Art of Fairytales

  "For their marriage was founded on virtue."  - Beaumont     In all of the readings of Beauty and the Beast, virtue is placed as the number one sealant in every story. A beautiful young girl is faced with a terrifying beast-- one is able to show grace and one is able to show the power of love and showing their true character. In a way though, these 'fun and lighthearted' fairytales offer a unique look into the power dynamics and societal constructs of relationships that can be found in earlier generations. In Beaumont's version of Beauty and the Beast, we are met with arguably the most sincere version of the story where the Beauty is seen as a damsel, trying to save her father and prove her mean sisters wrong. The beast is a mis-understood rebel who can offer her the life that any father would wish for their daughter: one with a financial safety net. In the end, the Beauty realizes that the Beast is far more than what meets the eye, and they lived 'for a long...

 "From this story one learns that children, especially young girls, pretty, well-breed and genteel, are wrong to listen to just anyone, and it's not at all strange, if a wolf ends up eating them."  - Introduction to Little Red Riding Hood     Intro: It was interesting to see the evolution of the story over time and the origin of it, or at least the seeming origin because really who knows where these came from.      Perrault: Seemed to be portraying that Little Red Riding Hood was very meek, pretty and dumb. The quote that stuck out to me with this one was in the moral where it said that the most tame wolfs are the ones you need to look out for.      Grimm: Little Red Cap was much more child-like in this version. She is described as dainty and lovely rather than something more sexually appealing in Perrault's version. This version also included a huntsmen at the end which the other one did not, yet turned rather dark when the huntsman ski...

 "And therefore, to the extent that Snow White, as her daughter, is a part of herself, she wants to kill Snow White in herself, the angel who would keep deeds and dramas out of her own house." - Gilber and Gubar     Gilber and Gubar offer a unique point when they describe the seven dwarfs as representatives of Snow Whites loss of power in her own autonomy. I believe that they offer fair opinions in matters of this classic fairytale in regards to Snow White's seemingly domestic personality as well as her selflessness and femininity. To me, the most interesting part of the pairs discussion regarding Snow White revolved around the Queen and what she represented in regards to sexuality and the horrors of womanhood. As the living "bad" mother, the queen has already filled the role of someone who is rude, selfish and conniving. However, I believe that there is something to be said about the man involved in this story having a looming effect on the queen's personal...

"Gaining a secure understanding of what the meaning of one's life may or ought to be -- this is what constitutes having attained psychological maturity."  - Bettelheim, Page One      Looking at the psychology and psychoanalysis that is integrated within Fairy Tales is not something I would have originally thought to do, let alone study. But, upon further understanding, I can see how much of what we know and have experienced within our childhoods and into adulthood, has been reflected at one time or another within a fairytale. As Bettelheim said in his article, finding the meaning of life is one of the hardest things anyone can do, and yet we ask children day in and day out to figure it out. Why do we do this? I think a good explanation is to allow the child to be creative, letting them imagine a world where they are successful and fulfilled. However, I think that psychoanalysis has a lot more to say about it.      Psychoanalysis was created to allow ma...

      All of these readings seem to be in agreement that while the fairytale is based on "real people" with the idea to mimic and inspire real life events, the fantastical way in which they are presented is used to distract from the readers real life in the same regard. On page 431 Bloch says, "Courage and cunning are their shield; intelligence, their spear." To me, this is the perfect example of attributes of real life being taken and made into so much more-- something that someone (a reader) can have faith in that is so much greater than themselves.      These writings also seem to lend to the idea that beyond the magical and wonderful stories of fairytales, lye a world of folklore and poetics and much more literary elements than what may be seen at first glance. Propp says on page 600, "Thus, not only is there a close tie between folklore and literature, but folklore is a literary phenomenon. Like literature, it is a verbal art." Propp also brings up th...