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Snow White (ATU Index 709)

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"The Queen asks the magic mirror," Schneewittchen (1910), Franz Jüttner (German, 1865-1925), Scholz' Künstler-Bilderbücher, Mainz, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Today's focus is Snow White  collected by the Brother's Grimm. Aarne-Thompson-Uther classifies this as  Type 709 (Snow White) . According to the  Thompson Motif , this has sub-types Z65.1. Red as blood, white as snow; D1323.1. Magic clairvoyant mirror; D1311.2. Mirror answers questions; L55. Stepdaughter heroine; M312.4. Prophecy: superb beauty for girl; S322.2. Jealous mother casts daughter forth; K512.2. Compassionate executioner: substituted heart; N831.1. Mysterious housekeeper; F451.5.1.2. Dwarfs adopt girl as sister; D1364.9. Comb causes magic sleep; D1364.16. Hairpin causes magic sleep; D1364.4.1. Apple causes magic sleep; S111.4. Murder with poisoned apple; S111.2. Murder with poisoned lace; F852.1. Glass coffin; E21.1. Resuscitation by removal of poisoned apple; Q414.4. Punishment: danc...
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Review - The Girl and the Seven Thieves

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Title The Girl and the Seven Thieves Author Olivia Snowe Illustrator Michelle Lamoreaux Content Warning Attempted murder, non-consensual kiss Goodreads Synopsis Eira and her stepmother don't get along, but she never expected to be left in a New York City alley. When seven thieves find her, she'll have to try to trust them. ( Goodreads ) Story Review *** (3 stars out of 5) This book is a Middle Grade retelling of Snow White. For my taste it's a little formulaic and far too short to really develop any real sense of the characters. I also think it wraps up the evil stepmother much too neatly. I did like the idea of the thieves, since they also have a reason to want to hide away from society. The addition of actual magic kind of took me out of the setting, so I wish that part had been handled differently. *Spoiler Warning* Do not read beyond this point if you have not read the book and you care about spoilers.
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Hades and Persephone

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The Fate of Persephone (1877), painted by Walter Crane, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons The Greek myth of Hade's abduction of Persephone is briefly mentioned in Hesiod's Theogony and in more detail in the first  Homeric Hymn to Demeter ("Persephone,"  Wikipedia ). The Hymn to Demeter is 495 lines long and was written by an anonymous source. The term Homeric is only added to the hymns because they use the same dactylic hexameter and the same dialect as the Iliad and Odyssey ; however, they were not written during Homer's lifetime ("Homeric Hymns,"  Wikipedia ). Pinax of Persephone and Hades on the throne, holy shrine of Persephone, Locri, Italy, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Story Summary Hades, Lord of the Underworld, gets permission from his brother and her father, Zeus, to kidnap Persephone. When she bends over to pluck a Narcissus from the ground that was specifically put there to lure her in, Hades emerges from the ground on his char...
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