![Däumling](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/D%C3%A4umling.jpg)
A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a
short story
A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...
that belongs to the
folklore genre
Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging fr ...
. Such stories typically feature
magic
Magic or Magick most commonly refers to:
* Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces
* Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic
* Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...
,
enchantments, and
mythical
Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrati ...
or fanciful beings. In most cultures, there is no clear line separating myth from folk or fairy tale; all these together form the literature of preliterate societies. Fairy tales may be distinguished from other folk narratives such as
legend
A legend is a Folklore genre, genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human valu ...
s (which generally involve belief in the veracity of the events described) and explicit moral tales, including beast
fable
Fable is a literary genre: a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse (poetry), verse, that features animals, legendary creatures, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature that are Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphized, and that illustrat ...
s.
In less technical contexts, the term is also used to describe something blessed with unusual happiness, as in "fairy-tale ending" (a
happy ending
A happy ending is an ending of the plot of a work of fiction in which almost everything turns out for the best for the main protagonists and their sidekicks, while the main villains/antagonists are dead/defeated.
In storylines where the protagon ...
) or "fairy-tale
romance
Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to:
Common meanings
* Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings
* Romance languages, ...
". Colloquially, the term "fairy tale" or "fairy story" can also mean any far-fetched story or
tall tale
A tall tale is a story with unbelievable elements, related as if it were true and factual. Some tall tales are exaggerations of actual events, for example fish stories ("the fish that got away") such as, "That fish was so big, why I tell ya', it n ...
; it is used especially of any story that not only is not true, but could not possibly be true. Legends are perceived as real within their culture; fairy tales may merge into
legend
A legend is a Folklore genre, genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human valu ...
s, where the narrative is perceived both by teller and hearers as being grounded in historical truth. However, unlike
legend
A legend is a Folklore genre, genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human valu ...
s and
epics
The Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System (EPICS) is a set of software tools and applications used to develop and implement distributed control systems to operate devices such as particle accelerators, telescopes and other large sci ...
, fairy tales usually do not contain more than superficial references to religion and to actual places, people, and events; they take place "
once upon a time
"Once upon a time" is a stock phrase used to introduce a narrative of past events, typically in fairy tales and folk tales. It has been used in some form since at least 1380 (according to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'') in storytelling in the ...
" rather than in actual times.
Fairy tales occur both in oral and in literary form; the name "fairy tale" ("''conte de fées''" in French) was first ascribed to them by
Madame d'Aulnoy
Marie-Catherine Le Jumel de Barneville, Baroness d'Aulnoy (1650/1651 – 14 January 1705), also known as Countess d'Aulnoy, was a French author known for her literary fairy tales. When she termed her works ''contes de fées'' (fairy tales), sh ...
in the late 17th century. Many of today's fairy tales have evolved from centuries-old stories that have appeared, with variations, in multiple cultures around the world.
The history of the fairy tale is particularly difficult to trace because only the literary forms can survive. Still, according to researchers at universities in
Durham Durham most commonly refers to:
*Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham
*County Durham, an English county
* Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States
*Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...
and
Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
, such stories may date back thousands of years, some to the
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
. Fairy tales, and works derived from fairy tales, are still written today.
The
Jatakas
The Jātakas (meaning "Birth Story", "related to a birth") are a voluminous body of literature native to India which mainly concern the previous births of Gautama Buddha in both human and animal form. According to Peter Skilling, this genre is ...
are probably the oldest collection of such tales in literature, and the greater part of the rest are demonstrably more than a thousand years old. It is certain that much (perhaps one~fifth) of the popular literature of modern Europe is derived from those portions of this large bulk which came west with the Crusades through the medium of Arabs and Jews.
Folklorists have classified fairy tales in various ways. The
Aarne-Thompson classification system and the morphological analysis of
Vladimir Propp
Vladimir Yakovlevich Propp (russian: Владимир Яковлевич Пропп; – 22 August 1970) was a Soviet folklorist and scholar who analysed the basic structural elements of Russian folk tales to identify their simplest irredu ...
are among the most notable. Other folklorists have interpreted the tales' significance, but no school has been definitively established for the meaning of the tales.
Terminology
Some
folklorists
Folklore studies, less often known as folkloristics, and occasionally tradition studies or folk life studies in the United Kingdom, is the branch of anthropology devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currenc ...
prefer to use the German term ''Märchen'' or "wonder tale"
[ to refer to the genre rather than ''fairy tale'', a practice given weight by the definition of Thompson in his 1977 ]946
Year 946 (Roman numerals, CMXLVI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Europe
* Summer – King Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I invades the West Fr ...
edition of ''The Folktale'': "a tale of some length involving a succession of motifs or episodes. It moves in an unreal world without definite locality or definite creatures and is filled with the marvellous. In this never-never land, humble hero
A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or Physical strength, strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ...
es kill adversaries, succeed to kingdoms and marry princesses." The characters and motifs of fairy tales are simple and archetypal: princesses and goose-girls; youngest son
The youngest son is a stock character in fairy tales, where he features as the hero. He is usually the third son, but sometimes there are more brothers, and sometimes he has only one; usually, they have no sisters.
In a family of many daughters, ...
s and gallant princes; ogre
An ogre ( feminine: ogress) is a legendary monster depicted as a large, hideous, man-like being that eats ordinary human beings, especially infants and children. Ogres frequently feature in mythology, folklore, and fiction throughout the wor ...
s, giants
A giant is a being of human appearance, sometimes of prodigious size and strength, common in folklore.
Giant(s) or The Giant(s) may also refer to:
Mythology and religion
*Giants (Greek mythology)
*Jötunn, a Germanic term often translated as 'gi ...
, dragon
A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...
s, and troll
A troll is a being in Nordic folklore, including Norse mythology. In Old Norse sources, beings described as trolls dwell in isolated areas of rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human bei ...
s; wicked stepmother
A stepmother, stepmum or stepmom is a non-biological female parent married to one's preexisting parent.
A stepmother-in-law is a stepmother of one's spouse. Children from her spouse's previous unions are known as her stepchildren.
Culture
Step ...
s and false hero The false hero is a stock character in fairy tales, and sometimes also in ballads. The character appears near the end of a story in order to claim to be the hero or heroine and is usually of the same sex as the hero or heroine. The false hero presen ...
es; fairy godmother
In fairy tales, a fairy godmother () is a fairy with magical powers who acts as a mentor or parent to someone, in the role that an actual godparent was expected to play in many societies. In Perrault's ''Cinderella'', he concludes the tale with ...
s and other magical helpers, often talking horses, or foxes, or birds; glass mountains; and prohibitions and breaking of prohibitions.
Definition
Although the fairy tale is a distinct genre within the larger category of folktale, the definition that marks a work as a fairy tale is a source of considerable dispute. The term itself comes from the translation of Madame D'Aulnoy's ''Conte de fées'', first used in her collection in 1697. Common parlance conflates fairy tales with beast fable
An animal tale or beast fable generally consists of a short story or poem in which animals talk. They may exhibit other anthropomorphic qualities as well, such as living in a human-like society. It is a traditional form of allegorical writing.
An ...
s and other folktales, and scholars differ on the degree to which the presence of fairies and/or similarly mythical beings (e.g., elves
An elf () is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic mythology and folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology. They are subsequently mentioned in Snorri Sturluson's Icelandic Prose Edda. He distinguishes "ligh ...
, goblin
A goblin is a small, grotesque, monstrous creature that appears in the folklore of multiple European cultures. First attested in stories from the Middle Ages, they are ascribed conflicting abilities, temperaments, and appearances depending on t ...
s, troll
A troll is a being in Nordic folklore, including Norse mythology. In Old Norse sources, beings described as trolls dwell in isolated areas of rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human bei ...
s, giants, huge monsters, or mermaids) should be taken as a differentiator. Vladimir Propp
Vladimir Yakovlevich Propp (russian: Владимир Яковлевич Пропп; – 22 August 1970) was a Soviet folklorist and scholar who analysed the basic structural elements of Russian folk tales to identify their simplest irredu ...
, in his ''Morphology of the Folktale'', criticized the common distinction between "fairy tales" and "animal tales" on the grounds that many tales contained both fantastic
The fantastic (french: le fantastique) is a subgenre of literary works characterized by the ambiguous presentation of seemingly supernatural forces.
Bulgarian-French structuralist literary critic Tzvetan Todorov originated the concept, characte ...
elements and animals. Nevertheless, to select works for his analysis, Propp used all Russian folktales classified as a folklore, Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index
The Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index (ATU Index) is a catalogue of folktale types used in folklore studies. The ATU Index is the product of a series of revisions and expansions by an international group of scholars: originally composed in German by ...
300–749, – in a cataloguing system that made such a distinction – to gain a clear set of tales. His own analysis identified fairy tales by their plot elements, but that in itself has been criticized, as the analysis does not lend itself easily to tales that do not involve a quest
A quest is a journey toward a specific mission or a goal. The word serves as a plot device in mythology and fiction: a difficult journey towards a goal, often symbolic or allegorical. Tales of quests figure prominently in the folklore of ever ...
, and furthermore, the same plot elements are found in non-fairy tale works.
As Stith Thompson
Stith Thompson (March 7, 1885 – January 10, 1976) was an American folklorist: he has been described as "America's most important folklorist".
He is the "Thompson" of the Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index, which indexes folktales by type, and the ...
points out, talking animals and the presence of magic
Magic or Magick most commonly refers to:
* Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces
* Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic
* Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...
seem to be more common to the fairy tale than fairies
A fairy (also fay, fae, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Celtic, Slavic, Germanic, English, and French folklore), a form of spirit, o ...
themselves. However, the mere presence of animals that talk does not make a tale a fairy tale, especially when the animal is clearly a mask on a human face, as in fable
Fable is a literary genre: a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse (poetry), verse, that features animals, legendary creatures, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature that are Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphized, and that illustrat ...
s.[Tolkien, p. 15.]
In his essay "On Fairy-Stories
"On Fairy-Stories" is an essay by J. R. R. Tolkien which discusses the fairy story as a literary form. It was written as a lecture entitled "Fairy Stories" for the Andrew Lang lecture at the University of St Andrews, Scotland, on 8 March 1939. ...
", J. R. R. Tolkien agreed with the exclusion of "fairies" from the definition, defining fairy tales as stories about the adventures of men in '' Faërie'', the land of fairies, fairytale princes and princesses, dwarves, elves, and not only other magical species but many other marvels. However, the same essay excludes tales that are often considered fairy tales, citing as an example '' The Monkey's Heart'', which Andrew Lang
Andrew Lang (31 March 1844 – 20 July 1912) was a Scottish poet, novelist, literary critic, and contributor to the field of anthropology. He is best known as a collector of folk and fairy tales. The Andrew Lang lectures at the University ...
included in ''The Lilac Fairy Book
''The Langs' Fairy Books'' are a series of 25 collections of true and fictional stories for children published between 1889 and 1913 by Andrew Lang and his wife, Leonora Blanche Alleyne. The best known books of the series are the 12 collections ...
''.
Steven Swann Jones identified the presence of magic as the feature by which fairy tales can be distinguished from other sorts of folktales. Davidson and Chaudri identify "transformation" as the key feature of the genre.[''A companion to the fairy tale''. By Hilda Ellis Davidson, Anna Chaudhri. Boydell & Brewer 2006. p. 39.] From a psychological point of view, Jean Chiriac argued for the necessity of the fantastic
The fantastic (french: le fantastique) is a subgenre of literary works characterized by the ambiguous presentation of seemingly supernatural forces.
Bulgarian-French structuralist literary critic Tzvetan Todorov originated the concept, characte ...
in these narratives.
In terms of aesthetic values, Italo Calvino
Italo Calvino (, also , ;. RAI (circa 1970), retrieved 25 October 2012. 15 October 1923 – 19 September 1985) was an Italian writer and journalist. His best known works include the ''Our Ancestors'' trilogy (1952–1959), the '' Cosmicomi ...
cited the fairy tale as a prime example of "quickness" in literature, because of the economy and concision of the tales.
History of the genre
Originally, stories that would contemporarily be considered fairy tales were not marked out as a separate genre. The German term "Märchen" stems from the old German word "Mär", which means news or tale. The word "Märchen" is the diminutive
A diminutive is a root word that has been modified to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment. A (abbreviated ) is a word-formati ...
of the word "Mär", therefore it means a "little story". Together with the common beginning "once upon a time
"Once upon a time" is a stock phrase used to introduce a narrative of past events, typically in fairy tales and folk tales. It has been used in some form since at least 1380 (according to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'') in storytelling in the ...
", this tells us that a fairy tale or a märchen was originally a little story from a long time ago when the world was still magic. (Indeed, one less regular German opening
Opening may refer to:
* Al-Fatiha, "The Opening", the first chapter of the Qur'an
* The Opening (album), live album by Mal Waldron
* Backgammon opening
* Chess opening
* A title sequence or opening credits
* , a term from contract bridge
* , ...
is "In the old times when wishing was still effective".)
The English term "fairy tale" stems from the fact that the French ''contes'' often included fairies.
Roots of the genre come from different oral stories passed down in European cultures. The genre was first marked out by writers of the Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
, such as Giovanni Francesco Straparola
Giovanni Francesco "Gianfrancesco" Straparola, also known as Zoan or Zuan Francesco Straparola da Caravaggio (ca. 1485?–1558), was an Italian writer of poetry, and collector and writer of short stories. Some time during his life, he migrated fr ...
and Giambattista Basile
Giambattista Basile (February 1566 – February 1632) was an Italian poet, courtier, and fairy tale collector. His collections include the oldest recorded forms of many well-known (and more obscure) European fairy tales. He is chiefly remembere ...
, and stabilized through the works of later collectors such as Charles Perrault
Charles Perrault ( , also , ; 12 January 1628 – 16 May 1703) was an iconic French author and member of the Académie Française. He laid the foundations for a new literary genre, the fairy tale, with his works derived from earlier folk tales ...
and the Brothers Grimm
The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859), were a brother duo of German academics, philologists, cultural researchers, lexicographers, and authors who together collected and published folklore. They are among the ...
. In this evolution, the name was coined when the ''précieuses
The French literary style called ''préciosité'' (, ''preciousness'') arose in the 17th century from the lively conversations and playful word games of ''les précieuses'' (), the intellectual, witty and educated women who frequented the salo ...
'' took up writing literary stories; Madame d'Aulnoy
Marie-Catherine Le Jumel de Barneville, Baroness d'Aulnoy (1650/1651 – 14 January 1705), also known as Countess d'Aulnoy, was a French author known for her literary fairy tales. When she termed her works ''contes de fées'' (fairy tales), sh ...
invented the term ''Conte de fée'', or fairy tale, in the late 17th century.
Before the definition of the genre of fantasy, many works that would now be classified as fantasy were termed "fairy tales", including Tolkien's ''The Hobbit
''The Hobbit, or There and Back Again'' is a children's fantasy novel by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published in 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the '' ...
'', George Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to totalitar ...
's ''Animal Farm
''Animal Farm'' is a beast fable, in the form of satirical allegorical novella, by George Orwell, first published in England on 17 August 1945. It tells the story of a group of farm animals who rebel against their human farmer, hoping to crea ...
'', and L. Frank Baum
Lyman Frank Baum (; May 15, 1856 – May 6, 1919) was an American author best known for his children's books, particularly ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' and its sequels. He wrote 14 novels in the ''Oz'' series, plus 41 other novels (not includ ...
's ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' is a children's novel written by author L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. It is the first novel in the Oz series of books. A Kansas farm girl named Dorothy ends up in the magical Land of Oz after s ...
''. Indeed, Tolkien's "On Fairy-Stories" includes discussions of world-building
Worldbuilding is the process of constructing a world, originally an imaginary one, sometimes associated with a fictional universe. Developing an imaginary setting with coherent qualities such as a history, geography, and ecology is a key task fo ...
and is considered a vital part of fantasy criticism. Although fantasy, particularly the subgenre of fairytale fantasy
Fairytale fantasy is distinguished from other subgenres of fantasy by the works' heavy use of motifs, and often plots, from folklore.
History
Literary fairy tales were not unknown in the Roman era: Apuleius included several in ''The Golden Ass' ...
, draws heavily on fairy tale motifs, the genres are now regarded as distinct.
Folk and literary
The fairy tale, told orally, is a sub-class of the folktale
A folktale or folk tale is a folklore genre that typically consists of a story passed down from generation to generation orally.
Folktale may also refer to:
Categories of stories
* Folkloric tale from oral tradition
* Fable (written form of the a ...
. Many writers have written in the form of the fairy tale. These are the literary fairy tales, or ''Kunstmärchen''. The oldest forms, from ''Panchatantra
The ''Panchatantra'' (IAST: Pañcatantra, ISO: Pañcatantra, sa, पञ्चतन्त्र, "Five Treatises") is an ancient Indian collection of interrelated animal fables in Sanskrit verse and prose, arranged within a frame story. '' to the ''Pentamerone
The ''Pentamerone'', subtitled ''Lo cunto de li cunti'' ("The Tale of Tales"), is a seventeenth-century Neapolitan fairy tale collection by Italian poet and courtier Giambattista Basile.
Background
The stories in the ''Pentamerone'' were collect ...
'', show considerable reworking from the oral form.[Swann Jones, p. 35.] The Grimm brothers
The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859), were a brother duo of German academics, philologists, cultural researchers, lexicographers, and authors who together collected and published folklore. They are among the ...
were among the first to try to preserve the features of oral tales. Yet the stories printed under the Grimm name have been considerably reworked to fit the written form.
Literary fairy tales and oral fairy tales freely exchanged plots, motifs, and elements with one another and with the tales of foreign lands. The literary fairy tale came into fashion during the 17th century, developed by aristocratic women as a parlour game. This, in turn, helped to maintain the oral tradition. According to Jack Zipes
Jack David Zipes (born June 7, 1937) is a professor emeritus of German, comparative literature, and cultural studies, who has published and lectured on German literature, critical theory, German Jewish culture, children's literature, and folklore. ...
, "The subject matter of the conversations consisted of literature, mores, taste, and etiquette, whereby the speakers all endeavoured to portray ideal situations in the most effective oratorical style that would gradually have a major effect on literary forms." Many 18th-century folklorists attempted to recover the "pure" folktale, uncontaminated by literary versions. Yet while oral fairy tales likely existed for thousands of years before the literary forms, there is no pure folktale, and each literary fairy tale draws on folk traditions, if only in parody.[Zipes, ''The Great Fairy Tale Tradition: From Straparola and Basile to the Brothers Grimm'', p. 846.] This makes it impossible to trace forms of transmission of a fairy tale. Oral story-tellers have been known to read literary fairy tales to increase their own stock of stories and treatments.
History
The oral tradition
Oral tradition, or oral lore, is a form of human communication wherein knowledge, art, ideas and cultural material is received, preserved, and transmitted orally from one generation to another. Vansina, Jan: ''Oral Tradition as History'' (1985 ...
of the fairy tale came long before the written page. Tales were told or enacted dramatically, rather than written down, and handed down from generation to generation. Because of this, the history of their development is necessarily obscure and blurred. Fairy tales appear, now and again, in written literature throughout literate cultures, as in ''The Golden Ass
The ''Metamorphoses'' of Apuleius, which Augustine of Hippo referred to as ''The Golden Ass'' (''Asinus aureus''), is the only ancient Roman novel in Latin to survive in its entirety.
The protagonist of the novel is Lucius. At the end of the no ...
'', which includes ''Cupid and Psyche
Cupid and Psyche is a story originally from ''Metamorphoses'' (also called ''The Golden Ass''), written in the 2nd century AD by Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis (or Platonicus). The tale concerns the overcoming of obstacles to the love between Psyc ...
'' (Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
, 100–200 AD),[Heidi Anne Heiner]
"Fairy Tale Timeline"
/ref> or the ''Panchatantra
The ''Panchatantra'' (IAST: Pañcatantra, ISO: Pañcatantra, sa, पञ्चतन्त्र, "Five Treatises") is an ancient Indian collection of interrelated animal fables in Sanskrit verse and prose, arranged within a frame story. '' (India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
3rd century BC), but it is unknown to what extent these reflect the actual folk tales even of their own time. The stylistic evidence indicates that these, and many later collections, reworked folk tales into literary forms. What they do show is that the fairy tale has ancient roots, older than the ''Arabian Nights
''One Thousand and One Nights'' ( ar, أَلْفُ لَيْلَةٍ وَلَيْلَةٌ, italic=yes, ) is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as the ''Arabian ...
'' collection of magical tales (compiled ''circa'' 1500 AD), such as '' Vikram and the Vampire'', and ''Bel and the Dragon
The narrative of Bel and the Dragon is incorporated as chapter 14 of the extended Book of Daniel. The original Septuagint text in Greek survives in a single manuscript, Codex Chisianus, while the standard text is due to Theodotion, the 2nd-cent ...
''. Besides such collections and individual tales, in China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, Taoist
Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the ''Tao'' ...
philosophers such as Liezi
The ''Liezi'' () is a Taoist text attributed to Lie Yukou, a c. 5th century BC Hundred Schools of Thought philosopher. Although there were references to Lie's ''Liezi'' from the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC, a number of Chinese and Western schola ...
and Zhuangzi Zhuangzi may refer to:
* ''Zhuangzi'' (book) (莊子), an ancient Chinese collection of anecdotes and fables, one of the foundational texts of Daoism
**Zhuang Zhou
Zhuang Zhou (), commonly known as Zhuangzi (; ; literally "Master Zhuang"; als ...
recounted fairy tales in their philosophical works.[Moss Roberts, "Introduction", p. xviii, ''Chinese Fairy Tales & Fantasies''. .] In the broader definition of the genre, the first famous Western fairy tales are those of Aesop
Aesop ( or ; , ; c. 620–564 BCE) was a Greek fabulist and storyteller credited with a number of fables now collectively known as ''Aesop's Fables''. Although his existence remains unclear and no writings by him survive, numerous tales cre ...
(6th century BC) in ancient Greece
Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cult ...
.
Scholarship points out that Medieval literature
Medieval literature is a broad subject, encompassing essentially all written works available in Europe and beyond during the Middle Ages (that is, the one thousand years from the fall of the Western Roman Empire ca. AD 500 to the beginning of t ...
contains early versions or predecessors of later known tales and motifs, such as the grateful dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...
, The Bird Lover The Bird Lover, also known as The Prince as Bird, is a type of narrative structure in folklore, no. 432 in the Aarne–Thompson classification system. In the typical version of story, a woman acquires a bird lover—a nobleman in the shape of a bir ...
or the quest for the lost wife. Recognizable folktales have also been reworked as the plot of folk literature and oral epics.
Jack Zipes writes in ''When Dreams Came True'', "There are fairy tale elements in Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer (; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for '' The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He w ...
's ''The Canterbury Tales
''The Canterbury Tales'' ( enm, Tales of Caunterbury) is a collection of twenty-four stories that runs to over 17,000 lines written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer between 1387 and 1400. It is widely regarded as Chaucer's ''Masterpiece, ...
'', Edmund Spenser
Edmund Spenser (; 1552/1553 – 13 January 1599) was an English poet best known for ''The Faerie Queene'', an epic poem and fantastical allegory celebrating the Tudor dynasty and Elizabeth I. He is recognized as one of the premier craftsmen of ...
's ''The Faerie Queene
''The Faerie Queene'' is an English epic poem by Edmund Spenser. Books IIII were first published in 1590, then republished in 1596 together with books IVVI. ''The Faerie Queene'' is notable for its form: at over 36,000 lines and over 4,000 sta ...
'', and in many of William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
plays." ''King Lear
''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare.
It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane an ...
'' can be considered a literary variant of fairy tales such as ''Water and Salt
Water and Salt is an Italian fairy tale, it can be found in the collection '' Italian Popular Tales'', collected by Thomas Frederick Crane
Thomas Frederick Crane (July 12, 1844 in New York – December 10, 1927) was an American folklorist, acad ...
'' and ''Cap O' Rushes
"Cap-o'-Rushes" is an English fairy tale published by Joseph Jacobs in ''English Fairy Tales''.
Jacobs gives his source as "Contributed by Mrs. Walter-Thomas to "Suffolk Notes and Queries" of the ''Ipswich Journal'', published by Mr. Lang in ''Lon ...
''. The tale itself resurfaced in Western literature
Western literature, also known as European literature, is the literature written in the context of Western culture in the languages of Europe, as well as several geographically or historically related languages such as Basque and Hungarian, an ...
in the 16th and 17th centuries, with ''The Facetious Nights of Straparola
''The Facetious Nights of Straparola'' ( 1550–1555; Italian: ''Le piacevoli notti''), also known as ''The Nights of Straparola'', is a two-volume collection of 75Nancy Canepa. "Straparola, Giovan Francesco (c. 1480–1558)" in ''The Greenwood En ...
'' by Giovanni Francesco Straparola
Giovanni Francesco "Gianfrancesco" Straparola, also known as Zoan or Zuan Francesco Straparola da Caravaggio (ca. 1485?–1558), was an Italian writer of poetry, and collector and writer of short stories. Some time during his life, he migrated fr ...
(Italy, 1550 and 1553), which contains many fairy tales in its inset tales, and the Neapolitan
Neapolitan means of or pertaining to Naples, a city in Italy; or to:
Geography and history
* Province of Naples, a province in the Campania region of southern Italy that includes the city
* Duchy of Naples, in existence during the Early and Hig ...
tales of Giambattista Basile
Giambattista Basile (February 1566 – February 1632) was an Italian poet, courtier, and fairy tale collector. His collections include the oldest recorded forms of many well-known (and more obscure) European fairy tales. He is chiefly remembere ...
(Naples, 1634–36), which are all fairy tales. Carlo Gozzi
__NOTOC__
Carlo, Count Gozzi (; 13 December 1720 – 4 April 1806) was an Italian ( Venetian) playwright and champion of Commedia dell'arte.
Early life
Gozzi was born and died in Venice; he came from a family of minor Venetian aristocracy, the T ...
made use of many fairy tale motifs among his Commedia dell'Arte
(; ; ) was an early form of professional theatre, originating from Italian theatre, that was popular throughout Europe between the 16th and 18th centuries. It was formerly called Italian comedy in English and is also known as , , and . Charact ...
scenarios, including among them one based on ''The Love For Three Oranges
''The Love for Three Oranges'', Op. 33, also known by its French language title ' (russian: Любовь к трём апельсинам, links=no, ''Lyubov' k tryom apel'sinam''), is a satirical opera by Sergei Prokofiev. Its French libretto ...
'' (1761). Simultaneously, Pu Songling
Pu Songling (, 5 June 1640 – 25 February 1715) was a Chinese writer during the Qing dynasty, best known as the author of '' Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio'' (''Liaozhai zhiyi'').
Biography
Pu was born into a poor merchant family from Z ...
, in China, included many fairy tales in his collection, ''Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio
''Liaozhai zhiyi'', sometimes shortened to ''Liaozhai'', known in English as ''Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio'' or ''Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio'', is a collection of Classical Chinese stories by Qing dynasty writer Pu Songling, ...
'' (published posthumously, 1766). The fairy tale itself became popular among the ''précieuses
The French literary style called ''préciosité'' (, ''preciousness'') arose in the 17th century from the lively conversations and playful word games of ''les précieuses'' (), the intellectual, witty and educated women who frequented the salo ...
'' of upper-class France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
(1690–1710), and among the tales told in that time were the ones of La Fontaine
Jean de La Fontaine (, , ; 8 July 162113 April 1695) was a French fabulist and one of the most widely read French poets of the 17th century. He is known above all for his ''Fables'', which provided a model for subsequent fabulists across Euro ...
and the ''Contes'' of Charles Perrault
Charles Perrault ( , also , ; 12 January 1628 – 16 May 1703) was an iconic French author and member of the Académie Française. He laid the foundations for a new literary genre, the fairy tale, with his works derived from earlier folk tales ...
(1697), who fixed the forms of ''Sleeping Beauty
''Sleeping Beauty'' (french: La belle au bois dormant, or ''The Beauty in the Sleeping Forest''; german: Dornröschen, or ''Little Briar Rose''), also titled in English as ''The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods'', is a fairy tale about a princess cu ...
'' and ''Cinderella
"Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...
''. Although Straparola's, Basile's and Perrault's collections contain the oldest known forms of various fairy tales, on the stylistic evidence, all the writers rewrote the tales for literary effect.
The Salon Era
In the mid-17th century, a vogue for magical tales emerged among the intellectuals who frequented the salons of Paris. These salons were regular gatherings hosted by prominent aristocratic women, where women and men could gather together to discuss the issues of the day.
In the 1630s, aristocratic women began to gather in their own living rooms, salons, to discuss the topics of their choice: arts and letters, politics, and social matters of immediate concern to the women of their class: marriage, love, financial and physical independence, and access to education. This was a time when women were barred from receiving a formal education. Some of the most gifted women writers of the period came out of these early salons (such as Madeleine de Scudéry
Madeleine de Scudéry (15 November 1607 – 2 June 1701), often known simply as Mademoiselle de Scudéry, was a French writer.
Her works also demonstrate such comprehensive knowledge of ancient history that it is suspected she had received inst ...
and Madame de Lafayette
Marie-Madeleine Pioche de La Vergne, Comtesse de La Fayette (baptized 18 March 1634 – 25 May 1693), better known as Madame de La Fayette, was a French writer; she authored ''La Princesse de Clèves'', France's first historical novel and one ...
), which encouraged women's independence and pushed against the gender barriers that defined their lives. The salonnières argued particularly for love and intellectual compatibility between the sexes, opposing the system of arranged marriages.
Sometime in the middle of the 17th century, a passion for the conversational parlour game
A parlour or parlor game is a group game played indoors using speech (from French Parler). They were often played in a parlour. These games were extremely popular among the upper and middle classes in the United Kingdom and in the United States d ...
based on the plots of old folk tales swept through the salons. Each salonnière
A salon is a gathering of people held by an inspiring host. During the gathering they amuse one another and increase their knowledge through conversation. These gatherings often consciously followed Horace's definition of the aims of poetry, "e ...
was called upon to retell an old tale or rework an old theme, spinning clever new stories that not only showcased verbal agility and imagination but also slyly commented on the conditions of aristocratic life. Great emphasis was placed on a mode of delivery that seemed natural and spontaneous. The decorative language of the fairy tales served an important function: disguising the rebellious subtext of the stories and sliding them past the court censors. Critiques of court life (and even of the king) were embedded in extravagant tales and in dark, sharply dystopia
A dystopia (from Ancient Greek δυσ- "bad, hard" and τόπος "place"; alternatively cacotopiaCacotopia (from κακός ''kakos'' "bad") was the term used by Jeremy Bentham in his 1818 Plan of Parliamentary Reform (Works, vol. 3, p. 493). ...
n ones. Not surprisingly, the tales by women often featured young (but clever) aristocratic girls whose lives were controlled by the arbitrary whims of fathers, kings, and elderly wicked fairies, as well as tales in which groups of wise fairies (i.e., intelligent, independent women) stepped in and put all to rights.
The salon
Salon may refer to:
Common meanings
* Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments
* French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home
* Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment
Arts and entertainment
* Salon (P ...
tales as they were originally written and published have been preserved in a monumental work called '' Le Cabinet des Fées'', an enormous collection of stories from the 17th and 18th centuries.
Later works
The first collectors to attempt to preserve not only the plot and characters of the tale, but also the style in which they were told, was the Brothers Grimm
The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859), were a brother duo of German academics, philologists, cultural researchers, lexicographers, and authors who together collected and published folklore. They are among the ...
, collecting German fairy tales; ironically, this meant although their first edition (1812 & 1815) remains a treasure for folklorists, they rewrote the tales in later editions to make them more acceptable, which ensured their sales and the later popularity of their work.
Such literary forms did not merely draw from the folktale, but also influenced folktales in turn. The Brothers Grimm rejected several tales for their collection, though told orally to them by Germans, because the tales derived from Perrault, and they concluded they were thereby French and not German tales; an oral version of ''Bluebeard
"Bluebeard" (french: Barbe bleue, ) is a French folktale, the most famous surviving version of which was written by Charles Perrault and first published by Barbin in Paris in 1697 in ''Histoires ou contes du temps passé''. The tale tells the st ...
'' was thus rejected, and the tale of ''Little Briar Rose'', clearly related to Perrault's '' The Sleeping Beauty'', was included only because Jacob Grimm convinced his brother that the figure of Brynhildr
Brunhild, also known as Brunhilda or Brynhild ( non, Brynhildr , gmh, Brünhilt, german: Brünhild , label=New High German, Modern German or ), is a female character from Germanic heroic legend. She may have her origins in the Visigoths, Vis ...
, from much earlier Norse mythology
Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia, and into the Nordic folklore of the modern period ...
, proved that the sleeping princess was authentically Germanic folklore.
This consideration of whether to keep ''Sleeping Beauty'' reflected a belief common among folklorists of the 19th century: that the folk tradition preserved fairy tales in forms from pre-history except when "contaminated" by such literary forms, leading people to tell inauthentic tales. The rural, illiterate, and uneducated peasants, if suitably isolated, were the ''folk'' and would tell pure ''folk'' tales. Sometimes they regarded fairy tales as a form of fossil, the remnants of a once-perfect tale. However, further research has concluded that fairy tales never had a fixed form, and regardless of literary influence, the tellers constantly altered them for their own purposes.
The work of the Brothers Grimm influenced other collectors, both inspiring them to collect tales and leading them to similarly believe, in a spirit of romantic nationalism
Romantic nationalism (also national romanticism, organic nationalism, identity nationalism) is the form of nationalism in which the state claims its political legitimacy as an organic consequence of the unity of those it governs. This includes ...
, that the fairy tales of a country were particularly representative of it, to the neglect of cross-cultural influence. Among those influenced were the Russian Alexander Afanasyev
Alexander Nikolayevich Afanasyev (Afanasief, Afanasiev or Afanas'ev, russian: link=no, Александр Николаевич Афанасьев) ( — ) was a Russian Slavist and ethnographer who published nearly 600 Russian fairy and folk ta ...
(first published in 1866), the Norwegians
Norwegians ( no, nordmenn) are a North Germanic ethnic group and nation native to Norway, where they form the vast majority of the population. They share a common culture and speak the Norwegian language. Norwegians are descended from the N ...
Peter Christen Asbjørnsen
Peter Christen Asbjørnsen (15 January 18125 January 1885) was a Norwegian writer and scholar. He and Jørgen Engebretsen Moe were collectors of Norwegian folklore. They were so closely united in their lives' work that their folk tale collection ...
and Jørgen Moe
Jørgen Engebretsen Moe (22 April 1813–27 March 1882) was a Norwegian folklorist, bishop, poet, and author. He is best known for the ''Norske Folkeeventyr'', a collection of Norwegian folk tales which he edited in collaboration with Peter ...
(first published in 1845), the Romanian Petre Ispirescu
Petre Ispirescu (; January 1830 – 21 November 1887) was a Romanian editor, folklorist, printer, and publicist. He is best known for his work as a gatherer of Romanian folk tales, recounting them with a remarkable talent.
Career
Petre Ispiresc ...
(first published in 1874), the English Joseph Jacobs
Joseph Jacobs (29 August 1854 – 30 January 1916) was an Australian folklorist, translator, literary critic, social scientist, historian and writer of English literature who became a notable collector and publisher of English folklore.
Jacob ...
(first published in 1890), and Jeremiah Curtin
Jeremiah Curtin (6 September 1835 – 14 December 1906) was an American ethnographer, folklorist, and translator. Curtin had an abiding interest in languages and was conversant with several. From 1883 to 1891 he was employed by the Bureau of Ame ...
, an American who collected Irish tales (first published in 1890). Ethnographers collected fairy tales throughout the world, finding similar tales in Africa, the Americas, and Australia; Andrew Lang
Andrew Lang (31 March 1844 – 20 July 1912) was a Scottish poet, novelist, literary critic, and contributor to the field of anthropology. He is best known as a collector of folk and fairy tales. The Andrew Lang lectures at the University ...
was able to draw on not only the written tales of Europe and Asia, but those collected by ethnographers, to fill his "coloured" fairy books series. They also encouraged other collectors of fairy tales, as when Yei Theodora Ozaki
O'Yei or ''Theodora'' was an early 20th-century translator of Japanese short stories and fairy tales. Her translations were fairly liberal but have been popular, and were reprinted several times after her death.
Biography
Ozaki was born in Lon ...
created a collection, ''Japanese Fairy Tales'' (1908), after encouragement from Lang. Simultaneously, writers such as Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales.
Andersen's fairy tales, consisti ...
and George MacDonald
George MacDonald (10 December 1824 – 18 September 1905) was a Scottish author, poet and Christian Congregational minister. He was a pioneering figure in the field of modern fantasy literature and the mentor of fellow writer Lewis Carroll. I ...
continued the tradition of literary fairy tales. Andersen's work sometimes drew on old folktales, but more often deployed fairytale motifs and plots in new tales. MacDonald incorporated fairytale motifs both in new literary fairy tales, such as ''The Light Princess
''The Light Princess'' is a Scottish fairy tale by George MacDonald. It was published in 1864 as a story within the larger story ''Adela Cathcart.'' Drawing on inspiration from "Sleeping Beauty", it tells the story of a princess afflicted by a c ...
'', and in works of the genre that would become fantasy, as in ''The Princess and the Goblin
''The Princess and the Goblin'' is a children's fantasy novel by George MacDonald. It was published in 1872 by Strahan & Co., with black-and-white illustrations by Arthur Hughes. Strahan had published the story and illustrations as a serial in ...
'' or ''Lilith
Lilith ( ; he, Wiktionary:לילית, לִילִית, Līlīṯ) is a female figure in Mesopotamian Mythology, Mesopotamian and Jewish mythology, Judaic mythology, alternatively the first wife of Adam and supposedly the primordial she-demon. ...
''.
Cross-cultural transmission
Two theories of origins have attempted to explain the common elements in fairy tales found spread over continents. One is that a single point of origin generated any given tale, which then spread over the centuries; the other is that such fairy tales stem from common human experience and therefore can appear separately in many different origins.
Fairy tales with very similar plots, characters, and motifs are found spread across many different cultures. Many researchers hold this to be caused by the spread of such tales, as people repeat tales they have heard in foreign lands, although the oral nature makes it impossible to trace the route except by inference. Folklorists have attempted to determine the origin by internal evidence, which can not always be clear; Joseph Jacobs
Joseph Jacobs (29 August 1854 – 30 January 1916) was an Australian folklorist, translator, literary critic, social scientist, historian and writer of English literature who became a notable collector and publisher of English folklore.
Jacob ...
, comparing the Scottish tale ''The Ridere of Riddles
The Ridere of Riddles is a Scottish fairy tale collected by John Francis Campbell in '' Popular Tales of the West Highlands'', listing as his informant John Mackenzie, a fisherman near Inverary. Joseph Jacobs included it, somewhat altered, in ''M ...
'' with the version collected by the Brothers Grimm, '' The Riddle'', noted that in ''The Ridere of Riddles
The Ridere of Riddles is a Scottish fairy tale collected by John Francis Campbell in '' Popular Tales of the West Highlands'', listing as his informant John Mackenzie, a fisherman near Inverary. Joseph Jacobs included it, somewhat altered, in ''M ...
'' one hero ends up polygamously married, which might point to an ancient custom, but in ''The Riddle'', the simpler riddle might argue greater antiquity.
Folklorists of the "Finnish" (or historical-geographical) school attempted to place fairy tales to their origin, with inconclusive results. Sometimes influence, especially within a limited area and time, is clearer, as when considering the influence of Perrault's tales on those collected by the Brothers Grimm. ''Little Briar-Rose'' appears to stem from Perrault's ''The Sleeping Beauty
''Sleeping Beauty'' (french: La belle au bois dormant, or ''The Beauty in the Sleeping Forest''; german: Dornröschen, or ''Little Briar Rose''), also titled in English as ''The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods'', is a fairy tale about a princess cu ...
'', as the Grimms' tale appears to be the only independent German variant. Similarly, the close agreement between the opening of the Grimms' version of ''Little Red Riding Hood
"Little Red Riding Hood" is a European fairy tale about a young girl and a sly wolf. Its origins can be traced back to several pre-17th century European folk tales. The two best known versions were written by Charles Perrault and the Brother ...
'' and Perrault's tale points to an influence, although the Grimms' version adds a different ending (perhaps derived from ''The Wolf and the Seven Young Kids
"The Wolf and the Seven Young Goats" (german: Der Wolf und die sieben jungen Geißlein) is a fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm and published in Grimm's Fairy Tales (KHM 5). It is of Aarne-Thompson type 123.
The tale has obvious resemblan ...
'').
Fairy tales tend to take on the color of their location, through the choice of motifs, the style in which they are told, and the depiction of character and local color.
The Brothers Grimm believed that European fairy tales derived from the cultural history shared by all Indo-European
The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the overwhelming majority of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and the northern Indian subcontinent. Some European languages of this family, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Dutch ...
peoples and were therefore ancient, far older than written records. This view is supported by research by the anthropologist
An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms and ...
Jamie Tehrani and the folklorist Sara Graca Da Silva using phylogenetic analysis
In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...
, a technique developed by evolutionary biologists
Evolutionary biology is the subfield of biology that studies the evolution, evolutionary processes (natural selection, common descent, speciation) that produced the Biodiversity, diversity of life on Earth. It is also defined as the study of ...
to trace the relatedness of living and fossil species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
. Among the tales analysed were ''Jack and the Beanstalk
"Jack and the Beanstalk" is an English fairy tale. It appeared as "The Story of Jack Spriggins and the Enchanted Bean" in 1734 4th edition On Commons and as Benjamin Tabart's moralized "The History of Jack and the Bean-Stalk" in 1807. Henry Cole ...
'', traced to the time of splitting of Eastern and Western Indo-European, over 5000 years ago. Both ''Beauty and the Beast
''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve, Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' ( ...
'' and ''Rumpelstiltskin
"Rumpelstiltskin" ( ; german: Rumpelstilzchen) is a German fairy tale. It was collected by the Brothers Grimm in the 1812 edition of ''Children's and Household Tales''. The story is about a little imp who spins straw into gold in exchange for a g ...
'' appear to have been created some 4000 years ago. The story of ''The Smith and the Devil'' (Deal with the Devil
A deal with the Devil (also called a Faustian bargain or Mephistophelian bargain) is a cultural motif exemplified by the legend of Faust and the figure of Mephistopheles, as well as being elemental to many Christian traditions. According to t ...
) appears to date from the Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
, some 6000 years ago. Various other studies converge to suggest that some fairy tales, for example the swan maiden
The swan maiden is a mythical creature who shapeshifts from human form to swan form. The key to the transformation is usually a swan skin, or a garment with swan feathers attached. In folktales of this type, the male character spies the maiden, ...
, could go back to the Upper Palaeolithic.
Association with children
Originally, adults were the audience of a fairy tale just as often as children. Literary fairy tales appeared in works intended for adults, but in the 19th and 20th centuries the fairy tale became associated with children's literature.
The ''précieuses
The French literary style called ''préciosité'' (, ''preciousness'') arose in the 17th century from the lively conversations and playful word games of ''les précieuses'' (), the intellectual, witty and educated women who frequented the salo ...
'', including Madame d'Aulnoy
Marie-Catherine Le Jumel de Barneville, Baroness d'Aulnoy (1650/1651 – 14 January 1705), also known as Countess d'Aulnoy, was a French author known for her literary fairy tales. When she termed her works ''contes de fées'' (fairy tales), sh ...
, intended their works for adults, but regarded their source as the tales that servants, or other women of lower class, would tell to children. Indeed, a novel of that time, depicting a countess's suitor offering to tell such a tale, has the countess exclaim that she loves fairy tales as if she were still a child.[ Among the late ''précieuses'', ]Jeanne-Marie Le Prince de Beaumont
Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont (; 26 April 17118 September 1780) was a French novelist who wrote the best known version of ''Beauty and the Beast''. Her third husband was the French spy Thomas Pichon (1757–1760).
Life and work
Christened Ma ...
redacted a version of ''Beauty and the Beast
''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve, Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' ( ...
'' for children, and it is her tale that is best known today. The Brothers Grimm titled their collection ''Children's and Household Tales
''Grimms' Fairy Tales'', originally known as the ''Children's and Household Tales'' (german: Kinder- und Hausmärchen, lead=yes, ), is a German collection of fairy tales by the Grimm brothers or "Brothers Grimm", Jacob and Wilhelm, first publis ...
'' and rewrote their tales after complaints that they were not suitable for children.
In the modern era, fairy tales were altered so that they could be read to children. The Brothers Grimm concentrated mostly on sexual references; Rapunzel
"Rapunzel" ( , ) is a German fairy tale recorded by the Brothers Grimm and first published in 1812 as part of ''Children's and Household Tales'' (KHM 12). The Brothers Grimm's story developed from the French literary fairy tale of ''Persinette ...
, in the first edition, revealed the prince's visits by asking why her clothing had grown tight, thus letting the witch deduce that she was pregnant, but in subsequent editions carelessly revealed that it was easier to pull up the prince than the witch. On the other hand, in many respects, violenceparticularly when punishing villainswas increased. Other, later, revisions cut out violence; J.R.R.Tolkien noted that '' The Juniper Tree'' often had its cannibalistic
Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species
In biology, a species is the basic ...
stew cut out in a version intended for children. The moralizing strain in the Victorian era
In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...
altered the classical tales to teach lessons, as when George Cruikshank
George Cruikshank (27 September 1792 – 1 February 1878) was a British caricaturist and book illustrator, praised as the "modern Hogarth" during his life. His book illustrations for his friend Charles Dickens, and many other authors, reached ...
rewrote ''Cinderella'' in 1854 to contain temperance
Temperance may refer to:
Moderation
*Temperance movement, movement to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed
*Temperance (virtue), habitual moderation in the indulgence of a natural appetite or passion
Culture
*Temperance (group), Canadian danc ...
themes. His acquaintance Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...
protested, "In an utilitarian age, of all other times, it is a matter of grave importance that fairy tales should be respected."
Psychoanalysts
PsychoanalysisFrom Greek: + . is a set of theories and therapeutic techniques"What is psychoanalysis? Of course, one is supposed to answer that it is many things — a theory, a research method, a therapy, a body of knowledge. In what might be ...
such as Bruno Bettelheim
Bruno Bettelheim (August 28, 1903 – March 13, 1990) was an Austrian-born psychologist, scholar, public intellectual and writer who spent most of his academic and clinical career in the United States. An early writer on autism, Bettelheim's wo ...
, who regarded the cruelty of older fairy tales as indicative of psychological conflicts, strongly criticized this expurgation, because it weakened their usefulness to both children and adults as ways of symbolically resolving issues. Fairy tales do teach children how to deal with difficult times. To quote Rebecca Walters (2017, p. 56) "Fairytales and folktales are part of the cultural conserve that can be used to address children’s fears …. and give them some role training in an approach that honors the children’s window of tolerance". These fairy tales teach children how to deal with certain social situations and helps them to find their place in society. Fairy tales teach children other important lessons too. For example, Tsitsani et al. carried out a study on children to determine the benefits of fairy tales. Parents of the children who took part in the study found that fairy tales, especially the color in them, triggered their child's imagination as they read them.Jungian
Analytical psychology ( de , Analytische Psychologie, sometimes translated as analytic psychology and referred to as Jungian analysis) is a term coined by Carl Jung, a Swiss psychiatrist, to describe research into his new "empirical science" ...
Analyst and fairy tale scholar, Marie Louise Von Franz interprets fairy tales based on Jung's view of fairy tales as a spontaneous and naive product of soul, which can only express what soul is. That means, she looks at fairy tales as images of different phases of experiencing the reality of the soul. They are the "purest and simplest expression of collective unconscious
Collective unconscious (german: kollektives Unbewusstes) refers to the unconscious mind and shared mental concepts. It is generally associated with idealism and was coined by Carl Jung. According to Jung, the human collective unconscious is populat ...
psychic processes" and "they represent the archetypes in their simplest, barest and most concise form" because they are less overlaid with conscious material than myths and legends. "In this pure form, the archetypal images afford us the best clues to the understanding of the processes going on in the collective psyche". "The fairy tale itself is its own best explanation; that is, its meaning is contained in the totality of its motifs connected by the thread of the story. ..Every fairy tale is a relatively closed system compounding one essential psychological meaning which is expressed in a series of symbolical pictures and events and is discoverable in these". "I have come to the conclusion that all fairy tales endeavour to describe one and the same psychic fact, but a fact so complex and far-reaching and so difficult for us to realize in all its different aspects that hundreds of tales and thousands of repetitions with a musician's variation are needed until this unknown fact is delivered into consciousness; and even then the theme is not exhausted. This unknown fact is what Jung calls the Self, which is the psychic reality of the collective unconscious. ..Every archetype is in its essence only one aspect of the collective unconscious as well as always representing also the whole collective unconscious.
Other famous people commented on the importance of fairy tales, especially for children. For example, Albert Einstein once showed how important he believed fairy tales were for children's intelligence in the quote "If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairytales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairytales."
The adaptation of fairy tales for children continues. Walt Disney
Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...
's influential ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
"Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is a 19th-century German fairy tale that is today known widely across the Western world. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'' and numbered as Ta ...
'' was largely (although certainly not solely) intended for the children's market.[Grant and Clute, "Cinema", p. 196.] The anime
is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
''Magical Princess Minky Momo
is a Japanese magical-girl anime franchise by Ashi Productions. The original series ran between 1982 and 1983 on TV Tokyo and inspired three OVAs between 1985 and 1987. A second television series, titled , ran on NTV between 1991 and ...
'' draws on the fairy tale ''Momotarō
is a Folk hero, popular hero of Japanese folklore. His name is often translated as ''Peach Boy'', but is directly translated as ''Peach + Tarō (given name), Tarō'', a common Japanese given name. ''Momotarō'' is also the title of various books, ...
''. Jack Zipes has spent many years working to make the older traditional stories
Traditional stories, or stories about traditions, differ from both fiction and nonfiction in that the importance of transmitting the story's worldview is generally understood to transcend an immediate need to establish its categorization as imagi ...
accessible to modern readers and their children.
Motherhood
Many fairy tales feature an absentee mother, as an example Beauty and the Beast
''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve, Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' ( ...
, The Little Mermaid
"The Little Mermaid" ( da, Den lille havfrue) is a literary fairy tale written by the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. The story follows the journey of a young mermaid who is willing to give up her life in the sea as a mermaid to gain a h ...
, Little Red Riding Hood
"Little Red Riding Hood" is a European fairy tale about a young girl and a sly wolf. Its origins can be traced back to several pre-17th century European folk tales. The two best known versions were written by Charles Perrault and the Brother ...
and Donkeyskin
''Donkeyskin'' (french: Peau d'Âne) is a French literary fairytale written in verse by Charles Perrault. It was first published in 1695 in a small volume and republished in 1697 in Perrault's ''Histoires ou contes du temps passé''. Andrew Lan ...
, where the mother is deceased or absent and unable to help the heroines. Mothers are depicted as absent or wicked in the most popular contemporary versions of tales like Rapunzel
"Rapunzel" ( , ) is a German fairy tale recorded by the Brothers Grimm and first published in 1812 as part of ''Children's and Household Tales'' (KHM 12). The Brothers Grimm's story developed from the French literary fairy tale of ''Persinette ...
, Snow White
"Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is a 19th-century German fairy tale that is today known widely across the Western world. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'' and numbered as Ta ...
, Cinderella
"Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...
and Hansel and Gretel
"Hansel and Gretel" (; german: Hänsel und Gretel ) is a German fairy tale collected by the German Brothers Grimm and published in 1812 in ''Grimm's Fairy Tales'' (KHM 15). It is also known as Little Step Brother and Little Step Sister.
Hansel ...
, however,
some lesser known tales or variants such as those found in volumes edited by Angela Carter
Angela Olive Pearce (formerly Carter, Stalker; 7 May 1940 – 16 February 1992), who published under the name Angela Carter, was an English novelist, short story writer, poet, and journalist, known for her feminist, magical realism, and picar ...
and Jane Yolen
Jane Hyatt Yolen (born February 11, 1939) is an American writer of fantasy, science fiction, and children's books. She is the author or editor of more than 350 books, of which the best known is '' The Devil's Arithmetic'', a Holocaust novella. H ...
depict mothers in a more positive light.
Carter's protagonist in ''The Bloody Chamber
''The Bloody Chamber'' (or ''The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories'') is a collection of short fiction by English writer Angela Carter. It was first published in the United Kingdom in 1979 by Gollancz and won the Cheltenham Festival Literary ...
'' is an impoverished piano student married to a Marquis
A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...
who was much older than herself to "banish the spectre of poverty". The story is a variant on Bluebeard
"Bluebeard" (french: Barbe bleue, ) is a French folktale, the most famous surviving version of which was written by Charles Perrault and first published by Barbin in Paris in 1697 in ''Histoires ou contes du temps passé''. The tale tells the st ...
, a tale about a wealthy man who murders numerous young women. Carter's protagonist, who is unnamed, describes her mother as "eagle-featured" and "indomitable". Her mother is depicted as a woman who is prepared for violence, instead of hiding from it or sacrificing herself to it. The protagonist recalls how her mother kept an "antique service revolver" and once "shot a man-eating tiger with her own hand."[
]
Contemporary tales
Literary
In contemporary literature
Contemporary literature is literature which is generally set after World War II in the English-speaking world. Subgenres of contemporary literature include contemporary romance.
History
Literary movements are always contemporary to the writer dis ...
, many authors have used the form of fairy tales for various reasons, such as examining the human condition
The human condition is all of the characteristics and key events of human life, including birth, learning, emotion, aspiration, morality, conflict, and death. This is a very broad topic that has been and continues to be pondered and analyzed fr ...
from the simple framework a fairytale provides. Some authors seek to recreate a sense of the fantastic in a contemporary discourse. Some writers use fairy tale forms for modern issues; this can include using the psychological dramas implicit in the story, as when Robin McKinley
Robin McKinley (born November 16, 1952) is an American author best known for her fantasy novels and fairy tale retellings. Her 1984 novel ''The Hero and the Crown'' won the Newbery Medal as the year's best new American children's book. In 2022 ...
retold ''Donkeyskin
''Donkeyskin'' (french: Peau d'Âne) is a French literary fairytale written in verse by Charles Perrault. It was first published in 1695 in a small volume and republished in 1697 in Perrault's ''Histoires ou contes du temps passé''. Andrew Lan ...
'' as the novel ''Deerskin
Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and hogs ...
'', with emphasis on the abusive treatment the father of the tale dealt to his daughter. Sometimes, especially in children's literature, fairy tales are retold with a twist simply for comic effect, such as ''The Stinky Cheese Man
''The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales'' is a postmodern children's book written by Jon Scieszka and illustrated by Lane Smith. Published in 1992 by Viking, it is a collection of twisted, humorous parodies of famous children's stori ...
'' by Jon Scieszka
Jon Scieszka ( :) (born September 8, 1954) is an American children's writer, best known for picture books created with the illustrator Lane Smith. He is also a nationally recognized reading advocate, and the founder of Guys Read – a web-based li ...
and ''The ASBO Fairy Tales'' by Chris Pilbeam. A common comic motif is a world where all the fairy tales take place, and the characters are aware of their role in the story, such as in the film series Shrek
''Shrek'' is a 2001 American computer-animated comedy film loosely based on the 1990 book of the same name by William Steig. It is the first installment in the ''Shrek'' franchise. The film was directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenso ...
.
Other authors may have specific motives, such as multicultural or feminist
Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
reevaluations of predominantly Eurocentric
Eurocentrism (also Eurocentricity or Western-centrism)
is a worldview that is centered on Western civilization or a biased view that favors it over non-Western civilizations. The exact scope of Eurocentrism varies from the entire Western world ...
masculine-dominated fairy tales, implying critique of older narratives. The figure of the damsel in distress
The damsel in distress is a recurring narrative device in which one or more men must rescue a woman who has either been kidnapped or placed in general peril. Kinship, love, or lust (or a combination of those) gives the male protagonist the motiv ...
has been particularly attacked by many feminist critics. Examples of narrative reversal rejecting this figure include ''The Paperbag Princess'' by Robert Munsch
Robert Norman Munsch (born June 11, 1945) is an American-Canadian children's author.
Personal life and career
Robert Munsch was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on June 11, 1945. He grew up in a family of 9 children. He graduated from Fordha ...
, a picture book aimed at children in which a princess rescues a prince, Angela Carter
Angela Olive Pearce (formerly Carter, Stalker; 7 May 1940 – 16 February 1992), who published under the name Angela Carter, was an English novelist, short story writer, poet, and journalist, known for her feminist, magical realism, and picar ...
's ''The Bloody Chamber'', which retells a number of fairy tales from a female point of view and Simon Hood's contemporary interpretation of various popular classics.
There are also many contemporary erotic retellings of fairy tales, which explicitly draw upon the original spirit of the tales, and are specifically for adults. Modern retellings focus on exploring the tale through use of the erotic, explicit sexuality, dark and/or comic themes, female empowerment, fetish and BDSM
BDSM is a variety of often erotic practices or roleplaying involving bondage, discipline, dominance and submission, sadomasochism, and other related interpersonal dynamics. Given the wide range of practices, some of which may be engaged ...
, multicultural, and heterosexual characters. Cleis Press
Cleis Press is an American independent publisher of books in the areas of sexuality, erotica, feminism, gay and lesbian studies, gender studies, fiction, and human rights. The press was founded in 1980 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It later moved to S ...
has released several fairy tale-themed erotic anthologies, including ''Fairy Tale Lust'', ''Lustfully Ever After'', and ''A Princess Bound''.
It may be hard to lay down the rule between fairy tales and fantasies
Fantasy is a genre of fiction.
Fantasy, Fantasie, or Fantasies may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music
* Fantasia (music), a free-form musical composition
* ''Fantasie'' (Widmann), a 1993 composition for solo clarinet by Jörg Widmann
* ...
that use fairy tale motifs, or even whole plots, but the distinction is commonly made, even within the works of a single author: George MacDonald's ''Lilith
Lilith ( ; he, Wiktionary:לילית, לִילִית, Līlīṯ) is a female figure in Mesopotamian Mythology, Mesopotamian and Jewish mythology, Judaic mythology, alternatively the first wife of Adam and supposedly the primordial she-demon. ...
'' and ''Phantastes
''Phantastes: A Faerie Romance for Men and Women'' is a fantasy novel by Scottish writer George MacDonald, first published in London in 1858. It was later reprinted in paperback by Ballantine Books as the fourteenth volume of the ''Ballantine ...
'' are regarded as fantasies, while his "The Light Princess
''The Light Princess'' is a Scottish fairy tale by George MacDonald. It was published in 1864 as a story within the larger story ''Adela Cathcart.'' Drawing on inspiration from "Sleeping Beauty", it tells the story of a princess afflicted by a c ...
", " The Golden Key", and "The Wise Woman" are commonly called fairy tales. The most notable distinction is that fairytale fantasies, like other fantasies, make use of novelistic writing conventions of prose, characterization, or setting.
Film
Fairy tales have been enacted dramatically; records exist of this in commedia dell'arte
(; ; ) was an early form of professional theatre, originating from Italian theatre, that was popular throughout Europe between the 16th and 18th centuries. It was formerly called Italian comedy in English and is also known as , , and . Charact ...
, and later in pantomime
Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...
. Unlike oral and literacy form, fairy tales in film is considered one of the most effective way to convey the story to the audience. The advent of cinema has meant that such stories could be presented in a more plausible manner, with the use of special effects and animation. The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
has had a significant impact on the evolution of the fairy tale film. Some of the earliest short silent films from the Disney studio were based on fairy tales, and some fairy tales were adapted into shorts in the musical comedy series "Silly Symphony
''Silly Symphony'' is an American animated series of 75 musical short films produced by Walt Disney Productions from 1929 to 1939. As the series name implies, the ''Silly Symphonies'' were originally intended as whimsical accompaniments to pieces ...
", such as ''Three Little Pigs
"The Three Little Pigs" is a fable about three pigs who build three houses of different materials. A Big Bad Wolf blows down the first two pigs' houses which made of straw and sticks respectively, but is unable to destroy the third pig's house ...
''. Walt Disney
Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...
's first feature-length film ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
"Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is a 19th-century German fairy tale that is today known widely across the Western world. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'' and numbered as Ta ...
'', released in 1937, was a ground-breaking film for fairy tales and, indeed, fantasy in general. With the cost of over 400 percent of the budget and more than 300 artists, assistants and animators, ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
"Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is a 19th-century German fairy tale that is today known widely across the Western world. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'' and numbered as Ta ...
'' was arguably one of the highest work force demanded film at that time. The studio even hired Don Graham to open animation training programs for more than 700 staffs. As for the motion capture and personality expression, the studio used a dancer, Marjorie Celeste, from the beginning to the end for the best results. Disney and his creative successors have returned to traditional and literary fairy tales numerous times with films such as ''Cinderella
"Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...
'' (1950), ''Sleeping Beauty
''Sleeping Beauty'' (french: La belle au bois dormant, or ''The Beauty in the Sleeping Forest''; german: Dornröschen, or ''Little Briar Rose''), also titled in English as ''The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods'', is a fairy tale about a princess cu ...
'' (1959), ''The Little Mermaid
"The Little Mermaid" ( da, Den lille havfrue) is a literary fairy tale written by the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. The story follows the journey of a young mermaid who is willing to give up her life in the sea as a mermaid to gain a h ...
'' (1989) and ''Beauty and the Beast
''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve, Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' ( ...
'' (1991). Disney's influence helped establish the fairy tale genre as a genre for children, and has been accused by some of bowdlerizing the gritty naturalism – and sometimes unhappy endings – of many folk fairy tales. However, others note that the softening of fairy tales occurred long before Disney, some of which was even done by the Grimm brothers themselves.
Many filmed fairy tales have been made primarily for children, from Disney's later works to Aleksandr Rou's retelling of ''Vasilissa the Beautiful
Vasilisa the Beautiful (russian: Василиса Прекрасная) or Vasilisa the Fair is a Russian fairy tale collected by Alexander Afanasyev in ''Narodnye russkie skazki''.
Synopsis
By his first wife, a merchant had a single daughter, w ...
'', the first Soviet film
The cinema of the Soviet Union includes films produced by the constituent republics of the Soviet Union reflecting elements of their pre-Soviet culture, language and history, albeit they were all regulated by the central government in Moscow. M ...
to use Russian folk tales in a big-budget feature. Others have used the conventions of fairy tales to create new stories with sentiments more relevant to contemporary life, as in ''Labyrinth
In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth (, ) was an elaborate, confusing structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, the monster eventually killed by the ...
'', ''My Neighbor Totoro
is a 1988 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and animated by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten. The film—which stars the voice actors Noriko Hidaka, Chika Sakamoto, and Hitoshi Takagi—tells the story of a ...
'', ''Happily N'Ever After
''Happily N'Ever After'' is a 2006 computer-animated family comedy film directed by Paul J. Bolger, produced by John H. Williams, and written by Rob Moreland. It is inspired by fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen and is ...
'', and the films of Michel Ocelot
Michel Ocelot (born 27 October 1943) is a French Screenwriter, writer, Production designer, designer, storyboard artist and Film director, director of animation, animated films and television programs (formerly also animator, background artist, n ...
.
Other works have retold familiar fairy tales in a darker, more horrific or psychological variant aimed primarily at adults. Notable examples are Jean Cocteau
Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (, , ; 5 July 1889 – 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, filmmaker, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost creatives of the su ...
's ''Beauty and the Beast
''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve, Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' ( ...
'' and ''The Company of Wolves
''The Company of Wolves'' is a 1984 British gothic fantasy horror film directed by Neil Jordan and starring Angela Lansbury, David Warner, Micha Bergese and Sarah Patterson in her film debut. The screenplay was written by Jordan and Angela Car ...
'', based on Angela Carter
Angela Olive Pearce (formerly Carter, Stalker; 7 May 1940 – 16 February 1992), who published under the name Angela Carter, was an English novelist, short story writer, poet, and journalist, known for her feminist, magical realism, and picar ...
's retelling of ''Little Red Riding Hood
"Little Red Riding Hood" is a European fairy tale about a young girl and a sly wolf. Its origins can be traced back to several pre-17th century European folk tales. The two best known versions were written by Charles Perrault and the Brother ...
''. Likewise, ''Princess Mononoke
is a 1997 Japanese animated epic historical fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and animated by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten, Nippon Television Network and Dentsu. The film stars the voices of Yōji Matsuda, Yuriko Ishida ...
'', ''Pan's Labyrinth
''Pan's Labyrinth'' ( es, El laberinto del fauno, lit=The Labyrinth of the Faun, links=no) is a 2006 dark fantasy horror film written, directed and co-produced by Guillermo del Toro. A Spanish-Mexican(78% Spanish production, 22% Mexican productio ...
'', ''Suspiria
''Suspiria'' () is a 1977 Italian supernatural horror film directed by Dario Argento, who co-wrote the screenplay with Daria Nicolodi, partially based on Thomas De Quincey's 1845 essay ''Suspiria de Profundis''. The film stars Jessica Harper as ...
'', and ''Spike
Spike, spikes, or spiking may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Books
* ''The Spike'' (novel), a novel by Arnaud de Borchgrave
* ''The Spike'' (book), a nonfiction book by Damien Broderick
* ''The Spike'', a starship in Peter F. Hamilto ...
'' create new stories in this genre from fairy tale and folklore motifs.
In comics and animated TV series, ''The Sandman
The Sandman is a mythical character in European folklore who puts people to sleep and encourages and inspires beautiful dreams by sprinkling magical sand onto their eyes.
Representation in traditional folklore
The Sandman is a traditional charact ...
'', ''Revolutionary Girl Utena
is a series created by Be-Papas, an artist collective founded by Kunihiko Ikuhara. The primary entries in the series include a 1996 manga written by Chiho Saito, a 1997 anime television series directed by Ikuhara, and ''Adolescence of ...
'', ''Princess Tutu
is a Japanese magical girl anime series created by illustrator and animator Ikuko Itoh. Inspired by ballet and fairy tales, particularly ''The Ugly Duckling'' and ''Swan Lake'', the story follows a duck who is transformed into the mythical b ...
'', ''Fables
Fable is a literary genre: a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse, that features animals, legendary creatures, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature that are anthropomorphized, and that illustrates or leads to a particular moral ...
'' and ''MÄR
''Märchen Awakens Romance'', officially abbreviated as ''MÄR'', is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Nobuyuki Anzai, serialized in Shogakukan's ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' from January 2003 to July 2006. ''MÄR'' follows 14-ye ...
'' all make use of standard fairy tale elements to various extents but are more accurately categorised as fairytale fantasy
Fairytale fantasy is distinguished from other subgenres of fantasy by the works' heavy use of motifs, and often plots, from folklore.
History
Literary fairy tales were not unknown in the Roman era: Apuleius included several in ''The Golden Ass' ...
due to the definite locations and characters which a longer narrative requires.
A more modern cinematic fairy tale would be Luchino Visconti
Luchino Visconti di Modrone, Count of Lonate Pozzolo (; 2 November 1906 – 17 March 1976) was an Italian filmmaker, stage director, and screenwriter. A major figure of Italian art and culture in the mid-20th century, Visconti was one of the fat ...
's ''Le Notti Bianche
''White Nights'' ( it, Le notti bianche, french: Nuits blanches) is a 1957 romantic drama film directed by Luchino Visconti, based on Fyodor Dostoevsky’s 1848 short story of the same name. It was written for the screen by Visconti and Suso Cec ...
'', starring Marcello Mastroianni
Marcello Vincenzo Domenico Mastroianni (28 September 1924 – 19 December 1996) was an Italian film actor, regarded as one of his country's most iconic male performers of the 20th century. He played leading roles for many of Italy's top di ...
before he became a superstar. It involves many of the romantic conventions of fairy tales, yet it takes place in post-World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
Italy, and it ends realistically.
In recent years, Disney has been dominating the fairy tale film industry by remaking their animated fairy tale films into live action. Examples include ''Maleficent
Maleficent ( or ) is a fictional character who appears as the main antagonist in Walt Disney Productions' 16th animated feature film, ''Sleeping Beauty'' (1959). She is represented as an evil fairy and the self-proclaimed " Mistress of All Evil ...
'' (2014), ''Cinderella
"Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...
'' (2015), ''Beauty and the Beast
''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve, Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' ( ...
'' (2017) and so on.
Motifs
Any comparison of fairy tales quickly discovers that many fairy tales have features in common with each other. Two of the most influential classifications are those of Antti Aarne
Antti Amatus Aarne (December 5, 1867 in Pori – February 2, 1925 in Helsinki) was a Finnish folklorist.
Background
Antti was a student of Kaarle Krohn, the son of the folklorist Julius Krohn.
He further developed their historic-geographic m ...
, as revised by Stith Thompson
Stith Thompson (March 7, 1885 – January 10, 1976) was an American folklorist: he has been described as "America's most important folklorist".
He is the "Thompson" of the Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index, which indexes folktales by type, and the ...
into the Aarne-Thompson classification system, and Vladimir Propp
Vladimir Yakovlevich Propp (russian: Владимир Яковлевич Пропп; – 22 August 1970) was a Soviet folklorist and scholar who analysed the basic structural elements of Russian folk tales to identify their simplest irredu ...
's ''Morphology of the Folk Tale
Vladimir Yakovlevich Propp (russian: Владимир Яковлевич Пропп; – 22 August 1970) was a Soviet folklorist and scholar who analysed the basic structural elements of Russian folk tales to identify their simplest irredu ...
''.
Aarne-Thompson
This system groups fairy and folk tales according to their overall plot. Common, identifying features are picked out to decide which tales are grouped together. Much therefore depends on what features are regarded as decisive.
For instance, tales like ''Cinderella
"Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...
'' – in which a persecuted heroine, with the help of the fairy godmother
In fairy tales, a fairy godmother () is a fairy with magical powers who acts as a mentor or parent to someone, in the role that an actual godparent was expected to play in many societies. In Perrault's ''Cinderella'', he concludes the tale with ...
or similar magical helper, attends an event (or three) in which she wins the love of a prince and is identified as his true brideare classified as type 510, the persecuted heroine. Some such tales are ''The Wonderful Birch
The Wonderful Birch (russian: Чудесная берёза) is a Finnish/Russian fairy tale. A variant on Cinderella, it is Aarne–Thompson folktale type 510A, the persecuted heroine. It makes use of shapeshifting motifs. Andrew Lang included i ...
''; '' Aschenputtel''; ''Katie Woodencloak
"Katie Woodencloak" or "Kari Woodengown" (originally "Kari Trestakk") is a Norwegian fairy tale collected by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe in ''Norske Folkeeventyr''. Andrew Lang included it in ''The Red Fairy Book''.
It is Aarne ...
''; ''The Story of Tam and Cam
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
''; ''Ye Xian
"Ye Xian" (; ) is a Chinese fairy tale that is similar to the European Cinderella story, the Malay-Indonesian Bawang Putih Bawang Merah tale, the Vietnamese Tấm Cám story, and stories from other ethnic groups including the Tibetans and the ...
''; ''Cap O' Rushes
"Cap-o'-Rushes" is an English fairy tale published by Joseph Jacobs in ''English Fairy Tales''.
Jacobs gives his source as "Contributed by Mrs. Walter-Thomas to "Suffolk Notes and Queries" of the ''Ipswich Journal'', published by Mr. Lang in ''Lon ...
''; ''Catskin
Catskin is an English fairy tale collected by Joseph Jacobs, in ''More English Fairy Tales''. Marian Roalfe Cox, in her pioneering study of ''Cinderella'', identified as one of the basic types, the Unnatural Father, contrasting with ''Cinderella'' ...
''; ''Fair, Brown and Trembling
Fair, Brown and Trembling is an Irish fairy tale collected by Jeremiah Curtin in ''Myths and Folk-lore of Ireland'' and Joseph Jacobs in his ''Celtic Fairy Tales''.
It is Aarne-Thompson type 510A. Other tales of this type include ''Cinderella'', ...
''; ''Finette Cendron
Finette Cendron (meaning in English, ''Cunning Cinders'') is a French literary fairy tale written by Madame d'Aulnoy.
It combines Aarne-Thompson types 327A and 510A. Other tales of 510A type include "Cinderella", " Katie Woodencloak", " Fair, Br ...
''; ''Allerleirauh
"Allerleirauh" ( en, "All-Kinds-of-Fur", sometimes translated as "Thousandfurs") is a fairy tale recorded by the Brothers Grimm. Since the second edition published in 1819, it has been recorded as Tale no. 65. Andrew Lang included it in ''The Gree ...
''.
Further analysis of the tales shows that in ''Cinderella'', ''The Wonderful Birch'', ''The Story of Tam and Cam'', ''Ye Xian'', and ''Aschenputtel'', the heroine is persecuted by her stepmother and refused permission to go to the ball or other event, and in ''Fair, Brown and Trembling'' and ''Finette Cendron'' by her sisters and other female figures, and these are grouped as 510A; while in ''Cap O' Rushes'', ''Catskin'', and ''Allerleirauh'', the heroine is driven from home by her father's persecutions, and must take work in a kitchen elsewhere, and these are grouped as 510B. But in ''Katie Woodencloak'', she is driven from home by her stepmother's persecutions and must take service in a kitchen elsewhere, and in ''Tattercoats'', she is refused permission to go to the ball by her grandfather. Given these features common with both types of 510, ''Katie Woodencloak'' is classified as 510A because the villain is the stepmother, and ''Tattercoats'' as 510B because the grandfather fills the father's role.
This system has its weaknesses in the difficulty of having no way to classify subportions of a tale as motifs. ''Rapunzel
"Rapunzel" ( , ) is a German fairy tale recorded by the Brothers Grimm and first published in 1812 as part of ''Children's and Household Tales'' (KHM 12). The Brothers Grimm's story developed from the French literary fairy tale of ''Persinette ...
'' is type 310 (The Maiden in the Tower), but it opens with a child being demanded in return for stolen food, as does ''Puddocky
"Das Mahrchen von der Padde" ("The Tale of the Toad") is a German folktale collected by Johann Gustav Gottlieb Büsching in ''Volks-Sagen, Märchen und Legenden''. It has been translated into English under the titles of "Puddocky" or "Cherry the ...
''; but ''Puddocky'' is not a Maiden in the Tower tale, while ''The Canary Prince
The Canary Prince (Italian: ''Il Principe canarino'') is an Italian fairy tale, the 18th tale in Italian Folktales by Italo Calvino. He took the tale from Turin, making various stylistic changes; he noted it developed a medieval motif, but such tal ...
'', which opens with a jealous stepmother, is.
It also lends itself to emphasis on the common elements, to the extent that the folklorist describes '' The Black Bull of Norroway'' as the same story as ''Beauty and the Beast
''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve, Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' ( ...
''. This can be useful as a shorthand but can also erase the coloring and details of a story.
Morphology
Vladimir Propp
Vladimir Yakovlevich Propp (russian: Владимир Яковлевич Пропп; – 22 August 1970) was a Soviet folklorist and scholar who analysed the basic structural elements of Russian folk tales to identify their simplest irredu ...
specifically studied a collection of Russian fairy tale
A Russian fairy tale or folktale (russian: ска́зка; ''skazka''; "story"; plural russian: ска́зки , translit = skazki) is a fairy tale from Russia.
Various sub-genres of ''skazka'' exist. A ''volshebnaya skazka'' s, but his analysis has been found useful for the tales of other countries. Having criticized Aarne-Thompson type analysis for ignoring what motifs ''did'' in stories, and because the motifs used were not clearly distinct, he analyzed the tales for the ''function'' each character and action fulfilled and concluded that a tale was composed of thirty-one elements ('functions') and seven characters or 'spheres of action' ('the princess and her father' are a single sphere). While the elements were not all required for all tales, when they appeared they did so in an invariant order – except that each individual element might be negated twice, so that it would appear rule of three (writing)">three times
''Three Times'' (Chinese: 最好的時光; ''Zuìhǎo de shíguāng''; lit. 'Best of Times') is a 2005 Taiwanese film directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien. It consists of three separate stories of romance, set in different eras, using the same lead actors, ...
, as when, in ''Brother and Sister'', the brother resists drinking from enchanted streams twice, so that it is the third that enchants him. Propp's 31 functions also fall within six 'stages' (preparation, complication, transference, struggle, return, recognition), and a stage can also be repeated, which can affect the perceived order of elements.
One such element is the ''donor
A donor in general is a person, organization or government which donates something voluntarily. The term is usually used to represent a form of pure altruism, but is sometimes used when the payment for a service is recognized by all parties as rep ...
'' who gives the hero magical assistance, often after testing him. In ''The Golden Bird
''The Golden Bird'' (German: ''Der goldene Vogel'') is a fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm (KHM 57) about the pursuit of a golden bird by a gardener's three sons.
It is classified in the Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index as type ATU 550 ...
'', the talking fox tests the hero by warning him against entering an inn and, after he succeeds, helps him find the object of his quest; in ''The Boy Who Drew Cats
is a Japanese fairy tale translated by Lafcadio Hearn, published in 1898, as number 23 of Hasegawa Takejirō's ''Japanese Fairy Tale Series''. It was later included in Hearn's ''Japanese Fairy Tales''.
The original title in Hearn's manuscrip ...
'', the priest advised the hero to stay in small places at night, which protects him from an evil spirit; in ''Cinderella
"Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...
'', the fairy godmother gives Cinderella the dresses she needs to attend the ball, as their mothers' spirits do in ''Bawang Putih Bawang Merah
Bawang merah dan bawang putih (Indonesian language, Indonesian for Shallots and Garlic) is a popular traditional Malay and Indonesian folklore involving two siblings with opposite characters (one good and one bad), and an unjust step mother. The f ...
'' and ''The Wonderful Birch
The Wonderful Birch (russian: Чудесная берёза) is a Finnish/Russian fairy tale. A variant on Cinderella, it is Aarne–Thompson folktale type 510A, the persecuted heroine. It makes use of shapeshifting motifs. Andrew Lang included i ...
''; in ''The Fox Sister
The Fox Sister is a Korean storyHeinz Insu Fenkl , about the mythical Korean nine-tailed fox demon (''kumiho
A kumiho or gumiho (, literally " nine-tailed fox") is a creature that appears in the folktales on East Asia and legends of Korea. It ...
'', a Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
monk gives the brothers magical bottles to protect against the fox spirit
Huli jing () are Chinese mythological creatures usually capable of shapeshifting, who may either be benevolent or malevolent spirits. In Chinese mythology and folklore, the fox spirit takes variant forms with different meanings, powers, charact ...
. The roles can be more complicated. In ''The Red Ettin
The Red Ettin or The Red Etin is a fairy tale collected by Joseph Jacobs. It was included by Andrew Lang in ''The Blue Fairy Book''.
Synopsis
Two widows lived in a hut, and one had two sons and the other had one—or a single widow had three son ...
'', the role is split into the motherwho offers the hero the whole of a journey cake with her curse or half with her blessingand when he takes the half, a fairy who gives him advice; in ''Mr Simigdáli
Mr Simigdáli ("The Gentleman Made of Groats", in Max Lüthi's translation) is a Greek fairy tale, collected by Irene Naumann-Mavrogordato in ''Es war einmal: Neugriechische Volksmärchen''. Georgios A. Megas collected a variant Master Semolina in ...
'', the sun, the moon, and the stars all give the heroine a magical gift. Characters who are not always the donor can act like the donor. In ''Kallo and the Goblins
Kallo and the Goblins is a Greek fairy tale. Fani Papalouka, Nikolaos Politis, and Haris Sakellariou collected variants of the story.Soula Mitakidou and Anthony L. Manna, with Melpomeni Kanatsouli, ''Folktales from Greece: A Treasury of Delights'', ...
'', the villain goblins also give the heroine gifts, because they are tricked; in ''Schippeitaro
is the name of a helper dog in the Japanese fairy tale by the same name.
Translations include "Schippeitaro" in Andrew Lang's ''The Violet Fairy Book, Violet Fairy Book'' (1901), taken from a German copy, and Mrs. James's "Schippeitaro" (1888), ...
'', the evil cats betray their secret to the hero, giving him the means to defeat them. Other fairy tales, such as ''The Story of the Youth Who Went Forth to Learn What Fear Was
"The Story of the Youth Who Went Forth to Learn What Fear Was" or "The Story of a Boy Who Went Forth to Learn Fear" (german: link=no, Märchen von einem, der auszog das Fürchten zu lernen) is a German Folklore, folktale collected by the Brothers ...
'', do not feature the donor.
Analogies have been drawn between this and the analysis of myths into the hero's journey
In narratology and comparative mythology, the hero's journey, or the monomyth, is the common template of stories that involve a hero who goes on an adventure, is victorious in a decisive crisis, and comes home changed or transformed.
Earlie ...
.
Interpretations
Many fairy tales have been interpreted for their (purported) significance. One mythological interpretation saw many fairy tales, including ''Hansel and Gretel
"Hansel and Gretel" (; german: Hänsel und Gretel ) is a German fairy tale collected by the German Brothers Grimm and published in 1812 in ''Grimm's Fairy Tales'' (KHM 15). It is also known as Little Step Brother and Little Step Sister.
Hansel ...
'', ''Sleeping Beauty
''Sleeping Beauty'' (french: La belle au bois dormant, or ''The Beauty in the Sleeping Forest''; german: Dornröschen, or ''Little Briar Rose''), also titled in English as ''The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods'', is a fairy tale about a princess cu ...
'', and '' The Frog King'', as solar myths
Solar myth (Latin: solaris «solar») — mythologization of the Sun and its impact on earthly life; usually closely associated with lunar myths.
Contrary to the assumptions of ethnographers of the XIX- early XX centuries, in the "primitive" ...
; this mode of interpretation subsequently became rather less popular. Freudian
Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating pathologies explained as originating in conflicts i ...
, Jungian
Analytical psychology ( de , Analytische Psychologie, sometimes translated as analytic psychology and referred to as Jungian analysis) is a term coined by Carl Jung, a Swiss psychiatrist, to describe research into his new "empirical science" ...
, and other psychological
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between t ...
analyses have also explicated many tales, but no mode of interpretation has established itself definitively.
Specific analyses have often been criticized for lending great importance to motifs that are not, in fact, integral to the tale; this has often stemmed from treating one instance of a fairy tale as the definitive text, where the tale has been told and retold in many variations. In variants of ''Bluebeard
"Bluebeard" (french: Barbe bleue, ) is a French folktale, the most famous surviving version of which was written by Charles Perrault and first published by Barbin in Paris in 1697 in ''Histoires ou contes du temps passé''. The tale tells the st ...
'', the wife's curiosity is betrayed by a blood-stained key, by an egg's breaking, or by the singing of a rose she wore, without affecting the tale, but interpretations of specific variants have claimed that the precise object is integral to the tale.
Other folklorists have interpreted tales as historical documents. Many German folklorists, believing the tales to have preserved details from ancient times, have used the Grimms' tales to explain ancient customs.
One approach sees the topography of European Märchen as echoing the period immediately following the last Ice Age.
Other folklorists have explained the figure of the wicked stepmother in a historical/sociological context: many women did die in childbirth, their husbands remarried, and the new stepmothers competed with the children of the first marriage for resources.
In a 2012 lecture, Jack Zipes
Jack David Zipes (born June 7, 1937) is a professor emeritus of German, comparative literature, and cultural studies, who has published and lectured on German literature, critical theory, German Jewish culture, children's literature, and folklore. ...
reads fairy tales as examples of what he calls "childism". He suggests that there are terrible aspects to the tales, which (among other things) have conditioned children to accept mistreatment and even abuse.
Fairy tales in music
Fairy tales have inspired music, namely opera, such as the French Opéra féerie
This is a glossary list of opera genres, giving alternative names.
"Opera" is an Italian word (short for "opera in musica"); it was not at first ''commonly'' used in Italy (or in other countries) to refer to the genre of particular works. Most c ...
and the German Märchenoper. French examples include Gretry's ''Zémire et Azor
' (''Zémire and Azor'') is an opéra comique, described as a ''comédie-ballet mêlée de chants et de danses'', in four acts by the Belgian composer André Grétry. The French text was by Jean-François Marmontel based on ''La Belle et la bête'' ...
'', and Auber's ''Le cheval de bronze
''Le Cheval de bronze'' (''The Bronze Horse'') is an '' opéra comique'' by the French composer Daniel Auber, first performed on 23 March 1835 by the Opéra-Comique at the Salle de la Bourse in Paris. The libretto (in three acts) is by Auber's ...
'', German operas are Mozart's ''Die Zauberflöte
''The Magic Flute'' (German: , ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a ''Singspiel'', a popular form during the time it was written that includ ...
'', Humperdinck's '' Hänsel und Gretel'', Siegfried Wagner's '' An allem ist Hütchen schuld!'', which is based on many fairy tales, and Carl Orff's ''Die Kluge
' (''The Wise irl The Story of the King and the Wise Woman'') is an opera in 12 scenes written by Carl Orff. It premiered at the Frankfurt Opera, Germany, on 20 February 1943. Orff referred to this opera as a ' ( fairy tale opera). The composer a ...
''.
Ballet, too, is fertile ground for bringing fairy tales to life. Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of the ...
's first ballet, The Firebird
''The Firebird'' (french: L'Oiseau de feu, link=no; russian: Жар-птица, Zhar-ptitsa, link=no) is a ballet and orchestral concert work by the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. It was written for the 1910 Paris season of Sergei Diaghilev's ...
uses elements from various classic Russian tales in that work.
Even contemporary fairy tales have been written for the purpose of inspiration in the music world. "Raven Girl" by Audrey Niffenegger
Audrey Niffenegger (born June 13, 1963) is an American writer, artist and academic. Her debut novel, ''The Time Traveler's Wife'', published in 2003, was a bestseller.
Biography
Audrey Niffenegger was born in 1963 in South Haven, Michigan. Then ...
was written to inspire a new dance for the Royal Ballet in London. The song "Singring and the Glass Guitar" by the American band Utopia, recorded for their album "Ra", is called "An Electrified Fairytale". Composed by the four members of the band, Roger Powell, Kasim Sulton, Willie Wilcox and Todd Rundgren, it tells the story of the theft of the Glass Guitar by Evil Forces, which has to be recovered by the four heroes.
Compilations
Authors and works:
From many countries
* García Carcedo, Pilar (2020): ''Entre brujas y dragones. Travesía comparativa por los cuentos tradicionales del mundo''. Madrid: ed. Verbu
Estudio comparativo y antología de cuentos tradicionales del mundo
* Andrew Lang
Andrew Lang (31 March 1844 – 20 July 1912) was a Scottish poet, novelist, literary critic, and contributor to the field of anthropology. He is best known as a collector of folk and fairy tales. The Andrew Lang lectures at the University ...
's Color Fairy Books (1890–1913)
* Wolfram Eberhard
Wolfram Eberhard (March 17, 1909 – August 15, 1989) was a professor of Sociology at the University of California, Berkeley focused on Western, Central and Eastern Asian societies.
Biography
Born in Potsdam, German Empire, he had a strong f ...
(1909–1989)
* Howard Pyle
Howard Pyle (March 5, 1853 – November 9, 1911) was an American illustrator and author, primarily of books for young people. He was a native of Wilmington, Delaware, and he spent the last year of his life in Florence, Italy.
In 1894, he began ...
's ''The Wonder Clock''
* Ruth Manning-Sanders
Ruth Manning-Sanders (21 August 1886 – 12 October 1988) was an English poet and author born in Wales, known for a series of children's books for which she collected and related fairy tales worldwide. She published over 90 books in her lifetime ...
(Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
, 1886–1988)
* ''World Tales
''World Tales'', subtitled "The Extraordinary Coincidence of Stories Told in All Times, in All Places" is a book of 65 folk tales collected by Idries Shah from around the world, mostly from literary sources. Some of the tales are very current, ot ...
'' (United Kingdom, 1979) by Idries Shah
Idries Shah (; hi, इदरीस शाह, ps, ادريس شاه, ur, ; 16 June 1924 – 23 November 1996), also known as Idris Shah, né Sayed Idries el- Hashimi (Arabic: سيد إدريس هاشمي) and by the pen name Arko ...
* Richard Dorson
Richard Mercer Dorson (March 12, 1916 – September 11, 1981) was an American folklorist, professor, and director of the Folklore Institute at Indiana University. Dorson has been called the "father of American folklore"Nichols, Amber M.Richard M. ...
(1916–1981)
* ''The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales'' (United States, 2002) by Maria Tatar
Maria Magdalene Tatar (born May 13, 1945) is an American academic whose expertise lies in children's literature, German literature, and folklore. She is the John L. Loeb Professor of Germanic Languages and Literatures, and Chair of the Committee o ...
Italy
* ''Pentamerone
The ''Pentamerone'', subtitled ''Lo cunto de li cunti'' ("The Tale of Tales"), is a seventeenth-century Neapolitan fairy tale collection by Italian poet and courtier Giambattista Basile.
Background
The stories in the ''Pentamerone'' were collect ...
'' (Italy, 1634–1636) by Giambattista Basile
Giambattista Basile (February 1566 – February 1632) was an Italian poet, courtier, and fairy tale collector. His collections include the oldest recorded forms of many well-known (and more obscure) European fairy tales. He is chiefly remembere ...
* Giovanni Francesco Straparola
Giovanni Francesco "Gianfrancesco" Straparola, also known as Zoan or Zuan Francesco Straparola da Caravaggio (ca. 1485?–1558), was an Italian writer of poetry, and collector and writer of short stories. Some time during his life, he migrated fr ...
(Italy, 16th century)
* Giuseppe Pitrè
Giuseppe Pitrè (22 December 184110 April 1916) was an Italian folklorist, medical doctor, professor, and senator for Sicily. As a folklorist he is credited with extending the realm of folklore to include all manifestations of popular life. He is ...
, Italian collector of folktales from his native Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
(Italy, 1841–1916)
* Laura Gonzenbach Laura Gonzenbach (1842–1878) was a fairy-tale collector of Swiss-German origins, active in Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 = ...
, Swiss collector of Sicilian folk tales (Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
, 1842–1878)
* Domenico Comparetti
Domenico Comparetti (27 June 183520 January 1927) was an Italian scholar. He was born at Rome and died at Florence.
Life
He studied at the University of Rome La Sapienza, took his degree in 1855 in natural science and mathematics, and entered his ...
, Italian scholar (Italy, 1835–1927)
* Thomas Frederick Crane
Thomas Frederick Crane (July 12, 1844 in New York – December 10, 1927) was an American folklorist, academic and lawyer.
He studied law at Princeton, earned his undergraduate degree in 1864, and in 1867 graduated with an A.M. He then studied ...
, American lawyer (United States, 1844–1927)
* Luigi Capuana
Luigi Capuana (May 28, 1839 – November 29, 1915) was an Italian author and journalist and one of the most important members of the ''verist'' movement (see also ''verismo'' (literature)). He was a contemporary of Giovanni Verga, both having ...
, Italian author of literary ''fiabe''
* ''Italian Folktales
''Italian Folktales'' (''Fiabe italiane'') is a collection of 200 Italian folktales published in 1956 by Italo Calvino. Calvino began the project in 1954, influenced by Vladimir Propp's '' Morphology of the Folktale''; his intention was to emulat ...
'' (Italy, 1956) by Italo Calvino
Italo Calvino (, also , ;. RAI (circa 1970), retrieved 25 October 2012. 15 October 1923 – 19 September 1985) was an Italian writer and journalist. His best known works include the ''Our Ancestors'' trilogy (1952–1959), the '' Cosmicomi ...
France
* Charles Perrault
Charles Perrault ( , also , ; 12 January 1628 – 16 May 1703) was an iconic French author and member of the Académie Française. He laid the foundations for a new literary genre, the fairy tale, with his works derived from earlier folk tales ...
(France, 1628–1703)
* Eustache Le Noble Eustache Le Noble ( Troyes, 1643 – Paris, 31 January 1711) was a 17th-century French playwright and writer.
An attorney General at the Parlement of Metz, Le Noble led a dissipated life and after he had been condemned for having manufactured fal ...
, French writer of literary fairy tales (France, 1646–1711)
* Madame d'Aulnoy
Marie-Catherine Le Jumel de Barneville, Baroness d'Aulnoy (1650/1651 – 14 January 1705), also known as Countess d'Aulnoy, was a French author known for her literary fairy tales. When she termed her works ''contes de fées'' (fairy tales), sh ...
(France, 1650–1705)
* Emmanuel Cosquin
Emmanuel Cosquin (1841 – 1919) was a French folklorist. He wrote the "Popular Tales of Lorraine," in the introduction to which he argues for the theory that the development as well as the origin of such tales is historically traceable to India.
...
, French collector of Lorraine fairy tales and one of the earliest tale comparativists (France, 1841–1919)
* Paul Sébillot
Paul Sébillot (6 February 1843 in Matignon, Côtes-d'Armor, France – 23 April 1918 in Paris) was a French folklorist, painter, and writer. Many of his works are about his native province, Brittany.
Early life and art
Sébillot came from an ...
, collector of folktales from Brittany
Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...
, France (France, 1843–1918)
* François-Marie Luzel
François-Marie Luzel (6 June 1821 – 26 February 1895), often known by his Breton name ''Fañch an Uhel'',He signed his name as ''Francès-Mary an Uhel'' in the ''Les Chants de l'épée'' (1856), although Joseph Ollivier, in his 1943 preface to ...
, French collector of Brittany folktales (France, 1821–1895)
* Charles Deulin
Charles Deulin (1827–1877) was a French writer, theatre critic, and folklorist who is most known for his contemporary adaptations of European folk tales. Among his many stories are " Cambrinus, King of Beer", "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" ...
, French author and folklorist (France, 1827–1877)
* Édouard René de Laboulaye
__NOTOC__
Édouard René Lefèbvre de Laboulaye (; 18 January 1811 – 25 May 1883) was a French jurist, poet, author and anti-slavery activist. In 1865, he originated the idea of a monument presented by the French people to the United States th ...
, French jurist, poet and publisher of folk tales and literary fairy tales
* Henri Pourrat
The French writer and folklore collector Henri Pourrat was born in 1887 in Ambert, a town in the mountainous Auvergne region of central France. He died near Ambert in 1959.
Biography
Born to an Ambert shop-owner, Pourrat finished secondary school ...
, French collector of Auvergne folklore (1887–1959)
* Achille Millien
Achille Millien (4 September 1838 – 12 January 1927) was a French poet and folklorist.
His poetic work includes a dozen collections of rustic inspiration: ''La Moisson'', ''Chants agrestes'', ''Musettes et clairons'', ''Chez nous'', ''Aux cha ...
, collector of Nivernais folklore (France, 1838–1927)
* Paul Delarue
Paul Alfred Delarue, born 20 April 1889 in Saint-Didier, Nièvre, died 25 July 1956 in Autun, Saône-et-Loire, was a French folklorist.
A world-renowned specialist in the field of folklore, his crowning achievement was his , a catalog of folkt ...
, establisher of the French folktale catalogue (France, 1889–1956)
Germany
* ''Grimms' Fairy Tales
''Grimms' Fairy Tales'', originally known as the ''Children's and Household Tales'' (german: Kinder- und Hausmärchen, lead=yes, ), is a German collection of fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm, Grimm brothers or "Brothers Grimm", Jacob Grimm, Ja ...
'' (Germany, 1812–1857)
* Johann Karl August Musäus
Johann Karl August Musäus (29 March 1735 – 28 October 1787) was a popular German author and one of the first collectors of German folk stories, most celebrated for his ''Volksmärchen der Deutschen'' (1782–1787), a collection of German fairy ...
, German writer of ''Volksmärchen der Deutschen
' (or ', ) is an early collection of German folk stories retold in a satirical style by Johann Karl August Musäus, published in five volumes between 1782 and 1787.
Stories
Publication and translation
' was first published in five volumes be ...
'' (5 volumes; 1782–1786)
* Wilhelm Hauff
Wilhelm Hauff (29 November 180218 November 1827) was a Württembergian poet and novelist.
Early life
Hauff was born in Stuttgart, the son of August Friedrich Hauff, a secretary in the Württemberg ministry of foreign affairs, and Hedwig Wilhelmi ...
, German author and novelist
* Heinrich Pröhle
Christoph Ferdinand Heinrich Pröhle (June 4, 1822 – May 28, 1895) was a German literary historian, teacher ('' Oberlehrer''), writer and folk tale and fairy tale collector (a successor to the Brothers Grimm).
Disambiguation of Heinrich
The g ...
, collector of Germanic language folktales
* Franz Xaver von Schönwerth (Germany, 1810–1886)
* Adalbert Kuhn
Franz Felix Adalbert Kuhn (19 November 1812 – 5 May 1881) was a German philologist and folklorist.
Kuhn was born in Königsberg in Brandenburg's Neumark region. From 1841 he was connected with the Köllnisches Gymnasium at Berlin, of whic ...
, German philologist and folklorist (Germany, 1812–1881)
* Alfred Cammann ( de) (1909–2008), 20th century collector of fairy tales
Belgium
* Charles Polydore de Mont
Charles Polydore de Mont or Pol de Mont (Wambeek, 15 April 1857 – 29 June 1931) was a Belgian writer and poet.
After his secondary education, in French, at Ninove, he went to the ''Klein seminarie'' in Mechelen. Here he wrote his first poems ...
(Pol de Mont) (Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
, 1857–1931)
United Kingdom and Ireland
* Joseph Jacobs
Joseph Jacobs (29 August 1854 – 30 January 1916) was an Australian folklorist, translator, literary critic, social scientist, historian and writer of English literature who became a notable collector and publisher of English folklore.
Jacob ...
's two books of ''Celtic Fairytales'' and two books of ''English Folktales'' (1854–1916)
* ''Alan Garner's Book of British Fairy Tales'' (United Kingdom, 1984) by Alan Garner
Alan Garner (born 17 October 1934) is an English novelist best known for his children's fantasy novels and his retellings of traditional British folk tales. Much of his work is rooted in the landscape, history and folklore of his native count ...
* ''Old English fairy tales'' by Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould
Sabine Baring-Gould ( ; 28 January 1834 – 2 January 1924) of Lew Trenchard in Devon, England, was an Anglican priest, hagiographer, antiquarian, novelist, folk song collector and eclectic scholar. His bibliography consists of more than 1,240 ...
(1895)
* ''Popular Tales of the West Highlands
''Popular Tales of the West Highlands'' is a four-volume collection of fairy tales, collected and published by John Francis Campbell, and often translated from Gaelic. Alexander Carmichael was one of the main contributors. The collection in four ...
'' (Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
, 1862) by John Francis Campbell
John Francis Campbell (Scottish Gaelic: Iain Frangan Caimbeul; Islay, 29 December 1821 – Cannes, 17 February 1885), also known as Young John of Islay (Scottish Gaelic: Iain Òg Ìle) was a Scottish author and scholar who specialised i ...
* Jeremiah Curtin
Jeremiah Curtin (6 September 1835 – 14 December 1906) was an American ethnographer, folklorist, and translator. Curtin had an abiding interest in languages and was conversant with several. From 1883 to 1891 he was employed by the Bureau of Ame ...
, collector of Irish folktales and translator of Slavic fairy tales (Ireland, 1835–1906)
* Patrick Kennedy, Irish educator and folklorist (Ireland, ca. 1801–1873)
* Séamus Ó Duilearga
Séamus Ó Duilearga (born James Hamilton Delargy; 26 May 1899 – 25 June 1980) was an Irish folklorist, professor of folklore at University College Dublin and Director of the Irish Folklore Commission.
Born in Cushendall, Co Antrim, he was one ...
, Irish folklorist (Ireland, 1899–1980)
* Kevin Danaher
Kevin Danaher (Irish, ''Caoimhín Ó Danachair'') (30 January 1913 – 14 March 2002) was an Irish folklorist with a special interest in ethnography and military history.
Danaher is the author of 10 books about Irish traditional customs and ...
, Irish folklorist (Ireland, 1913-2002) ''Folktales from the Irish Countryside''
* W. B. Yeats
William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish liter ...
, Irish poet and publisher of Irish folktales
* ''Peter and the Piskies
''Peter and the Piskies: Cornish Folk and Fairy Tales'' is a 1958 anthology of 34 fairy tales from Cornwall that have been collected and retold by Ruth Manning-Sanders and illustrated by Raymond Briggs. It was the first in a long series of such ...
: Cornish Folk and Fairy Tales'' (United Kingdom, 1958), by Ruth Manning-Sanders
Ruth Manning-Sanders (21 August 1886 – 12 October 1988) was an English poet and author born in Wales, known for a series of children's books for which she collected and related fairy tales worldwide. She published over 90 books in her lifetime ...
Scandinavia
* Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales.
Andersen's fairy tales, consisti ...
, Danish author of literary fairy tales (Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
, 1805–1875)
* Helena Nyblom
Helena Nyblom (7 December 1843 – 9 October 1926) was a Danish-Swedish children's story author. She is perhaps most remembered for ''The Swan Suit.'' , Swedish author of literary fairy tales (Sweden, 1843–1926)
* ''Norwegian Folktales
''Norwegian Folktales'' ( no, Norske folkeeventyr) is a collection of Norwegian folktales and legends by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe. It is also known as ''Asbjørnsen and Moe'', after the collectors.
Asbjørnsen and Moe
Asbjø ...
'' (Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
, 1845–1870) by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen
Peter Christen Asbjørnsen (15 January 18125 January 1885) was a Norwegian writer and scholar. He and Jørgen Engebretsen Moe were collectors of Norwegian folklore. They were so closely united in their lives' work that their folk tale collection ...
and Jørgen Moe
Jørgen Engebretsen Moe (22 April 1813–27 March 1882) was a Norwegian folklorist, bishop, poet, and author. He is best known for the ''Norske Folkeeventyr'', a collection of Norwegian folk tales which he edited in collaboration with Peter ...
* ''Svenska folksagor och äfventyr'' (Sweden, 1844–1849) by Gunnar Olof Hyltén-Cavallius
Gunnar Olof Hyltén-Cavallius (1818–1889) was a Swedish scholar of cultural history, librarian, theatre director, and diplomat.
Gunnar was the son of a clergyman from Vislanda, Småland, and the brother of the chemist Carl Erengisle Hyltén-C ...
* August Bondeson
August Leonard Bondeson (February 2, 1854-September 23, 1906) was a Swedish physician and author.
Biography
August Bondeson was born in Vessigebro, Sweden. He was a student at Uppsala University from 1876, graduating with a med. kand. in 18 ...
, collector of Swedish folktales (1854–1906)
* ''Jyske Folkeminder'' by Evald Tang Kristensen
Evald Tang Kristensen (24 January 1843 – 8 April 1929) was a Danish folklore collector and author. Working first as a schoolteacher and later solely as a collector, he assembled and published a huge amount of detailed information on all aspects ...
(Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
, 1843–1929)
* Svend Grundtvig
Svend Hersleb Grundtvig (9 September 1824, Copenhagen – 14 July 1883, Frederiksberg) was a Danish literary historian and ethnographer. He was one of the first systematic collectors of Danish traditional music, and he was especially interested ...
, Danish folktale collector (Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
, 1824–1883)
* Benjamin Thorpe
Benjamin Thorpe (1782 – 19 July 1870) was an English scholar of Anglo-Saxon literature.
Biography
In the early 1820s he worked as a banker in the House of Rothschild, in Paris. There he met Thomas Hodgkin, who treated him for tuberculosis.
A ...
, English scholar of Anglo-Saxon literature and translator of Nordic and Scandinavian folktales (1782–1870)
* Jón Árnason, collector of Icelandic folklore
* Adeline Rittershaus
Adeline Rittershaus (29 July 1876 – 6 September 1924) was a German philologist, a scholar in old Scandinavian literature, and champion for the equality of women. She earned her doctorate in 1898, at the University of Zurich, being one of the fir ...
, German philologist and translator of Icelandic folktales
Estonia, Finland and Baltic Region
* ''Suomen kansan satuja ja tarinoita'' (Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
, 1852–1866) by Eero Salmelainen
* August Leskien
August Leskien (; 8 July 1840 – 20 September 1916) was a German linguist active in the field of comparative linguistics, particularly relating to the Baltic and Slavic languages.
Biography
Leskien was born in Kiel. He studied philology at the ...
, German linguist and collector of Baltic folklore (1840–1916)
* William Forsell Kirby
William Forsell Kirby (14 January 1844 – 20 November 1912) was an English entomologist and folklorist.
Life
He was born in Leicester. He was the eldest son of Samuel Kirby, who was a banker. He was educated privately, and became interested ...
, English translator of Finnish folklore and folktales (1844–1912)
* Jonas Basanavičius
Jonas Basanavičius (, pl, Jan Basanowicz; 23 November 1851 – 16 February 1927) was an activist and proponent of the Lithuanian National Revival. He participated in every major event leading to the independent Lithuanian state and is often give ...
, collector of Lithuanian folklore (1851–1927)
* Mečislovas Davainis-Silvestraitis, collector of Lithuanian folklore (1849–1919)
* Pēteris Šmits ( lv), Latvian ethnographer (1869–1938)
Slavic regions
* ''Narodnye russkie skazki
''Russian Fairy Tales'' (russian: Народные русские сказки, variously translated; English titles include also ''Russian Folk Tales'') is a collection of nearly 600 fairy and folktales, collected and published by Alexander Af ...
'' (Russia, 1855–1863) by Alexander Afanasyev
Alexander Nikolayevich Afanasyev (Afanasief, Afanasiev or Afanas'ev, russian: link=no, Александр Николаевич Афанасьев) ( — ) was a Russian Slavist and ethnographer who published nearly 600 Russian fairy and folk ta ...
* Louis Léger
Louis Léger (15 January 1843– 30 April 1923) was a French writer and pioneer in Slavic studies. He was honorary member of Bulgarian Literary Society (now Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, also member of Académie des inscriptions et belle ...
, French translator of Slavic fairy tales (France, 1843–1923)
* Oskar Kolberg, Polish ethnographer who compiled several Polish folk and fairy tales (Poland, 1814–1890)
* Zygmunt Gloger, Polish historian and ethnographer (1845-1910)
* Božena Němcová, writer and collector of Czech fairy tales (Czech Republic, 1820?–1862)
* , editor and translator of Czech fairy tales
* , writer and publisher of Czech fairy tales
* , publisher of Silesian fairy tales (''Slezské pohádky'') (1975–1977)
* Pavol Dobšinský, collector of Slovakia, Slovak folktales (1828–1885)
* August Horislav Škultéty, Slovak writer (1819–1895)
* Albert Wratislaw, collector of Slavic folktales
* Karel Jaromír Erben, poet, folklorist and publisher of Czech folktales (1811–1870)
* Vuk Karadžić, Serbian philologist (Serbia, 1787–1864)
* Elodie Lawton, British writer and translator of Serbian folktales (1825–1908)
* Friedrich Salomon Krauss, collector of South Slavic folklore
* (1848–1904), collector of Slovenian folktales
Romania
* ''Legende sau basmele românilor'' (Romania, 1874) by Petre Ispirescu
Petre Ispirescu (; January 1830 – 21 November 1887) was a Romanian editor, folklorist, printer, and publicist. He is best known for his work as a gatherer of Romanian folk tales, recounting them with a remarkable talent.
Career
Petre Ispiresc ...
* Lazăr Șăineanu, Romanian folklorist (1859–1934)
* Queen Elisabeth of Wied's Romanian fairy tales, penned under nom de plume ''Carmen Sylva''
* G. Dem. Teodorescu, Wallachian/Romanian folklorist (1849–1900)
* (1836–1904)
* , Romanian folklorist (1853–1905)
* , Romanian folklorist (1866-1899)
Balkan Area and Eastern Europe
* Johann Georg von Hahn, Austrian diplomat and collector of Albanian and Greek folklore (1811–1869)
* Auguste Dozon, French scholar and diplomat who studied Albanian folklore (1822–1890)
* Robert Elsie, Canadian-born German Albanologist (Canada, 1950–2017)
* Donat Kurti, Albanian franciscan friar, educator, scholar and folklorist (1903–1983)
* Anton Çetta, Albanian folklorist, academic and university professor from Yugoslavia (1920–1995)
* Lucy Garnett, British traveller and folklorist on Turkey and Balkanic folklore (1849–1934)
* Francis Hindes Groome, English scholar of Romani populations (England, 1851–1902)
Hungary
* Elek Benedek, Hungarian journalist and collector of Hungarian folktales
* János Erdélyi, poet, critic, author, philosopher who collected Hungarian folktales
* Gyula Pap, ethographer who contributed to the collection ''Folk-tales of the Magyars''
* ''The Hungarian Fairy Book'', by Nándor Pogány (1913).[Pogány, Nándor, and Willy Pogány. ''The Hungarian Fairy Book''. New York: F. A. Stokes Co., 1913.]
* ''Old Hungarian Fairy Tales'' (1895), by Countess Emma Orczy and Montague Barstow.
Spain and Portugal
* Fernán Caballero (Cecilia Böhl de Faber) (Spain, 1796–1877)
* Francisco Maspons y Labrós (Spain, 1840–1901)
* Antoni Maria Alcover i Sureda, priest, writer and collector of folktales in Catalan language, Catalan from Mallorca (Majorca, 1862–1932)
* , Spanish folklorist (1949–2004)
* Teófilo Braga, collector of Portuguese folktales (Portugal, 1843–1924)
* Zófimo Consiglieri Pedroso, Portuguese folklorist (Portugal, 1851–1910)
* Wentworth Webster, collector of Basque folklore
* Elsie Spicer Eells, researcher on Iberian folklore (Portuguese and Brazilian)
Armenia
* Garegin Srvandztiants, Karekin Servantsians (Garegin Sruandzteants'; Bishop Sirwantzdiants), ethnologue and clergyman; publisher of ''Hamov-Hotov'' (1884)
* Hovhannes Tumanyan, Armenian poet and writer who reworked folkloric material into literary fairy tales (1869-1923)
Middle East
* Antoine Galland, French translator of the Arabian Nights (France, 1646–1715)
* Gaston Maspero, French translator of Egyptian and Middle Eastern folktales (France, 1846–1916)
* Hasan M. El-Shamy, establisher of a catalogue classification of Arab and Middle Eastern folktales
* Amina Shah, British anthologiser of Sufi stories and folk tales (1918–2014)
* Raphael Patai, scholar of Jewish folklore (1910–1996)
* Howard Schwartz, collector and publisher of Jewish folktales (1945–)
* , Israeli folklorist
* , Israeli folklorist (1920–2013)
Turkey
* Pertev Naili Boratav, Turkish folklorist (1907–1998)
* ''Kaloghlan'' (Turkey, 1923) by Ziya Gökalp
South Asia, India and Sri Lanka
* ''Panchatantra
The ''Panchatantra'' (IAST: Pañcatantra, ISO: Pañcatantra, sa, पञ्चतन्त्र, "Five Treatises") is an ancient Indian collection of interrelated animal fables in Sanskrit verse and prose, arranged within a frame story. '' (India, 3rd century BC)
* Kathasaritsagara, compilation of Indian folklore made by Somadeva in the 11th century CE
* Lal Behari Dey, reverend and recorder of Bengali folktales (India, 1824–1892)
* James Hinton Knowles, missionary and collector of Kashmiri folklore
* Maive Stokes, Indian-born British author (1866–1961)
* Joseph Jacobs
Joseph Jacobs (29 August 1854 – 30 January 1916) was an Australian folklorist, translator, literary critic, social scientist, historian and writer of English literature who became a notable collector and publisher of English folklore.
Jacob ...
's book of ''Indian Fairy Tales'' (1854–1916)
* Natesa Sastri's collection of Tamil folklore and translation of ''Madanakamaraja Katha''
* ''Village Folk-Tales of Ceylon'', three volumes by Henry Parker (author), H. Parker (1910)
* Pandit Ram Gharib Chaube and British orientalist William Crooke
* Verrier Elwin, ethographer and collector of Indian folk tales (1902–1964)
* A. K. Ramanujan, poet and scholar of Indian literature (1929–1993)
* ''Santal Folk Tales'', three volumes by Paul Olaf Bodding (1925–29)
* Shobhanasundari Mukhopadhyay (1877-1937), Indian author and collector of folktales
America
* Marius Barbeau, Canadian folklorist (Canada, 1883–1969)
* Geneviève Massignon, scholar and publisher of French Acadian folklore (1921–1966)
* Carmen Roy (:fr:Carmen Roy, fr), Canadian folklorist (1919–2006)
* Joel Chandler Harris's ''Uncle Remus'' series of books
* ''Tales from the Cloud Walking Country'', by Marie Campbell
* Ruth Ann Musick, scholar of West Virginian folklore (1897–1974)
* Vance Randolph, folklorist who studied the folklore of the Ozarks (1892–1980)
* ''Cuentos populares mexicanos'' (Mexico, 2014) by Fabio Morábito
* Rafael Rivero Oramas, collector of Venezuelan tales. Author of ''El mundo de Tío Conejo'', collection of Tío Tigre and Tío Conejo tales.
* Américo Paredes, author specialized in folklore from Mexico and the Mexican-American border (1915–1999)
* Elsie Clews Parsons, American anthropologist and collector of folktales from Central American countries (New York City, 1875–1941)
* John Alden Mason, American linguist and collector of Porto Rican folklore (1885–1967)
* Aurelio Macedonio Espinosa Sr., scholar of Spanish folklore (1880–1958)
Brazil
* Sílvio Romero, Brazilian lawyer and folktale collector (Brazil, 1851–1914)
* Luís da Câmara Cascudo, Brazilian anthropologist and ethnologist (Brazil, 1898–1986)
* Lindolfo Gomes (:pt:Lindolfo Gomes, pt), Brazilian folklorist (1875–1953)
* Marco Haurélio, contemporary writer and folklorist, author of Contos e Fábulas do Brasil and Contos Folclóricos Brasileiros.
Africa
* Hans Stumme, scholar and collector of North African folklore (1864–1936)
*
Asia
* Kunio Yanagita (Japan, 1875–1962)
* Seki Keigo, Japanese folklorist
* Lafcadio Hearn
* Yei Theodora Ozaki
O'Yei or ''Theodora'' was an early 20th-century translator of Japanese short stories and fairy tales. Her translations were fairly liberal but have been popular, and were reprinted several times after her death.
Biography
Ozaki was born in Lon ...
, translator of Japanese folk tales (1870–1932)
* Dean Fansler, professor and scholar of Filipino folklore
Miscellaneous
* ''Mixed Up Fairy Tales''
* ''Fairy Tales (Cummings), Fairy Tales'' (United States, 1965) by E. E. Cummings
* ''Fairy Tales, Now First Collected: To Which are Prefixed Two Dissertations: 1. On Pygmies. 2. On Fairies'' (England, 1831) by Joseph Ritson
See also
* Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index (a classification system)
* Fairytale fantasy
* List of fairy tales
* List of Disney animated films based on fairy tales
* Nursery rhyme
* ''Cuento'' (Spanish-language fairy tale)
* Russian fairy tale
A Russian fairy tale or folktale (russian: ска́зка; ''skazka''; "story"; plural russian: ска́зки , translit = skazki) is a fairy tale from Russia.
Various sub-genres of ''skazka'' exist. A ''volshebnaya skazka'' [волше́бн ...
* Fairy tale parody
References
Notelist
Citations
Bibliography
* K.M. Briggs, ''The Fairies in English Tradition and Literature'', University of Chicago Press, London, 1967.
* A.S. Byatt, "Introduction", Maria Tatar, ed. ''The Annotated Brothers Grimm'', .
* Italo Calvino
Italo Calvino (, also , ;. RAI (circa 1970), retrieved 25 October 2012. 15 October 1923 – 19 September 1985) was an Italian writer and journalist. His best known works include the ''Our Ancestors'' trilogy (1952–1959), the '' Cosmicomi ...
, ''Italian Folktales'', .
* John Clute and John Grant (author), John Grant. ''The Encyclopedia of Fantasy''. New York: St Martin's Press, 1997. . (Hardcover)
* Linda Degh
"What Did the Grimm Brothers Give To and Take From the Folk?"
James M. McGlathery, ed., ''The Brothers Grimm and Folktale'', pp. 66–90. .
* Patrick Drazen, ''Anime Explosion!: The What? Why? & Wow! of Japanese Animation'', .
* García Carcedo, Pilar (2020): ''Entre brujas y dragones. Travesía comparativa por los cuentos tradicionales del mundo''. Madrid: ed. Verbum. (Comparative study in Spanish about Fairy Tales in the world)
* Philip Martin, ''The Writer's Guide of Fantasy Literature: From Dragon's Lair to Hero's Quest'',
* Catherine Orenstein, ''Little Red Riding Hood Undressed'',
*
* Steven Swann Jones, ''The Fairy Tale: The Magic Mirror of Imagination'', Twayne Publishers, New York, 1995, .
* Maria Tatar, ''The Hard Facts of the Grimms' Fairy Tales'', .
* J.R.R. Tolkien, "On Fairy-Stories
"On Fairy-Stories" is an essay by J. R. R. Tolkien which discusses the fairy story as a literary form. It was written as a lecture entitled "Fairy Stories" for the Andrew Lang lecture at the University of St Andrews, Scotland, on 8 March 1939. ...
", ''The Tolkien Reader''
* Harry Velten, "The Influences of Charles Perrault's ''Contes de ma Mère L'oie'' on German Folklore, Jack Zipes, ed., ''The Great Fairy Tale Tradition: From Straparola and Basile to the Brothers Grimm''.
* Jack Zipes
Jack David Zipes (born June 7, 1937) is a professor emeritus of German, comparative literature, and cultural studies, who has published and lectured on German literature, critical theory, German Jewish culture, children's literature, and folklore. ...
, ''The Great Fairy Tale Tradition: From Straparola and Basile to the Brothers Grimm'', .
Further reading
*
* Heidi Anne Heiner
"The Quest for the Earliest Fairy Tales: Searching for the Earliest Versions of European Fairy Tales with Commentary on English Translations"
* Heidi Anne Heiner
* Vito Carrassi, "Il fairy tale nella tradizione narrativa irlandese: Un itinerario storico e culturale", Adda, Bari 2008; English edition, "The Irish Fairy Tale: A Narrative Tradition from the Middle Ages to Yeats and Stephens", John Cabot University Press/University of Delaware Press, Roma-Lanham 2012.
* Antti Aarne and Stith Thompson: ''The Types of the Folktale: A Classification and Bibliography'' (Helsinki, 1961)
* Tatar, Maria. ''The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales.'' W.W. Norton & Company, 2002.
* Thompson, Stith. ''The Folktale''. University of California Press. 1977. .
* Benedek Katalin.
Mese és fordítás idegen nyelvről magyarra és magyarról idegenre
. In: ''Aranyhíd. Tanulmányok Keszeg Vilmos tiszteletére''. BBTE Magyar Néprajz és Antropológia Intézet; Erdélyi Múzeum-Egyesület; Kriza János Néprajzi Társaság. 2017. pp. 1001–1013. . (In Hungarian) [for collections of Hungarian folktales].
*
On origin and migration of folktales:
*
*
*
*
*
* Nouyrigat, Vicent. "Contes de fées: leur origine révélée par la génétique". Excelsior publications (2017) in ''La Science et la Vie'' (Paris), édition 1194 (03/2017), pp. 74–80.
*
*
*
*
External links
Once Upon a Time
– How Fairy Tales Shape Our Lives, by Jonathan Young, PhD
Once Upon A Time: Historical and Illustrated Fairy Tales. Special Collections, University of Colorado Boulder
{{Authority control
Fairy tales,
Folklore
Narrative techniques
Fantasy genres
Traditional stories