Who Killed Brer Rabbit? True Lies in a Silenced Culture

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lilrabsLocation:
Thompson Room, Barker Center, 12 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA
Date/Time:
October 15, 2014 – 12:00pm

Maria Tatar, John L. Loeb Professor of Germanic Languages and Literatures and Folklore and Mythology, Harvard University

“Who Killed Brer Rabbit?”: True Lies in a Silenced Culture

3 thoughts on “Who Killed Brer Rabbit? True Lies in a Silenced Culture”

  1. Brer Rabbit, Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen were read to me as a child by my mother. I’ve come to cherish those memories, especially the trickster rabbit. (As an “army brat” who spent her first two years in Atlanta in the 60’s, I’m fond of the dialect, too.)

    My mother’s family came from Haibach, Germany –in the Hesse region — around 1900. I knew nothing about the area; recently looked into the region and was amazed at the significance…. No wonder I’ve had a lifelong love of folklore, children’s literature, and legends… of writing and stories, eventually leading to a BA in English at a University in Ohio, and collecting Dr. Suess….

    Unfortunately, that Muse was tampered down consistently in a very long, very unhealthy marriage, with a miserly, Rumpelstiltskin-type man. It was resurrected only when I found The Read Aloud Handbook so I could read new stories to my children (As a modern young mother, I thought Grimm’s were, well, fairly grim.) Twenty years later, as my divorce unfolded, nothing seemed to help navigate the despair; I completely lost my way for a while.

    The point is, a dusty copy of Joseph Campbell reminded me of myth as a way of understanding the human experience. Once I overlapped The Hero’s Journey (or heroine’s journey) over my own timeline of events, I could identify my location in the “unknown” and found hope. I will find a way out of this dark night.

    Fairy tales read by my mother — including the very clever Brer Rabbit — somehow hold the key to recovery. Counselors often suggest relating to a fairy tale character as a means of self-identity, but the analogy fails on one point: if followed literally, it leaves one wanting. For example, If one identifies with Cinderella, one may wait forever for a fairy godmother to appear with a wand; but one WILL meet kind, nurturing women who will guide one to Good People, Places or Things.

    I’ve worked in community services, focusing on civil rights in social systems; and women who’ve been neglected, hurt and overworked ( I see now as classic Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, & Snow White stories) Ironically, I didn’t know I was a sister in that family; but that character has already begun her journey.

    I have always enjoyed research, finding and telling the story; sharing legends; the use of empathy/ emotional intelligence, seeking the context of the current story/ conflict to inspire future action. Perhaps a new course of academic study lies ahead where I never knew there was one.

    Finding your work has been another happy coincidence on the journey. Thank you.

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