Misadventures in the Land of Fables #21

Late last year, I wrote a wholesome, inspirational fable. I was reluctant to promote it though, because the postivity placed it outside my comfort zone. As an original, there was no antecedent to be over-written or challenged. No reference. Nor was there any inherent aggression, no punishment or cruelty. It was whimsical. It was hard for me to assess the work. I liked it, but I couldn’t decide if it was any good or not.

If you want to read it before I discuss what I think it means, you can find it here:

‘The Blackbird and its Wings’

The story was inspired by an illustration of a bird wearing artificial wings. I don’t remember where I saw the image—I didn’t make a note (!)—but the idea, the curious superfluity of it, provoked my imagination: what was going on there? what kind of madness was this? As I wrote, I realised it may not be madness but rather desperation. The bird needed the extra pair, perhaps like an injured person needs crutches.

I also began to see it as a potential Jackdaw story. The young blackbird’s willfulness, its determination to survive is chacteristic of Jackdaw, as too is her ingenuity. Think of Jackdaw’s efforts to beat the harshness of winter by posing as a pigeon, or his creative approach to winning the title of most beautiful bird.

In both cases, there is subterfuge and transformation. The difference here is the protagonist does not provoke resentment or suffer punishment for transgression. She triumphs over her obstacles. Like Jackdaw’s fabulous stolen plumage, her fake wings are effective. They work. They serve to get her—literally—off the ground, after which she proves able to continue on her own.

What does it mean?

What does it mean? For me, there are two elements. One considers the role of confidence. The fledgeling wants to become something, let’s call it an adult. She believes she is ready and she is almost right. When she fails, her confidence takes a hit and worse, she has put herself in great danger. But she survives and rebuilds that confidence through the construction of artificial wings. In order to prove she is strong enough to fly, she resorts to something that is not her, and it works.

The fable speaks to the value of taking action, specifically of using an aid, a therapy, a fiction (an uplifting fable perhaps): whatever keeps you moving forward. ‘Don’t be afraid to seek help,’ it argues. ‘Don’t be ashamed.’

It also commends tenacity, risk-taking, and aspiration. And rewards them with a happy ending. This may be where I get uncomfortable. I don’t believe things will work out and regard stories in which they do as somehow fake, contrived, fabricated, like a pair of artificial wings.

Now you’ve read it, what do you think?

this wasn’t the image, but it’s the only one I’ve been able to find and I thought it would be nice to promote the artist, Sheila Norgate (website)