In my opinion, I agree with the perspective that it is an inverted fairytale. In a stereotypical fairytale, there is usually some kind of princess who needs to be saved by some kind of prince, knight, or mysterious man. Then he takes her away, they fall in love, they ride off into the sunset, and live happily ever after. The story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” has similar components with a very different outcomes. This story’s princess, Connie, while feels isolated from her family and misunderstood, she does not want to be with them. However, she does not want to be taken from them. Especially not by Arnold Friend. In this case, Arnold Friend is the “savior: He is the mysterious dark fiure that is going to take Connie away. Except in this story, they aren’t in love and he is taking her by force. And they don’t end up happily ever after.
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4 thoughts on “Eoin Riley-Duffy, Discussion 13”
Eoin, I am also partial to the idea of the “inverted fairytale.” Korb points out so many illusions to various famous fairytales, including “Cinderella,” “The Three Little Pigs,” and “Little Red Riding Hood.” I’m always chilled by Korb’s use of the term “the prince of darkness” personified by Arnold Friend in contrast to the idea of Prince Charming, which we see in fairytales. Thank you for addressing the prompt, by the way, with specific reference to the article.
Hey Eion! I can definitely see the “be careful what you wish for” lesson in this story too. A knight showing up to whisk her away, sounds charming I would imagine even more so by a young girl. He himself was also very charming. He spoke in a way that kept her attention long enough for it to build passed casual interest to forceful demands. She waited out there for a reason. Initially she was intrigued by him. Or at least she seemed to linger long enough to consider his appeal. What if it had been prince charming asking her to run away with him? how would she know if she didn’t entertain it a little bit. The way the tone of the story became more ominous, It felt like she was in a nightmare. So I can see how the inverted fairytale interpretation could apply as well. Thank you for sharing!
Hello Eoin I agree that the ending to this story is definitely not a happy ever after. However, while Connie is not in love with Arnold, Arnold himself is in love with one aspect of Connie which is what she also loves the most about herself which is her looks.
Hey Eoin, I think in my opinion Connie was neglected in her current home situation and sought the affection and attention her parents could not give her elsewhere. She is acting like any teenage girl would, having fun with her friends and flirting with boys but she did not know this guy would be a dangerous predator who will harm her in more than one way and take her away from her family but not in the way she would like which I agree with your opinion of the inverted fairytale of a dashing knight whisking her away from her life and rescuing her.