The Fabula Rasa

Forget the nighttime tales of your youth. This... is Origin

Defense Dream

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A group of travelers were dumped into a vast forest. The travelers were a group of male and females. One male was Hispanic, black/brown hair, brown eyes, and tall. 

As we continued through the forest, we arrived to a grass plain with a single brown bark tree in the middle. Since the grass was like those found on a well cared for lawn, we started to travel across. 

We were several feet from the midway tree when several of the people ahead of me started to fall into the ground. I took one step and also fell through. The grass started to break. It had the same pattern as stepping on a weak ice lake that was cracking. Feeling the water up to my neck, speckles of dirt on my space and hair, I see we were stepping on floating grass (roll-out lawn grass floating). As the pieces began to part, I see an alligator eyeing me. It was a typical alligator coloring and look. Thankfully the water was thin, even if it was brown, allowing me to flee backwards. Eventually I was able to heave myself up on the solid piece of grass land. 

Walking on the grassy plain back, I was led to a grey slab rocky castle. the first floor contained 3 rooms. the 1 staircase led to the second floor. it contained 2 rooms. a walkway led to a tower. In this tower was a hidden room where a tablet on the floor has to be stepped on for it to open. When it opened, Indian styled jewerly and one statue appeared. As you continue past the hidden room, you see a hay stack, a barrel and cobbled stone floor. The windows were cut out outs of the rock, none contained glass.  Going back to the walkway, a chained up tiger suddenly appeared, guarding the walkway.

Sensing danger, i ended up in a square court yard which enclosed by the same type slab stone waist high. The same perfect lawn green grass was in the middle of the courtyard and around us. Facing the castle, I would be standing on the back left corner, the Hispanic man on the front left, and the rest of the people scattered on the right side. 

Being the leader, I gave orders for the scattered people to draw the dragon's attention. Didn't work because I had to duck as it swooped in and tried to blast me away with the fire spewing from its mouth. I yelled at the man, berating him for not shooting the water cannon (instead of cannon balls it shot water) at the dragon, instead he soaked me. Yelling at him to aim again, I raised my sword as the dragon swooped in and fired another attack at me. The water cannon missed again and I had to duck real low to avoid being hit. The dream ended with me looking at the water cannon in anger.
Reference Drawing: http://www.artmotive.com/imagine-dragon-flying1.html












Snakes

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Hello Blog,

I have had several dreams but they were personal so I wasn't sure if it was appropriate to post. I have been getting with my PTSD nightmares. I don't remember than as vividly now and most of the time I forget. Jason was probably right that by suppressing my creative side, a side that I used to cope with my issues, was having a negative affect on me. During middle school I used to read, A LOT, and draw. When I arrived at high school, I started drawing, painting, reading even more to cope with the nightmares. I have not done any of that since getting into college. College was all consuming, especially when I was accepted into the nursing program. I find myself wanting to draw, paint, sketch so much more now, like a compulsion. I would love to take art classes again to develop my skills once more not for professional use but to accurately draw what I want to express. I find that the visions that are still left in me when I awaken, I cannot draw adequately. It is very frustrating. Words cannot explain all the vivid colors and details in my mind.

Well on to last night's dreams:

I was Adam Sandler, weird right?  Wearing white loose clothing and brown soft leather moccasins (?)


Scenery:
I was standing on a mid sized, mostly smooth, round rock not to far from the beach. The beach sand was a nice light peach cream but gritty. The water was a mixture of green and blue that turned to white foam as it gently caressed the sand with each ebb and flow. A baby blue sky with a few faint clouds. The wind headed in the direction of the beach. It was the type of wind that pulled at your clothing but isn't uncomfortable.
Three hazy children were by the water playing with the sand. They seem to be between toddler and preschool.  I only know they were white with brown hair, one was a boy and a girl. The third I couldn't get a clear view.

Story:
I had a purpose on that rock. It was to protect those on the beach by scaring off the ... animals. I would wave, yell and stamp on the rock to scare them away. Looking at where the rock meets the water, I can see small green cartoon looking fish trying to climb on my rock. It had those puffy lips in a circle with round eyes staring at me. Eww. One got on and began to crawl towards me, I had to stomp next to it so it would jump back into the water. Next, were the snakes....one snake got on the rock and it scared the pants off me. This snake was multicolored and shiny. The pattern was black, yellow, purple/pink/red color, yellow, black, yellow, purple/pink/red, etc. It's tongue came out as it faced me and it began to coil itself.

The dream transitioned into me running away from the snake. I was running through a white house with hallways and rooms left and right. I went into a room, closed the door, and stared at the bottom. Where there was barely a gap, it got larger, big enough for the snake to slip its head inside. I smacked its head back and it retracted. It tried again and I kicked it. I began to be desperate. If I put my shirt in the gap it can probably push it and pierce it with its sharp teeth. If I used my leather shoes it would cover small but not all the gap, leaving my feet vulnerable. Finally I looked under the door and saw the freaking snake right in the middle close to the door. It was nicely coiled, head resting on its body tucked in, beady black eyes looking at me and its tongue slithered out....

I forgot the rest of the dream on purpose. I chose to forget about it because I get a gut wrenching dread in me just trying to remember. My heart picks up its pace, my joints feel weak....some things are best left alone.





This picture was inspired from an argument with my mother in which she accused me of being a calculator. Calculator = cold and heartless and logical thinking. This was because I told her instead of thinking with her emotions, to try and use her brain. Some situations require emotions to be put aside and think about the situation with a clear mind. 

ACS did a surprise visit to the house upon hearing lil bro was back in NY. 

Mom ALLOWED him to come back when she knew the younger siblings (lil bro and lil sis) were in hot water with ACS. 

If she was thinking with her MIND, she would have told him: (1) To wait a while before visiting her NY, (2) She will visit him in the country, or (3) have him come to Florida and stay in Uncle house so she can travel there to visit him. 

Being fed up with her selfishness, I didn't give her the sympathy she sought, instead I told her why it happened in the first place. She didn't like being told it was her fault in the first place. (1) She told me to butt out the situation and not to mention it again. Due to this, I threw away all documentation regarding the incident - she called today asking for them. Unjustifiably, she was upset at me for doing so even when I repeated it's what she told me to do - BUTT OUT. (2)  Why allow him back if she knew it would antagonize the situation? (3) She is not following ACS protocol.  (4) She asks for my advice than doesn't follow through with it.  (5) She thought she brushed it under the rug, now her denial and selfishness is coming back to bite her.

Well she pissed me off by calling me call hearted, that I would never understand because I'm not a mother, she just wanted to see him because he's her son, I won't understand anything until I have children....blah blah blah. It's all bullshit justification on her end. It's the crap parents say when they know they are wrong and don't want to be proven wrong. 

Anyways, that is where my inspiration came from for this picture. TAH DAHH!!

Odd Sex Dream

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Okay Blog, I had the weirdest, oddest sex dream last night. Like dreams, they sometimes make no sense. Yes, I remember my dreams with extreme clarity. I don't make these details up.

Let's describe the fashion that all the people had on. Best way to show an example is Madonna's Vogue performance for the MTV Awards '90. It was 18th century France fashion. I had a daring decolletage showing with a full skirt, adding all the frills and lace to it (even a few bows - eww). My hair was like Madonna, I felt curls going down towards my chest, hiding my chest. It only gave a peek of my cleavage when I moved. The men  were wearing those vest, coats, knee length pants that showed off white stockings and buckled shoes. 




Now off to the events.


It started off as two women (someone else and I) and two men were walking through Co-Op City next to the highway where Checkers is located. As we are walking there is a sexual tension in the air. I am aroused but have not chosen a male to satisfy me. 


The location transformed itself into a garden, the type without flowers and off to the side was a small iron table. We all end up on the floor leaning on our side. While I was leaning to my right, the male across from me was leaning towards his left. His right hand on the groundd in front of him. His right leg crossed his left one. His outfit was in the baby blue tones. The eyes were brown, skin was white, and he had a lean figure. His face was covered in white powder, red cheeks, painted lips, a fake mole on the top left side lip, and a white wig.  This wig curled over his ears but much bigger than the picture shown. He was staring at me, a look that said he wanted to gobble me up. 

I put my left hand on my hip and slipped it into a pocket in my dress. In this pocket.....was the inside of a tampon all bloody with a wrapper around it. I was disgusted that it was in my dress. While I was holding it out in the middle of the circle, the man plucked it from my hand, unwrapped it and started to suck the blood off the tampon!! While he sucked, he kept staring at me intently. I guess he thought this was arousing but boy was it NOT. The man kept sucking as if it was a lollipop.  Than the dream scene changed.

The location changed to being in a mansion. It's walls were a dark gold with brown wood furniture. There is a staircase the leads down into the basement. French glass doors separated the grand room from the hallway. The grand room had wood flooring, gold french glass doors leading to the garden, golden chairs with red leather and .... a bar on the left side. There was a small piece of wall that led from the hallway doors into 1/4 of the room.

 A man followed me into the room (brown hair, brown eyes, lightly tan complexion, lean form, maybe 5'10 feet). He than pushed me onto the wall. Our bodies pressed together. We began kissing, our tongues stroked one another. My skirt was slowly being lifted, when I was free I wrapped my legs around his waist. My arms went from around his neck to ... magically a trapeze appeared for me to grab on (Thick rope attached to the ceiling that led to a triangle that I could grab by raising my arms above my head). Underwear also disappeared and he thrust inside of me. I moaned at how deeply he felt inside of me.

A few minutes later I began to hear people walking down the stairs, continuing on with the wall screwing I waited until the last moment they could possibly see us before dis entangling myself from him. I just arrived in the hallway when two men arrived, different from the other two earlier but same style of dress. In my head I said to hell with it, I want to keep screwing, if they watch they watch. Went back into the room where the man and I fondled each other but he didn't want to have sex anymore. Leaving him I went back into the hallway and the dream took the oddest turn EVER.

As I arrived in the hallway I knew I HAD to get off the floor. There was a worm like mass underneath the floor that can sense my movements through direct contact. Jumping onto a stringy woolly rug, I used a piece of wood to push myself towards the stairs. The bump on the floor kept circling me, waiting to grab me at any second. Finally making it to the stairs I ran up only to encounter a hallway that became a river of weirdness.








There were two pillars in the hallway river. The river itself was purple sluggish goo that contained hypnotizing black and white swirls, dots, and lightly dark orange curvy things. There was a cartoon monster with a bulbous head. Its eyes were round, its mouth open wide ready to it me, teeth that were rounded. I was swimming in the goo trying to get away from it. Kept getting distracted by the swirls and the pull of the river. Woke up still running away from the monster.

**Make the big monster smiling my accident, suppose to be upside down. Still learning to draw**


There were three separate dreams that transitioned into one another.

1 - there were two people, a man and a woman, with tan skin and white hair. Each had a brown cloak. Both were standing on grass with white coarse rock around them. They were in a valley with it's wall cut out like steps. In this valley was a city made of white rock. The two people were together when they faced a vision, a woman with brown hair in a plain soft looking gown, floating and moving to a breeze the others did not feel. She told them to run, run hard and fast. That they only had three minutes to get out. The man and woman packed brown leather bags which took them two minutes. The lady vision appeared again and said to forget the bags, RUN! A horse, its mane and coat white, appeared. The man climbed bareback onto the horse, pulling the woman behind him. They raced towards the dense forest and I sensed why we had to run. An atomic bomb, like the disaster of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, was upon them.








2 - The vision than changed. First let me explain the room. Three walls contain three arches. Out of the three, two have walls have faces on all the arches. The wall where I am standing has old armor between each arch. Each armor has a plume on their heads and where holding a spear. On the far wall where I was looking were two floor to ceiling windows in gold. All the furniture and arches were made of dark wood. There was a table in the far back wall containing books, the left table contained papers. The middle table was the worst. There was a puppet sitting there with a hat in straw facing a table that contained a globe on top. It's clothes were also dark. While light was pouring in from the windows, the room was still gloomy. Each space in the arch on the walls was pitch black.











I was child standing on the left of the three arches that faced the room. My right hand was touching the beam of the arch. A group of children ran ahead into the room but I held back in fear. I remember clearly a small blond hair white child disappearing into the last arch on the right side. Yelling out "No, I won't go in. I won't," the puppet slowly turned its head towards me, never moving his body. It terrified me even more and I ran backwards.






















3 - I ran into a white still gloomy hallway that veers right. I stopped. Never looking anywhere but down my chest, I saw through my peripheral a room with things inside. It was something white and red. A white Persian cat slinking towards my left leg. Than I went completely petrified....a deep terror, and I am not kidding, a soul wrenching terror entered me. I could feel my neck pulse bounding away, small tremors running through me and still I could not move. The cat suddenly climbed on it's back feet and sunk its front claws into my leg all while smiling.......a maniac evil smile like a cartoon.  Mix the chesire cat from alice in wonderland with a persian and add a dose of pure evil.

I start to feel like I'm on choking in fear...I still couldn't wake up. It started climbing and climbing until it reach my stomach. Saying again, "No, I won't" the cat replies, "You won't leave me."  The cat starts clawing into my stomach, shredding it six claws, three on each paw making deep grooves/lacerations on my stomach. Blood starts to pour from wounds, staining my white shirt. I could see the layer of fat attached to the skin between each cut. When the cat stops I could finally move and push the cat away. The cat converted itself into a demon, a lizard looking one which started to wind around upwards on my right arm. It lightly touched it's head to my jaw, anchoring its two front legs on my shoulder and it slithered. I felt the breeze of its tongue.........than I woke up.

Goblins

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Recently I dreamed I was in a forest. There was an open space in the forest, flat brown dirt. The space was in the shape of an oval with a "road" leading in. At the point where the road met the space, light filtered from the trees in a halo.


I was a knight on a white horse holding a spear and a shield. My face armor was pointy in the middle, like those seen in Beauty and the Beast.


I knew I had to survive for as long as I can and they will come in "rounds." Each round getting bigger and bigger.

First two goblins arrived holding full length shields. They had a head armor with the face shield up, a red feather on top that glistened gold in the light.

The goblins were ugly. No smooth skin, just bumpy dark gray skin with a hooked beak nose and ears that stuck out like elves. Their hands were clawed. Each standing straight and walking in unison.

I ran to them and struck them down with my spear than pulled back. I looked an the dead goblin's bodies were gone, in its place, six goblins arrived dressed the same way. Two rows, three goblins each. I got pushed back to the middle of the clearing. After trying them down, I ran towards the entrance again.

This time their were three marching goblins but two goblins on horses galloping towards me with their spears pointed. The spears on the right arm and smaller shield on the left. I ran the horse towards the end of the circle and knew I met my end. The two goblins struck me down. One face stayed, a goblin just laughing and laughing evilly.


This is an image of a similar face structure that was in my dream.

In the first dream a young woman gave me a golden straight haired child, a boy, to take care of. He looked to be about 2-3 years old. 


Days turned into weeks and she still never came back for her child. I called the police and the operator said they'll be there soon. When they arrived, it was two police women. One was Hispanic looking, brown hair in a bun with brown eyes and tanned complexion. I told them, "It's been two and a half weeks since she gave me the child. He is like a son to me now. The mother renounces her daughter and the daughter renounces her son. She will not acknowledge him." 


Scene changes. The grandmother of this child berates her daughter for leaving her son, for not accepting him.


He never left my arms when speaking about the child. His name stayed with me, Issaic. 


"She lives within six blocks of Washington Heights." The police women went to look for the mother.....


I felt a deep love for this child and didn't want to give him up. The dream changed but this scene stayed with me hours after I awakened. 

Hello Blog! It's been another while. My fiance today suggested since I always remember my vivid dreams to write them down in my blog so that is what I am going to do from now on, my own personal dream list. So last night's dream:


On a snow cap mountain, surrounded by windy snow that makes it difficult to see more than one feet in front of you, a group of travelers were continuing to scale the mountain. It is all snow and rocky terrain as they travel. The group had no discerning features other than completely brown with a mixture of physiques but undeniably one child was part of the group.  


All of the sudden I get a sense of danger, an appending attack from somewhere. That is when my point of view suddenly changes. 


Now I am in this house that is a mixture of chinese and american style, with walls gold, the floor was red and Victorian furnishing matching the color scheme. There were three goddesses and one child living in the house.  The goddesses were wearing delicate flowy(?) garments while the child was in a dress from the Victorian era.  


Goddess A was the owner of the house. She was the one who allowed the child to be with her mother, Goddess B, even though she was human. The owner also had a barrier on the front door preventing those who were not permitted to get inside.  


Goddess B was mother with a child who stay in the sitting room playing together. I remember the goddess sitting in a chair while the child, had pale skin with long brown wavy hair, was leaning towards her. 


Goddess C was dressed in red with pale skin and long hair. She was the goddess of the Winds. 


Goddess C suddenly vanished to the child that was traveling in the group up the mountain. He is laying on the floor on his back, naked, tan complexion with black hair, only in a loincloth. He looked at me with trusting eyes while I said to him over and over again I will save you.  She explains to him that she can try to bond them together by mixing their blood since he was not born from her womb. Pricking his and her thumb with her nail, she presses their thumbs together (her right and his left). While pressing, she prays in Spanish, "padre nuestro que estas en el cielo." She than takes her thumb and makes the cross on his forehead (only on the forehead saying - "en el nombre del padre, del hijo y del Espiritu Santo"), both eye lids, and inside the wrist under the thumbs. Grabbing him suddenly she wails and vanishes with him to the house. 


The goddess arrives inside the house and realizes the child was outside the front door. She speaks to Goddess A (in the formal sitting room) asking to allow her to save him, her child, to let him inside. This goddess refused. In anger Goddess C screams that "IT'S NOT FAIR! WHY DOES SHE GET TO HAVE HER CHILD?!"  In rage, the Goddess C tells Goddess B never to allow her child to be in the ocean or near her for she will kill the child. 


The goddess C vanishes to an open courtyard at the back of the house, facing the edge of the cliff, the winds raged in every direction, the pattern of the wind seen through the snow. It was a violent orchestra of wind's power. Her hair tossing her hair in everything direction, she yells, wails, and cries her sorrow in not being able to help her child. She than feels it inside that her child has died and lets out one final heart wrenching scream. 


End


Hello Bloggy,

It sure has been a while since we last spoke. Things have certainly changed in a short amount of time. I guess tonight I am writing to you to let my emotions free. Let's keep you up to speed on what has happened so far. 

It's the new school semester, my last one in nursing school before I take the state exams around June or July. Currently taking advanced med-surg, leadership and management, and policy and politics classes. Mom is still in Jersey with my little sister working two jobs and completely stressed out over the IRS while overexercising. Dad working late to make extra cash while I deal with his OCD issues (he had a stroke about 3 years ago by the way). Grandma still going to church and praising God at every chance she gets. Johnathan in the army and Eric now in PR with his father studying. 



Now for the real juicy parts: 

Grandma had an accident 2 1/2 weeks ago. She was walking down the sidewalk when suddenly she tripped. Banged up her face and broke her right arm. By the kindness of a passing stranger, she arrived at the hospital safely. What gets me upset, she did not call ANYONE to tell us what happened. I found out when she finally caved in from a her friend call my mother. Gramma did not have anyone to cook, clean and help her until the visiting nurse services were arranged. So naturally I had to be the one to take up the responsibilities. Very difficult when she has Alzheimer's Disease, extremely stubborn, and misinformed about a  lot of information. Add that on top of college. Eventually, her care began and I moved back to dad's place. 

One week ago my mother had a heart attack at the age of 40. I was called on Wed at 1:30am by her complaining of chest pain and her left arm in pain with difficulty breathing. She flat out refused to call the ambulance when I told her it sounds like a heart attack. On Friday midnight she was dragged to the hospital by a friend when her symptoms got worse. I was called at, ironically, 1:30am saying she has been admitted to the hospital telemetry unit. Hit the road at 2:30am that same morning. During this chaotic time I had to take care of mommy, keep up with her care, try to handle a lazy "emo" little sister going through her teenage phase, take massive medications to hold down my allergies (very allergic to dogs and pollen), while studying for the exams I have for the next two weeks.

Thankfully my fiance was there next to me to take things a little easier. During this time it was very difficult to sleep, probably had about 4 hours of sleep each night. There doctors at St Peter's Hospital could not give my mother a clear diagnosis of what happened to her. My opinion dropped even more when the cardiologist told my mother to take 3 doses of Prednisone 40mg each 8 hours apart than head to the ER for a CAT Scan of her chest to check for a pulmonary clot. Here's a major problem: The cardiologist did not give her extra medication to wean her off such a high dose. Mom could DIE from adrenal insufficiency if she does not wean off. Naturally, mommy dearest ignores me and refuses to follow my directions.

Hopefully she is following the diet change. Has to after I threw out everything in her kitchen. Could you believe it was all processed food high in salt, fat, and cholesterol? Imagine her shock when she came home to an empty kitchen. 

Currently, my nerves feel shot. I can barely sleep fearing another event will occur to my family. The exams are coming up in a couple of days and it doesn't help. How do I feel?  Anxious, confused, emotional, angry, and sad. Not once has anyone seen my cry. The brave face has had to stay on to keep everyone together. I want to break down and let everything out but the barrier won't fall. It's so hard to relax. My diet has been shot in trying to keep the stress down. Forcing myself to eat healthy again instead of gluten free cookies constantly. 

Maybe now that I put something I can finally sleep and let some stress flow away.

PLEASE! Anyone that reads this blog, read the picture below on the signs and symptoms of a heart attack in women. It is different between men and women the signs. During the time where the number one killer is heart disease, everyone should know the signs of a heart attack, stroke and DVT. 


The American Nurses Association defines nursing as "the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities, prevention of illness and injury, alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human response, and advocacy in the care of individuals, families, communities, and populations."   While this is nursing at its basic, the scope of nursing practice is much more than following policy and procedures to promote health.  Nursing involves your knowledge of medical practices, time management, being an advocate, compassion and caring, respect, honor, honesty, patient privacy and the ability to provide safe patient centered care.  Using what a nurse represents and my own personal value system, following a nursing career was a logical choice for me.  To follow this path, a person must choose, without coercion, to care and help others.  Others who chose to follow nursing share similar beliefs and values.

The World Health Organization defined health as "a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity."  There are two spheres of health, the physical and mental.  Physical health means the body operating at optimum level whether with or without disease condition.  People seek physical well being through lifestyle changes, fitness, proper nutrition, weight management, abstaining from substance abuse including alcohol, proper sexual health, hygiene, and getting restful sleep.  Mental health appertains to a person's cognitive and emotional well being.  It also includes a person's  ability to take pleasure in life and have balance, able to recover from adversity, to adapt and be flexible, feel safe and secure, and fulfill your potential.

Nurses not only need to have the ability to adapt to situations,  the knowledge of diseases and disease process is vital in helping the patient travel along the path toward their best health.  Application of classroom knowledge, skills, and experience in the clinical setting is an important part of being a nurse.  Being able to pass an exam is the first step, being successful in implementing safe patient centered care is the ultimate goal.  People have a variety of personalities, thus, proper bedside manners and communication skills are a must.  A nurse will have multiple patients, being able to prioritize and have effective time management skills will smooth the road to providing care.

Compassion, empathy and caring are aspects of humanity that nurses use with patients and their families, caring for the patient's health and both parties' emotional needs.  All humans, regardless of age, sex, gender, race, or ethnicity deserve respect, honesty, privacy and advocacy.  All health care professionals must work together to maintain a patient's needs and rights.  If these professionals such as doctors, nurses, therapists, dieticians, social workers and so forth do not work in harmony, the patient will not receive the best care they need and deserve.

Nurses must understand the current health care system and organization.  Currently, health care is expensive, making insurance necessary but it is not available to everyone.  Health care trends change over time, reflecting the changing needs of society.  We must concentrate on population wellness while providing acute care.  There must be an encouragement of health screenings and early interventions, such as education, to lessen the number of patients exhibiting these conditions and illnesses.  Nurses must perform health promotion but there is a vast shortage of nurses needed to provide care.  This shortage will continue to grow as the baby boomer generation of nurses approach retirement.  Nurses must pool together values, idealism, and knowledge into our vocation and above all, apply them until the next generation of nurses arrive.

As the next graduating class of nurses, we must all gather our knowledge, beliefs, and values  into our clinical sites and apply them.  We must all incorporate the essence of a nurse and characteristics to be well respected by our patients, colleagues, healthcare providers, and be successful in our careers.  Each nurse must hold on to their personal philosophy throughout their careers and never lose sight of it.


        
             The story of Little Red Riding Hood conceals several symbolisms that explain the sexual ethics of its time.  As Catherine Orenstein stated, "the red cape [is viewed] as menstrual blood marking the change from childhood into womanhood; the relationship between the wolf and the girl as that between man and woman, a seduction by a temptress (Red Riding Hood), the rape of a virgin, and in Freudian terms as the battle of the ego over the id" (1).  Charles Perrault created his version in 1697, and the Brothers Grimm's version came about in 1812.
            Perrault's version contains Little Red Riding Hood  invited into Grandma's house by the wolf.  The girl disrobed but the wolf only asked her to put down the basket and climb into bed with him.  Once voicing her perplexion over the wolf's physical appearance, she was promptly gobbled up.  The moral of the tale warns young girls, though they must be "pretty, well-bred, and genteel," (Tatar 12) that a man can be a wolf.  A wolf is the symbolism of a seducer. While wolves come in many forms, "tame wolves are the most dangerous of all" (Tatar 13).  In this time era, women that were not chaste were condemned from society and given a social death.  The Brothers Grimm gave Little Red Riding Hood redemption by adding a huntsman to rescue both women.  The huntsman saves both by cutting open the wolf with a pair of scissors.  The moral of this story is that a husband or a father can give the girl a second chance to redeem herself and forgiver her for her actions. 
            As the time changed, society had begun to give women more societal freedom and rights.  In today's time, women do not follow the rules spoken of by Perrault and Brothers Grimm.  Women have the right to have pre-marital relations without fearing extreme consequences or to form and leave several relationships.  Of course, pre-marital relations consequences depend on culture, age, and acceptance of said action. The woman can play with the wolf than leave him if she so wishes. Advertisement today actually encourages men to be wolves by posing women in alluring positions in order to sell their products. 
Works Cited
Orenstein, Catherine. Little Red Riding Hood Uncloaked: Sex, Morality, And The Evolution Of A Fairy Tale. Jackson: Basic Books, 2003. Print.
Tatar, Maria. "Little Red Riding Hood." The Classic Fairy Tales. Ed. New York: W.W. Norton & Company Inc, 1999. ix - 22. Print.



 Once upon a time, Little Red Riding Hood was a story told between peasants to pass the time while working the fields.  As the seasons changed, so did she.  Multiple versions of her story sprouted, each giving her a different character, thus, a different face. 

Charles Perrault created his version 1697, in a time of nobles and peasants, which would make sense that the moral of his story would involve chastity and obedience.  This child quickly became a victim of the Wolf, falling easily for its deception. Perrault used Wolf as a metaphor, "a stand in for male seducers who lure young women into their beds" (Tatar 5).  He made her responsible for the Wolf eating her because she spoke to a stranger.  The ending was a moral note for women to be "pretty, well-bred, and genteel" (Tatar 13) and to be careful of men since the tame wolves "are the most dangerous of all."

As the years go by, the later versions become more risqué and violent. Roald Dahl created his version in 1995.  This was a time were women were firmly entrenched as equals due to the Women's Rights Movement 70 years prior.  This version was the more refined tale of James Thurber's 1940 edition of Little Red Riding Hood.  Dahl empowered Red Riding Hood by giving her the power of observation and deductive reasoning.  By using rhyming, he created a fast paced tale with Red Riding Hood using her quick wit to retaliate against the wolf by shooting him with a pistol and eventually wearing his skin as a cloak.  This  shows how society's view on what is accepted is changing in regards to women's rights.  Women now rights to defend themselves instead of relying on men and expecting a metaphorical knight in shining armor to save them.
Work Cited
Tatar, Maria. "Little Red Riding Hood." The Classic Fairy Tales. Ed. New York: W.W. Norton & Company Inc, 1999. ix - 22. Print.

An interesting category exists of women in fairy tales... those that refuse to marry.  These women are shown as spoiled, vain and willful.  By refusing to marry, these women suffer some form of punishment.  It is inferred that they refuse marriage to preserve their freedom and identity. Any refusal to wed is denied or disallowed.  When a stubborn princess succumbs to marriage, and consequently, her husband, it is a cause for celebration. While marriage occurs in “The Blue Fairy Book,” few go into detail of the married life.  A child may learn that a woman who disobeys her husband’s command may be subjected to her husband’s expression of fury.  While punishment from the wife’s husband is allowed, a domineering wife is viewed as abominable while a “helpless, threatened, passive wife” (Lieberman 394) is approved.  

 In tales that show marriage, one or both parents of the main character are deceased.  This is seen in several stories such as “The Sleeping Beauty, Little Thumb, and Hansel and Gretel.”   Marriage is integral to the reward system in fairy tales and few lives are shown beyond the act.  It can be said that stories which contain marriage are more concerned with the courtship process.  Courtship is the most important part of a woman’s life.  It is a time where she can be briefly viewed as a person, instead of as a means to an end.  When the deed has been done, she ceases to be a human, a person with thoughts, dreams and an identity.  Children who see this courtship process and its abrupt end may develop the thought that courtship keeps the excitement going so it must never end “since marriage is literally the end of the story” (Lieberman 394).


Lieberman, Marcia R. "Some Day My Prince Will Come: Female Acculturation through the Fairy Tale."
College English 34.3 (1972): 383-395. Print.

Fabula?

Yes, yes, Its a play on an overused cliche but I think it works. Tabula Rasa is latin for blank slate and in writing this blog I hope to highlight just how little modern fairytales and folklore actually represent their original tellings, in essence, losing most of its meaning and context creating a blank tale or ... a Fabula Rasa

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