On a cold, icy mountain a young queen tosses her glove to the wind, crying aloud, "Let it go!" Far away, in another story, a red-haired maid wanders a dangerous Wood, ignoring the thrush whispering, "Let it go."Warning: If you haven't watched Frozen or read Shadow Hand, this post will contain spoilers.
While listening to Frozen's hit song, "Let it Go," I was struck by how well many of the words could fit for Daylily, the heroine of Shadow Hand by Anne Elisabeth Stengl. And reflecting upon both Elsa and Daylily's stories, I was struck by the message they both shared in very different ways.
Both dealt with fear of self. Elsa couldn't control her icy powers and might kill anyone she touched. Daylily hid her true nature--a dangerous, wolfish nature.
So they ran. But the problem with fleeing from fear, no matter how free you might feel for a while, it stalks in the shadows, watch to strike again, to possess...
At the last, Elsa's spasmodic powers were overcome by love--the movie makers said they wanted that to stick true to the original fairytale, although in one old version I read victory was attributed to the faith of a child in God and a song to Christ. And there we see it... more greatly revealed in Shadow Hand. That true freedom comes through Christ. That placing our fears in his hands sets us free.
Daylily feared her inner self, as we might fear the darker areas of our life. But our fears and failures can at last be defeated when we let it go--let it go into Christ's control.
Just some thoughts. It was interesting to see such a similar message in two completely separate stories I enjoyed.
12 comments:
I will have to come back after I've watched Frozen! But I can already see the similarities. :-)
So nice to have you by, Jennette! I'm sure you'll love Frozen!
I thought the same exact thing as I read Shadow Hand! I had recently watched Frozen, and then I kept seeing the thrush say "let it go" in Shadow Hand which got me thinking about the similarities and differences between Daylily and Elsa.
Great post!
Ha, ha, no way! When the Wood Thrush whispered "let it go" for the first time, I almost burst into song. :)
With the Snow Queen and Hans Christian Anderson, I think it is a little more complex. The child, Girda, kind of brings the Snow Queen to her senses. I am so looking forward to reading Shadow Hand with my daughters but I've got to go in order.
But I can already see in Daylily from Veiled Rose she has to kind of keep a stiff upper lip and act the part of the new queen that her parents wanted her to be before the Dragon took over the castle.
A major theme line seems to be the idea that you will never fully live up to the expectations of overly demanding parents. In addition, often times the expectations you set for yourself are even higher than those which your parents originally intended.
Oo, I've never heard of that version! Cool! I'm kind of coming up with my own retelling, so I'll have to look at all the different versions.
I'm sure you'll enjoy Shadow Hand!
This post was absolutely beautiful, Hannah! Still haven't seen Frozen yet but love "Let it Go." I actually thought of Daylily, too, that that song is perfect for her character. She, too, didn't want to hurt anyone. I'm rereading Shadow Hand, (there's always stuff I miss on the first reading), and I was struck that the wolf was able to break free from Cren Cru's bindings. He actually had to physically disable her so that she would submit and then further break down her defenses through summoning Lionheart. He feared her inner self, which goes to prove how we are more dangerous than any outside force. I love how Anne Elisabeth always emphasizes that fact in all her books. Only by releasing ourselves to Christ can we be free.
I think I'm going to have to break down and find Frozen somewhere besides NetFlix. You and my nieces really make me want to see it. It's my niece's new favorite movie. They like to reenact scenes and are always singing the songs. God bless.
I love your post Hannah. It resonates.
(But ... Frozen had a song called 'let it go'?? No!!! I've somehow never heard about that. My sister and I were writing a song for the Tales of Goldstone Wood music contest; it's about Daylily, and the words let it go are all over it. Actually, we were going to call it 'Let It Go'. Aw, jellybeans.)
Oh my! Well, I say, go ahead and name your song, "Let It Go." After all, it's you and your sister's own song, and it would go quite well with Shadow Hand. :)
Interesting post! Though, to me, the thought of Daylily breaking out into a solo like "Let it Go" doesn't suit her nature, the feelings of both Elsa and Daylily are similar. I should have seen the similarities sooner...
Yes, I can't quite see Daylily breaking out into song either. :)
Well, we finally got to watch Frozen. And I can see the similarities that you pointed out. Loved the movie! :-)
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