The magic of fairy tales

 

Fairy tales! I’ve always been fascinated by fairy tales, without ever having been able to articulate exactly why. Fairy tales don’t correspond with the standard rules of literature. They have no characters. Rather embarrassingly, they are not politically correct. Disabled people are condemned. Beautiful people are praised. Success in a fairy tale is usually getting married, and usually to a prince or princess, with the implication that you are freed of any financial worries for life. Success doesn’t only come to those who deserve it, although the wicked never seem to prosper. Finally, fairy tales are almost always formulaic: the rule of three seems ubiquitous, with the first two failing but the last trial successful.

So what are we to make of fairy tales? Can they be justified? Yes, of course, because they address things that other types of literature don’t reach. They have a kind of primeval power that is very memorable. If you want a justification of fairy tales, just remember how the third bowl of porridge is just right – in Robert Southey’s words, “and that was neither too hot, nor too cold, but just right”.

 So over the next few posts, I intend to look at some aspects of fairy tales in more detail. I’ll look at some of the major commentators (the Opies, Bettelheim, Zipes) and some of the famous collections (Perrault, Madame d’Aulnay, Grimm, Calvino’s collection of Italian Folktales, which I’m currently reading, the Pentameron of Basile) and finally, some of the original writers (Andersen, Macdonald, Nesbit, Marcel Ayme). One thing is certain: it’s fun reading fairy tales!