Today I was telling one of my friends how most fairytales and really famous stories aren’t even original...they all have mythology roots. For example, Beauty and the Beast; the beast keeps a beautiful girl in a creepy castle away from her family and the place she grew up in...sounds pretty similar to the Greek myth of Hades and Persephone. Hades fell in love with Persephone and kidnapped her to live in the Underworld with him, and only let her leave and see her family for a certain price. The fairytale also shares similarities with the myth of Cupid and Psyche... a monster (Cupid,) a strange castle with strange servants, a beautiful girl who falls in love with someone who is supposed to be hideous. The myths predate the fairytales by centuries and the Brothers Grimm were obviously familiar with it.
Another tale retold is Robin Hood, an honorable outlaw who hangs out with the outcasts of society, skilled with archery, and always on the run from a slow- witted sheriff with his friend Little John, despite being a favorite of the commoners. As a kid I began noticing eerie similarities to the story of King David in the Bible. David is so favored by the Israelites that King Saul grows nervous and wants to kill him. Fortunately his friend Johnathan (Little John?) who is skilled in archery warns him and he escapes and joins a band of outlaws. Despite Saul’s murderous intents, David spares his life when he unknowingly trespasses into the outlaw’s cave, saying,” Some urged me to kill you, but I spared you.” This is similar to Robin’s words to the Sheriff after a similar encounter, “I could have killed you but I let you go.” Although one is much older then the other there are obvious similarities between the two that I find difficult to ignore.
I call this the Metamorphosis Effect. It starts with songs and legends that were passed down through generations. When they were finally written down and ingrained in different cultures, the stories morphed, like butterflies coming out of their cocoons. As things changed in the world the stories did too, retold over and over until they barely resemble the originals.
As a writer it is very hard to come up with a story that has never been told before, because all my ideas stem from the Old Tales. You have to think of something that hasn’t been thought of, or take an old story and make it into something new. It’s something I’ve always struggled with.
