new friends and allies she has met in the woods. This marks a very real moment of growth for her as she must rely completely on herself for, possibly, the very first time. This growth and independence is the ultimate treasure. Both sisters have now undergone a complete internal transformation. They have traveled all this way to seek the truth of a mysterious voice but what they have really discovered is truths about their own inner strengths.

As Anna uses her new strength to set things right she enters the homeward bound stage of the sisters’ shared journey. She must return to the rest of the world with her new gift -her own independence. It is interesting that the phrase “homeward bound” is used in the only song in the film that does not correlate directly to a stage of the monomyth. “All is Found” is a lullaby sung by Anna and Elsa’s mother at the very beginning of the film and is, in a sense, the riddle the girls are trying to solve. So the story ends where it began. With both girls coming back home to themselves by learning self reliance from the very source that nurtured them in their infancy. 

Finally, there is the resurrection and final transformation stage. When Anna puts things right Elsa is restored to life. She emerges with more power than ever and saves her kingdom from eminent destruction. This is the final threshold. The final ordeal. The transformation is complete and she kicks ass. As the film comes to a close both Anna and Elsa have overcome their fear of separation with independence and self trust and can now work together with their very different strengths. Because even though independence is their treasure interdependence is how they can use it. Elsa needed Anna to bring her back to life just as Anna needed Elsa to stop the raging waters from destroying their kingdom.

Frozen 2 is not the first or only film that uses the monomyth format but the directness with which it uses the archetypical story structure is charming and more than a little bit meta. It’s almost as if Disney is saying to its audience, “Yes, we know you’ve seen this story before but we also know you want to keep seeing it.”

Not every manifestation of the monomyth is good. There are plenty of flat and lackluster versions of the hero’s journey but there is also a reason we keep telling it over and over. We use stories to better understand ourselves so watching a character learn about themselves through an epic journey is already meta. We all want to understand the world and ourselves better so that we can be transformed and kick ass too.  Perhaps that is why the monomth has been frozen in time.

The post Frozen Fractals of the Hero’s Journey appeared first on Taryn Tyler.