Table of Contents
Acknowledgments vi
Preface 1
Introduction: In Praise of Muddlecock: The Thematization of Reading in Fables 7
1 Plots: Adaptation, Genre and Allegory 19
Fairy Tales and Adaptation 19
Plot Collisions and the Control of Narrative 28
Quests 38
Prince Charming versus Prince Brandish: An Allegorical Reading 47
2 The Social World 58
Posthuman Interrogations 58
Fathers and Sons 68
Snow White's Complex Femininity 77
The Shaming of Rose Red 86
3 Politics: History, Power and Leadership 96
Bigby as America 96
Styles of Leadership: Geppetto, Flycatcher and Rose Red 106
Fables and Fantasy: Geography, History, Economy 115
Race: East versus West, Pure versus Mongrel 124
4 Magic, Metaphysics and Metafiction 133
Magic and Power in the Age of Anxiety 133
Magic versus Technology, Religion and Language 142
Fate, Fortune, and Freedom 151
Metafiction and Absorption (the Rise of Ambrose Wolf) 159
5 Spin-Offs 170
Peter & Max 170
Jack of Fables 172
Cinderella Graphic Novels 174
Fairest 176
The Unwritten Crossover 179
The Wolf Among Us 180
Works Cited 185
Index 193