Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Symbolism of Bees in the Second Tale

I found some interestings connections between the bees and the Snow Queen. At first glance the pairing made little sense to me but I have made three conclusions. First Bees have a dual nature to them in that they can help and hurt. Their honey provides life and nurtures growth in the plants but at the same time, a bee can have the dangerous side that can cause pain and suffering to most, especially in a swarm. So much duality exists in this story as seen through the mirror itself. Almost like the looking glass in alice there exists a parallel world where nature can be revealed in several ways. Second The Honey Bee also dies after stinging another person almost like the snow queen that loses her power after she is done "stinging" kai. She had latched onto him like a parasite to feed off of his youth and innocence but at the same time when the spell was broken she herself was damaged. Third Also I am reminded of bees from Tristan and Isolde(its a really cool analogy)"It is a fatal style of living-One catches bears with it" is the textual quote. Apparently bees were used as a trap in the middle ages to lure bears and other creatures to their death as a means of seduction . The honey would seduce an animal who would be lured by the hive until he would fall backwards to his death because there was a trap set up behind it. By this way, big Game was able to be caught and then skinned. After reading Tristan I was reminded of how the bees and the Queen also have that sedcutive nature and kai is about to be trapped by the Queen in a dangerous way just as the Beehive Trap would have been used to lure otheres in the medieval period. I liked the responses that were given in class on the matter so now everyone has more than enough comparisons to pick a good reason. Also Id just like to comment on the end of the story, was it me or was the ending somewhat incomplete?The snow queen just dissapeard as quickly as she came which i guess was the point but i would have enjoyed some resolution. She is such an intriuguing figure that like Kai im somewhat allured and also want to know more about her and who she is. Whenver I think of her I picture Tilda Swinton as the White Witch in Narnia-Seth Nadler

1 comment:

  1. I actually felt the same way, Seth, about the ending and the Snow Queen's sudden disappearance.

    I think your Tristan-and-Isolde interpretation of the bees in terms of seduction is right on target. Glad you brought it up.

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