Journal #7: The Maker of Dreams

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Evening, A room in an old cottage with walls of dark oak, lit only by the moonlight that peers through the long, low casement-window at the back, and the glow from the fire that is burning merrily on the spectator's left. A cobbled street can be seen outside, and a door to the right of the window opens directly on to it. Opposite the fire is a kitchen dresser with cups and plates twinkling in the firelight. A high-backed oak settle, as though afraid of the cold moonlight, has turned its back on the window and warms its old timbers at the fire. In the middle of the room stands a table with a red cover; there are chairs on either side of it. On the hob, a kettle is keeping itself warm; whilst overhead, on the hood of the chimney-piece, a small lamp is turned very low.

The short story The Maker of Dreams, author Oliphant Down writes in such a way, that it seemed to possess an air of fairytale wonders, almost as if it were an untold Disney story. It brought me back to my childhood days, when I would curl up on the couch with my colored illustration of Disney’s Storybook Collection and the lollipop I had sneaked from my mom’s hiding place. I would roll the lollipop around my tongue while flipping through the thick pages and trace the figures of the Disney princesses and their long flowing hair with my sticky, stubby fingers.

Oliphant’s use of personification of the inanimate objects in the opening of the story, “A high-backed oak settle, as though afraid of the cold moonlight, has turned its back on the window and warm its old timbers at the fire”, is a subtle touch to setting the enchanting mood of the story. As the story progresses, I noticed the hints of personification here and there that continued to build upon the magic of the story. “Ah, you’re like the kettle. He can’t sing when he’s cold either. Hurry up, Mr. Kettle, if you please.” Reading this line whilst going through the story, the image of Belle from Beauty and the Beast swirling around in her yellow ball gown while conversing with the talking clock and teacups instantly popped up in my head. When Pierette says, “Come and be cheerful, instead of grumbling there to the fire”, I could almost hear the crackling of the fire, see its shadows dancing on the cabin walls, and feel the warmth of its touch. These simple details almost seemed insignificant when I first scrolled through the story, but once returning the story, I saw how the individual pieces fit together to contribute to the story.  Like many fairytales, The Maker of Dreams also leaves us with a “moral of the story”. Similar to Disney’s The Little Mermaid, the outcome of the story seems rather fairytale-cliché, with the boy/prince finally opening their eyes and realizing their true love has always been in front of them, unnoticed. Also similar to Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, the characters seemed too quick in their change of emotions to be believable.

Although Oliphant’s The Maker of Dreams, with its many magical elements and enchanting characters proved to be an oddly fascinating little story, many of its qualities proved to be too fairytale-like to be believable. The story should be considered no more than a simple piece of fantasy, but the lessons that the story ultimately reveals, however cliché, could be applicable to our daily lives.