Monday, February 11, 2008

What most people think of when they think of fairies


The Bradford Exchange, purveyor of high-end tchotchkes, knows exactly how fairies are "supposed" to look and act. But Kelly Link's fairies, and certainly Susanna Clarke's fairies, are something else again.
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2 comments:

Jessica Trevino said...

Note on how they're "supposed" to look:

I'm pretty sure they're supposed to look like that because that's the majority of readers want. People read fantasy not because they want the boring or common characteristics of real life, but instead, the out of the ordinary and mystical world of other creatures. We want to get away to a place where we can be more than what we are, sexier/more beautiful and exotic that our mirrors portray. Those fairies are only a dime-size part of what we want to embody, both physically and spiritually.

February 11, 2008 at 11:58 PM
Andy Duncan said...

Very well put, and the wish-fulfillment factor is certainly present -- an instance of the fantasy genre and the individual fantasy becoming well-nigh interchangeable -- but what could be more "boring or common" than the same damn stereotyped fairy over and over again? Such mass-consumption tropes are no more fantastical than a Big Mac.

February 13, 2008 at 6:49 AM

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