About Fairy Tales

The term "fairy tale" has come to mean almost any children's story with fantastic or far-fetched circumstances. In truth, fairy tales are much more closely connected to ancient legends and folklore, and as such contain meanings and messages that transcend mere childhood morality plays. They resonate deeply within our culture both because we are exposed to them at an early age (then pass them on to our children when we grow up) and because the philosophies they express speak to deep and fundamental parts of the human experience.

History

The term "fairy tale," or contes de fée, was first coined by Madame d'Aulnoy, a 17th century French writer who penned several collections of the stories. Before her, fairy tales consisted mainly of a loose collection of oral folklore, morality fables and written works from writers such as Charles Perrault. There was rarely any effort to differentiate fairy tales from other kinds of stories: to many Europeans in the Dark Ages, goblins, demons and forest-bound monsters were as real as sheep or cattle. Because these stories were often passed on orally, there was a great deal of cross-pollination, as individual storytellers would mix characters, plotlines and devices such as fairy godmothers in an effort to make their tales more interesting. From this, a series of common motifs sprang up, which could be easily recognized no matter what the particulars of the story were.

The Brothers Grimm

Fairy tales found their greatest practitioners in German siblings Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm, who published numerous collections of fairy tales in the early 19th Century. Their most definitive collection was Kinder-und Hausmärchen (Children's and Household Stories), published in two volumes in 1812 and 1814, that today are collectively known as Grimm's Fairy Tales. They contain 156 stories that constitute the majority of "classic" Western European fairy tales, including Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Hansel and Gretel, Sleeping Beauty and Rumpelstiltskin. The works became a huge success and their widespread popularity came to cement the genre in the popular mindset.

Features

Fairy tales vary widely in their specifics, but their themes and archetypes remain constant. They often involved archetypical figures such as orphaned children, wicked witches, imperiled princess and talking animals. Magic often plays a part, especially transformations in which characters are turned into animals or plants and magical "helpers" who provided the hero or heroine with gifts to aid them on the journey. Fairy tales often carry a strong moral message--never talk to strangers, for example, or don't go walking alone in the woods--which may be why they were considered primarily for children. But they also contain strong themes of self reliance, as young characters in danger learn to fend for themselves and overcome the monstrous figures threatening to devour them. Joseph Campbell's book "The Hero's Journey," which presents myths and folktales as a template for the passage through life, has broad applications in interpreting fairy tales.

Considerations

Despite their reputation as children's stories, most fairy tales contained decidedly adult themes. Many times, the journey described is a metaphor for sexual awakening, consummated by a transition to adulthood, romantic coupling and marriage (the famous "they lived happily ever after" ending). Violence too, could often be quite explicit in fairy tales, detailing imaginative forms of torture and even cannibalism (think of the witch in Hansel and Gretel). Though often downplayed in many children's versions of the stories, such tools were used both to reinforce the psychological undercurrents of the tales and to impress the importance of their lessons on the young. Some modern takes on the subject--movies like "The Company of Wolves" and "Pan's Labyrinth," for example--explore the adult underpinnings of fairy tales more directly, and even the family-friendly Walt Disney versions contain images of darkness and horror in their iconic fairy tale villains.

Expert Insight

Despite the Western European origins of many fairy tales, a number of other cultures possess stories that match closely the term as well. Russian culture contain tales of Baba Yaga and similar figures, while Scandinavian countries draw from epic Norse mythology. The Greeks had their own cultural myths stretching back thousands of years, to say nothing of Aesop's fables which resembled later fairy stories in many ways. Asian cultures, Native American cultures and African cultures all have their own version of such tales too--even though "fairies" as we commonly understand them do not appear in their stories. It's worth noting, however, that one of the most famous "Asian" fairy tales ever written--The Emperor and the Nightingale--actually came from European author Hans Christian Andersen.