masterwordsmith-unplugged

I cannot imagine what my childhood would have been like if I had not grown up with fairy tales. It's funny how one can view fairy tales so differently at different stages of life. I started reading at the age of three and even after more than four decades, I still have all my fairy tale books, in mint condition too because I treasure that part of my growing up years. Not many realize that beneath the beauty and story of each tale, beneath the simplicity and innocence would be messages which should resonate through our deep selves because each author addresses many inherent needs that most of us would have.

When I was teaching Sociology, I used to give my students interesting term papers about children's literature when discussing the topic of gender socialization and even sexism. It was just amazing to see how some young teenagers could give mature critiques of these fairy tales. To be honest, one fairy tale which impacted me greatly was "Thumbelina".

I remember dismantling my dad's radio to see if little people lived in there. When he bought a black and white television in the late 1960's, I did the same to the console and believe me, I was severely punished. Thankfully, I did not lose any of the screws. At least I knew, even at a very young age, that I could not make it as an electrician or an electrical engineer.

"Cinderella" and "The Sleeping Beauty" appeal to our embedded need to be loved and have influenced many young girls to wait for their Prince Charming. If we look at it from a sociological perspective, the whole theme is rather sexist and reinforces the gender stereotype that a woman needs a man to make her complete. While waiting for their Prince Charming, there are allusions to the protagonist's fear of rejection in case her Prince Charming does not sweep her away. Personally, I believe many baby boomers like me grew up with this perspective unlike those who are more emancipated and grew up on a staple diet of Cat Woman or Bionic Woman etc. Isn't it amazing then that even children's literature can influence us so much?

Despite whatever challenging circumstances that are expounded in these fairy tales, the authors never fail to remind us of their love for life and how they view the fragility of human existence. For instance, in "The Sleeping Beauty", all it took was a prick from the spindle to put her to sleep and a kiss from the Prince to wake her from her slumber. Similarly, in "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs", a bite of the poisoned apple was all it needed to knock her out...

I firmly believe that fairy tales have deep symbolic meanings that shed light on the culture that originated the tale. If we look at many fairy tales, a lot of them show us how a parent can be so influential at the beginning of our life when we were young e.g. in "Little Red Riding Hood" or "Beauty and the Beast" or even in"Mulan" where the family faces danger or peril, sometimes in the hand of a parent who is just as wounded such as in "Hansel and Gretel". The actions they take hurt children not only emotionally but also physically. When children read these tales, one might not realize the deep and far reaching effects on them. I remember how sad I was when I read "Hansel and Gretel" - the fear or abandonment was indeed very real.

Basically, such stories by Grimms brothers etc tell the tale of human development - the origin of a family, how they face trouble and the solution that they discover to cope with the problem. In the 19th and early 20th century, these tales were told in more sophisticated and elaborated code where language and syntax is concerned. I have copies of fairy tales which are over 50 years old and they are so beautifully written compared to the watered down version that we have in the bookshops today which are written in clear simple language to cope with the declining standard of English.

I also believe that fairy tales actually address many fears which we may be afraid to admit when we were young and even now as adults. Some of these issues could be inner hurts ("Cinderella"), a struggle between parents n children ("Hansel and Gretel") or even with murky recesses of our past (such as in "Rumpelstiltskin", "The Princess and the Pea" or even ("Thumbelina").

Wikipedia gives a good account of fairy tales:

The oral tradition of the fairy tale came long before the written page. Tales were told or enacted dramatically, rather than written down, and handed down from generation to generation. Because of this, the history of their development is necessarily obscure. The oldest known written fairy tales stem from ancient Egypt, c. 1300 BC (ex. The Tale of Two Brothers), and fairy tales appear, now and again, in written literature throughout literate cultures, as in The Golden Ass, which includes Cupid and Psyche (Roman, 100–200 AD), or the Panchatantra (India 200–300 AD), but it is unknown to what extent these reflect the actual folk tales even of their own time. The stylistic evidence indicates that these, and many later collections, reworked folk tales into literary forms. What they do show is that the fairy tale has ancient roots, older than the Arabian Nights collection of magical tales (compiled circa 1500 AD),such as Vikram and the Vampire, and Bel and the Dragon. Besides such collections and individual tales, in China, Taoist philosophers such as Liezi and Zhuangzi recounted fairy tales in their philosophical works. In the broader definition of the genre, the first Western famous fairy tales are those of Aesop (6th century BC) in ancient Greece.

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In contemporary literature, many authors have used the form of fairy tales for various reasons, such as examining the human condition from the simple framework a fairytale provides.[68] Some authors seek to recreate a sense of the fantastic in a contemporary discourse.[69] Some writers use fairy tale forms for modern issues;[70] this can include using the psychological dramas implicit in the story, as when Robin McKinley retold Donkeyskin as the novel Deerskin, with emphasis on the abusive treatment the father of the tale dealt to his daughter. Sometimes, especially in children's literature, fairy tales are retold with a twist simply for comic effect, such as The Stinky Cheese Man by Jon Scieszka and The ASBO Fairy Tales by Chris Pilbeam. A common comic motif is a world where all the fairy tales take place, and the characters are aware of their role in the story, such as in the film series Shrek.

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There is so much that I have to say in this topic. Suffice to say that I am late in this posting because I was just lost in my memories and thoughts about the effects of fairy tales on both children and adults. For us who are adults, I guess we need to read about hope in a refreshing way to go on life's adventure and to find or to fulfil our destiny. Perhaps for children, it is meant to happen sometime in the future but for us adults, fairy tales remind us that life is meant to happen now.

Have a lovely evening, dear reader! May you remember fondly your favorite fairy tale and rest in those beautiful memories, how they shaped you and made you who you are. And if you have time, think hard and deep about lessons learnt and share your views/experiences in a comment. Thanks!!

P.S. I started this post at 9.30 a.m. and finished it at 8.00p.m.!! My apologies for this late post.