Through the Mirror

In my last post I introduced the concept of mirrors and windows. Mirrors are the aspects of a story that give us a clearer view of ourselves, and windows are the aspects of a story that give us a view into someone else's perspective. In this post I'd like to show how this concept works by talking about some specific retold fairytales.

The Woodcutter Sisters by Alethea Kontis is a YA series of fairytale stories which happen to different members of the Woodcutter family. I want to use this series as an example of the windows and mirrors concept because this series can hardly be called diverse according to the usual definition of diversity. Although the second book does say some interesting things about gender, the series isn't talking about race or sexuality. Instead, it offers diversity in characterization. The three protagonists are very different people.

Enchanted by Alethea Kontis

The first book follows the youngest daughter, Sunday Woodcutter, and her adventures after meeting a talking frog that seems remarkably intelligent. This retelling of "The Frog Prince" has a sweet, young, and extremely innocent protagonist. Sunday is a writer and a dreamer first and foremost. Although I found her character too naive, some of the reviews I've read have revealed that other people found that Sunday resonated with them.

The second book follows the second youngest daughter Saturday and her adventures rescuing a young man from a mountain witch's lair. This retelling of a more obscure fairytale, "The Mastermaid," has a protagonist who is strong, rough-and-tumble, and blunt. Saturday isn't interested in romance or in being special. When she finds herself in the hero's part of the fairytale, she does what she must to escape with the young man who's playing the damsel in distress. Saturday's character couldn't be more different from her sister Sunday.

Hero by Alethea Kontis

Dearest by Alethea Kontis

The third book follows a middle daughter Friday and her adventures freeing a group of brothers who have been trapped in swans' bodies. This retelling of "The Six Swans" has a protagonist who is hopeful, optimistic, and romantic. Friday is as sweet as her youngest sister Sunday, but is wiser and more subdued. Her strength lies in her kindness. Since the heroine of "The Six Swans" spends most of her story mute, it shouldn't be surprising that Friday also has a quieter character than her two sisters.

The reason that I introduced all three of these books is because collectively they illustrate an important point about mirrors and windows. So many of the reviews I've read about this series have negative things to say about a particular book because a reader didn't like that particular protagonist, and often the positive things about a particular book center on the ways that a reader connected with a particular protagonist. For an example, let me quote from some reviews about Friday. Jessica rates Dearest at four out of five stars. She explains that Friday is a relatable character:

"She's also very strong, in a sense that she's more than willing to help others. She's the type of character that I love to see, but never seen to get a major role in YA books" (Jessica (The Psychotic Nerd)).

Jessica then explains that she does have some other issues with the book. These issues aren't enough to devalue Friday's character for her, although they do mean that the book doesn't earn a full five stars.

Another reviewer holds the exact opposite opinion on Friday's character. Amy says:

"Friday is an utter nonentity. She is so bland I probably would have forgotten her name by now if it wasn't so unique. This chick supposedly falls in love with everybody, is loved by everybody, has this army of totally random orphan children, and empathizes with everybody." (Amy).

Amy rates Dearest at two out of five stars, explaining that the only reason this book didn't end up with a one-star review is because it is a retelling of her favorite fairytales.

These two reviewers had the exact same book in their hand, but they read Friday's character very differently. This book provided a mirror for Jessica, and she was glad to finally see a character like Friday honored as the protagonist of a story. Amy, however, didn't see Friday as a mirror. Because she didn't treat Friday's perspective as a window either, Amy couldn't understand her empathetic nature. Neither of these reviewers are wrong. Nevertheless, it is interesting to see that the reader who put more effort into understanding the nuances of Friday's character found a mirror, while the reader who decided Friday's perspective wasn't worth understanding found nothing.

My point is that mirrors and windows are powerful, but we as readers have to make the connections ourselves to unlock that power. This point could be made for each of the books in this series because each of them features a heroine with a distinct personality. I personally didn't find that all of them were mirrors. Some of them were windows, and it requires thoughtfulness to learn from people that we see as different. The rewards, however, are extraordinary. Readers who can use windows and mirrors to understand stories can draw significance out of the most fantastical YA fairytale retellings.

Works Cited

Amy. "Review of Dearest." Goodreads, https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/948709311?book_show_action=true&from_review_page=1

Jessica (The Psychotic Nerd). "Review of Dearest." Goodreads, https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/667756147?book_show_action=true&from_review_page=1