In “The Classic Fairy Tales” by Maria Tator and “Mad Shadows” by Marie-Claire Blais, both texts deal with the idea that suffering and understanding are deeply connected. The authors aim to prove that suffering and understanding go hand in hand in order for change to occur. In “The Classic Fairy Tales”, Beauty and the beast, Snow White and Cinderella, will explore the relation between understanding suffering via transformation, desire, and physical injuries, when compared and contrasted with Mad Shadows. Transformation is present in both Mad Shadows and Beauty and the Beast. Transformation and change go hand in hand in order for suffering to be understood. Suffering is understood throughout Beauty and the Beast when an evil fairy transforms the handsome prince into a hideous beast, in order to teach him a valuable lesson. The prince, “. . . remained in [the form of a beast]. . .” (41), which reflected his ugly behaviour, to teach him that there is more to life than just appearance. Therefore, he was ultimately punished for his temper and shallow behaviour. It was only when Beauty acknowledged that, “it is neither good looks nor great wit that makes a woman happy with her husband, but character, virtue, and kindness. . . .” (40). Beauty realized the importance of virtue and the transformative power of love, which freed the prince from his curse, and in the end he acknowledged the value of essence over appearance. Suffering is understood in Mad Shadows when Louise, a selfish mother, who is mesmerized by her beauty, develops a deadly disease, “Cancer! Cancer of the cheek!” (93). It is only then that she begins to accept that her pride, her beauty, is fading as the cancerous puss on her face, portrays the vile, self-centered and ... ... middle of paper ... ...ates from Cinderella, because of the mental and physical suffering Louise experiences after she looses everything she finds beautiful in her life. She suffers from the cancer which has taken over her body, and in the end she begs god for mercy. However, Louise accepts that she “[has] nothing left but her bones to lose in the fire” (127) and dies. Mad Shadows presents a dark, malice and wicked tone throughout the end of the book, where physical deformities showcase the internal and external lust for beauty and money. In Brothers Grimm version of Cinderella, the concept, an eye for an eye, teaches the two sisters, a lesson on their wicked and malice nature. The sisters loose both of their eyes, which blinds them for life. Blindness acts as a physical reminder that their false ways and wicked behaviour for destruction, power and money is the cause of their suffering.
...n” is a great example of an old myth or tale reconstructed and adapted for a modern audience in a new medium. It is a progression on one hand in its use of modern language, setting, and style but it is also the product of the old myths in that it is essentially the same on the thematic level. In addition, the level of self-awareness on the part of the narrator and, by extension, the author marks it out as an illustration of the very notion of evolutionary changes of myths and fairy tales. Adaptation is the solution to the fairy tale, and fairy tales have been endlessly changing themselves throughout history and, by some strange transforming or enchanting power endlessly staying the same.”
Parents play an important role in a child’s life so it is only natural that these roles are portrayed in fairytales meant for children. This is evident in the tale Donkeyskin by Charles Perrault and Cinderella by the Grim Brothers. The differing roles of the fathers in these tales, along with the similar roles of mothers, establish two different beliefs to impart on a child. Donkeyskin reminds a child that his/her parents love is undying and wants what is best for them; while Cinderella stresses the importance of becoming independent. Both of these beliefs recognize and address a child’s simple desires and fears.
Cinderella is illustrated as a beautiful and dazzling young woman. She is tall, delicate and gently shaped with a soothing face. She has fair skin, pink lips, and shimmering blue eyes. Her hair is light parched orange, shoulder-length with cushioned bangs. She is a strong-minded and independent young woman who is truly graceful and charming in the view that she doesn’t let her anger and sorrow get the better of her. She is kind to all and is in no way is sculpted as naive or childish. She is prohibitively mature, perpetual and has shown that she can overcome her obstacles. The customary aspect of kindness and beauty is exemplified in Charles Perrault, as “Yet, through it all, Cinderella remained ever gentle and kind, for with each dawn she found new hope that someday, her dreams of happiness would come true.”
Have you ever had your only friend sabotage you and steal everything that you are? Have you ever watched your dad take his death spill from his horse knowing you can’t save him? Perhaps your first companion, friend, and makeshift mother suddenly disappear from your world and a few days after you learn she is dead? Maybe you were born to be queen, but instead, you’re shipped to another land, betrothed to a prince you don’t even know. I hope not. But Crown Princess Anidori-Kiladra Talianna Isilee aka Ani has, and there are plenty of rough waves in front of her. If you have ever read the Grimm Fairy Tales the story it may seem familiar, and it should be. The whole entire book was based on the tale. But even so, the tale still leaves some unanswered
Over centuries of children have been enjoying the classic fairy tales of the Grimm Brothers and Charles Perrault. The fanciful plots and the vivid details allow children to be entranced by characters and adventures that can only be found in these stories. One of the most beloved fairy tales, which both the Perrault and the Grimms have their own separate versions of, is Cinderella. Cinderella is able to show how both versions are able to feed off the same plots while personifying the century and social economic situation in which they have lived.
Most children experience agony and hope as they face the struggles of sibling rivalry throughout their childhood. This situation has been experienced by children, of whom may or may not have siblings, for hundreds of years. Several stories represent this crisis, including the Biblical story of Abel and Cain which was written over 3000 years ago. Abel of whom was forced to be Cain’s ash-brother. Cain had developed an intense feeling of jealousy of Abel when his offering to the Lord was rejected while Abel’s was accepted. This caused him great agony, but he wasn’t the only one. The fairytale “Cinderella” encompasses the ideas of sibling rivalry as well as the agonies and hopes that correspond with it.
The fairy tales that we have become so familiar with are embedded with love, imagination and enchantment. In truth, these are just common archetypes; originally fairy tales had a much darker backdrop. They were once symbols of sexualisation and brutality as not everything ended happily ever after. Deriving from promiscuous and overlooked on goings from the 19th century (such as molestation), these ideas were later suppressed when they became children’s tales. John Updike described traditional fairy tales as ‘The pornography of their day’, hence they contained elements of wish-fulfilment and gratification such as rape, pleasure and attainment. This is true to a certain extent but they also consisted of violence, mutiny and injustice. An exploration
Hopkinson uses the narrator to spread the same moral as Perrault did three hundreds year ago, girls, especially younger inexperienced girls need to be careful when they encounter nice and charming men, because it could end in completely unwanted situation. This is the reason why the grandmother intervenes, she tries to complete her granddaughter's education by telling her her own story in which she can find advices that will save her to bear the same experience as her grandmother. Indeed, fairy tale has an educational mission in addition of pure entertainment. Hopkinson provides a moral to reader through a modern and different tale, more adapted to nowadays reader but without weakening its quintessence.
Bettelheim, Bruno. The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales. New York: Vintage, 2010. Print.
Bettelheim, Bruno. “Fantasy, Recovery, Escape, and Consolation. “The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales. New York: Vintage Books, 1976.
Thinking back to our childhood, we all remember hearing many kinds of fairy tales. Some of them inspired us others confused us, and most of them taught us valuable lessons. Through out centuries tales and stories have been used as a valuable tool to pass on our culture to new generations. There is a strong belief that these fairy tales mirror and influence society. All cultures interpret tales in their own unique way. They add and subtract various aspects of the tale to fit the needs of their particular society. The same tale in the United States is different from the tale told in Asia. A good example of tale evolution can be seen in one of the most famous tales ever told which is “Cinderella”. As a professor of women’s history Karol Kelley points out in her essay Pretty Woman: A Modern Cinderella “There are some 700 versions of Cinderella”.This fairy tale as many others has been changing for many years, and in recent years Cinderella has come under some criticism for its depiction of women’s roles in society.
Fairytales, the short stories that most children heard as they went to bed, are actually folktales from previous decades. The fairytales today are primarily adaptations of older versions recreated by Disney— the pioneers of this generation. With that said, the modern versions consistently display good triumphing over evil, a prince charming that constantly came to the rescue, and a happily ever after ending. However, the original folktale version didn’t always come with fortunate events, but often were more violent and gruesome. With the fairytale Cinderella, Disney maintains a similar theme as its Grimm version; however, the conflicts, events, and characters that support this idea are rather different.
While reading and watching films of different cultural Fairy Tales, you notice like an every Cinderella Tale there is a girl who is tired of living a life where they just want to be better. Also from all the different versions of Cinderella stories, all of them are surrounded by jealousy, hate, and negative vibes. However, there are cultural difference that is expressed in each of the different versions of these Fairy Tales. In my paper I am going to express these differences, the two versions that I’ll be talking about is “Aschenputtel” which is the Germany version, and a modern version “Maid in Manhattan”. My goal in this essay is to compare the historical context between the two, and also the cultural differences
Neil Gaiman’s “Snow, Glass, Apples” is far from the modern day fairy tale. It is a dark and twisted version of the classic tale, Snow White. His retelling is intriguing and unexpected, coming from the point of view of the stepmother rather than Snow White. By doing this, Gaiman changes the entire meaning of the story by switching perspectives and motivations of the characters. This sinister tale has more purpose than to frighten its readers, but to convey a deeper, hidden message. His message in “Snow, Glass, Apples” is that villains may not always be villains, but rather victims.
This article, is arguing about the cultural history on how the poor and the lower class would tell stories. These stories still affect our society today. This article states that fairy tales at first were meant for adults because children could not read. An example is Brothers Grimm, where “Weber argues that fairy tales can tell us a great deal about the real conditions in the world of those who told and those who heard the tales” (344). It also explains how the Grimm’s brother changed society with their stories of cruelty.