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| Snow White and Rose Red |
Snow White and Rose Red are sisters who live with their widowed
mother deep in the woods. Together they befriend a bear in winter time and
rescue an ungrateful dwarf from a variety of unpleasant fates. Little do they know the bear is actually a
prince under a curse cast by the dwarf.
Each time they rescue the dwarf, they inadvertently take away some of
his magic. This eventually results in the bear being able free himself from
the curse by killing the dwarf. The
prince takes Rose Red as his bride, and as luck would have it, successfully
matches up his brother with Snow White. Both sisters not only live happily ever
after, they live happily ever after together.
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| The Ingalls sisters: Caroline, Mary and Laura |
Sisterhood is a repeated theme in many tales, and it has
always appealed to me. Growing up, I was an avid follower of the Ingall's sisters in
Laura Ingalls-Wilder’s classic Little House series.
When as
an adult, I read The Other Boleyn Girl by
Philippa Gregory, what impressed me most was not so much the retelling of Anne
Boleyn’s story (after all, by then I knew how it all began and how it all would
end), but the exceptional skill with which Gregory captured the essence of
sisterhood: the love, the admiration,
the jealousy and rivalry, the bond of blood and affection capable of
withstanding almost anything, even the fatal political and sexual intrigues of
the court of King Henry VIII.
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| I wasn't very happy with the film interpretation of Gregory's novel, but Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansen made for a nice-looking pair of sisters. |
More recently in the Hunger Games, the power of sisterhood has resurged with Katniss Everdeen taking the place of her sister Primrose, and becoming a hero – oops! I mean, a heroine -- before even stepping foot inside the Games.
I have been blessed with having a sister; so every time
I read a story about sisters, I’m reminded of that relationship, and all that
my sister has meant to me and given me over the years. Love, encouragement, faith in
my ability to achieve my dreams, an example to aspire to, someone to care
about, support and depend upon. Big
sisters are especially wonderful because they so often serve the role of
pathfinders. They are the ones who forge ahead into life’s unknown territories,
and come back to share their wisdom with younger siblings.
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| Katniss and Primrose from The Hunger Games have recently been added to the list of famous sisters |
In Eolyn’s world, sisterhood also has a special meaning. Eolyn herself has no biological sisters, but in the tradition of the Magas, all followers of the very first maga, Aithne, are sisters in magic. For the Magas, sisterhood transcends boundaries of time, place and bloodlines. One can even speak of ‘sisters’ who lived centuries ago. The Magas believe that all practitioners who have passed into the Afterlife continue to watch over their sisters in the world of the living. So while Eolyn is on her own for much of her journey, she is never truly alone with her magic.
These are some of my thoughts on sisterhood; it’s importance
in our stories as well as in our lives.
Now it’s your turn. What does “sisterhood”
mean to you? Who are your favorite
sisters in fiction and history, and why? How have
your sisters, in blood and in spirit, made your life easier, more interesting,
more fulfilling?
Posted by Karin Rita Gastreich
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| The Munro sisters, Cora and Alice, from the film The Last of the Mohicans. Like many sisters that live on in our imaginations, their fates will not be happy ones. |
