tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4950999049789394042.post3061127605233903302..comments2024-03-27T06:42:26.250-07:00Comments on Seven Miles of Steel Thistles: Rumpelstiltskin and the power of namesKatherine Langrishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12529700103932422873noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4950999049789394042.post-40798326384751834412012-04-15T04:39:10.758-07:002012-04-15T04:39:10.758-07:00What lovely comments! I'd forgotten that Chihi...What lovely comments! I'd forgotten that Chihiro needs to keep her name - and agree it's a wondeful film. <br /><br />And yes, Marcos, naming must be essential to the origins of language. (Actually it always amazes me that my dog understands a word as her own name - can it truly be a concept that crosses species boundaries?)Katherine Langrishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12529700103932422873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4950999049789394042.post-8918399141548120352012-04-14T17:37:02.108-07:002012-04-14T17:37:02.108-07:00I agree with Valerie: of all the stories I've ...I agree with Valerie: of all the stories I've read, heard and watched, "Spirited away" is the one that better explores the power of names. I belive that, when I first saw the movie, this theme reminded me of "Alice in Wonderland", somehow. "Howl's Moving Castle" also deals with that.<br /><br />I suppose the power of names in stories is related to what naming means. When you give someone (or something) a name, you cut them out of the realm of commonness. As in Exupery: if you name a star, it's no longer an ordinary star, it's your star.<br /><br />"Naming" is also the mind trick that founded language itself. It's what allows us make what's absent become present. This is the closest thing to magic that I can imagine.Marcos Fariahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09799037117497024875noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4950999049789394042.post-34268010069154930412012-04-14T09:38:10.888-07:002012-04-14T09:38:10.888-07:00What a beautiful post! Names in fantasy and folklo...What a beautiful post! Names in fantasy and folklore are so powerful. I often tell children a Scottish tale about a farmer’s wife who accepts help from a witch to cure a sick pig (“I’d give anything…” she says, foolishly) then finds that she will have to give up her child unless she can guess the woman’s name in three days’ time. But the farmer’s wife hears the witch singing about her coming success in the forest, and discovers her name that way.<br />When I tell kids the story, they often ask if it’s a Scots version of Rumpelstiltskin, which will set off a discussion about how the stories might be related, and whether similar stories sprang up in lots of places, or whether one story travelled and was adapted. However we resolve that question (has anyone completely resolved it?) I try to get the kids to recognise that all versions of a story are valid. But personally I prefer the Scots one, because it’s more domestic: an ill pig rather than a desire for gold; and the woman solves the problem herself by hearing the witch boast rather than by sending out messengers. <br />But whichever story we tell, the power of names is undeniable. (As a writer of fiction, the hat I wear when I’m not retelling old tales, I can never get to grips with a character until I know their true name. But that’s another story…)Lari Donhttp://www.laridon.co.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4950999049789394042.post-61277927342499394472012-04-13T03:09:59.299-07:002012-04-13T03:09:59.299-07:00Thanks, Inbali, for a fascinating post. You remind...Thanks, Inbali, for a fascinating post. You reminded me also of the character Chihiro in the wonderful film "Spirited Away", whose name is taken from her by a witch- if she ever forgets it she will be trapped in the witch's world forever. It's such a powerful theme.Valeriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17779127079465401314noreply@blogger.com