Terri Windling
Registered User
(9/25/07 2:16 am)
|
Re: fairytales past and present
If you're going to look at questions of morality, then it's best to have a very good understanding of fairy tale history. The older versions of tales don't particularly concern themselves with morals at all, but with issues of power, survival, and transformation. The morals that many modern readers now think are common to fairy tales were largely added to the form by the likes of Charles Perrault, the Brothers Grimm, Disney, etc. This is a very big subject, and covers the whole of fairy tale history.
You might be better off looking at the evolution of a single tale,
such as Little
Red Riding Hood, Cinderella,
Bluebeard,
etc. There are good books on these tales, for example, listed at
the end of the articles I've linked to. (If you're new to fairy
tale history, I particularly recommend Little
Red Riding Hood Uncloaked by Catherine Orenstein, which is both
informative and entertaining reading. If you're not new to this,
forgive me for the assumption.)
For a truly good look at the history of fairy tales, try From
the Beast to the Blonde: On Fairy Tales and their Tellers by
Marina Warner.
Edited by: Terri Windling at: 9/25/07 2:17 am
|
