Erika M. Walker
St. Gertrude Writing Group and St. Gregory the Great Writing Group (co-leader)
In the 1800s, a Scottish man wrote fairy tales that would inspire some of the most beloved fantasy authors, like C. S. Lewis, Madeleine L’Engle, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Lewis Carroll. That man was George MacDonald, and he is often considered the father of modern fantasy writing. MacDonald was one of nine children, born into a family with a love for literature. Once he was grown, he and his wife had eleven children of their own. In addition to writing, MacDonald served as a minister, teacher, and editor at different times in his life. With a house full of children and a desire to share his knowledge, it is not hard to imagine why MacDonald pursued writing for children.
Three of MacDonald’s short fairy tales have recently been republished by Word on Fire Votive as The Golden Key and Other Fairy Tales. The collection includes “The Golden Key,” “The Light Princess,” and “Little Daylight.” All three stories feature some kind of magical element, but they all feel like their own story set in their own worlds. “The Golden Key” features a boy and girl’s journey through fantastical lands. “The Light Princess” features a princess who can fly and is quite silly because a witch has stolen her gravity, in both senses of the word. While she finds the world to be all fun and games, her royal parents are not quite as amused and hope to bring their daughter back down to earth. “Little Daylight” has an unfortunate name because she was cursed and must sleep all day and only wake at night. But the moon’s light doesn’t always shine. When the moon is full, so is she—full of youth and life. But on nights when the moon’s light is hidden, Little Daylight becomes pale, old, and seems more dead than alive.
These stories are unique, imaginative, and fun, but best of all, they veil deep moral truths within them. In “The Golden Key,” the story kicks off with a little boy, Mossy, finding himself at the foot of a rainbow. It’s not just any rainbow; it has more colors than a typical rainbow, some Mossy has never even seen before. Upon closer inspection, Mossy discovers vague figures moving up the rainbow as if it were some kind of transport system. We might recall the story of Jacob’s ladder in the Bible, in which Jacob dreamed of angels descending and ascending into heaven on a ladder. Right away, the reader gets the impression there is more than meets the eye in these stories. “The Light Princess” had the most moral food for thought and seems to cloak deeper truths, especially about self-sacrificial love. “Little Daylight” teaches the lessons of treating others the way you want to be treated and not judging someone based on their appearance.
All three stories are delightful and surprising because they don’t follow modern clichés. However, some things may come across as rather odd or unnerving to the modern reader. For example, in “The Golden Key,” when Tangle, a little girl, comes across a strange but beautiful old woman in the forest, the woman says she hopes Tangle will not be afraid of her or anything she does. Next the woman takes off all of Tangle’s clothes and throws her into a fish tank to give her a bath. Tangle is dressed in a beautiful gown afterward. While MacDonald’s message about baptism is evident here, one would not want to encourage a child to undress with a stranger in our time.
These fairy tales can be enjoyed by those both young and old, just keep in mind very young children may be confused or misled by old-fashioned notions or frightened by the evil witches.
The three stories in this collection are the kind of stories that tend to linger in one’s mind long after reading them; perhaps they may reveal even deeper truths the more one ponders them.