The Handless Maiden – one of the grimmest of the Grimm, yet full of powerful imagery and of course, a happy ending.
I find this story to be a profound and powerful one. I begin it with the Miller’s search for the Tree of Life. This, the fabled tree from the Garden of Eden. Find this tree and be assured of a life free of toil, disease or old age.
Like most of us, the Miller thinks to cut down each likely tree in order to determine whether or not it is the One he seeks. It begs the question, would the Tree of Life still confer its blessings after being cut down? Would it be possible to bring down such a tree?
It turns out, that what prevents the Tree of Life from being hewn is the appearance of the devil, or dark stranger, if you prefer.
I was envisioning this as a modern film. I see Brad Pitt as the King, of course,
Angelina Jolie, the Handless Maiden,
Sam Rockwell as the Dark Stranger, 
Alan Rickman as the White Spirit, 
Glenn Close as the Queen Mother. This story has an elemental message that we would benefit from experiencing. It is complex, paradoxical, haunting, tragic and yet, culminates in triumph and reunion. It isn’t an easy story to love,
but then,
so much of being alive is just like that.
All photos from Wikipedia.
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©copyright 2011 Zette Harbour, all rights reserved. ZetteHarbour.com
©copyright 2011 Zette Harbour, all rights reserved. ZetteHarbour.com