The Handless Maiden

The Handless Maiden - one of the grimmest of the Grimm, yet full of powerful imagery and of course, a happy ending.

I find this story to be a profound and powerful one. I begin it with the Miller's search for the Tree of Life. This, the fabled tree from the Garden of Eden. Find this tree and be assured of a life free of toil, disease or old age. Like most of us, the Miller thinks to cut down each likely tree in order to determine whether or not it is the One he seeks. It begs the question, would the Tree of Life still confer its blessings after being cut down? Would it be possible to bring down such a tree? It turns out, that what prevents the Tree of Life from being hewn is the appearance of the devil, or dark stranger, if you prefer.

I was envisioning this as a modern film. I see Brad Pitt as the King, of course, Angelina Jolie as the Handless Maiden, Sam Rockwell as the Dark Stranger, Alan Rickman as the White Spirit, Glenn Close as the Queen Mother. This story has an elemental message that we would benefit from experiencing. It is complex, paradoxical, haunting, tragic and yet, culminates in triumph and reunion. It isn't an easy story to love, but then, so much of being alive is just like that.

Who makes the first mistake that sets this tragedy in motion? Would any of this have come about if that first mistep had not been taken? Is the Dark Stranger to blame? Is the Miller? What of the King so unconnected to his most important treasures that he nearly causes them to be destroyed? What we can say is that the Queen Mother follows her heart and wisdom and so prevents the finality of the worst tragedy.

Needless to say, this story isn't one I perform very often, perhaps only twice that I remember. It definitely isn't your library storytime fare, or elementary school assembly material. It's rare that adults will even want to take this journey on a storytelling evening. It is, however, one of my most favored stories - it speaks to my desire for simplicity and a sense of ease in life by showing me that the complete opposites bring a rich, sometimes dark, sometimes poignantly truthful, always real, complexion to being here.