Unburied Fables Questions - Handsome & the Beast, The Grateful Princess & Odd!

[Rose]

Discussion Questions for Handsome & the Beast, The Grateful Princess and Odd!

Handsome & the Beast
The first story in the anthology is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast!

-What background do you have with the original fairy tale?

-What elements of the original does the author change?

-What elements are kept the same?

-One common aspect of fairy tales is repetition. What effect does the repeated line “Fate might have heard” have on the narrative?

-How do the characters respect the rules of fairy tales? What rules did you notice?

-What significance do the colors of the rose and uniform have?

-How does Handsome grow and change?

-How do the various rooms and dreams hint at the true nature of the castle and the Beast?

-”Sometimes there is more goodness in the hearts of Beasts than in those of people.” This is a significant quote in the story; what meaning does it have in a greater context? What is the significance of the person being perceived as a Beast? How does Handsome see through that? And how is it also significant that Handsome is handsome while the Beast is a beast?

-What impact does Handsome’s speech have?

-What kind of happily ever after does this tale have?

-If you had to pick a moral for this tale, what would the moral be? Why?


The Grateful Princess
The second story in the anthology is based on an Estonian fairy tale called The Grateful Prince.

-What background do you have with the original fairy tale?

-What elements of the original does the author change?

-What elements are kept the same?

-What common fairy tale tropes do you notice? How does the author utilize them?

-How do we see Tuline falling for Lind? How does the author take this common trope and make it gay?

-How does this story utilize repetition? What effect does it have on the plot and pacing?

-What role do strangers play in fairy tales? How is this a reflection on real life and how are characters’ various reactions to strangers a lesson for children?

-How do Lind’s actions show her own feelings for Tuline?

-What kind of happily ever after does this tale have?

-Tell me about the life you imagine Tuline and Lind having together.

-If you had to pick a moral for the story, what would it be? Why?

Odd
(Psst, Amy here. this is my story! :D) The third story int he anthology is based on the fairy tale Rumplestiltskin.

-What background do you have with the original fairy tale?

-What elements of the original does the author change?

-What elements are kept the same?

-Bragging is also a common fairy tale trope. What role does bragging play in the story? How could that trope be used to teach children lessons?

-In what ways is the king very like men in positions of power? How does he use this against Sofia?

-It is important for Sofia to remain true to herself in this story. In what ways does she defy the king, his expectations, and the expectations of society to stay true to herself?

-How does Sofia’s curiosity help her?

-What types of repetition do you see in this short story? How do they play into the plot?

-What future do you imagine for Sofia?

-What other fairy tale tropes did you notice? How did they impact the story?

-What kind of happily ever after did this story have?

-If you had to pick a moral, what would it be? Why?

While I know the questions are set up by story, I wanted to take a moment to talk about fairy tales and see what the three stories we’ve read so far have in common! Other than happily ever afters, of course!

-What are common fairy tale tropes you see in all three tales? What predictions do you have for tropes we might continue to see?

-Which tropes are your favorites? Which are less so? Why?

-All three of the stories involve some kind of stranger; why do you think strangers feature so prominently in fairy tales? What lessons can be learned from the way the various tales deal with meeting strangers?

-How do the various strangers act towards the protagonists? How do they act in return?

-We often think of fairy tales as always ending happily, but they quite often do not. How do these tales create happily ever afters? What does that mean for the queer community?

-How do fairy tales teach us to be true to ourselves? How is that important for the queer community and how do these three tales highlight the importance of being true to yourself?