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I just finished reading Francesca Lia Block's Primavera and there were a couple of (intertwined) topics she addressed that really resonated with me and made me think about how I view myself, and sometimes other people. These issues are mutilation/self-mutilation and being physically "monstrous" by normal standards and reinterpreting that as being "enchanted." Fairy tale and magic references go far with me and I usually think of life in such terms. It's also a way for me to cope with and structure the world. I'm going to be a bit lazy and copy and paste what I wrote about this in an email:
She addressed self-mutilation a little bit. There are hybrid creatures (human/bird, mermaids, and centaurs). A half-bird boy was tearing out his feathers to look normal (in reality birds are very sensitive and often tear out their feathers when upset or lonely -- birds are very intelligent). The main character, Primavera, is concerned about his self-mutilation and reflects on how she wanted to mutilate herself too.
The other interesting thing was that these "monsters" Primavera decides are actually not monsters at all (they are all really good-hearted), but they are enchanted, and that's why they look the way they do. It seems like a really attractive and better way of looking at things, thinking of "imperfections" or odd proportions as a sign of enchantment and specialness instead of something that makes one ugly. I tend to be really perfectionist about everything, including my appearance, and it seems thinking of something as enchanted as being means of accepting something as how it was meant to be, and something to not be ashamed of.
She addressed self-mutilation a little bit. There are hybrid creatures (human/bird, mermaids, and centaurs). A half-bird boy was tearing out his feathers to look normal (in reality birds are very sensitive and often tear out their feathers when upset or lonely -- birds are very intelligent). The main character, Primavera, is concerned about his self-mutilation and reflects on how she wanted to mutilate herself too.
The other interesting thing was that these "monsters" Primavera decides are actually not monsters at all (they are all really good-hearted), but they are enchanted, and that's why they look the way they do. It seems like a really attractive and better way of looking at things, thinking of "imperfections" or odd proportions as a sign of enchantment and specialness instead of something that makes one ugly. I tend to be really perfectionist about everything, including my appearance, and it seems thinking of something as enchanted as being means of accepting something as how it was meant to be, and something to not be ashamed of.
