#bookmen

[nocturnal-impala]

Princess Tutu Zwei Episode 10 part 1 Screenshots 4

[portrait-paintings]

Mr J. E. Taylor

Artist: Charles Wheeler (New Zealander, 1880-1977)

Date: c. 1940

Medium: Oil on canvas

Collection: National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia

[sweettalkertime]

God of Fury by Rina Kent

My heart couldn’t handle the emotions of reading this book, and I will forever miss the first time I read it. Sometimes, we relate to a character because of the joys they experience in life. Other times, we relate to the characters because of their dark side, which is not often highlighted. Brandon King is such a sweet and caring man. Being different is never bad, it’s the most special thing…

[bookish-phile]

“I know, love. I’m going to take you somewhere safe.”

[galamurphy]

"How handsome he must have been before he was burned. Heat flared over my skin. How handsome he was now."

"Frostblood" by Elly Blake

[cherubsweetcheeks]

Me? Cheat on you? Babe, I feel bad when I start falling for another fictional man bc it feels like I’m cheating on my fav fictional character

[therookieking412]

Friday Spin Class

Welcome to the first essay of hopefully many. No, this is unfortunately not about any of the side characters, or at least not the individual essays I promised.

No. 

This is more of a half baked theory based on analyzing four episodes of Princess Tutu - and the fact that I’ve watched it five times, possibly more - about Drosselmeyer and the Bookmen. 

The theory being this: the Bookmen did not band together to stop the formidable Drosselmeyer from writing his tragedies, but that they assigned him his stories. 

Yes, the Bookmen are Drosselmeyer’s bosses. 

Okay just listen. 

In episode one, the Narrator describes the last few pages of the Prince and the Raven, “Once upon a time, there was a man who died. The man's work was the writing and telling of stories, but he could not defy death. The last story he was working on was about a brave and handsome prince who vanquishes a crafty raven. But now, it seems their battle will go on for eternity” (season one, episode 1). Drosselmeyer died before he finished the story, and I’m not sure he planned on ever finishing the story based on this line: “"this is great!" said the old man who was supposed to have died” (s1e1). 

Drosselmeyer getting his hands chopping off wasn’t because the Bookmen believed his powers were getting out of hand, but because he wasn’t doing his job. 

The Bookmen weren’t against Drosselmeyer, in fact they were in charge of stories, Drosselmeyer was just supposed to write them. 

In episode four, Giselle, the Narrator says this: “The man charged with spinning this tale” (s1e4). This line specifically is what makes me think that the relationship the Bookmen and Drosselmeyer had was more than just bitter enemies. 

“ And so the love remains forever sorrowful as the story lives on. The tale, no longer being spun searches for a conclusion…” (The Narrator). 

“A story’s birth is a sudden event. The start, a happy accident. The end, the fate for which it’s meant. A story that never ends is a cruel thing.” (Edel, s1e2). 

This is Drosselmeyer’s great tragedy, what he truly wants, a story that never ends, where he can just sit back and watch the events unfold. 

Story’s in this land are an accident, they are not started with intent or purpose, the Story Spinner’s job is to give those stories an end, to control and bend reality to a conclusion, whether happy or not. The Bookmen don’t care, what matters is that the people who are pulled into the story are eventually let go. Giselle can die, she can kill herself, it doesn’t matter, but the story needs to end. 

In fact, I’m willing to bet that Drosselmeyer doesn’t care for writing and the machine he writes in the end isn’t so that he can have control over the stories, but simply to record the story’s events. The machine isn’t giving him control over the story, it’s a scribe. 

The characters are free to do whatever they want, and they do. 

There are countless times where the characters surprise Drosselmeyer, shock him, or even go against what he wants to happen in the story.

Drosselmeyer abandons the stories he’s been given to end in favor of watching real people being trapped inside of a story for the rest of their lives, and this is why his hands were cut off. 

Drosselmeyer’s a punk.

Anyway. 

I’m not sure why the Bookmen try to cut off Fakir’s hands unless they think he’s going to be as lazy as his grandfather. But when I get there I’ll add on to this theory. 

Again, I apologize for this not being about a side character as promised, but hopefully this with appease everyone until I can finish the series. 

 (A friend suggested that the goals of the Bookmen have altered over the past hundred years and also that they have lost their minds since they too are trapped in a never ending story as for reason as to why they tried to chop of Fakir’s hands).

[dec0mposing]

Bookmen, a print I was given by the lovely owner of my favourite ever bookshop a couple weeks ago. (Dead Souls Bookshop)