In "Felicia and the Pot of Pinks," do you feel the laborer’s wife should have been turned into a hen? Did the crime fit the punishment?

-- Anonymous, December 06, 2004

Answers

I actually found it rather amusing that Felicia's first instinct was to kill the hen. Pshyeah, kind-hearted and sweet, that.

I think that the laborer's wife had a cruel and harsh punishment not at all suited to her crime. Think of how many other times a woman makes a similar mistake in a story--gives up her husband's ring, gives up her husband's lamp, trusts the old beggar woman, etc. etc.-- but instead is rewarded with happiness in the end. I feel rather sorry for the poor woman--just for sharing a story, to be turned into a bird! Not nice at all.

And I do have too much motivation, thank you very much.

~*~

-- Anonymous, December 06, 2004

Sure, the punishment was a maybe little harsh. However, being turned into a hen was certainly symbolic: the hen (for whatever reason, I never really have figured out why) is represented as a gossipy and brainless bird. (see also the men turned into swine in the Odyssey and the princes turned into harmless sheep in The Wonderful Sheep). So overall, the punishment was fitting, and the woman learned her lesson in the end (the classic fairy-tale ending - the protagonistic characters all end up happy).

and please stop with the name in quotes thing. I did it one too many times, and now everyone is doing it, and it's just gotten out of hand. Besides, there needs to be a silly story for it (for example, Deathstar the Annihilator was a chicken).

-- Anonymous, December 06, 2004

I think that the punishment was indeed harsh, but it was unduly necessary. If someone were gossiping about something utterly important that you wished to keep secret (as in, where one of your best friends is hiding so they can kill him/her), how would you feel? It had to be stopped. The only difference is that the Queen had it in her power to stop it without killing her. I mean, if she REALLY wanted to, she could just kill her instead of turning her into a hen.

-- Anonymous, December 07, 2004

Well it may not be just but it didn't bother me. She was going to give away the whole secret, had to shut her up. She didn't really commit a crime, and well it was fine. The fairy was looking out for her neice and well if the rival fairy found out there would be problems. Maybe she didn't need to be a hen for so long but I was cool with it.

-ror

Anybody noticing this whole fairies turning people into thing like the wonderfuls heep. Especially princesses finding out fromt he victims as a flashback. And that Felicia married her cousin?!

-- Anonymous, December 07, 2004

I think that the punishment was a bit cruel. I do see the connection of she talked about things she really should not be talking about and now she cannot talk, but the other transformed people could not talk as well. So I really do not think the punishment was right.

-- Anonymous, December 07, 2004

I think she did deserve it. I don't think it's really a question of whether or not she deserved it. I think it's just kind of a drop-in to say to the kids that will invariably hear the story "Hey, gossip and you're a chicken. Literally." Kind of a back-up moral.

-- Anonymous, December 07, 2004

Well, as an All-American Patriot and Justice System Supporter, I feel the punishment should fit the crime. If someone has a tendency to talk too much about other people's business, then shut him or her up for a while. This may be a little extreme for us, but for a justice system based on morals and the good guys winning, it seems all right to me. Besides, what is so bad about being a chicken? You get to run around making weird noises all day and eat or sleep whenever you want. Anyway, after the laborer's wife served her term of punishment, she was turned back to a human without even getting eaten.

-- Anonymous, December 07, 2004

Well, the punishment certainly fit the crime, and the Fairy seemed to know that everything would turn out alright. Therefore, she only planned to morph these people for a limited amount of time. I don't think that the soldiers really deserved to be turned into cabbages though. They were just following orders; it's not as if they had a personal vendetta against Felicia.

Take that Senior Walk!

-- Anonymous, December 07, 2004

I think in this case the nurse deserved her punishment, as her "clucking" could've led to someone's death. The nurse knows Felicia's entire story, and as far as the reader knows she is aware of the danger Felicia's in, what with Henry after her mother and all. Of course, it wouldn't be faerie justice if the crime didn't fit the punishment, and I think this is a good example - the nurse can continue squawking to whoever she wants, but with less dire consequences.

And while I'll refrain from using a quoted middle name, I'm afraid I can't resist ASCII art.

-- Anonymous, December 07, 2004

I also think that she deserved to be turned into the hen to shut her up. The way I see it, death was probably the other option for her, so making her a hen is much more kind than killing her.

-- Anonymous, December 08, 2004

Well, you see hens are being pretty squabbling, petty, and noisy, which fit the housewife's gossipy nature, I suppose. She couldn't keep her mouth shut.

I don't suppose what she did was technically a crime, though...I mean, not, she shouldn't have, but being poultrified seems rather steep. She was made mindless and while, humanly speaking, silent, she still babbled in sqwaks and clucks.

-- Anonymous, December 08, 2004