Beyond the Curse
Growing up, Disney was my first introduction to fairy tales and fantasy romance. I especially loved the ones filled with magic, fantastical beings, and daunting curses.
Sleeping Beauty. Snow White. Beauty and the Beast.
I watched them all. Over and over again.
And one thing most of them had in common was the idea that, no matter the curse, True Love’s Kiss™ was the solution to make everything right in the characters’ world.
When I got a little older, it became clear that life, and love, were a little more complicated than Disney made it out to be…
Instead of putting me off of fairy tales, however, it made me all the more fascinated by the variety of roles curses could play in fairy tale and fantasy stories.
At its easiest and most fundamental, a curse is a source of external conflict. It’s an obstacle to be overcome by the protagonist. And, in these cases the protagonist doesn’t have to be the one afflicted by the magic. It could be a friend, family member, or potential love interest who’s story arc revolves around the quest to find a solution.
More deeply, the curse can be a mirror of the internal struggles that the character needs to face, accept, or overcome.
My series, Curse of the Dark Kingdom is all about this kind of curse. Five royal siblings are struck with different curses at the same time and left isolated by the magic. Each must face inner demons and deeply held beliefs to break the dark magic. While a love interest in each book is a catalyst and guiding force, they each must come to terms with their own heart first, before they can fully commit to sharing it with another.
In addition, the source of the curse can add layers of depth and dimension to the story as well as move it in wildly different directions.
The most common curse is the one cast by an antagonist bent on punishment, revenge, power, or simply cruelty.
Then there are the curses caused by the actions of the afflicted. Sometimes arrogance or hubris leads them to take a forbidden action that leaves them trapped by dark magic. Sometimes, though, they make a deliberate choice to sacrifice themselves in order to save something, or someone, they love.
In Sleeping Dragon, Caleb’s curse has elements of both. Velia curses him into a stone statue as cruel punishment for daring to defy her. But Caleb deliberately goads her into it, knowing that enduring the curse might be the key to saving his parents and his kingdom.
Then there are the curses inherent in the protagonist’s bloodline. Something like an inherited gift that takes an unfortunate twist, or dark magic that haunts a family from one generation to the next.
And of course, there is always the question of whether a curse can, or should, be broken.
In Book One of the Dragon Ever After series, we meet Jack who was born with a secret magic that puts him at risk of being hunted, or worse, if the truth ever came out.
Books Two, Three, and Four of Dragon Ever After involve three princesses who inherit their fey mother’s magic. Unfortunately, even divided between them, the immensity of it is too overwhelming for their half-human heritage. In order to control the catastrophic power, forcing them to be separated for everyone’s safety.
Over the course of the series Jack has to face the choice of who he can trust with his secret as well as how, and when to use the magic. The princesses must each come to terms with the power they possess and what it means to them as well as eventually learn how to come together as a family after years apart.
As you can see, I love exploring all the different ways a curse can impact characters, plots, and underlying story arcs. Often in the same book or series.
What’s your favorite fairy tale curse? What’s the most unique way that a story has found to free a character from their burden?
