We are pleased to participate in the A to Z Blog Challenge (http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/). The Story Crossroads theme for this year is “Fantastic Females in Folk & Fairy Tales.”
You will note the “Elisa a.k.a. Maid Maleen.” It will make more sense if you read this entire post. As we have plenty of options for “M,” we chose to use the “E” for this post. Technically, we had other options for “E,” too. This story needed to be spotlighted…all the versions.
About Nettles:
These plants are easy to find, but touching these plants is not pleasant due to the irritations, itchiness, and rashes. Yet, nettles easily attract butterflies and aphids. (Do you remember that ants love to herd aphids and get their “milk”?)
50-word-or-less summary
Elisa refuses to marry King’s choice. Locked in tower. Scraps out with nails. Escaped! Knights chase Elisa. Hides among nettles. Becomes servant in castle of her love: Hans. He’s about to marry another. Bride locked in room. Elisa becomes replacement bride. Then switched. Hans can tell. They run off together.
Finding the Story:
“The Nettle Princess” in Forgotten Fairy Tales of Brave and Brilliant Girls – here
The Annotated Maid Maleen – here
Fairy Tale of the Month – August 2013 Maid Maleen (includes Part One & Two) – here
Finding the “Fantastic”:
Elisa was able to scratch away at the mortar until she was able to loosen a stone and escape. Rather than accepting death inside a tower with no windows, she kept up enough hope to accomplish what others could deem impossible.
Now, the versions of Elisa versus Maid Maleen do vary, it’s appreciated in Elisa’s story that she was unapologetic of talking to plants. With Maid Maleen, she goes so far as to have poetry when speaking to nettles and includes a foot-bridge and a church door. How many of us choose to talk to inanimate objects and plants? Plenty of people would admit to talking to their pets (as makes sense to do). Other people fill their homes heavily with plants and absolutely talk to them. It’s the unapologetic part of talking to plants and items that feels fantastic.
Elisa (and Maid Maleen) were adamant in who they wished to marry and who they wished not to marry, Despite the king as their father and the consequences that followed, that kind of bravery is to be admired. Matters of the heart cannot be determined by others. Love is worth standing up for…or staying in a tower. Thankfully, the story didn’t end by Elisa (or Maid Maleen) being in a tower.
You know what isn’t fantastic? Being abandoned in a tower. But what is fantastic? That Elise (and Maid Maleen) could overcome such trauma and still forge strong relationships – plants or people.
Recommended Article:
As this story featuring Elisa is really a re-telling of a re-telling, this article shows at least the parts of the story that are more from Karl Mullenhoff versus the Brothers Grimm. The one shared above is really a family-friendly/sanitized version with some plot tweaks told by writers with Usborne Publishing. This could be why Usborne chose to use the name “Elisa” rather than the original “Maid Maleen.” The original story is quite a traumatic yet interesting story to explore. Sanitized stories are debatable and was geared for younger elementary for sure. For the purpose of this post, we focused on the Elisa summary though really find the darker Maid Maleen more intriguing.
This blog post/article is really fascinating to read: “Maid Maleen: a fairytale study of trauma?” written by Katherine Langrish.
Thoughts?
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As for our past A to Z Challenges…
Story Crossroads celebrates the hybrid Summit & Festival on May 13-16, 2024 – yes, in-person and virtual – and would be honored for you to join us. Explore the schedule and register here: http://www.storycrossroads.org/Festival
Thanks to funding from National Endowment for the Arts; National Endowment for the Humanities; Western States Arts Federation; Utah Division of Arts and Museums/Utah Legislature; Utah Humanities; City of Murray; Zoo, Arts & Parks (ZAP) of Salt Lake County; Salt Lake City Arts Council; and people like you.