11/11

11/11 Putting these examples together is why I wanted to spend longer on unicorns. I really like them, and there is much more available in the fiction than a single personality or a single set of powers. Grimm puts its last unicorn between people trying to protect it and people with plans to use it. Beagle puts the search in the unicorn's own hands. Jewel has a friendship and a place in a fight. Legend connects the creatures to the world's survival. Ariel builds a partnership, while The Unicorn Chronicles gives unicorns a homeland and a community. Acorna carries the imagery into a different genre altogether. The older tales make the range even wider. A unicorn can be dangerous, sacred, vulnerable, stubborn, or capable of fighting back. None of those possibilities has to erase the others. Coming back to Grimm #43, that range makes the loss more significant. We can understand what the opposing characters want, but the creature at the center of it has a life that ought to matter beyond those wants. That is plenty of reason to give the unicorn more attention than a passing entry in the list of magical beings.