Adam Delacroix Myths

Most modern fairytales are expected to have happy endings and be appropriate for children, nonetheless, in past centuries most were gruesome. Consequently, fairytales have been modified throughout time. The stories “Beauty and the Beast” by Jeanne-Marie LePrince de Beaumont and “The Summer and Winter Garden” by Jacob and Wilherm Grimm share similarities and differences. The two stories are distinct because of the peculiar year they have been written in. LePrince de Beaumont’s story is written in London of 1783 and Grimm’s in Germany of 1812. At the time, wealthy people in London, were educated and had nannies who would read to their children; whereas, in Germany, the Grimm brothers created their own interpretation into a short story.

Fairy tales have existed for years, some starting as oral stories for decades before ever being recorded on paper. These tales continue to hold an importance in the present such that they reflect the changes in time and progression of thought and ideas. Over time, many fairy tales are retold for various reasons including reforming them to be used for new audiences to make the story more relatable or to convey a different point of view to various specific audiences. This can be seen in various renditions; Andrew Anderson’s Shrek can be compared to Steig’s “Shrek!” and Perrault’s “Sleeping Beauty in the Wood” and evaluated as a retelling of either based on specific criteria. Although some may argue that William Steig’s “Shrek!” appears more closely similar to Anderson’s Shrek, as evaluated from the presence of similar characters, general plot structure, and targeted audience, the movie Shrek is more closely a retelling of Charles Perrault’s “Sleeping Beauty in the Wood.”

Once upon a time, there was a literary genre commonly know as fairy tales. They were mystical and wonderful and a child’s fantasy. These fairy tales were drastically misunderstood throughout many centuries, however. They endured a hard life of constant changing and editing to fit what the people of that time wanted. People of our own time are responsible for some of the radical changes endured by this undeserved genre. Now, these fairy tales had a young friend named Belle. Belle thought she knew fairy tales very well, but one day she found out just how wrong she was.

Fairy tales today are commonly viewed as fantastical stories - often with magical characters or elements - aimed to entertain children. Moreover, they frequently contain lessons or principles to be instilled in youths, promoting the morality of future generations. The values associated with a certain fairy tale can be identified quite easily these days, especially with the more prominent and well-known stories. For instance, the modern version of Beauty and the Beast schools readers to look past the exterior of others, for true beauty is measured by one's character. However, contemporary fairy tales have often been subject to censorship and revision from their origins in order to facilitate their

Cinderella has changed so little over time that it seems we’re still in the 1700’s reading Charles Perrault’s first edition. And yet it remains one of the most popular fairy tales read to

The Tough Princess by Waddell is a children’s book that can be considered part of the fairy tale genre, shown through its inclusion of stereotypical conventions. It can also be classified as a fractured fairy tale – which is a tale that has been retold or created in order to give a different view on the original plot. The original review of the book by Child Education, suggests that the book “breaks all the conventions of the traditional fairy tale and is all the more fun for that”. Within this essay, I will be discussing to which degree this is accurate, in terms of subverting all of the conventions and whether the reasoning behind he subversion is simply for comedic effect, or not.

I chose to research fairytales, specifically fairytales by the Grimm brothers. Fairytales are short stories that tend to consist of fantasy people, places, and objects. Many of these consist of fairies or magical creatures. Most fairy tales start off with “Once upon a time”, or “In a faraway land”. Many times in fairytales objects are enchanted and can talk or move. The most common characters in a fairy tale are prince and princess. A lot of fairy tales are retold throughout generations. As a child I was told fairy tales as bedtime stories. I grew to love Disney movies which are popular for remaking fairytales such as Sleeping Beauty and Snow White. To this day I still enjoy remade fairy tales such as “Rapunzel” which was

When you see or hear the word “Cinderella,” you probably think of the classic fairy tale you watched as a child. It may have even been your favorite Disney princess story or movie. Even if you did not, you probably heard about the story or get a sense of what it is about. The classic story seems to be popular for little ones, and it also makes them feel happy and want to become a fairy tale princess themselves. Walt Disney excluded the use of gore and violence in his version of “Cinderella”, but Anne Sexton did not. She brought back the gore and violence just like the original Brothers Grimm version of “Cinderella.” Anne Sexton’s poetic version gives and eye-opener twist to the classic fairy tale. The reasons she brought back this version of the story may relate to her life. Throughout Anne Sexton’s life, she faced many traumatic events and became very depressed

Many people believe that all versions of a fairytale are all the same, unfortunately they are wrong and these stories have vast differences just like in Pinocchio film from Disney where Jiminy Cricket and Pinocchio are friends but, in an Italian version Pinocchio kills Jiminy Cricket with a hammer. Another example of this is the story Cinderella. Cinderella is an iconic fairytale known very well around the world. The three adaptations that will be specifically looked at are the Little Golden Book Cinderella, the Grimm Brothers “Cinderella”, and the 2015 Disney version of Cinderella. The three adaptations of Cinderella may have many coinciding ideas but they also come alive through their variations, which include; the theme which drives the plot, the circle archetype, and the perception of the villainous Stepmother.

Many fairy tales balance realistic texts with magical narration to push a strong message that the author would like to address. Angela Carter reverses the conventional idea that associates women as victims of predatory attacks. Much like how Cristina Bacchilega puts it “the women who people these stories as both victims and victimizers as well as reviewing the male figures who threaten them in various beastly form”. (Bacchilega, 182). In this dark and dirty version of “Little Red Riding Hood”, the grandma is eaten and placed under the bed, while Little Red gives into the sexual situation set by the wolf in order to safely escape the danger.

The French fairy tale, “Beauty and the Beast”, was published in 1740, and written by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve. The original novel was released to be around 340 pages long, however it was edited by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont. The considerably popular, edited version is the tale that is utilized ultimately to this day, because of the lesser use of provocative language, compared to that of the original version. The original story is about a king and good fairy who have several children, including Beauty. An evil fairy turns a prince into a gruesome beast, because he would not yearn for her. The fairy desires to kill Beauty, so she can marry her father, and situates her in place of the merchant’s dead daughter. The merchant has to grant Beauty to the Beast, because of a debt the merchant owes to him. Beauty has dreams of a prince, and later finds out that Beast is in fact the prince. The edited version deploys Beauty as the authentic daughter of the merchant, and follows the rest of the plot, with the dreams of the prince, and the discovery of the beast. The unedited tale shows a very large amount of scenes that would seem ‘inappropriate’ for children nowadays, therefore the edited version being the most told.

Fairy tales have been embedded into our culture and date back before recorded times, they provide a source of entertainment and imagination for children. Despite today’s fairy tales having positive moral intentions they have been adapted from earlier versions which often can be very different and much more sinister. The fairy tale “Sun, Moon, and Talia” by Giambattista Basile formed the basis for the more commonly known Disney interpretation called the “Sleeping Beauty” however they are vastly different, Basile’s original is a very dark and twisted story compared to the Disney version.

Fairy tales are something that everyone has read or seen, they all seem to have important lessons at the end of each one to teach young children some of the lessons they need for life. These fairy tales when we were younger all seemed innocent and something we all hoped that would happen to us. Little did we know as we got older that the fairy tales we all knew and loved when we were younger, weren't as innocent as they seemed.

Postmodern fairytales seek to understand the ‘fairytale’, not as children's literature but within the broader context of folklore and literary studies. Cristina Bacchilega in her seminal work “Postmodern Fairy Tales” that focuses on the narrative strategies through which women are portrayed in four classic stories: "Snow

So, we all know of the fictional fairy tale of Cinderella, but what if we changed the facts around in a new order, changing the different characters rolls in the story and their apparel. Most look at this story as a love story, but what if we changed the story to a new conspiracy of fiction. How will these changes affect the outcome of this fairy tale? Well let’s find out.