This is (my apologies in advance) an extremely long continuation of the analysis I presented in the Descent, in which I explain the next step of the archetypal Heroine’s Journey as presented in The Force Awakens.
Consider yourself warned: this presupposes a relationship between Rey and Kylo Ren which transcends the familial. Hic sunt leones.
Classic reylo meta from the early days of the fandom.
Incredibly deep and thought-provoking meta shining a light on the parallels between reylo, ancient myths, folktales and works of literature such as Eros and Psyche, Beauty and the Beast, Prince Lindworm, East of the Sun, West of the Moon, Bluebeard, Dracula, Phantom of the Opera, Crimson Peak… By explaining the psychology behind these kinds of stories it is made clear how the dynamic of uniting with the monstrous or “other” man is really a story of female self actualization.
Also the prediction list towards the end holds up VERY well.
TL; DR: in which I drink too much wine and try to comprehend why Star Wars is my life now.
The person who looks outward dreams, the person who looks inward awakens. – Carl Jung
I wasn’t really expecting to have a visceral or emotional attachment to The Force Awakens.
I had hope, which is what all fans have even when they’ve over-familiarized themselves with the basic plot beats beforehand (major character deaths included). I’m an unrepentant spoiler-philiac. I knew what I was going to see. But I don’t think I could have ever anticipated what I saw, a fact which I have taken a month and half to process and the reason I am rambling on it now.
Classic reylo meta paralleling the protagonists of The Force Awakens to characters from the Hades and Persephone myth (and not always in the way you think).
Pioneer work done in the early days of the reylo fandom and still as relevant as back then.
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RADIANCE by Grace Draven
THE PRINCE OF NO VALUE
Brishen Khaskem, prince of the Kai, has lived content as the nonessential spare heir to a throne secured many times over. A trade and political alliance between the human kingdom of Gaur and the Kai kingdom of Bast-Haradis requires that he marry a Gauri woman to seal the treaty. Always a dutiful son, Brishen agrees to the marriage and discovers his bride is as ugly as he expected and more beautiful than he could have imagined.
THE NOBLEWOMAN OF NO IMPORTANCE
Ildiko, niece of the Gauri king, has always known her only worth to the royal family lay in a strategic marriage. Resigned to her fate, she is horrified to learn that her intended groom isn’t just a foreign aristocrat but the younger prince of a people neither familiar nor human. Bound to her new husband, Ildiko will leave behind all she’s known to embrace a man shrouded in darkness but with a soul forged by light.
Two people brought together by the trappings of duty and politics will discover they are destined for each other, even as the powers of a hostile kingdom scheme to tear them apart.
All her life, nineteen-year-old Liesl has heard tales of the beautiful, mysterious Goblin King. He is the Lord of Mischief, the Ruler Underground, and the muse around which her music is composed. Yet, as Liesl helps shoulder the burden of running her family’s inn, her dreams of composition and childish fancies about the Goblin King must be set aside in favor of more practical concerns.
But when her sister Käthe is taken by the goblins, Liesl journeys to their realm to rescue her sister and return her to the world above. The Goblin King agrees to let Käthe go—for a price. The life of a maiden must be given to the land, in accordance with the old laws. A life for a life, he says. Without sacrifice, nothing good can grow. Without death, there can be no rebirth. In exchange for her sister’s freedom, Liesl offers her hand in marriage to the Goblin King. He accepts.
Down in the Underground, Liesl discovers that the Goblin King still inspires her—musically, physically, emotionally. Yet even as her talent blossoms, Liesl’s life is slowly fading away, the price she paid for becoming the Goblin King’s bride. As the two of them grow closer, they must learn just what it is they are each willing to sacrifice: her life, her music, or the end of the world.
I really like this book. It reads a little bit like Labyrinth fan fiction. Of course it features original characters. But the author is actually pretty upfront about it.
Occasional self-reblog.
Original story, strongly influenced by the movie Labyrinth.
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Ah Labyrinth…where do I even start? I love this movie and I have loved it for a long time. Jareth was one of my first childhood crushes. I was doomed from the beginning….always the villains.
The movie is charming, the puppets are amazing, the tunes are catchy, the heroine is plucky and the villain sexy. Perfect.😍
Occasional self-reblog.
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Monsters and Villains 