As you've noticed, we at AOTP have been talking about voice lately and something Macy said got me to thinking about the prevalence of deceased parents in stories.
Some would say that those who write such stories are working out issues they have with their parents, but I say that while that could be the case, it's also a common literary device...that whole orphan thing at whatever age creates instant sympathy for the character.
If you look at Disney's movies (the animated ones based on classic stories or fairy tales), the hero or heroine is nearly always missing a parent.
Bambi - Mother dies in story
Pinocchio - Doesn't have parents
Snow White - Both parents dead
Cinderella - Both parents gone
Belle in Beauty and the Beast - Mother deceased
Ariel in Little Mermaid - Mother deceased
Even in original present day animated stuff they do it, just look at Finding Nemo. His mother was eaten by a huge fish while trying to protect the unhatched Nemo and his siblings.
I could go on and on.
Taking a quick glance at my bookcase - Dickens did it. Victor Hugo did it. The Bronte sisters did it. Heck, Jane Austin did it. Emma's mother was deceased, and I don't think Mr. Knightly's parents were still around. And in Pride and Prejudice, Mr. Darcy's parents were definitely in the grave.
And what about one of our most famous characters of late? Harry Potter. J.K. took out his parents too. And look at how much we love him.
And then there's the angle where the character doesn't know who one or both of his parents are. That works too.
I think this is all great back up for when our parents ask why we killed off the mother or father. :) Although we may have issues, it's just a classic story telling device. It's not personal.
Of course, the flip side of the argument is that those with troubled parent/child relationships become writers and then work out their problems on paper…
But, I’m sticking with the former. It’s all about sympathy and obstacles and that whole rising above loss thing. It really isn't personal, except, of course, to the character.
Katrina
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5 comments:
I think the whole orphan thing works from a lot of angles-- sympathy, sure, but also it gives the writer some freedom if one or both parents are gone, especially in young adult and intermediate lit. It also can provide depth to a conflict. It can imply from a psychological viewpoint that you have to kill the parental voice, inner critic or superego, you have to untie the apron strings and leave home, in order to truly come of age and become your own person.Literary analysts love that angle. And you can really go way deeper than that if you're into Freud or Bettleheim, ya know? Same thing could be said of killing off a husband. Lots of dead husbands serve as the catalyst, or inciting event, of a woman finally finding her true self. Oh, and the writers of Lost say all great fiction is about daddy issues, or something like that. I'm not quoting directly there. If you notice, the characters have daddy issues galore!
Anyway, I agree it doesn't necessarily mean the writer has issues. But if daddy keeps showing up as the big bad evil villain? Hmmmm.
Not that Macy has daddy issues, of course. A total literary device there. He, he.
Great post, Katrina. Lots to think about.
Alyson
Yep. Guilty. I have evil dads in every story. And dead moms. I hadn't realized it was such a theme in my work until I started plotting the new series.
Maybe it's issues, but does provide great conflict when a heroine must battle a dad on the dark side. What do you choose? Family? Right?
You're right. It's all about conflict.
I swear!
Macy
Hey-- funny thing. I'm going through my first WIP and looking at what in the heck I did exactly with turning points -- and I'm checking references such as The Writer's Journey and I saw this quote--
Fairy tale heroes have a common denominator, a quality that unites them across boundaries of culture, geography and time. They are lacking something or something is taken away from them. Often they have just lost a family member . . . fairy tales are about searching for completeness and striving for wholeness and often it's a subtraction from the family unit that sets the story in motion. The need to fill the missing piece drives the story forward toward the final perfection of "They lived happily ever after."
Interesting, no? How funny that I read that today.
Alyson
Wow. That is funny. I guess all fiction is a fairy tale of sorts -- but Katrina and I both lean heavily toward fairytale -- her more than me (I'm dark fantasy - cool, huh?). Anyway, very coincidental.
Hmmm...no dead parents YET. But the heroine in my Mira series was abandoned at birth and then later by her adoptive parents. But all four are still alive and, thus, fodder for many angst-filled scenes in various episodes! I'm actually working on a scene today wherein she confronts the adoptive mother who requested the adoption be dissolved. Uuuuuugly.
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