The Thorns of Trauma
Torture, Aftermath, and Healing in Contemporary Fairy-Tale Literature
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 20248809 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jeana Jorgensen (Butler University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2021 |
| Volume | 10 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 47 |
| Publication date | 2021-03-11 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Humanities (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2076-0787 • E-ISSN: 2076-0787 |
| Publisher | MDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT) |
| DOI | 10.3390/h10010047 |
| OpenAlex | W3136698067 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 12 |
While classical fairy tales do not portray much depth of suffering, many contemporary fairy-tale retellings explore trauma and its aftermath in great detail. This article analyzes depictions of trauma in fairy tales, utilizing as a primary case study the “Beauty and the Beast” retelling A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas, arguing that this text provides a scientifically accurate representation of trauma and its aftermath, thereby articulating the real in fairy tales. Further, this article classifies that work as not simply a “dark” fairy tale (a contentious term that invites rethinking) but rather as fairy-tale torture porn, in a nod to the horror genre that foregrounds torture, surveillance, and the disruption of bodily boundaries and safety. However, the text’s optimistic account of healing is uniquely relevant in a time of widespread trauma due to a global pandemic, thereby demonstrating that fairy tales remain germane in contemporary contexts
Aesthetics · Art · Beauty · Human rights · Literature · Politics · Torture · Folklore, Mythology, and Literature Studies · History · Law · Religious Studies and Spiritual Practices · Themes in Literature Analysis
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |