Fairy Tale and Curiosity free essay sample

Curiosity Killed the Cat The expression, curiosity killed the cat is demonstrated countless times throughout many different stories. The simple answer to save the cats life is to stop being curious. However, that is easier said than done. Curiosity proves to be a common behavior present in individuals of all ages. This inherent emotion is the need to scrutinize, discover and learn on a further level. However, curiosity often has a negative connotation because it is extremely powerful and is capable of controlling ones actions. Many individuals are unable to resist the desire to learn more, despite rior warnings. The internal motivation of curiosity causes irrational actions, often leading to horrific results. The theme of advisory against curiosity is seen in Edith Hamiltons 1942 Mythology in the myths of How the World and Mankind Were Created and in Cupid and Psych. In the legend of How the World and Mankind Were Created, an attractive young lady named Pandora proves to be too curious to heed the warnings of the gods and goddess. Similarly, in the tale of Cupid and Psych, the beautiful Psych fails to overcome her curiosity in two insistences. Finally, in The Grimm Brothers 1944 Fairy Tale The Blue beard, the man with the blue beard gave his wife clear instructions to specifically not go into one room. She too proves to succumb to the burning desire to know what is behind the closed door. In the myth, How the World and Mankind Were Created, Pandora, like many women in fairy tales is extremely curious. She was placed on Earth by Zeus without the ability to control her inquiring mind. the source of all misfortune was not her wicked nature, but only her curiosity. (Hamilton 74). When she was presented with omething as simple as a box, a straightforward command not to open it sparked an intense, burning curiosity to know what was inside. Pandora was unable to manage this powerful interest. Any rational person would obey direct orders from gods, but in the myth it does not state that Pandora even reflected that o pening the box was against the gods commands. She did not even contemplate if it was wrong to disobey the order. In her mind, she had absolutely no choice. The only option she could consider was to look inside the box. It would have killed her inside if she had left the ox closed. For Pandora, like all women, was possessed of a lively curiosity. She had to know what was in the box. (Hamilton 74). Pandora was unable to think clearly because she was under the strong power of curiosity. The emotion is so strong that once she fulfills her curiosity, it is immediately followed by intense fear. The actual act of Pandora opening the box is the climax of the myth, leading to an inevitable punishment. Pandora is blamed for bestowing hardships upon all mankind indefinitely, including plagues, mischief and sorrow. Pandora who is referred to as the beautiful disaster (Hamilton 74) is often related to Eve from the Christian Story of Adam and Eve. This further emphasizes the connection of beautiful women and their failure to resist curiosity. Blue beards wife also had clear directions to not enter the door leading to the closet. He forbade her from entering and gave her the threat of his uttermost anger if she disobeyed him. Unlike the story of Pandora, she acknowledged this order by from this one specific room. Her curiosity began to take over her actions by becoming xtremely impatient and she even left her company who were there to visit her. Her friends were incredibly scared of her husband, foreshadowing the horrific secret that lay behind the closed door. However, Blue Beards wife did not take this into consideration because she was too focused on her powerful quest to discover what was in the closet. Even in the company of her friends, Pandora was so consumed by curiosity that she fails to consider telling them to perhaps gain further insight. She was so much pressed by her curiosity, that without considering that it was very ncivil to leave her company, she went down a back pair of stairs, and with such an excessive haste, that she had like to have broken her neck two or three times. (Grimm Brothers 138). It is clear through her excessive haste down the backstairs towards the door that she was in a spell-like sense of mind triggered by her curiosity. Blue Beards wife proves to be mor e conscious of her intense eagerness than Pandora by reflecting upon her husbands orders not to enter the closet. She even contemplates the consequence of the unhappiness that she would cause her usband by disobeying him. but the temptation was so strong she could not overcome it (Grimm Brothers 138). Her need to know what was behind the door prohibited her from making a rational decision to not enter. She took then the little key and opened it in a very great trembling. (Grimm Brothers 138). The fact that she was trembling should have acted as a subconscious hint to stop and not proceed into the closet. However, the intrinsic desire was so great that she was not able to understand the subtle clue. Perhaps if she had taken one of her friends with her who as not overpowered by curiosity like herself, she could have recognized that it was not a good idea to enter. After she discovered what was in the room, she took up the key, locked the door and went up stairs into her chamber to recover herself, but she could not, so much was she frightened. (Grimm Brothers 139). Similar to the story of Pandora, the feeling of intense anxiety follows the curiosity. The strong curiosity proves to still have an effect on the wife afterwards because she continues to act irrationally by not immediately leaving the mansion or telling her friends.