The Princess Bride: A Modern Classic

 

 This summer, it seems my writing theme for this blog has been romantic movies, Summer Love movies.  I've talked about the appeal of Grease and Dirty Dancing. So, in keeping with that theme, I wanted to share an all time classic romance movie with you that has become a family favorite. I talk about Timeless Lovers on this blog: Westley and Buttercup fit that mold.

 

When I think of good love stories that have heart, humor, suspense and adventure, all wrapped up in a good costume drama with fantasy elements, one of my all time favorite romance movies is The Princess Bride.  

Made in the 1980's, it's directed by Rob Reiner, and has that certain quirky appeal of a Mel Brooks Movie. If you consider our unlikely hero in our medieval fantasy storyline, Westley, a poor young man who works as a farm hand for a woman named . . . . BUTTERCUP! 

Well, if you aren't smiling already at the silly name of our 'princess', it's your own fault.  Imagine being forced to go through your life being called Buttercup, it's almost as bad as a boy named Sue.  So, laughing aside, Buttercup has come to realize that poor stable hand Westley is in love with her. She realizes this because whenever she asks him to do something, no matter how stupid or trivial, he does it, and not only does he do it quickly and with a smile on his face, but he also says a certain phrase to her every time he does what she asks. If you don't know that magical phrase that makes Buttercup swoon, here it is:  

"As You Wish."

It seems simple, and if you are shaking your head at this simple phrase that actually makes her heart melt, there's a reason. We're told that Buttercup realizes every time he says those three words, he's actually saying three very different words to her:  "I Love You." 

 

It's something that every woman would swoon to hear, and that is part of the appeal in romantic writer's circles. Westley is the consummate hero in this story. He loves her, he'll do anything for her, including chasing after the bad guys who abduct her. He'll face Monsters (R.E.O.S.) and torture, come back from the dead if need be, to save his darling Buttercup. He's faithful, determined, and willing to please her. 

"As You Wish!"  

 

Okay, so these kids are off to a roaring start, they both love each other, story over, right? Not so fast. Because this is set in a medieval backdrop, the problem arises in that Westley has no money, and therefore cannot support Buttercup as his wife. He decides to go off on a grand adventure at sea, to become a sailor to make enough money to support his lady love and the family they will have. So, we have a weepy short scene where he leaves.  Then tragedy strikes, as she receives word that his ship was taken at sea by the Dread Pirate Roberts, and all of the crew were killed. Buttercup is heartbroken. She sinks into depression. She mourns Westley for five long years. 

Then, to her surprise, she's betrothed to a prince, Prince Humperdink. (Yes, the names are deliberate, quirky humor at work here, so smile).  The Prince has chosen to take a bride of common blood to connect with the common people. Buttercup just happens to be the loveliest of the land. She agrees to marry him, but still mourns Westley and feels she can never love again. 

In the mean time, this prince has an agenda behind the wedding. He intends to have his bride kidnapped, killed and then blame the neighboring country for the crime so he can start a war. He hires mob boss called Vinzini. Vinzini is a short guy (played by Shawn Wallace) with a lisp. This short guy who talks funny believes himself a genius, so he's always telling people how he's figured out their moves before they make them . . . going into long descriptions of how 'you thought this and that and then you'll do this and . . ." Always ending his monologue with INCONCEIVABLE! 

Fezzick, Inigo & Vinzzeni

 

 

The other players in this delightful romantic comedy are Inigo Montoya, a sword fighter from Spain who is searching for the six fingered man who killed his father. He's hired by Vinzini to kidnap the princess bride. He goes about drawing his sword on everyone, asking to see their hand. He's prepared a speech for when he meets that six fingered man. "My name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die!"  

Inigo's sidekick is a giant, from Greenland, named Fezzik. (played by Andre the Giant). Together, Fezzik and Inigo Montoya kidnap the princess, and take her away in a boat at Vinzinni's orders.  These two side kicks are loveable villians. They don't want to hurt the girl. They are just down on their luck and need a paycheck. They resist when Vinzinni orders them to kill her. Meanwhile, they are pursued by two different would be rescuers. Prince Humperdink is following them. He is trying to pretend outrage over the kidnapping but he has secretly arranged this entire episode.  

The other pursuer  is a mysterious man in black. 

 

 The man in black keeps following them, through the worst of the landscape. He follows them through the sea of shrieking eels and up the cliffs of insanity. He never gives up. The man in black, with a mask to hide his features, takes down first Inigo and then Fezzick. He doesn't kill them, he merely knocks them out. He wins a sword fight against the celebrated swordsman Inigo Montoya, and wins in hand to hand combat against the giant, both being almost impossible victories. Next, he must conquer the mastermind behind this plot, Vinzini. This is a battle of wits, and of course our mysterious man in black vanquishes the bad guy and saves the lady. He seems the hero of the day, winning against all odds as he pursues the abucted princess. 

 

But wait, there's more. Buttercup, learning he is the man who killed her love, is angry. She shoves her would be rescuer down a ravine in her anger, saying "You killed my only love, you can die for all I care!" As he falls, he says, "As You Wish.. . .". Buttercup realizes it's Westley come back from the dead to rescue her. Turns out The Dread Pirate Roberts didn't kill Westley after all, but instead the DPR retired, and gave Westley his ship, his men and his title of Dread Pirate Roberts. Turns out our fair haired farm boy Westley has become a Pirate!  Okay, if it werent' romantic enough with the separated lovers, the kidnapping, the forced marriage to the bad guy and the hero coming back seemingly from the dead to rescue his darling, the pirate hero with a mask is a done deal, at least for me! I'm a sucker for a man in a mask. 

 The reunited lovers are being pursued by the Prince's men. They hide in the fire swamps, which have Rats Of Enormous Size rumored to live there. Everyone in the movie refers to them as the R.O. E. S.. In one line, Buttercup mentions to Westley the dangers of hiding in the fire swamps. "Oh, you mean the R.O.E.S.?" Westley asks in a wry voice. "I dont' believe they exist." He says this as he's eyeing one up that is slinking behind her, but of course he's so gallant he does not wish to frighten his lady love with the news that the fearful creatures exist.  Later, one attacks, and he saves her, but is bitten himself in the scuffle.

 

Billy Crystal as Miracle Max, and his wife. They wave and say "Have fun storming the Castle, Boys!"

The storyline is like a fractured fairytale. The dialogue is to die for. So many great one liners come from this movie. After they leave the fire swamp, the lovers are captured. The princess is taken back to the castle to marry Humperdink, and Westley is taken to the dungeon, tortured and killed. Humperdink decides to have his bride strangled on her wedding night instead, and blame the neighboring country for the crime, to get his war going. The good/bad guys, Kind hearted Inigo Montoya and Fezzick, want to help the princess. Fezzick  finds Westley's body in the dungeon. He calls on Montoya to help him with Westley. In order to stop the wedding and save the princess bride, the pair need a master planner, they need Westley's master mind to plan the rescue. But, he's dead. They need a miracle, so they go to a wizard named Miracle Max. Miracle Max is played by Billy Crystal. You'll love him in this. After examining the body, Max proclaims that Westley is not truly dead, only mostly dead, and there is a big difference.  Max shoves a pill down his throat. It takes several hours to undo the dead part, so Westley slowly comes around, but is paralyzed. He can talk, he can plan but he can't move to carry out his plan. So, Fezzick carries him on his back.

 

Storming the castle, Fezzick drags paralyzed Westley Behind him

The three unlikely heroes plan to storm the castle together, Fezzick, Montoya and Westley. Of course, the six fingered man is there, and Inigo faces him at last. The prince seems to have won, as Buttercup is married to him. She arrives in her chamber, and well . . . guess who is lying in her bed, unable ot move? Westley! He's come to rescue her from the Evil Prince. It's a classic, you'll love the clever, sarcastic dialogue, and the romance, and the sword-fighting, the scheming, and the kissing.   

The story is bracketed by another storyline, a sick little boy is visited by his grandfather. The grandfather is reading him the story of The Princess Bride. The kid is upset when grandpa reads about Westley and Buttercup kissing. He tells grandpa he doesn't like this story, he doesn't want to read a kissing book. Grandpa reads further. The kid says. "Okay, being captured by pirates is good!" When he learns Westley's demise and the events that follow.  By the end of the story, the kid is hooked. He cares about Buttercup, Westley, Inigo and Fezzick. He wants Westley to prevail against the evil prince and get the girl!

 Isn't that what romance is all about, getting togther. Yes, the kissing scenes, but it's overcoming adversity and conflict so that two people can be together. This story, like every love story, has it's moments of misunderstanding, of quarrels, anger, and yet, in the end, the boy gets the girl. They kiss, they run away together, they have a happily ever after. To Buttercup & Westley (AKA The Dread Pirate Roberts!) our timeless lovers this week. 

 

The story is told with such brilliance, such quirky, loveable characters, that you can't help but love them all by the end of the movie. Inigo gets revenge, Westley gets Buttercup, Fezzik obtains friends in Inigo and Westley, and Prince Humperdink is punished by Westley for his crimes. Its a fairy tale, a classic tale retold for modern audiences. William Goldman is the author of this story, not Rob Reiner. Rob Reiner seems to get the most credit for the storyline, but it was a book that was made into a movie, a movie that endures thiry years later as a romantic classic.  So, as summer wanes, and you are looking for something different to watch, check out The Princess Bride. If you've seen it before, you'll love it. If not, you'll be hooked on an instant classic. 

Summer Love: I Had The Time of My Life, Tribute to Dirty Dancing

 

 

 

                                                                      Oh, yes, that one!   

Of all the summer romance movies of all time, this one has to be on the top of the list. You can't resist Patrick Swayze as Johnny, the bad boy dance instructor who teaches Baby (Francis) how to dance, and so many other mysterious things about life . . . cough.   If you missed this love story, you're missing a swoon worthy classic.  It's another top shelf summer romance movie.  Why? Well, as with Grease, and with this story, each of us has had that high school crush, that first love, first brush of true romance that happened during our summer vacation.  

It could be a time share, a resort, a camp, or campground. A summer cottage or home.   Doesn't matter if your family is wealthy or not, the romance of the summer months and being on vacation is heady stuff for a seventeen year old girl.  It's wandering the camp or resort area at night, with just friends, no parents around. A giddy feeling of freedom and bliss, an endless round of summer days and nights devoted to fun as school is out for the season. I remember stolen kisses under the stars, near the lake, or around a campfire surrounded by other teens. 

Our timeless lovers this week: Baby and Johnny, endure in our hearts.  Baby (whom I will refer to as Frances from this point on), is seventeen. The story is set in the summer of 1963, before Kennedy was shot, as the grown up Frances tells us in an opening monologue that infers a time of innocence for her as well as for the nation. 

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Jennifer Grey plays Frances in the film. She is adorable, both innocent and yet has that hidden intellect behind melting brown eyes. She's the younger sister. Her older sister is college material, and as mom, dad, Frances and her sister Lisa go off to the resort for a summer vacation, there is the usual bickering in the back seat. Frances is treated like the baby by her family, including her bitchy older sister, and hence, they continue to call her Baby in her high school years. 

When she arrives at the resort, she is shy and slinks about in the background. She overhears the manager telling the staff to schmooze it up with the guest's daughters, dance with them dazzle them, give them what they want to make their stay here memorable, even if they are unattractive. After all, that's what the staff are being paid to do. Frances sees a cadre of young men dressed as waiters and tennis teachers, dance teachers and the like, all standing in a row like soldiers being give their orders by their general; go out and entertain the guests, but keep it clean!  No dirty, no nasty, just a few flirtations and chaste kisses. 

Johnny Castle is there. He's hot, who wouldn't fall for this Adonis clad in black?  Patrick Swayze is delicious in the role of bad boy Johnny from the wrong side of the tracks.  He first brushes Frances off as just another rich kid.  But then, when trouble comes and Francis bravely steps in to help, he notices she's more than just a wealthy doctor's spoiled but innocent little girl. He starts to see her as a strong, determined woman instead of a child.  This is an important moment for Frances, as no one has thought of her in those terms before. She grows up a little bit more, realizing she is so much more than Baby, the youngest daughter of Doctor Houseman.

To briefly bring you up to speed, in the story, set in 1963, there is a certain level of prudishness that still exists among the upper class. The free sex and free love thing isn't in vogue as yet, as it's the early 1960's. That comes in the latter years of the 1960's with Woodstock and the Summer of Love. In this time, girls are still supposed to bevirgins til they marry, or they are considered bad girls. And boys who get girls pregnant are the bad boys.  Johnny's dance partner, Penny, has gotten pregnant by another member of the staff. She tries to get the guy to take responsibility, he blows her off, calling her a whore. Johnny tries to help Penny through this, as a true friend would. He's trying to come up with the money for her to get an abortion, but can't. Francis gives him the money for it. Now Penny can have her abortion, but there is another dilemma. Johnny and Penny are scheduled to perform at another resort, the Shelldrake, at the end of the week, but she can't do it if she has this surgery. Frances steps in and says she'll do it for Penny. She'll learn the dance steps and perform with Johhny at the Shelldrake. This is the point where the storyline just sizzles! 

 Johnny spends the next week teaching Francis the steps, and it is pure magic, pure romance. They spend hours together, in each others arms as Frances learns the steps of the exotic and sensual dance, and you guessed it, they fall in love, or at least she does. The dance scenes in this movie are so hot, so sensual, you will literally melt with delight, and sigh and swoon. You may even wish you were Frances for a moment or two, being swept away in Johnny's arms. They do this in secret. Frances sneaks off away from her parents and meets Johnny in his dance studio each afternoon. They have a blast together and hearts collide.

We know Johnny likes her a lot but he still considers her a kid as he is about twenty by now, a working man trying to earn a living by teaching rich people dance steps. But, he does have a particular fondness for Frances and admires her for helping him and his wrong side of the tracks friends. He's in love, really, but just doesn't know it yet.  

They successfully perform at the Shelldrake Resort, but when they return from their triumph, they find Penny has taken a turn for the worst. Her abortion was a back alley sort, and she is very sick and in pain. Everyone is frightened among the staff, uncertain of what to do. If they reveal to the boss the reason for Penny's illness, she'll b fired. So, once more, Frances, the 17 year old girl everyone discounted as just a kid, step in to save the day. She goes to her father (its the middle of the night), and askes him to come with her to help a friend who is ill.

Once on the scene with the ailing Penny, Francis's father, Dr. Houseman, askes the staff gathered, "Who is responsible for this young lady?" A question that back in 1963 meant, who is her lover, her fiancee, her husband--who will take care of her. It's a sexist question, to be sure, but we're a few years before the women's movement, so yeah, women were still considered SOMEBODY'S (A male somebody) responsibility. 

Good old Johnny, with his heart of gold, steps up and says. "Me!" He's being gallant, and you just can't not love him for it. Frances does. And so do we. But, his answer sets in motion a set of misconceptions:  now Dr. Houseman thinks that Johnny is the father of the child, (he isn't) and this puts Johnny on daddy's bad list. This comes back to haunt Francis and Johnny later, when daddy refuses to give his blessing for their love. 

  Now Daddy Houseman is very upset, because he doesn't want his daughter hanging out with this group of racy young people. He saves Penny, but forbides Frances from hanging out with any of the group from now on, including Johnny. Especially Johnny as Dad thinks the guy is the one who knocked up Penny and then paid for an abortion for her instead of marrying her.

Well, as parents, or as teens ourselves, we all know how that usually turns out . . . . 

Frances continues to see Johnny on the sly. It's a story as old as time. They make love, become lovers, and daddy finds out. 

 Frances is now on her parent's bad girl list. No, she's not knocked up, but they are disappointed in her for her behavior in seeing Johnny behind their backs, and her dad won't even speak to her. I think he took it pretty hard to learn his innocent little girl has been sleeping with the dance instructor, no longer a virgin--a big deal in 1963.  Oh, well. In the end, the lovers triumph. They dance at the end of the season party for the audience, and steal the show.  

 There are other subplots throughout the movie, but the romance is front and center. One subplot/dilemma is that the resort owner realizes his days are numbered, kids don't want to come to camp anymore with their parents. Kids are bored with the camp routines. He's at his wits end trying to find a new and fresh idea to appeal to parents with teens to bring them to the resort.  In the background, Johnny has had some great ideas about dancing classes, but his boss keeps telling him to shut up and just do what he's told. Johnny would love to teach modern dance steps, like the kids want. He can't, he has to stay traditional to keep his job.  Well, at the end of the movie, when Frances and Johnny, along with the other dancers, give a send off that is modern and popular with the young and old alike, the resort owner now realizes he has a gem in Johnny, and Johnny's dance moves may save the guy's business. Nice twist. 

  Only problem with the movie is this for me. We don't really know if Johnny and Frances had their happily ever after. The movie ends, and did they get togeher forever or was it just a summer fling?  That is the only thing I would change in this movie.  It has great songs, and a soundtrack that rocks. You'll recall that old song that sticks in everyone's head, "I had the time of my life"  it comes from this movie.  Also, Hungry Eyes, Love is Strange, Big Girls Don't Cry, and many others. You can order the soundtrack on amazon or iTunes.

If you love dance movies, you'll love this one. The dance scenes are plentiful and awesome. If you love romance, this is it, girls--a timeless classic that will make your heart soar again and again.

Sadly, Patrick Swayze died of cancer in 2009.  He was a brilliant star, a great actor and dancer. His movies included Ghost, another one which I discuss in length in another timeless loverss post Haunted Romance   back in October of 2013. 

 

 

 He starred in several movies and miniseries, including my favorite, North and South, as Orry Main, a southern plantation owner's son during the civil war era made back in the 1980's that might be worth your time if you like miniseries with historical themes. He has a tragic love story in it as well and plays a strong lead as a civil war soldier and a plantation owner.

 Enjoy your summer, timeless lovers fans, and don't forget to make your own romantic memories. Take time to fall in love or renew an old love.

Oh Those Hot Summer Nights! Grease Tribute

Famous Lovers Sandy & Danny from GREASE, 1978

Well, it's officially summer.  The kids are out of school and looking for adventure. 

Remember those wild high school days?  Well, even if you don't, you probably remember the musical GREASE! It's a summer annual for cable movies.   I recently watched it again and fell in love with the goofy characters again.  Never mind that it's a bunch of twenty and thirty something actors playing teenagers in high school, it's still magic, with the storyline, the music, and the 70's tribute to the 50's in this kitchsky musical.   

Travolta sporting a 'Fonze' Look

 John Travolta was young, and stud worthy in the roll of Danny, the greaser bad boy who meet a girl during the summer that was sort of a goody two shoes. He left his cool Fonzie act behind when he went on vacation with his family that summer, and just spent time romancing Sweet little Sandy away from his buddies and his overwhelming and notorious image back at school. He was just 'Danny' to her, and as she put it, he was very sweet. Aw, can't you just see how this would ruin our bad boy's rep at school if word got out?  

Well, it gets worse, when good old Sandy shows up at his high school the first day back. Seems her family moved to California, and she's going to Danny's school. Not Cool. Not for Danny, because his reputation is at stake.  

Sandy, well, I had mixed feelings about her all along. At first, when the movie came out and was taking up prime real estate on my TV screen via re-run movies, I didn't like her. I thought she was such a sissy. Really, what did Danny see in her. Boring. Then, I was sort of mad that she went and changed her image, became the hot sexy mama type just to get his attention. That seemed like a sell out to me. Ah, yes, this is a blog about timeless lovers, and it's also about me, my thoughts and reflections. So, my feelings for Sandy have changed quite a bit over the past few decades. I went from yuck in her pristine form, to resentment in her change to biker chick form, to actually liking her and admiring her for her chops in trying to emerge from her pink fluffy cocoon.  Yes, I did dislike her, for many years. Now I think she's a heroine worthy of praise. With age comes wisdom, as they say---my age--not hers.  Sandy is still just a high school teen in the movie.  

Why is GREASE so perennially popular to the masses? What is the appeal.  

Sandy, pristine, fresh, naive, but sort of adorable in her innocence

I'll tell you this, back in 1978, I was just 18 years old. I was a high school graduate. And I thought GREASE and the characters were dumb, at that age. Mostly because it was sort of cheesy in 1978, the movie, that is. I was a die-hard heavy metal chick, obsessed with KISS and Alice Cooper, so the whole 50's musicale and high school sweetheart drama was lost on me. But, give it a few years . . .. ahem. ...... decades.  

When my kids were young teens, like about 13-14, I didn't like Sandy any better. I liked Danny, and the boys. But, as a mother, I worried what kind of message this movie was sending young girls-----"You need to change who you are to catch the guy you like." 

 

Now, like most moms, I didn't want my 13 year old daughter to start strutting about in stilettos and a skin tight black outfit just to get her 1990's version of Danny to notice her. I didn't need to fear, because as it turns out my daughter is extremely self confident and opinionated. She despised Sandy for changing, too. Not because we thought Sandy the pristine virgin was anything special, but simply because we, as women (girls if you count my daughter then) held the strong belief that you should not have to change who you are for anyone. You should celebrate your uniquenss, nerdy or not. What a relief. So, now that I've addressed the mommy worry, let's toss it aside and move on.  

What's the big deal about GREASE?  Why do these characters resonate with us as adults? 

For one thing, many adults idolize their high school years; the feeling of cameraderie with chums, being part of the gang. It is a time of innocence for most of us as we dont' have to live in the real world yet with all the cares of job hunting and unemployment. We have to pass Biology and we have to find a date to the prom or we are screwed. Simplier problems, or so we like to think now when we look back on what life was like then. Its not so easy being a high school kid, not today. But I digress. The appeal of GREASE, for one thing, is the 50's lifestyle, the cars, the music, the malt shoppe, parking and necking, that kind of freedom from cares that adults crave.  And it's also usually the time we experience our first true love, if not our first crush. 

Ah......now we're on to something....... that romance in our heart over the one that got away?  Or the perfect someone we thought if we could catch their eye our lives would be complete. Isnt' that what true love is all about? The myth of true love making your life complete is a perennial one. And young love, high school love, is idealized in American society. High School Sweethearts? 

Alas, not all high school romances are as successful. Most give us nightmares, or bitter memories. 

Summer Dream, ripped at the seams! But oh that Hot Summer Nights!

Yes, you got it right----those hot summer nights, when we were free to play with the boys . . . . or girls!  I recall being in high school and going out with friends, someone with a car would pick everyone up. We'd go to a movie, or just hang out somewhere and B.S. all night, just like the characters in GREASE.  We all wanted to be part of group at 17, and we wanted to be loved.  

 

Rizzo wanted love, beneath all her tough girl act as the leader of the Pink Ladies. She just wanted her guy Kinichie to notice her.  Sure, she like to play queen bitch of the high school and mess with people, because she could. Rizzo could be the wild child she is or she could be the prom queen type, she's still the popular girl that everyone wants to be. And, she reluctantly lets Sandy into her exclusive group. And didn't we all want to be part of certain social group in high school. Lucky for Sandy, she had Frenchie in her corner, Frenchie wanted Rizzo to let Sandy in the group, so she sort of sponsored her, socially. Sandy's inclusion into the group of Pink Ladies signifies our own need to belong to the group, our high school self that we still carry along with us. Memories of belonging, or wishing we belonged to the group, memories of our first love.

 Okay, again with the LOVE.  Yes, it's a romance movie, a sort of goofy romance with plenty of over the top acting, but it's fun. Rizzo and Kenickie get together in the end, and so do Sandy and Danny.  On my most recent viewing of this movie, just this month, I was touched by the oft ignored part in the movie where Danny Zuiko tries to change for Sandy. We are so inudated with the last scene where she changes into a sexy mama for him, we overlook and forget that Danny tried to become an athlete for Sandy, so she'd like him. He goes out for different sports, trying to find his groove so he can get a letter sweater. After many false starts, he finally finds his groove in running track. He does that to try to straighten up for Sandy, and she of course, tries to loosen up for him.  That's what love is about, really, trying to make the other person happy. That's the timeless message in this story, and I choose Sandy and Danny as this week's timeless lovers for that reason. Love changes us, whether it's for the best or worst, we do change as Love takes hold. 

And aside from the love story in GREASE, it's a classic because of the great music!  Yes, I said it. I now love the music from the Movie. It's sort of hard not to, you know, when you hear it all the time . . . . .It's a classic.  

 

 

 

Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream: One Wild Night!

Okay, so I'll admit, I'm a nerd. 

I discovered Shakespeare and have been drawn to his witty and imaginative works for years.  I named my cat, a black and white tuxedo, Puck, after the famous fairy sprite that causes so much havoc in the human world.  

My own mischief maker, Puck.  The red tabby beside him is Samhain

 Many of the quotes we toss back and forth today came from Shakespeare's pen, and some of our ideas about fairies came from his great work, too. 

Michelle Pfieffer as Titiania, 1999

Now, Shakespeare's fairy realm is nothing but imagination.  Titiania, the Fairy Queen in his play is not based on legend, but on his own imaginative works. Still, the 'Dream' survives today. The play is brilliant, combining several personal stories into one magnificent theatre stage work.  

 

In "Dream", Shakespeare shows us a little bit of the fairy world, as he depicts a husband-wife squabble in the royal court of the fairies. He also shows us the theatre player's world, as the common folk of the village join together to present a play in honor of the Duke's wedding feast. The players meet together in the woods to rehearse, and of course their trespass into the magical woods attracts the attention of the fairies as well. This is how poor Mr. Bottom is captured and transformed from his human self into a sort of donkey man beast--all because of the fairy king, Oberon's, desire to make sport of his estranged wife. Bottom garners the love of a besotted fairy, as I put it last time, she falls in love with an ass . . . . a spiteful joke by her fairy lord husband. That isn't romantic, but it does give the audience some great comic relief as they observe Titiania fawning over the donkey man. 

Here are a few of my favorite quotes from the play.

The course of true love never did run smooth.
A Midsummer Night's Dream, 1. 1

 "Ill met by moonlight, proud Titania." King Oberon to his queen, Titiania as they chance to meet in the forest
A Midsummer Night's Dream, 2. 1

 "Lord, what fools these mortals be!"  Said by Puck, mischievous Fairy sprite as he observes the mortals in the wood.
A Midsummer Night's Dream, 3. 2

I love this one that follows as it gives me the vision of a graveyard in the lonely moonlight:

 Night's swift dragons cut the clouds full fast,
And yonder shines Aurora's harbinger;
At whose approach, ghosts, wandering here and there,
Troop home to churchyards.
A Midsummer Night's Dream, 3. 2

Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind,
And therefore is wing'd Cupid painted blind.                                                                               

                      Helena, scene i

 And yet, to say the 

truth, reason and love keep little company together nowadays.

• Bottom, scene i

   

Lovers and madmen have such seething brains,
Such shaping fantasies, that apprehend
More than cool reason ever comprehends.
The lunatic, the lover, and the poet,
Are of imagination all compact:
One sees more devils than vast hell can hold

• Theseus, scene i

And so the play ends with Puck's famous speech: 

"If we shadows have offended,
Think but this, and all is mended,
That you have but slumbered here
While these visions did appear."
A Midsummer Night's Dream, 5. 1

A fitting end to a wild, imaginative play---if you don't like it, remember, it was just a dream! And a beautiful dream at that, with fairies, magic, true love and mistaken identities and mistaken affections. 

The morning after: Helena, Demetrius, Lysander and Hermia look a bit confused after their wild night!

Was that really a dream, or did that crazy shit really happen to us in the dark of the forest???

Midsummer Magic: a season of love

Romance is in the air. No, it's not Valentine's Day, it's midsummer!

I know, it's a few days past that magical day, Midsummer, and I'm posting a bit about Midsummer. 

Well, I have a good excuse, really I do. I was married on Midsummer, some years ago, so June 21st is sort of a sacred dayfor me. It's my wedding anniversary. So, as you can guess, I was out celebrating with my honey! 

  

Midsummer is a pagan holiday, the time of the summer solstice, and a time of love and magic. A time for dancing round the bonfire and drinking honey mead. Hey, it's summer in the northeren hemisphere, and that's reason enough to feel romantic.  The June moon is called the Mead Moon, because of the brewing of ale, or Honeymoon, as the bees hives are full of honey at this time. Lovers often said their vows at the Midsummer festival.  In the Scandinavian traditions, it's often said that many a Solstice moon has set a cradle rocking in late winter.  

 

Shakespeare wrote an epic play about the magic of midsummer. It's my favorite storyline for many reasons. First of all, it features lovers, three sets of them in the human realm, and also lovers in the Fairy realm.  

The play features several sets of lovers. The most prominant in the story is a woman named Hermia whose father is forcing her to marry a man she doesn't care for, or face the city law that decrees she can be put to death for disobeying her father. Well, this bold woman will have none of that!  She had backbone, in Shakespeare's writing. She wasn't about to stand by an let fate deal her a bad marriage. Considering this play was written in the 16th century, by a man, that's a pretty incredible story-line.  

 

Joseph Noel Paton's 1846 depiction of Midsummer Night's Dream

Hermia is in love with Lysander, but her father insists she must marry Demetrius. She loathes Demetrius. So, she and Lysander decide to run away together. They plan to steal away into the forest at night. She confides in her friend, Helena about her plans. Helena, being in love with Demetrius, tells him of Hermia's plan to run away with his rival. Demetrius chases Hermia and Lysander through the forest in the night, hoping to stop them. Helena, obseessed with Demetrius, chases after him. This sets in motion some strange and wondruous events as the four young people are noted by the fairy folk in the forest. 

 

Oberon and Puck observe the human lovers quarreling and decide to intervene

Oberon, the fairy king, feels sorry for Helena, as she traipses after Demetrius like a faithful and much abused dog. He instructs his servant, the mischievious Puck, to find a plant in the forest that when a drop of the juice is placed on the eyelid of the patient, they fall in love with the first person they see.  He intends for Puck to put this magical juice on Demetrius's eyes while he nods off, but as this is a comedy, you can guess the fairy sprite makes a mistake and puts it on Lysander's eyes instead. Lysander awakens and spies Helena first. He falls madly in love with her, abandoning Hermia.  

 

 Puck, realizing his mistake, then puts the juice on Demetrius's eyes, and he, too, is suddenly obsessed with Helena. Now Hermia is put in the position of being the despised one as both men obsess over the heretofore neglected Helena.  The confusion adds drama and fun to the mix, as the four progress through the forest and wrangle with each other, both in words and physically. 

 

 This is just one plot in the storyline. Shakespeare was a master when it comes to plots, and characters. He also has a secondary plot running through the story with Oberon, the fairy king, and his wife, Titiania, the fairy queen. These two are married but estranged. So, Oberon also has his minion Puck put some juice on Titiania's eyes while she sleeps, and Oberon has it set up so she falls in love with the first man she sees, a human lost in the forest whom Oberon has changed in form so he has the head of a donkey, and brays like one. This is Oberon's joke on his wife, making her fall in love with an ass. She awakens, and dotes on this poor human who has been transformed and is lost in the forest.  

In this epic romance fraught with magic and fairy dust, we are given a glimpse into the fairy world. We are introduced to Puck (also known as Robin Goodfellow), to the fairy servants who attend Queen Titiania, and to the hidden world they inhabit. This, coupled with the story of the human lovers, makes for some very mystical entertainment. 

Titiania falls in love with an ass

 

 The play has many themes running through it, and many, many characters. You almost need a score card to keep up, as there are persons in the city who are putting on a play in honor of the Duke's wedding feast, and they practice in the forest. Also, the Duke and his lady, the warrior Amazon he is betrothed to, have some scenes. In the end, of course, all is set to rights, but the fun and mischief caused by love magic gone awry is engaing storyline. 

 

 

 

 I have seen the play a few times over the years. Each time I find it being put on by a group of players I try to attend, as each director will give the story his own interpretation.  One such rendition at the University of Green Bay had a female Puck, complete with flaming red hair and the ability to control the wind. That was an awesome and entertaining rendition of the famous play. There was a movie made in 1999, starring Michelle Pfieffer as Titiania and Rupert Everett as Oberon. That one is so memorable, with Stanely Tucci as Puck.  It is truly an all star cast and worth a view if you are in the mood for midsummer magic, romance and fairy mischief. It has a slower pace than most theatre productions, but is worth the effort if you enjoy Shakespearean comedy.  

 

 The lovers end up being set to right by the end of the night. Puck is exhausted as he tries to correct his mistake on the rambuncious humans. Finally, they awaken in the morning with Demetrius being in love with Helena, who has loved him for a long time. Hermia is relieved to find that Lysander's affections are restored to her, as Puck's antidote works to take away his false love for Helena. And Hermia marries Lysander as her father is forced by the Duke to forgive his daughter and give his blessing in her choice of a husband. So, there are three weddings in one: The Duke marries his Amazon queen, Lysander marries Hermia, and Demetrius marries Helena.  And Titiania is released from her husband's mischievious love spell and she and Oberon make up in the end. It all ends happily, after some madcap adventures in the fairy realm. 

Happy Summer everyone!  Fall in love, often and with passion and determination!

 

 

Serial Sundays: The Gypsy's Curse, Chapter 7 continuted

The Gypsy's Curse, Chapter7 Continued, 
     and  Chapter 8 part one,


First, my apologies for missing last week's post. I've had some family health issues that have taken up my time. My husband has been ill and in the hospital, so I missed last Sunday. I'll make it up to you with an extra post this week.  Plan on visiting again Wed for a scheduled post.

 

Chapter 7 Continuted.

        After peeking at the new arrival in the courtyard, Zara made a hasty retreat to her attic.

       The man was younger than she imagined he’d be. He looked to be no more than thirty. She’d expected some sour old goat, pleasantly plump with gray hair and suffering from gout.

       What arrived was quite the opposite. A young, trim handsome fellow dressed in a heavy redingote, gray pants and the ever popular Hessian boots that men of wealth seemed to never be without. He had russet brown hair and seemed taller than the others in the courtyard. His tall beaver hat might be responsible for that assessment, she realized, and the fact that she was looking down at them from above. He was well dressed, and although somewhat stoic, he seemed uncommonly pleasant for a rich Gadje. He’d paused to chat with the two old retainers instead of bustling rudely past them when they emerged from the front door to welcome him.

         The arrival of the master worried her. It changed everything. She couldn’t stay here now, not when the house would soon be full of servants. She’d be noticed. But she really couldn’t leave, not now with the skies threatening snow and winter setting in. She’d starve out in the woods, and worse. With no shelter, she’d be exposed to the elements and soon sicken and die. Damn—what was she to do now?

        

Sitting cross legged on the mattress in her secret fortress above the house, she fiddled with a red ribbon she’d snatched from the lady’s chamber and wrapped it around her finger. Over the past week, she’d picked out a few serviceable dresses from the lady’s wardrobe downstairs, nothing too fancy, so as to attract attention, but nothing too plain either, as the woman didn’t possess plain clothing, and Zara didn’t want to be taken for lower class servant by those she encountered when she did enter the world outside this refuge.

She was Miss Sarah Jennings, from Martinique. She’d been traveling with her elderly uncle through the Lake District, when their coach overturned and went down the side of a steep hill. Her uncle Jasper had been killed, as had the coachman. She’d been thrown from the open coach door and survived, or so she’d tell those who wanted to know, but the coach was at the bottom of a ravine. She’d wandered the woods for some time, dazed, unable to find her way. That was as far as she had come in weaving her story.

        The wrecked coach was not a flim flam. While running from the hunters she’d encountered an abandoned coach at the bottom of a ravine some miles from here, and had taken the coin from the spilled trunks along with a few other small treasures that the dead men no longer needed. It was a gruesome undertaking, but she’d learned at an early age to be practical in such matters as a matter of survival. Every gypsy child understood by the time they eight years of age that when the troop encountered a moldering corpse in the woods the only thing left to be done for the poor soul was to check the pockets for valuables and say a prayer of thanks over the body for whatever small bounty might be found among their earthly remains. Thanks to the coach accident, she not only had an explanation for her wandering through this shire, but she had plenty of coin and some jewels she might be able to sell in a larger city. The clothing, however, had been distinctly male, so she left them scattered on the ravine floor.  

        Aside from the few well worn muslin dresses she’d scavenged from the lady’s room here, she’d found a few cast offs from an early time in the attic trunks, a very practical and serviceable winter cloak. The outer material was of green velvet and the fur lining was a rich sable. And wonder of wonders, there was a matching sable fur muff. Zara marveled at the item and found herself putting her hands into the delicious nest of soft hair several times, just to experience the luxury and warmth it afforded. She also found some more practical woolen drawers and matching woolen underskirt that obviously were from an earlier period as the ladies in current fashions were wont to wear flimsy, often sleeveless gowns of sheer muslin, even in the winter.

        Distant voices in the servant’s quarters opposite the attic startled her. Zara burrowed down beneath the cache of coverlets and blankets she’d acquired for her mattress bed, and remained still in anticipation of the attic door at the interior end of the room being thrust open. She lay quietly beneath the blankets, and after hearing nothing for several moments, she sat up and looked over the barricade of furniture, trunks, and discarded portraits that cluttered the oblong attic room. The door, being at least thirty feet away from her at the centre of the house, remained closed. The grey light coming in from the dormer windows in the long, narrow room  made it easy to navigate the jumble of discarded household items during the day. For night wandering, she’d made a careful path through the assorted refuse that was easy to traverse with a low tinned lantern. The door remained closed, and the voices she’d heard seemed to have moved on to the servant’s quarters on the opposite wing that housed the attic storeroom.

         Curious, Zara crept from her hiding place and tiptoed to the door. She pressed her ear against it and listened. The old woman’s voice rang loud and clear beyond the wooden barrier. It was plain the cottager’s wife was used to speaking loudly for the benefit of her spouse.

               “. . . and don’t be worrying none about being alone up here, Maggie. We should have another girl or two in by the end of the week. Ah, there’s a good lass, you’ll be cozy and warm that room. And see, it overlooks the lake.”

        Zara heard the muffled reply of the so called Maggie and then girlish giggles.

       “Oh, yes.” The cottager’s wife went on, “As first to arrive, you have the first choice of a room. I’ll not hear of anyone turning you out to a less welcome room, so never ye mind about that. You have any trouble with any of the servants, you just come to me, you hear?”

        Damn! More of them to come. Zara nibbled her lower lip, and considered her options. She could flee in the night. She had coin, and some clothing that would allow her pass as a Gadja woman of some means. Still, she’d have to take lodgings at an Inn and she knew that a woman travelling alone was considered improper. It would raise more questions for her to arrive at a local inn unescorted right now, and she didn’t want anyone to be suspicious when the villagers in Lexford were searching for her. It was a little over a week since the Widow’s murder and if they were still searching for her, she might encounter trouble along the way if not at the inn itself. Besides, if she spent her coin wintering at an inn she’d deplete it quickly. It would be much easier to stay here for a little while, until she could figure out an alternative.

        The voices came nearer again. She realized they were heading toward the stairs, but retreated behind an old portrait leaning against the wall at an angle just to be safe. As she suspected, the female voices grew distant once more as they descended the stairs, leaving her alone on the third floor.

        She slipped out from behind the shadows of the portrait, and returned to her small ‘camp’ at the far end of the room. She slumped down on the bed, and nibbled at a meat pie she’d grabbed from the kitchens last night after the old couple retired. The pastry was very tasty. The old woman was a good cook. And there would more tasty delights to pilfer tonight, as she’d caught the fragrant aroma of roasting venison wafting through the house when she’d snuck down to the lady’s room this afternoon to look for reading material. She dared not go to the first floor during the day, not with the old couple in residence. And now that the master had returned—with his manservant and a girl—oh bother—she’d best be careful not to stray too far from the attics until after everyone retired for the night.

 

                                                  Chapter Eight

       

  Stephan sat before the fire in the study, his conscience doused in a generous libation of brandy. The flames swam before his eyes, fluid and sizzling, the red orange tongues licking the darkness and making it melt beneath their steady actions.

         The house was empty, still, in the midnight hour. The servants, the sparse few that resided here, had all gone to bed. Four of them, a miserly number, compared to the full staff that inhabited these thick, ancient walls before he fled. Jasper and Annie were sleeping in their room off the kitchen, while Brisbane and Maggie had each retreated to their attic rooms. He was alone in the main part of the Abbey, alone with his muddled thoughts, alone with the misery that never seemed to relent. Misery of a man betrayed by the woman he loved—and the brutal knowledge that her demise might very well be his own fault.

          He poured himself another glass of amber courage, and cradled the cool crystal between his palms. Coward, the house seemed to scream at him in the pensive silence. Only a weak man turns to strong drink to evade his conscience.   Julia may have been a light skirt, but she didn’t deserve to die for her indiscretion. She didn’t deserve to have her throat ripped out by a savage beast, by a cursed man who had once claimed to love her.

          Fool.  He tossed back the goblet and finished the fiery liquid in one long draught. He gasped in satisfaction as the harsh liquid burned through his throat and down into his belly.

          He was not a man given to melancholy, but the scandal of his wife’s peccadilloes, coupled with her violent death had made mincemeat of his heart and left only a hollow cavern where he once might have possessed a soul.

          Perhaps coming here was a mistake. He fled this place two years ago when his wife’s body was brought from the nearby woods where she’d been slain. After the funeral he’d had the house closed up and sent all the servants away, vowing to never come to this cursed place again. But thoughts of Julia stalked him wherever he went, and vicious nightmares claimed his unconscious mind whenever he closed his eyes and tried to sleep. It was apparent that running away from what happened here was not the answer.

         No, he must face his demons, at least the beautiful, dark haired temptress who once ruled his heart. He loved her still, despite her shocking betrayal of their vows. He would always love Julia, and may the devil take his soul for the fool he was for loving his tormentor.

         The heat of the fire and the soothing tendrils of warmth curling through his blood as the brandy seeped through his body made him drowsy. Stephan stretched his legs out in front of him, his booted heels resting on the carpet, his knees splayed and his hands curled over the arms of the chair. He tipped his head back and let his eyes close and his mind drift. Perhaps, in coming here, he could make peace with her death at last and vanquish the dark dreams that haunted his mind. Perhaps, he could find out what really happened to her that night, and stop imagining that he had transformed into a crazed creature and wreaked a primitive vengeance on her and her lover for conspiring to destroy him.

         The crisp, crackling sound of the fire echoed in the large study. It felt good to be home. He’d spent many happy days here as a boy, hunting in the woods, riding with his father, playing with his three sisters. The Abbey had been a cheerful place while his parents and siblings inhabited it. If only he could erase the blight of his disastrous marriage from this place. Her blood seemed to stain the wood of each room, her blood seemed to seep into the foundations and give birth to monsters and demons whose only purpose was to shackle his dark soul.

         Stirring from a light, inebriated doze, Stephan sighed as he opened his eyes. He started, sat forward and clutched the arms of the chair as he took in the apparition lingering near the door. It must be some trick of his imagination, too much alcohol after a long, wearying journey through a desolate winter landscape. His Julia could not be standing in the shadows watching him. Yet, the slight, dark haired lady in white bore a frightening resemblance to the woman he had loved to distraction, and lost. Or was it that he’d never really had her at all? Yes, truth might be a bitter drink but it had a way of cutting through a man, bringing instant sobriety.

        “Speak, spirit!” His bitterness rose up from somewhere within, chasing the stunned coward from his bones. “Don’t lurk and watch me from the shadows, speak, do your worst, damn me to hell if you will, I don’t care. I’ve been in hell these past years, all for you, Julia.”

         The spirit did not move. She seemed startled that he would speak to her, that he could see her at all. Perhaps she was not accustomed to being visible to the mortal realm. She retreated  into the deep shadows. All that remained of her was a halo of white against the stark cloak of black night evading the yellow flames.

         “Well, then, a fine ghost you turn out to be, too timid in death to speak to the man who made you thus.”

         “Not timidity but prudence binds my tongue.” Said she.

         Stephan knew in that instant that he was either too drunk or not drunk enough. The blood ceased to flow at the sound of her voice and his heart refused to pick up its erratic beat for a defiant moment. He gasped, struggling to keep his composure and not bolt from the cold stone room lit only by the eerie flicker of shadow and flame from the fire.

 copyright Lily Silver 2013