Beneath Ceaseless Skies, June 17, 2021

“A Flower Cannot Love the Hand” by Aimee Ogden

“My Mirror, My Opposite” by Y.M. Pang

Reviewed by Victoria Silverwolf

Two fantasies of transformation involving female creatures who wish to have souls appear in this issue.

The narrator of “A Flower Cannot Love the Hand” by Aimee Ogden is a being in the shape of a woman, created from plants by a magician-king. She is to serve as the bride of his nephew, because his mother placed a curse on him that prevents him from marrying a human woman. While wondering if she has a soul, the plant-woman takes a lover and plots with him against her cruel husband, leading to another change in form.

Written in a sensuous, poetic style, this brief tale is more effective as a mood piece than as a fully developed story. It is not completely clear why the man was cursed by his mother. (Possibly the implication is that she wanted to prevent a woman from suffering under his cruelty.) The narrator’s final transformation, although intriguing, seems out of place with the rest of the work.

“My Mirror, My Opposite” by Y.M. Pang retells the famous fairy tale “The Little Mermaid” by Hans Christian Andersen from the point of view of the prince. He yearns to become part of the sea, just as strongly as she wishes to become human and gain a soul. Their mutual longings lead to the prince undergoing a strange transformation.

This variation on a familiar story is not without interest, but seems highly dependent on its model. Readers familiar with Andersen’s version (rather than the popular animated adaptation) will find that many of the story’s important aspects are taken from the original.

Victoria Silverwolf ate a very large sandwich today.