Author's Note between Chapters Four and Five

Hello, and thank you for your continued interest in my novel. You’re giving me such a boost! Knowing you’re out there is what keeps me going.

I wanted to explain some of the symbolism I’m going for with the novel, and believe it or not, it’s actually informed by the Jewish mystical tradition, the Kabbalah. The standard phrase to add in these cases is: lehavdil elef elefai havdolos, “May there be a thousand thousand separations.” In other words, I must make a clear distinction between the holy teachings of Kabbalah and my fictional story. Some might say my adaptation of the concepts is inappropriate, but fantasy writing is built from mythical and mystical references. As a Jew, these are the concepts I naturally draw from.

If you’ve read my post on The Kabbalah of Politics, then you’ll remember that in the Tree of Life formation, Mercy and Justice are opposites. When they combine together correctly, they become Balance and/or Beauty.

The diagram translates “gevurah” as strength, but “justice” is a valid substitution. Justice and Mercy are often pitted as opposites. The Jewish prayer service is full of that very contrast, especially during the High Holy Days. We pray to G-d as “Our Father, Our King.” When He judges us with mercy, it is as our loving parent. When He judges us with gevurah, He’s holding us to the letter of the law.

Making a thousand thousand separations, I ask you to return to my story. As you saw in Chapter Four, Belle and her mother worship “the G-d of Mercy and Justice.” Belle’s father, in contrast, worships pagan gods, specifically gods of war. Brunhilde the Valkyrie is part of that pantheon. She is not a character in the original TV show. I borrowed her from Wagner’s opera.

As you’ve seen, Brunhilde wants the gods of war to rule, not Colette’s “soft-headed” ideas of Mercy and Justice, so she unleashed the ogres on Avonlea. She is puzzled that the Dark One objects. He’s such a devilish figure, she doesn’t understand that he’s on the side of Mercy and Justice. In my story, in addition to the title of “Dark One,” he is the “Agent of Justice.” In other words, he represents the “darker,” punitive side of G-d. As another character will say later, “It’s a dirty job, but somebody’s gotta do it.”

The Agent of Justice

As Agent of Justice, Rumple is tasked with catching and punishing all evil in the world, which is consistent with the Jewish view on “the Satan.” The Christian interpretation is that “Satan” is a fallen and rebellious angel, but in the Jewish view, he is carrying out G-d’s will. First, he tempts people to sin. Rumple describes this process when he explains how he lured the Chamberlen Brothers in with their greed. He’s sort of like an entrapping policeman.

Afterwards, the Satan becomes the prosecutor in the Heavenly court. He collected all the evidence, and then he uses it against the sinner. And finally, when the punishment is meted out, the Satan becomes the Angel of Death. But, anyone who withstands his temptations wins the court case and reaps reward. There’s an argument to be made that the Satan rejoices at this outcome along with G-d. As Rumple will later say, Darkness is meant to serve the Light.

Now, you may be wondering: if Rumpelstiltskin is the Agent of Justice, is there an Agent of Mercy? The answer is yes, and contrary to what you might think, it’s not Belle. The Agent of Mercy is the Blue Fairy. Like Rumple, she is an immortal, magical being. Belle is Beauty, of course - the balancing force between them. So, to borrow the Tree of Life diagram. . .

Okay, that’s enough religious symbolism for now. The rest of this post is straight story.

The Chamberlen Brothers

Chapter Four introduced the Chamberlen Brothers, two mortals who joined Brunhilde in a scheme to make Belle forget her mother. The memory loss is part of the TV show, but it’s full of inconsistent plot holes. And that’s where fanfic comes in. Writers like me love “fixing canon.” I’ve done it by casting the Chamberlens as the doctors that Maurice consulted for Belle. The TV show only mentions these doctors in passing, and out of that throw-away line, I constructed a new plot.

You’ve read Brunhilde’s confession. In the next chapter, Belle will tell her side of the story. The two video clips I added into Chapter One clarify the backstory, but I’ll include them now in case you want a refresher.

Belle Chooses the Beast

In the upcoming chapter, Belle will make the fateful decision to go with the beast. In storytelling terms, it’s the first inciting incident, the event that gets the main action going. Because it’s such an important scene, I’m including another video clip, but unlike the others, this isn’t just for backstory. I’ve weaved the dialogue into the novel and added in my own descriptions and character thoughts. You can watch the video now and read the scene later, or you can wait till you reach that part. There will be a link there, too. Either way, if there’s one video clip to watch, it’s this one.

And that sets you up for Chapter Five. From the bottom of my heart, thank you again for reading.