So I was trying to think of a post, and I came up with the topic of jewelry (or jewellery, for our British and British-spelling Canadian friends), but when I tried to come up with some kind of angle that was deep, or insightful, or compelling in any way...well, let's just say Holiday Brain hit, and this is what you get:
Would You Wear It?
Good Jewelry: Good Jewels help you. They guide you somewhere important/safe/hidden, they gift you with untold powers, they make dead-ish, super old, mind-numbingly beautiful Faerie Queens get all glowy and come talk to you in the middle of the night and show you stuff you need to see. (oh, and if you've never read Sarah posting about her own jewelry talismans and the stories behind them, and how one inspired the design of Eye of Elena, you should).
Verdict: WEAR IT
Powerful, Ambiguous Jewelry: Amplifiers in SHADOW & BONE...trying not to give too much away...suffice to say if you're from Ravka, you might have certain powers, and those powers would benefit from a magical amulet of some sort, called an amplifier. Anyway, if you've read the book you'll understand why this one's ambiguous (I guess, technically, they could all be considered ambiguous).
Also included here are the magic rings from The Magician's Nephew that transport the wearer to the Wood Between Worlds, which could be either the most awesome adventure EVER or terrifying beyond imagination. Seriously, be careful with those things!
Verdict: Depends on how you feel about amped-up power and possibly dangerous adventures
Cursed Jewelry: Cursed Jewelry is Bad News for the wearer. Just ask Katie Bell, who somehow survived the Floating Brain Death curse of the opal necklace, but will probably never wear another necklace.
Verdict: Yeah, this one's a no, no matter how purty it looks in the shop window
Bad Jewelry: Bad Jewelry does Bad Things to Good People. MOTHER OF ALL EXAMPLES: Onering, Lord of the Rings. Need I say more? It bends hearts intent on good to betrayal, turns Galadriel into an alarmingly skinny photo negative of herself, and swells Frodo's eyes to alarming and greedy proportions. Good thing Gollum is there to take the fall for EVERYONE. *cries* (why is Gollum my favorite? always has been, even in the books) (well, Gollum and Samwise)
Verdict: NO NO NO NEVER DON'T DO IT REMEMBER SCARY GALADRIEL
Those are all the examples I could come up with, but that's because I am horribly underread, in spite of all the times I was caught with a book in my lap during class (Babysitter's Club does not count as fantasy, and, as babysitting does not support the buying of much jewelry beyond the plastic variety found at Clare's, there weren't really any jewels of significance in that world). Feel free to school me in the comments!
P.S. Jewelry is officially the hardest and most annoying word for me to type. It even beats 'appropriate'...well, almost. I HATE typing appropriate.
I was trying to think of jewelry-related fantasy and drawing a blank, then remembered (*snicker* *blush*) that I wrote one. SMALL PERSONS WITH WINGS has a moonstone ring that destroys all illusions--a mixed blessing. Put that in the "handle with care" pile.
ReplyDeleteIt's based on a ring in Charlemagne fables--you put it in your mouth (ick) to see through enchantments. It came in handy when a bunch of knights had been turned into trees.
Also, Laini Taylor's DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE has a wishbone charm that helps the heroine remember who she is, which turns out to be the most mixed of blessings.
I want that ring! I hate being tricked. I don't want to eat the turkey dinner that's really sand; I'd much rather KNOW it was sand (and thus, avoid ingesting it).
DeleteThere's a necklace and bracelet set in my UnFairy Tale Life series that's isn't actually magical but has a lot of sentimental value for the main character. Sometimes that can be even more powerful than the magical kind of jewelry.
ReplyDeleteThat's totally true. And it's a lot closer to what we experience in real life; I don't think any magical amulet could ever mean more to me than the necklace my CP gave me that makes her think of my mc.
DeleteI thought you wrote "because I am horribly undead" and had a pre-coffee Moment of Pause. Now I feel I MUST plant a jewel in next book.
ReplyDeleteHahaha...and yes, do! So we can talk about it and then some fancy jeweler can make it happen in real life!
DeleteAlso don't forget Cuff Alister's Cuffs in The Demon King. I remember because I'm re-reading the series in audio version.
ReplyDeleteRight, and Inkie Kiki Hamilton's titular Faerie Ring...I have probably left out dozens of obvious additions...I need to read more books. :)
DeleteP.S. Jewelry is officially the hardest and most annoying word for me to type. It even beats 'appropriate'...well, almost. I HATE typing appropriate.
ReplyDeleteI felt the need to comment on this post just to say how obviously kindred you are to have written this sentence.
I think we've observed our obvious kindredness before...and thank you for understanding how ANNOYING some words can be!
DeleteSaw this on Ellen's FB feed and had to comment as I only yesterday met a jewelry designer, and boy do some of her pieces have STORIES to them. http://www.etsy.com/shop/addiewuensch I rarely remember to wear what little jewelry I have, so the synchronicity was too strong to ignore! Love the blog!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by! I, too, am not what's known as a big jewelry-wearer, but I do wear my aforementioned CP-gifted necklace every single day, along with an awesome amber ring I bought in honor of my great-grandmother. I feel rather naked without them.
DeleteIt's not exactly jewelry, but I'd add crowns to the "probably not" category. I have a vague memory of a story of a userping king who put on the crown he'd stolen, and it became first red hot, and then white hot (and stuck to his head, so he couldn't tear it off) and either killed him horribly or turned him undead, or some such thing. And who in their right mind wants the job of king? I'd advise everyone to avoid crowns, even if you're not a userper.
ReplyDeleteHaha, yeah, usurpers usually get what they deserve. And didn't that happen in Ella Enchanted as well? I can't remember if it was just the movie version, though. And I am with you on not wanting to be royalty. Sounds wretched.
Delete...I can envision my daughter wearing that ;)
ReplyDeleteEl