Fairies in Folklore and Literature

1226 Words3 Pages

Fairies in Folklore and Literature

Fairies have been part of literature, art, and culture for more than fifteen hundred years. With them have come many stories about their interaction with adults and children. These stories have been compiled by men such as Charles Perrault and the Brothers Grimm, who provided the world with a large compilation of fairy tales, which are still told today. Perrault and the Grimms together compiled over six hundred legends that originated from all around Europe. These myths and legends often included imaginary being called fairies, sprites, and nymphs.

Fairies are frequently described as tiny human beings. Their clothing, which is usually green, gold, or blue, is thought to have been created from natural elements such as leaves and vines which have been sown together to make their dresses and loin cloths. Many of these magical beings had wings and could change forms and disappear when they had to.

There were both male and female fairies, some good and others evil. Evil female fairies were usually associated with female sexuality and abused their magical powers by doing harm (Rose 107-9).

They also had two, distinct living groups. One was called the "trooping group," a group of fairies that lived together in a community with governmental authority and laws, usually a monarchy. Most of these "trooping groups" were found in Irish and occasionally in English folklore. The other fairies are simply known as "solitary fairies," the ones that do not live within the community and are associated with outside families, places, or activities. This group would include fairy godmothers (Rose 107).

All fairies were said to live in the ground, within a forest. If humans wanted to find the fairie...

... middle of paper ...

... Jane Eyre can been seen in the compilation of Charles Perrault’s work, especially in "Tom Thumb" and "Bluebeard" and "The Fairies." It could also be argued that Charlotte might not have read or heard these stories but was introduced to many of the same themes through gothic novels of the time.

Works Cited

Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. Ed. Beth Newman. New York: St. Martin’s, 1996.

Fraser, Rebecca. The Brontes: Charlotte Bronte and Her Family. New York: Crown, 1988.

Perrault, Charles. Perrault’s Classic French Fairy Tales. Austria: Meredith, 1967.

Rose, Carol. Spirits, Fairies, Gnomes and Goblins: An Encyclopedia of the Little People. Denver: ABC-CLIO, 1996.

Silver, Carole. Strange and Secret Peoples: Fairies and Victorian Consciousness. New York: Oxford UP, 1999.

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