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A review by cetaylor05
Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde: The Selfish Giant/The Star Child by Oscar Wilde
5.0
"The Selfish Giant"
When a curmudgeonly giant walls off his lovely garden so the neighborhood children mightn't enjoy it, he incurs Spring's disdain and the dire consequences of life without seasonal renewal. Having seen the error of his ways, the giant redeems himself by opening both his heart and his earthly paradise to the children and gains his eternal reward. Russell employs a cartoon style with a muted color pallet to not only complement Wilde's tale with illustrations but also extend its tale with subtle symbolism. The color choices reflect not only the colors of the seasons but the spiritual and emotional qualities that are often associated with each season such as punishment, hope, rebirth, and redemption. This work is a masterful use of archetypes and symbolism.
"The Star Child"
The Star Child, the adopted son of a poor woodcutter, is the beneficiary of charity and kindness. Ironically, his better nature is sullied by a sense of entitlement that stems from a vain love of his own good looks. Upon meeting an old tattered mendicant who claims to be his mother, he casts her aside and withholds his love. Consequently, he is punished by the powers that be, stripped of the attractiveness of which he is so proud, and set upon the path to redemption. Henceforth, the Star Child wanders the earth seeking his mother and her forgiveness until he unknowingly happens upon his birthplace and is forced to perform a series of Herculean labors. Accomplishing these tasks while learning the true meaning of self-sacrifice, charity, and kindness earns the Star Child the forgiveness that he seeks and solves the mystery of his origin. Throughout the tale, Russell's charicatural style simultaneously reinforces the story's elements of fantasy while bolstering the audience's suspension of disbelief as the Star Child is cloaked in a heinous visage that reflects the inner blackness of his heart until he comes to know humility.
Russell's rendering of these tales would make an excellent introduction to Fairy Tales as a genre or to the work of Oscar Wilde. Similarly, they are an excellent exemplar of the hero cycle as explained by Peter R. Stillman in Introduction to Myth.
When a curmudgeonly giant walls off his lovely garden so the neighborhood children mightn't enjoy it, he incurs Spring's disdain and the dire consequences of life without seasonal renewal. Having seen the error of his ways, the giant redeems himself by opening both his heart and his earthly paradise to the children and gains his eternal reward. Russell employs a cartoon style with a muted color pallet to not only complement Wilde's tale with illustrations but also extend its tale with subtle symbolism. The color choices reflect not only the colors of the seasons but the spiritual and emotional qualities that are often associated with each season such as punishment, hope, rebirth, and redemption. This work is a masterful use of archetypes and symbolism.
"The Star Child"
The Star Child, the adopted son of a poor woodcutter, is the beneficiary of charity and kindness. Ironically, his better nature is sullied by a sense of entitlement that stems from a vain love of his own good looks. Upon meeting an old tattered mendicant who claims to be his mother, he casts her aside and withholds his love. Consequently, he is punished by the powers that be, stripped of the attractiveness of which he is so proud, and set upon the path to redemption. Henceforth, the Star Child wanders the earth seeking his mother and her forgiveness until he unknowingly happens upon his birthplace and is forced to perform a series of Herculean labors. Accomplishing these tasks while learning the true meaning of self-sacrifice, charity, and kindness earns the Star Child the forgiveness that he seeks and solves the mystery of his origin. Throughout the tale, Russell's charicatural style simultaneously reinforces the story's elements of fantasy while bolstering the audience's suspension of disbelief as the Star Child is cloaked in a heinous visage that reflects the inner blackness of his heart until he comes to know humility.
Russell's rendering of these tales would make an excellent introduction to Fairy Tales as a genre or to the work of Oscar Wilde. Similarly, they are an excellent exemplar of the hero cycle as explained by Peter R. Stillman in Introduction to Myth.