Download THE FAIRY TALE

THE FAIRY TALE
THE MAGIC MIRROR OF THE
IMAGINATION
Steven Swann Jones
MAJOR FORMS
• Indigenous oral versions
• Collected and variously edited versions in
print
• Literary/Single-author fairy tales
ORIGINS
• In oral tradition - the credit for the
invention of most classic fairy tales goes to
folk tradition, to the heritage of storytellers
who borrowed, altered and retold tales.
• Oral transmission (the ability of people to
creat and retell stories without the aid of
books) encourages variation – the
inspiration of storytellers and the
contribution of audience members
Snow White, Sleeping Beauty,
Cinderella
•
•
•
•
•
•
Initially the product of folklore:
No exact and established versions
No identifiable authors
No fixed titles
Multiple versions, adapted by different narrators
Yet – strict adherence to some basic structures
(the sequence of basic episodes, the plot outline
as the defining feature of specific tales)
FOLK NARRATIVES
• MYTHS – etiological narratives that use divine,
immortal figures to explain the operation and
purpose of the cosmos
• LEGENDS – quasi-historical narratives that use
exceptional and extraordinary protagonists and
depict remarkable phenomena to illustrate
cultural ideas, values......
• FOLKTALES – entertaining narratives that use
common, ordinary people as protagonists to
reveal the desires and foibles of human nature
FOLKTALES
•
•
•
•
FABLES – didactic or moralistic tales
JOKES(JESTS) – humorous tales
NOVELLAS – romantic tales
FAIRY TALES (WONDER TALES) –
magical tales
THE ESSENTIAL QUALITIES OF
THE FAIRY TALE
• The incorporation of fantasy
• The confronting and resolving of a problem,
frequently by undertaking of a quest
• The happy ending
• The audience is encouraged to identify with the
central protagonist, who is presented in an
unambiguous way
• The depiction of themes of basic interest to agedifferentiated audiences about typical concerns
of their lives
THE USE OF FANTASY – the most
salient formal or stylistic feature
• The fantastic perspective is a product of
the unconscious, intuitive, and imaginative
aspects of the mind
• Fairy tales essentialize things and depict
them in vivid ways, and affirm a spiritual
perspective on the world
• Magical agents come to the rescue or
assistance of the protagonist – the
affirmation of the cosmic morality
AN ADVENTUROUS QUEST
The objective of the fairy tale quest is
personal happiness, measured by
domestic satisfaction and tranquility.
The focus of fairy tales is apparently on
journeys of self-discovery, recognition and
confrontation of internal anxieties and
desires
THE HAPPY ENDING – the
successful solving of a dilemma
• It affirms the moral propriety of the
universe
• The evil adversaries are consistently
punished either as a result of social justice
or of cosmic justice
AN UNPRETENTIOUS
PROTAGONIST
• A good, and deserving , modest and
somewhat ordinary person (who turns out
to be a princess or a prince, or at least
worthy of marrying one) is unfairly afflicted
by a problem.
• The fairy tale functions to instruct the
young about who they are, how they relate
to others, and what they should know of
the world.
THEMES
• Fairy tales address basic problems that
confront people –
• the psychology of the individual,
• the sociology of the community,
• the cosmology of the universe.
PSYCHOLOGICAL THEMES
• They depict the feelings or attitudes of the
protagonists towards parents, siblings and
prospective mates
• Feelings of rejection (separation, anxiety)
• Feelings of oppression (authoritarian or
tyrannical anxieties)
• Feelings of jealousy (oedipal or sibling
rivalry)
SOCIOLOGICAL THEMES
• Fairy tales depict and inculcate social values
(promote marriage, patriarchal family structure
as dominant cultural institutions).
• They depict roles and behaviour patterns
considered socially appropriate for each gender
and age group.
• They encourage industry and moral virtue as
routes to securing material and financial
success.
THE UNIVERSE
• Fairy tales offer guidance about the
spiritual properties of the universe
• They indicate the presence of supernatural
properties of the universe
A HEURISTIC FUNCTION
• Fairy tales help us to recognize and cope
with typical problems and anxieties that we
encounter in life.
• Young people are in the process of
defining themselves, establishing their
place in society.
• They learn and assimilate cultural norms,
determine their spiritual outlook.
TALES FOR YOUNG CHILDREN
• Young protagonists
• About family life, social and domestic
skills, being accepted as a competent
member of the family (successful return to
the parental home)
• HANSEL AND GRETEL
TALES FOR DEVELOPING
ADOLESCENTS
• About leaving home, difficulties of
acquiring a mate, finding a mate,
overcoming obstacles of marriage,
establishing a new domicile.
• THE CAT AS HELPER
TALES FOR RELATIVELY
MATURE ADULTS
• About reconciling themselves to the
changes and difficulties of daily life,
emotional travails of living with a mate,
fidelity, communication, adjusting to the
birth of children.
• THE THREE GOLDEN SONS