Fairy Tales
7 Fairy tales are fantasy-based stories with some type of moral or lesson attached to them. 2We are clear that they didn t actually happen, which is what distinguishes them from legends or historical myths. 3We ve all heard of the two children lost in the woods who found a house made of gingerbread, and the magic beans that grew into a beanstalk leading to a heavenly giant.
4So what do such fictional works have to do with this topic? 5A story passed from generation to generation is part of our moral upbringing, regardless of its fictional nature. 6Fairy tales can tell us a lot about ourselves.
7We will look at the Grimm Brothers collection of tales – most of which are of a European origin – which include popular stories like Hansel and Gretel, Rapunzel, Cinderella and Snow White. 8For the moment, try to forget the Disney adaptations. g1n reality, the original stories of Grimm were much darker.
Crime and Punishment
100ne common theme in all these tales is punishment for bad behaviour: usually harsh and violent. 11The tales we know today are a lot more pleasant and palatable to children, but the original stories are filled with misery and death.
12There are plenty of rewards as well, but the approach was much more punishment-oriented in an attempt to illustrate exactly what happened to bad children who were greedy, vain, lazy, dishonest and cruel. 131t s in this respect that fairy tales mirror religious writings concerning punishment.
Tricks and Deals
14Deals are often made between the characters in a fairy tale, though they are usually one-sided and seemingly impossible to win . 1SThis is what leads to the many tricks we see as the characters try desperately to wriggle out of a bad situation or to swing a poor deal in their favour.
16Though it may seem that resorting to trickery is a negative lesson to teach children, it is usually seen as a form of cleverness or intelligence: that a quick mind can help you out of any situation. 171n other words, negotiation is a virtue.
18Here are two well-known fairy tales that illustrate the point. 1gThey both demonstrate negative behaviour, the consequences, and how the victims were able to use their quick wits to escape.
Hansel and Gretel
20Two children are abandoned in the woods by their parents after several unsuccessful attempts to be rid of them. 21Lost in the forest, the boy and girl find a witch s home made from sugar and cake. 22She lures them inside with even more tasty treats, and then locks them up with the intention of fattening them up to eat. 23Hansel is locked up while Gretel is forced to help the witch cook and clean. 24When it's time to eat poor Hansel, Gretel tricks the witch into climbing into the oven herself to test if it's hot enough, and the witch is quickly roasted to death.
25The story plays on children s fear of being left alone without their parents, and also shows how greed can lead to disaster. 26If they had not been so intent on gorging themselves with sweets, the witch would never have caught them. 27But since the children hadn t ended up in the forest because of their own carelessness, they were able to trick their way to freedom. 28Had they gotten lost due to their own misbehaviour, it's unlikely they would have been so lucky in the end.
Rumpelstiltskin
29A boastful statement is the opening to this tale, when a man announces the ridiculous notion that his daughter can spin straw into gold. 30The greedy king locks up the miller s daughter to force her to spin him gold or she is to be put to death. 31As she cries through the night, a strange little man appears and offers to help in exchange for her necklace. 32She agrees and the man fills all the baskets with spun gold.
330f course the king wants more and the young girl has to make further deals each night for more gold. 34She eventually runs out of jewellery to trade, so he demands her first child if the king marries her. 35Desperate, she agrees. 36After the final night of gold-spinning, the king does in fact marry the girl. 37When her first child is born, the little man returns and demands the baby to make good on the deal. 38She makes one final bargain with him: if she can guess his name within three days, she can keep her child.
39After two days of failed guesses, she sends a messenger out to the mountains and he comes back with the right name. 40When the little man returns on the final day, the girl guesses correctly and gets to keep the baby. 41Incensed, he stamps his foot so hard into the ground that he gets stuck up to his waist. 42In an attempt to free himself, he grabs his other foot, but in his frenzy rips himself in half.
43Even though the girl was innocent at the start, the main theme of the story is how small lies (along with vanity and ego) can lead to much larger disasters. 44Yet again, the innocent girl used her smarts to trick her way out of her problem.
Destined for Greatness
45This is the theme we also see throughout the Arthurian legend mythos, particularly the Sword in the Stone. 46These are stories that are less concerned with punishment, presenting a happily-ever-after ending for characters who have a miserable life otherwise. 47The theme in these cases revolves around destiny and that we all have a certain role to play, even if it doesn t seem like it at the beginning. 48Tales like these were intended to give children (and adults) hope for the future, because you never know when a strange twist of fortune may come your way and change your life forever.
Cinderella
49This is one of the best examples of a destiny-themed tale. 50It s a longer story than the two previous examples, but since most people are very familiar with it, only a brief outline is presented below.
51A young girl is treated cruelly by her stepmother and two stepsisters, and made to live like a servant in her own home. 520ne day, the king is to throw a three-day banquet for all the maidens in the kingdom to find a suitable bride for his unmarried son. 53The evil stepsisters choose to go, but do not allow Cinderella to attend because she has no gown to wear. 54As she cries over her mother s grave, a magic bird grants her wish and throws down a golden ball gown for her.
55She runs to the ball (or proceeds in a carriage made out of a pumpkin) and is immediately noticed by the prince, who dances with her all night long. 56The same happens for the next two nights of the banquet. 570n the last night, she leaves quickly so that the prince won t know who she is, but leaves behind a single golden (or glass) slipper. 58The prince takes the slipper and vows to marry the woman whose foot it fits. 59Needless to say, he eventually comes across Cinderella and the two of them are wed and live happily ever after. 60The stepmother and sisters have their eyes pecked out after that by Cinderella s friendly pigeons.
61Again, the evil behaviour was harshly punished but that is a minor detail in this story. 62The main theme is that the pure-of-heart character wins out in the end and is rewarded with a glorious life even after living through cruelty.
Family Values
63And just as religion can often be considered dated due to changing social values, so can fairy tales. 64Stepmothers were common during those times due to the number of women who died in childbirth, which led to a lot of men getting remarried later in life. 65Representing her as evil is simply to depict an outsider to the traditional family unit.
661t s possible that these tales simply reflected a past trend of stepmothers who often resented their new children. 67Modern society is a little better at accommodating all types of family arrangements. 68Even so, the stereotype of the evil stepmother persists.
69Another old-fashioned notion is that girls need to be rescued by men. 70The Cinderella and Rumpelstiltskin stories are perfect examples of poor girls needing a man to rescue them with marriage. 71Women no longer need a man in order to be happy or successful in life, though classic fairy tales like to say they do. 720ther examples include Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Rapunzel. 73This is a further clear example of where religion and fairy tales meet.
Help From Animals
74This is one major thematic element that is common in many fairy tales. 751n our examples above, the magic birds in Cinderella are a good example of this. 76Sometimes these animals are magical, but otherwise they simply have some type of human qualities that normal animals don t exhibit. 77Snow White was helped in the forest by animals many times, and there was a wish-granting dog in The Magic Tinderbox.
78The theme of helpful animals is possibly a remnant from more primitive myths that focus on animals as being wise and helpful because society still relied upon them (such as stories from hunter/gatherer societies). 79There can also be an underlying message that we need to be kind to animals because you never know when they can be of assistance.