Origins Fairy Tales and Folk Tales

Origins: Fairy Tales and Folk Tales. Jack Zipes This essay focuses on the history of the fairy tale for children in the West because it's hard to summarize its history in the world. Many interesting similarities or common features between the fairy tale in the West and in other parts of the world. These similarities are particularly shown during the period of globalization. Beginnings Like other literary genres of children's literature, the fairy tale was never told or written explicitly for children. About 100 years ago, the fairy tale was featured as a distinct genre when storytellers introduced different kinds of magical folk tales, transforming and conventionalizing them (giving them traditional features). In the modern world, oral tales were changed to fit the moral, educational and aesthetical norms of the society. The fairy tale is appropriated (or adopted) from the oral storytelling tradition called wonder folk tale or magic tale (stories about miraculous changes happening to poor protagonists, allowing them to gain advantages and succeed in life). In North America and Europe, many tales told stories about the adventures of banished heroes and heroines, youngest sons and daughters, poor, abused and cursed characters. Introduction of the printing in the 15th century made revolutionary changes in the way tales were passed on. As more wonder tales were written in the 15th, 16th and 17th century, the fairy tale started to develop as a distinct genre and therefore started forming its own conventions, motifs, themes, characters and plots. As a result, the oral tradition changed and started addressing the literate aristocrats and middle classes. Workers were excluded from the formation this literary tradition, although it was their material, tone, style and beliefs that were taken into the new genre in 15th, 16th and 17th century. Although storytelling was cultivated by workers, wonder tales were told in Europe by all social classes for different purposes like wish fulfilment, improvement of social status, compensation for misery, preservation and celebration of rituals within a community, and celebration of power. Some of them were warning stories, others were educational and moral, embodied motifs from Greek and Roman myths and Judeo-Christian sacred writings. Wonder tales were secular, had pagan beliefs and irrationalities. They were told in fields, at hearth (or fireplace) and spinning rooms by workers. It was common people's way of entertainment. It was also common in courts and in the middle-class societies. Worker women and men conveyed these tales to upper classes when they worked as wet nurses, maids, servants and day workers. These tales were seen as common and irrelevant, suited for children and workers than for polite society. Nevertheless, priests adapted them into sermons in vernacular to give examples or illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson. Priests Christianized some folk tales and created new ones which were later taken by farmers who retold it without Christian elements. Also, travelers like merchants, journeymen, soldiers and sailors told tales in fields, bars, inns and hostels during voyages and campaigns. These tales were told to surprise, delight and impress listeners. Also, taken over by workers and became part of their collection of plays, dances, or songs that they perform or tell. There's still no evidence that there were tales made especially for children. Some tales were called warning tales, dealing with dangerous animals, they were directed at children but never seen a children's tales. Children were part of the audience of these tales, no matter how frank, indecent or sexual they were. Oral tradition was in hands of workers for 100s of years, and each group put their mark on those tales. The oral tradition of wonder tale continued during the late Middle Ages. As communities changed, the social function of tales also changed. The growth of towns, religious conflicts and workers' uprisings had an effect on the topics of tales and how they were used. The most important change was the rise of the fairy tale. The influence of the oral tradition was clear in "Boccaccio's Decameron" in the 14th century. Later, wonder tales were changed and reproduced to entertain courtly and educated middle-class readers. Authors had to change the motifs and themes of these stories in order for it to suit the upper-middle-class interests. Stories, performances, and entertainments were mainly dominated by its social function, they also commented on love, marriage and power in the society. The 17th century: Authors of fairy tales in Italy didn't create a new form of writing. By the mid-17th century, literary salons were established by aristocratic women. They created games that used folk motifs and narrative conventions. They showed wit (intelligent humour) and eloquence (high speaking and writing skills) by creating wondrous tales. They were the first to invent the term 'Conte de fees' or fairy tale. By the end of the 17th century, many authors included fairy tales into their novels and then published entire collections of fairy tales. Fairy tales appeared in France from 1696 to 1704. The most famous writer of this era is Charles Perrault. He published his collection "Stories or Tales of Past Times" in that time. Aristocratic and bourgeois (middle-class) women and men performed their tales in salons. They also published them to show their unique personalities, eloquence and wit. These tales were meant to entertain listeners and establish rules related to manners or ethics. Oral tales, that they heard from their workers, were radically changed in content and style. All these tales were written explicitly for adults and not for children. These adult fairy tales influenced tales developed for children. For example, tales of Perrault and others printed in series of chapbooks and were spread by peddlers in France, central Europe and England to the middle and lower classes. Tales were translated and shortened, the language changed and was simplified, with many versions for children. 18th and 19th century: In 1729, Perrault's tales and others from French authors were translated into English and circulated as chapbooks in England. Despite the hostility of the Puritans in England, some fairy tales were slowly added in children's books. These tales were for teaching morals, manners, ethics and gender roles. Among the most famous fairy tales were "Beauty and the Beast'' and "The pretty Dwarf", these and many others were published separately. This indicates that adults from educated classes in Britain were familiar with classical French fairy tales. While English folktales were still circulated among lower and upper classes in oral tradition. Chapbooks included fairy tales, legends, fables and other popular literature. By end of the 18th century, children were exposed to the fairy tale as a genre. Many generations of aristocratic and bourgeois children were introduced to the literary fairy tale in Britain. The German Romantic movement and writers like Hoffman and other caused a major shift in the function of the fairy tale for adults throughout Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. However, the fairy tale for children remained traditional and was rejected by many educators and churchmen because it didn't contain enough explicit morals until the 1820s. But this didn't stop fairy tales from being published and circulated along with illustrated chapbooks. Many collections of fairy tales were published for children in England like Cinderella and Little Red Riding Hood. These collections increased throughout Europe and were read by children and adults. Although they were not seen as the best reading material for children or considered healthy for the development of children's minds. The majority of stories for children were emotional, moralistic and educational displaying ethics and morals. Even the Brothers Grimm adjusted and changed their brutal, sexual or indecent stories and added Christian views to them. But fantastic and wondrous elements were kept, so they were not fully accepted by the bourgeois reading people. During the 1820s, there was a change in attitude toward the fairy tale for children indicated in England by the publication of a translation of the Grimms' tales under the title "German Popular Stories". Educators and parents, through their own reading experiences, realized that fantasy literature and entertainment won't destroy children's minds. It was actually the opposite, children needed the entertainment to relax and recharge. Children from middle classes attending schools and lower classes working in farms or factories needed relaxation period, time and space to recharge their energy and strength in something other than education. During the rise of the middle classes, the 19th century, fairy tales came into its own for children. From 1835, Hans Andersen's tales became popular in Europe and America. All his tales were translated and published in England and America. He combined humour, Christian views and fantastic plots to create tales that entertain and educate young and old readers. Old tales and new tales: from conventional tellings to radical retellings: Until the mid-19th century, the majority of fairy tale writers for children in England, Italy, France and Germany included educational lessons based on the Protestant views and ethics. This ethic highlighted values of hard-working, honesty, cleanliness, virtuousness and male supremacy. Fairy tales had an important role in the socialization process. There was a major movement to write parodies of fairy tales for children, to radically change them, to question the traditional values and to suggest alternatives to the endings that contradict the notion of wonder and transformation that occurred in wonder folk tales (just like what happened when the conventional fairy tales for adults were destabilized at the end of the 18th century). Writers like, Lewis Carroll, Charles Dickens and others tried something new with the fairy tale, they wrote things that made young readers question the world around them. British writers had a great impact on Americans, who developed their fairy tale tradition to suit their culture by the middle and end of the 19th century. Writers like Alcott added fairy tales to magazines or published their own collection of tales. European fairy tales served as models for American writers. However, there was a movement to Americanize them as a part of a bigger process to establish an authentic American literature. "The Wizard of Oz" is the most notable American fairy tale, written at end of the 19th century, based on the structure of the European fairy tale. The 14 Oz books are a political and cultural review, it also had a great effect on the development of fairy tale as a genre. From the beginning of the 20th century to the 1940s, the dominant trend was the process of republication of fairy tales by Perrault, Grimms and Andersen and individual picture books, cartoons and comic books. Unexpectedly, there were very few fairy tale writers who wrote political stories about Depression and WW II during the 1930s and 1940s. An exception was Tolkien's "The Hobbit", which was written with the WWI in mind and a warning from a second world war. During the first part of the 20th century, it was difficult to draw boundaries between fairy tales for children and adults. Yet, one thing we can be sure of, adults always read, censored, approved and distributed fairy tales for children, they were in control. On the other hand, as more children became functionally and culturally literate, they were exposed to the adult reading material. A major shift in the 20th century was training children to recognize, appreciate and learn from fairy tales as part of their schooling. As result, the social function of the fairy tale for children went through two major changes: pedagogical and political. Pedagogy and psychology: At end of the 19th century, fairy tales were introduced into schools and published in textbooks in Britain and US. This pedagogical trend continued and was reinforced in the 20th century. The children were encouraged to act out and create fairy tales plays at schools and to read books of fairy tales in schools' libraries. Fairy tales became an essential part of education throughout the West leading to the establishment of a canon of classic fairy tales for children like "Cinderella" and "Beauty and the Beast". As a result, it has been established that the proper age group to introduce fairy tales to children is 5-10, a spiritual and psychological value of tales were considered. Still, many parents and educators had distrust of fairy tale. They believed that fairy tales have powerful effects that entitle them to eliminate any violence in it. In the US, in the mid-20th century, authors tended to clean up the classic fairy tales for children to avoid weird ideas like the British imperialism and the fact that all heroes and heroines in those tales were white. Religious groups refused the presence of witches and magic in fairy tales. Bruno Bettelheim's "The Uses of Enchantment" allowed educators, psychologists, social workers, parents and critics to explore benefits of fairy tales. Fairy tales are also widely used in therapy. In the 20th century, Walt Disney's Disney Corp achieved a commercial success in the field of fairy tales. Although the Disney adaptations are usually criticized as being sexist, racist and imperialist. Politics and parodies: Working well outside the influence of the new canon of Disney adaptations in the result of WW II, gifted writers experimented with the politicization of fairy tales. Joan Aiken's works challenge the conventional notions of fairy tales. She parodied and mocked the genre by creating new possibilities for how the stories develop. Ted Hughes combined elements of fairy tale and science fiction to comment on environmental problems. The most important development in the 21st century was the evolution of feminist fairy tales for children and adults. Many writers and illustrators replaced familiar motifs and characters and changed plot lines to motivate readers to rethink the traditional views of gender and power. There was also a revival of ethnic and multicultural tales. Many writers preserved native traditions and corrected misconceptions about ethnic identity and history. Experimentation with fairy tale was done from a sociopolitical and psychological perspective. Modern-day revisions of classical fairy tales are serious discussions about contemporary traditions and values. An ever-growing reach: The huge production of fairy tale films for the theatre and TV and the growth of multimedia versions of fairy tales for the Internet didn't reduce the effect of the fairy tale as an oral and literary genre. Fairy tales have become part of the school's programmes of studying. Therapists, social workers and psychotherapists rely on fairy tales to analyse psychic problems of both children and adults. The fairy tale has become institutionalized in the Western society and part of the public sphere, with its own specific system and form through which we communicate about social and psychic phenomena. Children are initiated and expected to learn fairy tale system with its keywords, icons and metaphors, but it's not a fixed system. It serves a social function.