Now, onto our regular programming:
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You would expect a girl's imaginary world to be female-dominated and boy bashing. Not Jen's. You see, being the shy child she was, she never really was exposed to the unfavorable side of her boy peers, and therefore retained her rather romanticized ideal that came from reading far too many fairy tales.
While the mermaids are female dominated (I'll deal with that in a later post), on land, girls vs. boys is pretty well even. The Cloud Shepherds are all boys, about half of the of the Wood Children, and ... okay, so the Flower Fairies and Singers are all girls, but still.
The most important of the all the men/boys in Jen's imagination are the Knights. They're the ones who have all of the adventures and protect all of the Fair Maidens (the most important of the girls.)
It is the knights who do the fighting. In fact, Fair Maidens aren't even allowed to watch their battles with the monsters. This is mostly because Jen didn't want to bother coming up with a mental image of their dragon slaying. The only time I have a girl fighting is the climatic chapter where Jen fights the imagination eater - and that's because she's the only one who can defeat the horrid creature.
I've talked about two of the knights, Sir Christofer, and Sir Erran of Tree, already. And, actually, I've only recently discovered the name of a thrid - Sir Steve the Green Knight. I'm not acquainted with any more of them ... though Jen calls Derek a knight a few times - much to his annoyance.
In case you're wondering, yes, Sir Steve is inspired by Steve of Blue's Clues. Hey! That was my favorite kid's show growing up. He's also influenced by the Green Knight of Arthurian Lore, in the fact that he is all green ... and can keep fighting even if someone cuts off his head. He's Chris's best friend.
On another note - I may have my own computer again come Sunday!!!!!!
Glad to hear your sister is okay! And definitely praying for her!
ReplyDeleteI am so glad your sister is alright and doing better! I was praying for her.
ReplyDeleteYour knight's sounds very cool! I especially like Steve... I used to love Blue's Clues as well.
P.S. I'll send you an email about the editing (at the email address on your "FAQ" page). So if you recieve any emails from strange addresses it is probably me!
I'm very, very glad V is better!!! And I'll keep praying.
ReplyDeleteThe Green Knight!! He is fascinating. I look forward to hearing more about Steve!
Years and years ago, when I first discovered the wonder of the medieval world, knights were my favorite thing about that era. (The costumes were my second favorite.) :) I think the knights still are my favorite thing about medieval times. The code of chivalry, their courage, bravery, and loyalty; what's not to like?!
Oh, I agree. I have a book about Arthur in my collection that has big, gorgeous illustrations - and most of the questionable material removed. I think I must have read it a hundred times - and Gawain and the Green Knight has always been one of my favorites.
DeleteIf you go back to October of '11 in my back posts, I have a story I wrote about Lancelot and Gawain and the Golden Knight. That was interesting ...
Knights are awesome, aren't they?