Ahead of Wellington's Verb Festival, we talk to children and young adult author, playwright and spoken word poet, Helen Vivienne Fletcher about The Problem with Fairytales.
Photo: Verb Wellington
The Claw Handed Princess and the Pea
By Helen Viviene Fletcher
There once was a princess who was many things
A leader, a dancer, a necromancer
which is not the same as necrophilia
because this is not sleeping beauty
and this fairy tale values consent.
The princess also had a claw hand
and it was not her defining feature
but because sometimes people are narrow-minded
and afraid of disability
it became her name.
The claw handed princess didn’t mind.
She knew her own worth
and used her challenges to raise awareness
and promote change
One day the princess made a wish on a pea.
It didn't come true
because vegetables aren't magical
and wishing on them is kind of silly.
But a wizard over heard her wishing
and without letting her finish
the wizard offered her a potion
which would fix the princess’s hand.
But the claw handed princess kept her claw hand
for she knew she was not broken
and conforming to societal norms
would not be fixing her
just devaluing her uniqueness.
The wizard asked
how would she ever find a prince
without the potion to fix her hand
and reminded her that even without her deformity
she was not very attractive anyway.
Because even though the wizard was a “nice guy”
he felt it was important to bring
the princess down a peg or two.
For her own sake.
No one would like a stuck up
Princess like her otherwise.
But the princess just smiled for she was a woman full of goals
and agency and did not need a spouse
to complete her.
And if, someday, she did wish to marry
she knew physical appearance would not hold her back
because this is not Shrek
and people do not need to be transformed to the same level
of perceived conventional physical attractiveness
to enter a relationship.
So the princess held on to the pea
As a reminder of the encounter
And of her own self worth
Which again, was a little silly
Because it was just a pea
And by now a little mouldy
Then one day the Claw-Handed princess did marry a prince
or she married a princess
or she didn't get married at all.
This is a pick-a-path fairy tale
Either way she lived happily
but not ever after
because sometimes people are sad...
and that's okay.
