fables

“ We ought to do something dangerous. Something forbidden! „
― Elizabeth to Henrietta, Fables: The Wolf Among Us #22 — "Heart of Glass Part 1"


Elizabeth is a human mundy who is one Mary's "friends" in Victorian London. She first appears in flashbacks from the mundane world in Fables: The Wolf Among Us #22 — "Heart of Glass Part 1."

History

Background

Elizabeth, an aristocrat of the Victorian era, is the daughter of police detective D.I. Benton and an unnamed mother, residing in a mansion in London with her family.[2] She is one of Mary's "friends," who constantly tease and make fun of her.[3]

Halloween 1887

On Halloween in 1887, Elizabeth is engaged in a game of snap-the-apple with Mary at the latter's mansion[1] in Hampstead, London,[4] accompanied by Mary's other "friends," Henrietta and Jane. Feeling adventurous, Elizabeth suggests they try a daring divination spell together. As part of the ritual, the four women gather in Mary's dimly lit bedroom with candles in hand and stand before a mirror, hoping to catch a glimpse of her future husband. To their great shock, the Knave of Hearts emerges in the reflection in the mirror. Everyone runs out of the room in terror.[1]

While walking through Kensington Gardens with Elizabeth and Jane on November 3, Mary reveals that she has a secret "gentleman caller," but the two don't believe her and ridicule Mary. Mary meets the Knave of Hearts through the mirror and fills him in on everything that has happened. Although she acknowledges that Jane and Elizabeth can be cruel at time, she still considers them her friends. The Knave admits to having access to multiple mirrors and uses one to show Mary what two women are doing in front of another mirror; mocking Mary behind her back, with Jane calling her "Stupid bloody Mary!" Mary is devastated, and the Knave suggests that she cut off all contact with them. She protests, fearing loneliness, but the Knave assures her that she will always have him until her dying day.[3]

Halloween 1888

On October 31, 1888,[2] after Mary is brutally murdered,[5] Elizabeth's family holds a Halloween celebration. During the party, she — along with Jane and Henrietta — hold a candlelight vigil for Mary. In doing so, they unintentionally summon the wrath of Mary's reflection, Bloody Mary. As Elizabeth mocks the tribute by openly criticizing Mary's faults, Henrietta and Jane see Bloody Mary lunge out of a nearby mirror towards Elizabeth.[2]

Etymology

Elizabeth shares her first name with the infamous Hungarian countess Elizabeth Bathory, believed by some to have been the inspiration behind the legend of Bloody Mary. Her first name is also the same as that of Elizabeth I, the half-sister of Queen Mary I,[6] better known to history as "Bloody Mary"; who is also said to be the inspiration behind the legend;[7] and Elizabeth Stride, one of the "canonical five" victims of Jack the Ripper;[8] in the comic, Bloody Mary is revealed to be the perpetrator behind the Jack the Ripper killings, and Elizabeth's father is revealed to be involved with the investigation of the Jack the Ripper murders.[2]

Appearances

Fables: The Wolf Among Us

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Fables: The Wolf Among Us #22 — "Heart of Glass Part 1"
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Fables: The Wolf Among Us #33 — "Heart of Glass Part 12: “We Are Glass”"
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Fables: The Wolf Among Us #24 — "Heart of Glass Part 3 “Love Will Tear Us Apart”"
  4. ↑ Fables: The Wolf Among Us #32 — "Heart of Glass Part 11 “So Alive”"
  5. ↑ Fables: The Wolf Among Us #29 — "Heart of Glass Part 8 “Watch Me Bleed”"
  6. ↑ Mikkelson, Barbara (April 27, 2001). Is the Bloody Mary Story True?. Snopes. "That legend more properly attaches to Elizabeth Bathory, a Hungarian countess who lived from 1560 to 1614. (…) Mary I was the half sister of Elizabeth I (1558-1603)."
  7. ↑ Ray, Michael. Was Bloody Mary a Real Person?, Encyclopædia Britannica. "That clash came to a head when Mary became queen in 1553, and her efforts to restore Roman Catholicism to England would earn her the nickname “Bloody Mary.” (…) Of even murkier origin is the childhood ghost story that suggests that repeating the words “Bloody Mary” into a mirror will cause some foul apparition to appear. However, there is nothing to suggest that Mary Tudor's deeds or misfortunes would have inspired an eternal malice toward sleepover participants."
  8. ↑ Jenkins, John Philip (September 20, 2024). Jack the Ripper, Encyclopædia Britannica. "The so-called “canonical five” victims were Mary Ann Nichols (whose body was found on August 31), Annie Chapman (found September 8), Elizabeth Stride (found September 30), Catherine (Kate) Eddowes (found September 30), and Mary Jane Kelly (found November 9). According to the common assumption of the time, all the victims were prostitutes and all but one of them, Kelly, was murdered while soliciting on the street. (…) In each instance, the victim's throat was cut, and the body was usually mutilated in a manner indicating that the murderer had at least some knowledge of human anatomy."