Today I am going to introduce a character who is well known in the story of Hansel and Gretel, but in my story the evil witch does not live in a candy house and does not eat children.
Instead, I am going to compare my witch, Schönia, to the story of The Fisherman and His Wife. In the story of The Fisherman and His Wife, the wife wishes for a cottage, and each wish after she wishes for a more elaborate home. The wish granter is a magic fish living in the lake nearby. What the man and his wife do not know is the fish is an evil, magical prince. Eventually, the wife wishes for something evil and selfish. She wishes for the whole world. This angers the evil fish, and he takes back all that he has given. He leaves the fisherman and the fisherman’s wife with nothing but their poor, little shack.
My character, Schönia, is much like the fisherman’s wife but also different. Unlike the fisherman’s wife, Schönia is wealthy and has no need to wish for castles or the world. Instead, she wishes for eternal beauty. The Fairy Godfather, enlisted to assist her by her father, flicks his wand. In return for Schönia’s selfishness, the wand grants her the complexion matching that of her personality. When she looks in the mirror she is a hideous, green witch. She squeals and tells him that she will have his head on a stake for this. The Fairy Godfather tells Schönia that only she can change herself back, and with that he disappears.
Although Schönia loses her beauty and is shunned by her father, she is not the only one to suffer from her selfishness. Her soon to be husband, Prince George, transforms into a wolf. The Fairy Godfather then tells Prince George, “this is the price to pay for letting others define you by who you associate with.” This being because even Prince George disliked the attitude of Princess Schönia. Before he leaves, the Fairy Godfather also gives George the knowledge that he may change his circumstances as well.
Now that I have given a small comparison between a favorite Grimm tale and my own new creation, I will leave you with an important connection between Schönia and another character. This character was also affected by the Fairy Godfather through a wish, but her wish was a mere thought of a once poor maiden.
Grimhilde (name borrowed from Disney) is a poor young girl who dreams of being beautiful and falling in love. One day, after fighting with her mother, she hides in her room while thinking about being a princess. Before the words leave her mouth, the Fairy Godfather appears and with a flick of his wand, her wish is granted. Grimhilde transforms, and in a mere second she is no longer thirteen, she is thirty and the most beautiful in all of the land. She is half angry and half entranced by her new form. She wants to be old enough and beautiful enough to be wed to a king, but she also does not want to lose seventeen years of her life. She asks the Fairy Godfather if he would change her back but he replies with, “No takesies backsies.” She frowns at his childishness and he continues to explain her wish’s special instructions. He tells Grimhilde that until seventeen years pass, she will remain thirty and will remain the most beautiful in all of the land. He then disappears, leaving Grimhilde in her ambivalence. She then marries a king who already has a young baby girl, and becomes a stepmother to the child with lips as red as blood, hair as black as ebony, and skin as white as snow. Fifteen years later, Grimhilde is still disgusted with being married to man who is constantly aging, already surpassing forty. She seeks support for her woes in a support group called Misfortunate Magical Offenses. This is where she eventually meets our character Schönia.
