Transcript The fairy tale is generally the longest, most detailed of

The fairy tale is generally the
longest, most detailed of all
folktale types.
•Originate from the oral tradition
•Few fairy tales of most cultures concern “fairies,” and the
name probably comes from the French “contes des fee,”
French literary tales from the 17th century that do, in fact,
feature fairies.
•Not originally written for children fairy tales were most likely
stories told by adults for adults
The German term for fairy tale is “Märchen,” a term for
which there is no exact English translation.
• Authors generally associated with fairy tales are
the Grimm Brothers, Charles Perrault, and Hans
Christian Anderson.
• Most of the tales that we read today have been
“sanitized” of their more gruesome and/or overtly
sexual references.
• The Grimm Brothers, while removing most of the
sex from their tales, did leave a good bit of the
violence. The also helped fairytales to “migrate
into the nursery in the 19th century” Most fairy
tales, even the Disney versions remain violent.
(Maria Tartar—interview).
Tartar argues that the Grimm Brothers transformed
fairytales with their Nursery and Household Tales
• “Once the Brothers Grimm started to
collect the tales, they were transformed
from entertainment for adults to diversion
for children, and in some ways, also an
educational manual for children. Then the
stories suddenly developed an incredible
moral backbone.”
Fairytales are generally women’s
tales.
• Most fairy tales seem to originate as
women’s stories.
• Note the emphasis on the women
characters—Name some of the women
heroines—Name the men
• The male authors who, like the Grimms,
collected and edited the tales, also
“masculinized” them.
The female versions tend to be more “fantastic”
and “nastier” than the ones written by the men.
• The original fairy tale tellers were women
who passed on tales to the young.
• The tales often outlined social function and
promoted the ideas that virtue would be
rewarded and adversity could be
overcome with the application of luck and
wit.
According to Maria Tater
• “Everyone wants to know where fairy tales
came from in the first place. It is important
to keep in mind that there really are no
originals, ideal types, sacred texts or
global master narratives, so all we have
are copies, variants, deviant forms, and
local narratives.”
Tartar continues
“[A] “scene of origin” takes us into an adult culture
where we have raconteurs telling racy, ribald
and violent stories to an adult audience. They
are stories about the quest for power, wealth,
romance—not necessarily in that order. They
are also stories that speak to the anxieties and
desires of adults who are negotiating the path to
marriage, sorting out family conflicts and. . .
‘rehearsing, preserving and transmitting
communal value, beliefs, and prejudices.’
Why are we so attracted to fairy
tales?
• Often involve ordinary people caught up in
extraordinary circumstances.
• Language is generally simple, yet
dignified.
• Tales use devices of structural and
linguistic repetition.
• Often use suspense and life/death
situations
Fairy Tales characteristics cont’d
• Other familiar stories and literary
conventions (myths, revenge tales,
parables, etc.) also pervade fairy tales
• The “types” appear again and again and
cross-culturally.
Cinderella’s “Original” Castle
Disney’s Cinderella’s Castle