Fairytale retellings are an increasingly popular sub-genre in YA --- everyone from the Greek goddess Persephone to Cinderella has made multiple appearances in original ways. But have you ever wondered why?
In this blog post, Jen McConnel --- whose latest book BEAUTIFUL CURSE (Month9Books, December 9th) tackles the myth of Cupid and Psyche in a contemporary setting --- asks (and answers): What's the point of retelling stories that have already been told? Why do audiences continue to love fairy tales, especially in with more modern packaging? Read below to hear what she has to say, and see if you agree!
I’ve always been fascinated by the old stories; myths and fairy tales from around the world continue to captivate me, and when I sat down to write BEAUTIFUL CURSE, I knew I wanted to find a way to tell the ancient myth of Cupid and Psyche in a new, contemporary way. I wrote the first draft of this novel during NaNoWriMo in 2011, and since then, I’ve been revising and revisiting it. This summer, I started my MFA in Children’s Literature at Hollins University, and I had the opportunity to take an entire course on other retellings of myths and fairy tales. One of the core questions we grappled with during that class was this: If the stories have already been told, what’s the point of a retelling?
Myths and fairy tales often reveal deep truths about human nature, tapping into some of our darkest fears and deepest desires.
I believe that part of the allure of myths is the universality of the stories; the mythologist Joseph Campbell codified the idea of the hero’s journey and the monomyth as things that transcend cultural boundaries, and that’s a really resonant thought for me. It’s easy to see the similarities between the different stories of completely separate cultures. For example, the fairy tales “Beauty and the Beast” and “East of the Sun, West of the Moon” echo themes and concepts from the myth of Cupid and Psyche, particularly that looks can be deceiving and love and deceit don’t get along. But if other people have already told these stories, what’s the impulse for modern writers to revisit, reinvent and retell these tales?
For me, I think it comes down to a desire to shine a new light on something old. Myths and fairy tales often reveal deep truths about human nature, tapping into some of our darkest fears and deepest desires. But despite the universality of myths and fairy tales, it can be easy to feel distant from these stories --- we live in a world with different heroes, and even different rules, and so sometimes the old myths lose their impact. Storytelling has always been a way for humans to find ourselves in the tale of another, to recognize our flaws and values, and retelling myths and fairy tales with a contemporary lens is just another way to hold up the mirror.
It can be hard for a young man to connect with the beefy, bronzed heroes of old, but give him a charming boy with ADHD, an abusive stepfather and a host of contemporary concerns, and the myth suddenly takes on new meaning for a contemporary audience. A girl might not be able to identify with the beautiful, privileged princess of legend, but maybe she feels a connection with a smart, shy girl whose looks garner her unwanted attention.
Myth and fairy tale retellings tap into the same deep themes that the ancient storytellers expressed, but with a new twist. I’m a huge fan of these retellings, both as a writer and as a reader, and I hope that we keep exploring myth and magic in new ways.
Jen McConnel first began writing poetry as a child. A Michigander by birth, she now lives and writes in the beautiful state of North Carolina. A graduate of Western Michigan University, she also holds a MS in Library Science from Clarion University of Pennsylvania. When she isn't crafting worlds of fiction, she teaches college writing composition and yoga. Once upon a time, she was a middle school teacher, a librarian, and a bookseller, but those are stories for another time. Her fiction titles include YA and NA, and she also writes nonfiction. Visit http://www.jenmcconnel.com to learn more.
