Maria Tatar's Presentation

The stars were beginning to sparkle as the sun set revealing the ravishing colors of the autumn season. It was the perfect beginning to a wonderful night.

As my classmates and I gathered in one of the sitting rooms in the president's house, we entertained each other with stories of what we could expect the night to be like. When Maria Tatar entered the room full of people her face lit up. She wasn't nervous the least bit, in fact, it was the complete opposite! Her face lit up in appreciation of all the people from the college gathering in her favor.

We started out with a wonderful meal and a fabulous dessert at the president's house while enjoying each other's company in anticipation for Tatar's lecture. I was certain that she would cover interesting concepts but what I wasn't sure of was whether I would agree on her points of view or not. After reading one of her books all semester I knew there would be topics that I would disagree on but, would I enjoy her lecture overall? I would just have to wait and see.

I entered the lecture hall which reminded me of an over-sized dining room equipped with chandeliers and a faux fireplace. This room added a homey gesture to the lecture allowing it to seem more of a one-on-one conversation rather than a long boring lecture that both the students and the professors are all too use to. She added a touch of humor and down-to-earth personality to start off her lecture.

She began talking about her new book with the assistance of a picturesque slide show. It was convenient how she began discussing her views on Bluebeard when we had just covered the multiple stories in class. Her presentation all together seemed convincing but did not have an ending that brought anything together to prove a point. Her points seemed valid but it seemed her presentation abruptly ended without giving a real grand finale to blow our minds and really impress the audience. At some points during the lecture, I was impressed when she discussed aspects of light and color to display themes. That was a real turning point for me but, she couldn't bring her enlightening points home and make a big bang impression on the audience.

All in all, I was not super impressed by Maria Tatar's presentation but I was glad that I attended it. She left a new outlook on fairy tales than my class had covered in the past months and I am proud to say that I have witnessed the speech a legend of my time.