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Stephanie's Reviews > Fables, Vol. 8: Wolves
Fables, Vol. 8: Wolves
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** spoiler alert **
I'm very disappointed in Willingham's choices this volume! He takes what should have been (and was) a beautiful love story and turns it into something ugly.
Firstly, Willingham falls into the classicly horrid stereotype of faithful-woman-waits-for-unfaithful-man(think The Odyssey). Why did Bigby need to have a love affair over the five years he and Snow were separated? Especially since, as far as we readers know, Snow was faithful to him for the duration of their separation and even went through what appears to be a lot of work to make their children believe their father was communicating with them and loved them though he couldn't be with them. Couldn't Bigby have stayed in touch with his family himself? He might not have been allowed at the Farm, but instead of throwing a fit, he easily could have found a comfy place to settle down and made sure he corresponded with his kids. I also feel like if he would have put a little more thought into it, he could have figured out a solution to their dilemma a good deal earlier, instead of drinking his time away with Sarah (and what was the purpose of making her Native American anyway? I found that vaguely offensive.)
Secondly, Snow White's response to Bigby's proposal, "Okay. You've defeated me. You win"... what the hell is that? It's not like Bigby was always right and Snow was always wrong in their relationship. And why would she need to be "defeated" if she already loves him? It makes no sense and is decidedly chauvinist.
Lastly, Willingham's choice to use the old patriarchal wedding vows for Snow and Bigby was disturbing. Snow has proved herself to be an intelligent and capable woman. Having lived for centuries independent of a man (since her divorice from Prince Charming) and successfully run the Fabletown government, I think Snow is the last woman who would need to vow to "obey" her husband.
I hope this is not a sign that the series is going to go downhill from here as I've really enjoyed it so far.
Firstly, Willingham falls into the classicly horrid stereotype of faithful-woman-waits-for-unfaithful-man(think The Odyssey). Why did Bigby need to have a love affair over the five years he and Snow were separated? Especially since, as far as we readers know, Snow was faithful to him for the duration of their separation and even went through what appears to be a lot of work to make their children believe their father was communicating with them and loved them though he couldn't be with them. Couldn't Bigby have stayed in touch with his family himself? He might not have been allowed at the Farm, but instead of throwing a fit, he easily could have found a comfy place to settle down and made sure he corresponded with his kids. I also feel like if he would have put a little more thought into it, he could have figured out a solution to their dilemma a good deal earlier, instead of drinking his time away with Sarah (and what was the purpose of making her Native American anyway? I found that vaguely offensive.)
Secondly, Snow White's response to Bigby's proposal, "Okay. You've defeated me. You win"... what the hell is that? It's not like Bigby was always right and Snow was always wrong in their relationship. And why would she need to be "defeated" if she already loves him? It makes no sense and is decidedly chauvinist.
Lastly, Willingham's choice to use the old patriarchal wedding vows for Snow and Bigby was disturbing. Snow has proved herself to be an intelligent and capable woman. Having lived for centuries independent of a man (since her divorice from Prince Charming) and successfully run the Fabletown government, I think Snow is the last woman who would need to vow to "obey" her husband.
I hope this is not a sign that the series is going to go downhill from here as I've really enjoyed it so far.
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Fables, Vol. 8.
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Reading Progress
September 24, 2009
– Shelved
Started Reading
September 29, 2009
–
Finished Reading
August 17, 2018
– Shelved as:
graphic-novels
August 17, 2018
– Shelved as:
sometimes-i-read-adult-books
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Anurag
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rated it 5 stars
Jan 18, 2014 07:27PM
I like you review! Quite in detail!
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Well said! The traditional vows bothered me too =/
Thanks, Alyssa! It was pretty bad, especially considering how excellent the series was up to this point, and how strong a character Snow was.
yeah I disliked Bigbys cheating. It completely ruined it. I mean Snow coped. it's totally out of his character. the old vows were totally unnecessary and disturbing to read especially when the series is surrounded by strong females. Your review is bang on. :-)
Agreed, Nathalie! And thanks :)
Far removed from the Odyssey in that Snow wasn't being chased by suitors. Bigby was using consenting female to while away time without Snow whereas Odysseus was thoughtless about Penelope's feelings. Your review seems to have an agenda from feminism circa 1980. Fables Wolves lacked because such a chunk of time was lost between novels therefore only supposition can be used for character development in that time.
Not forgetting Bigby was busy training his windy son!
Catherine wrote: "Far removed from the Odyssey in that Snow wasn't being chased by suitors. Bigby was using consenting female to while away time without Snow whereas Odysseus was thoughtless about Penelope's feeling..."It's been a long time since I've read this, but I don't find your criticisms of my review to be well founded. Wolves falls into similar tropes as The Odyssey--a lack of suitors doesn't change that. And if I recall correctly, Bigby was pretty inconsiderate of Sarah's feelings in the way he left her...
I don't remember about the time jump or anything about Bigby "training" the invisible child... I do remember him not even realizing the child was around for a while? Anyway, I don't think those things are as important as the lack of female agency and disturbing, bizarre shift in Snow's personality/choices.
Sorry, but I have to slightly agree with Catherine... Even though I didn't quite appreciate the fact that Bigby cheated on Snow, it still added more to the character. You're entitled to your own opinion, obviously, but why the hell did you find offensive that Sarah was native American? What's the damn difference between being native american, white, black, asian, whatever? He was in Alaska, I'm pretty sure there are native americans living there... Would you not have found it offensive if she was white? Also, why would Snow be a lesser woman for forgiving Bigby, or for saying the vows? I also thought that the vows felt strange, but only because it meant they follow the Catholic religion, which is something I hadn't considered. Thought Fables would have their own gods and religions... Anyway, and like I said, you're entitled to your opinion, just felt sad to see someone not appreciating a great entry in a great series for the reasons you gave.
I agree with Catherine and Luis. If you write a review you need to be open to constructive criticism. Not everyone needs to have the same opinions, but don't shoot someone down just because they disagree with you - take us as an opportunity to host a discussion.
Not only am I from Alaska but I am also Alaskan Native, so the idea they made Sarah Native is something I particularly like.
Kayla wrote: "Not only am I from Alaska but I am also Alaskan Native, so the idea they made Sarah Native is something I particularly like."That's great, Kayla! Have you read the book? Were you happy with her portrayal?
Leigh wrote: "I agree with Catherine and Luis. If you write a review you need to be open to constructive criticism. Not everyone needs to have the same opinions, but don't shoot someone down just because they di..."Pointing out the flaws in an argument is not "shooting someone down." I'm also not under any obligation to host a discussion if I don't want to--especially if I don't feel the participants have well-founded opinions!
³¢³Üòõ wrote: "Sorry, but I have to slightly agree with Catherine... Even though I didn't quite appreciate the fact that Bigby cheated on Snow, it still added more to the character. You're entitled to your own op..."You can agree with whomever you like, of course! Again, it's been a long time since I've read this, but I was bothered by Sarah being Native American because she was treated so poorly by Bigby and I feel that reinforces negative tropes. This is especially problematic when there is so little representation of Native American characters in books in general.
As far as the vows and Snow's behavior, I already explained the elements I found problematic in my review!
Agree that Bigby's behavior is disgusting. Not to mention throwing in that his invisible child sees him with the other woman! Do they just like, keep that a secret from Snow? It's gross and lost my respect for Bigby. Snow and her kids deserves better. I stopped reading the series after this.
Artemis wrote: "Agree that Bigby's behavior is disgusting. Not to mention throwing in that his invisible child sees him with the other woman! Do they just like, keep that a secret from Snow? It's gross and lost my..."Right?!? Everything about the situation was gross. I feel you stopping the series after that. I wish he would go back and rewrite from that part on. So disappointing.
This all of this. Bill really nerfed Snow since her really messed up pregnancy. She has no agency, and just sat around waiting, when she started out as a powerful figure who would take no BS from anyone especially Bigby. I would have appreciated a moment where Bigby regrets, like when he meets his kids again and realizes how old they were and how much time he lost, but no pick out your rooms! Everything's fine cause I got you a house!Also... I didn't need the pro-Israel stuff. Like at all. I mean where ever you personally stand on that issue, I'm pretty sure you don't want to hear it when you pick up a fantasy comic book with fairy tales. You could had Bigby tell Geppetto that they are tough and when you hit us we'll hit back tenfold and leave it at that. To turn it into a weird political manifesto is just...gross.
At least the stuff with Cindy is good!
Julia wrote: "This all of this. Bill really nerfed Snow since her really messed up pregnancy. She has no agency, and just sat around waiting, when she started out as a powerful figure who would take no BS from a..."YES Julia re: pro-Israel moment. I had forgotten about that--it's been years since I read it and I wasn't as aware of the situation back then. Also yes to everything else! I hope by now he can see his own errors in this book and will do better in future.
