While combing through potential sources, I found an issue of The New York Times, featuring a review on my focal text, The Princess Bride. After reading the review I decided to page through the issue for any articles that could shed light on what was going on around the novel’s publication. For a little context, this issue was published on December 23, 1973, the same year The Princess Bride was published, and consequentially it was filled with advertisements for various Christmas gifts and holiday sales. One advertisement that caught my attention was for a Bonwit Teller swimsuit on page 5. This advertisement takes up almost the entire page and consists of a small paragraph and illustration displaying the product. The tagline of the ad reads, “The Bonwit Tank: Ready to Move Boldly into the Sun Life” (5). What stood out to me about this advertisement was that it was promoting a summer swimsuit in the middle of December, a month when it is too cold for swimming in most places. The winter solstice, which is the day that has the least amount of sunlight hours, also occurs in December. I think these aspects help encourage readers to not only buy the swimsuit, but also hint at a need to travel in order to enjoy their product and escape the cold weather.
Another thing I noticed was the plethora of pieces on various crises overseas, and on the fuel crisis in the US. One piece in particular was a message from Roots. The message starts with “Winter 1973 hasn’t been all bad” (39) and then continues to list various current issues and good aspects of them, including an “energy crisis,” “foreign conflicts,” “our uncertain economy,” and “Disturbing political incidents have caused us to individually examine our own motives and actions, which can only result in good.” The list created by the message depicts various problems taking place at the time, and consequently, the effect these have on the population. I had wondered why Goldman decided to not only write a fairytale aimed at all ages, but also to interact with the text with his personal perspective and notes; now I think I have a theory. At the time of this New Yorker issue there is a lot happening; people are stressed and struggling and in need of an escape. Maybe The Princess Bride was an escape for Goldman, and by interacting with the text, he felt like he was more of a part of the story.
Works Cited
“Display Ad 11 — no Title.” New York Times (1923-), Dec 23, 1973, pp. 5. ProQuest, https://dickinson.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/display-ad-11-no-title/docview/119732018/se-2.
“Display Ad 86 — no Title.” New York Times (1923-), Dec 23, 1973, pp. 39. ProQuest, https://dickinson.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/display-ad-86-no-title/docview/119733760/se-2.
Magnolia, this is such a fantastic way to look at the cultural context surrounding your focal text. Examining not just the generalized history of the year of publication, but zooming in on the advertisements included next to a media review and related pieces regarding current events populating the issue, is a really close-up look! Your escapism theory definitely holds weight. There’s a lot of historical (and current!) precedent for authors and audiences alike using stories not just as commentary, but as mind-made refuges from the “real world.” I myself can confirm that a good book or movie, whether it be horror or romance, provides a great outlet for emotion, or distraction from current happenings. I wonder, also, how your focal text might bear some of the markings of its time and take them in stride along with its escapism? Despite the story’s role as a classically fun fairy-tale, even fairy-tales often show signs of influence from the times of their creation, regardless of authorial intent. Foreign conflict and economic problems might be slightly reminiscent of Humperdinck’s evil plots and the various foreign outlaws that kidnap the princess. The farm-worker protagonists may live a fun pastoral life, but their ability to stand against powerful, royal characters might reflect wishes of economic mobility or stability, perhaps? It’s been a while since I interacted with the text, so I might be wrong—but at the very least, I hope it’s something to think about.