Fairy Tales Theyre not your average bedtime story
Fairy Tales They’re not your average bedtime story…
What is a Fairy Tale? X Short stories in prose, originally for adults. X Told from a peasant perspective, quite unlike the aristocratic perspective in heroic legends. X Unlike legends, which deal with ostensibly historical events, fairy tales have vaguely medieval, undefined settings
The Typical Fairy Tales… X Have no character development. X Strongly contrast “good” and “bad” characters. X Often include the use of magic and magical items. X Feature familial settings X Frequently the family is dysfunctional or incomplete (compared to the “nuclear” family) X Explore family tensions (as a main source of conflict in the plot) X Rely heavily on stock characters and very well-known motifs and plot structures.
Common Fairy Tale Motifs… X Triumph of the youngest, laziest, dumbest, weakest, most oppressed, least promising, etc. X Inherently good and bad characters with strong moral contrasts. X Triadic structure circuitous journey with a reversal of fortune X Familial adversaries with a eventual establishment of improved and secure familial structure at the end. X Helping figures with magical objects and creatures. X Rewards in the form of honor, wealth, spouse, or power. X Talking animals – animate world with enchanted cosmos X Happy ending, poetic justice, reward and retribution
Fairy Tales Often Include… X A significant amount of sex and violence. X Protagonists that are: - active OR passive - male OR female - successful OR unsuccessful X An innocent or cynical tone.
The Setting… X Is typically set in an unspecified place X Often, the time is unspecified X Sometimes, the story is set in the distant past. X It can be presented as historical fact from the past.
The Characters… X The tales feature archetypal characters, many times without specific names - For example, "Cinderella" means nothing more than "girl of the cinders" X Unlike Arthurian Legends, fairy tales frequently have female protagonists. X The stories do NOT need to include actual fairies X The characters are “flat, ” thus, they never develop typically X Nearly all fairy tales incorporate clearly defined good characters and evil characters
The Plot… X Fairy tales have a simple plot that focuses on a problem or conflict that needs to be solved. X Usually, the protagonist leaves home. X The story features extreme conditions (beauty, riches, poverty etc. ) X Includes magical elements, often magical people, animals, objects, or magic spells X The existence of magic may be positive or negative. X Frequently, the story includes objects, people, or events in groups of threes (three battles, three tasks, etc. )
The Plot… X The hero (or heroine) has bad luck X The hero (or heroine) must perform impossible tasks X The hero (or heroine) must fight villain X The hero (or heroine) meets helpers X The hero (or heroine) is treated badly X The hero (or heroine) is in danger X The villain is punished X The hero (or heroine) is rewarded with wealth X The hero (or heroine) is rewarded with happy marriage
Typical Themes… X “Good is rewarded and evil is punished” X Encourage middle-class social values X Teach a lesson or demonstrate values important to the culture
About the Authors… ✠Brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm ✠Famous Fairy Tale writers ✠They wrote some of the most violent and gruesome tales told ✠Their stories were translated into over 160 different languages
Fairy Tales or Horror Tales? ✠ The primary reason the Grimm Brother wrote the stories was to teach important life lessons to their audience. ✠The stories are amongst the most violent and gruesome tales ever told.
- Slides: 12
