“Beneath it all Something as yet Unnamed was Coming into Focus”: A Queer Reading of Malinda Lo’s Ash
Abstract
Malinda Lo’s 2009 young adult novel Ash extends the legacy of the “Cinderella” story by transforming the tale through a queer lens. The adaptation’s heroine, Ash, must choose between joining the realm of the fairies or remaining amongst the living, as signified by her interest in Sidhean, a male fairy, and Kaisa, a female huntress. I argue that the novel further intertextually and metatextually queers the “Cinderella” story by including nonheteronormative relationships; depicting the queer time of fairy tales, dreams, and the carnivalesque; and demonstrating how certain gender and sexual identities are privileged.
Recommended Citation
Woltmann, Suzy. "“Beneath it all Something as yet Unnamed was Coming into Focus”: A Queer Reading of Malinda Lo’s Ash." Marvels & Tales 34.2 (2021). Web. <https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/marvels/vol34/iss2/5>.
