Parallels Between the Blue Fairy and the Virgin Mary

One of the constants in all the versions of Pinocchio we have examined is the Blue Fairy as a prominent and supernatural figure.  She serves as a mother figure for Pinocchio, but she is also more than that.  In this segment of the story (the woods) she is trying to teach Pinocchio several lessons.  First, she wants him to realize once again that lying is a sin and that he will never achieve his goals if he does not change his dishonest ways:

"As soon as he told the lie, his nose, which was already rather long, immediately grew another two inches... 'Lies, my dear boy, are quickly discovered; because there are two kinds. There are lies with short legs, and lies with long noses. Yours is clearly of the long-nosed variety.'"

  She also tries to instill a characteristic of trust in him, as she wants him to trust that she is looking out for his well-being and wants him to drink the foul medicine because she fears his impending death.  There has been much written on this topic, as many people see the parallels between the fairy and the Virgin Mary, which ties into the motif of Pinocchio as Christ.  We believe that there is a connection between the Blue Fairy and the Madonna because although both women treat their ‘sons’ as many mothers would, we feel that they both realize there is something more to their job and they carry out their respective tasks with a type of desperation and hope that can only be created from the knowledge that both children, Jesus and Pinocchio, are going to have to face great hardships to reach their goals and must be prepared for the long and arduous journey ahead of them. Lastly, Collodi's choice to have the Fairy be portrayed in the color blue summons forth another interesting similiarity between early depictions of The Virgin Mary: she was also often clothed in blue.

Works Cited

http://www.fathom.com/course/72810000/session5.html