Zohar Shavit Criticism In Fairy Tales

Robin Ganz
Ross Borden
ENG 373- Essay #1
October 16, 2015
Fairy Tales The telling of fairy tales has changed tremendously as they have been around for a great amount of time. As a child, fairy tails are read by someone who is older, that understands the deeper meaning of the tale. The Brothers Grimm tales were not meant to be for children because of the content that they contained. In Zohar Shavit criticism, he made the point that as time went on, fairy tales were transformed into ones that were more appropriate for children that did not contain all of the violence, sex, and dark meanings. They wanted children to look at the world in a different way than how it was intended for adults (Shavit 327). Literary critic, Robert Sale, once

When this tale is looked at from a deeper perspective, it is learned that the mothers wish is to be loved and not have to worry about her child that has come in the way of her and her

It was so dark in the wolf’s belly!” And then the old grandmother found her way out alive, though she could hardly breathe. Little Red Cap quickly fetched some large stones and filled the wolf’s belly with them.” (Grimm 15). The dark stomach of the wolf represents the negative feelings of the mother. As Little Red Cap and her grandmother find their way out into the light, things are beginning to get better in the relationship between the husband and wife. The stones that are put into the stomach of the wolf are symbolic for leaving the past behind. He was unable to get up and keep going which shows that the husband is going to make a change and fulfill the desire his wife has for being loved. By the end of the tale, Little Red Cap says to herself, “Never again will you stray from the path and go into the woods, when your mother has forbidden it.” (Grimm 16). Little Red Cap realizes she should have listened to her mother and followed what she was told. This relates to the mother staying with her husband because he came around eventually to love her and make her