Fairy Tale Fairy Tales

Long before fairy tales were recorded on paper, they were passed on through word of mouth from person to person. The term “fairy tale” is an English translation of “conte de fees” in which Madame D'Aulnoy referred to at the start of her tradition. Though fairy tales were originated in France in 1697, they are now widespread throughout the world. Fairy tales of course are not realistic; the dead come alive, animals talk, rugs fly, and so on. Children and occasionally adults look up to fairy tales not only for entertainment purposes but also because they have countless moral lessons, and teachings behind them. Although majority of the fairy tales out there aim to convey a certain moral lesson, there are several that fail their purpose. Jeanne-Marie Le Prince de Beaumont makes her moral very clear in the story Beauty and the Beast; “Don’t judge a book by its cover”. On the other hand, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm fail to teach the moral, “Don’t talk to strangers” in the story Little Snow-White.
The purpose of a fairy tale is to get the audience or viewers thinking about what they just saw or read. Most fairy tales have more than one moral lesson entwined together, however, the specific one that sticks out in Beauty and the Beast is the idea of “don’t judge a book by its cover”. Today, we live in a very superficial society. In other words, most people these days are only concerned about what lies on the surface of people, things and ideas rather than what is truly beneath the exterior appearance. Taking this concept on a literal standpoint, one cannot tell the contents, ideas, or material of a book just by simply holding it, looking at the surface and placing it back down. In fact, during the 19th century, Robert Browning, in his poem ...

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...is clear that every fairy tale has its own unique moral behind it. Jeanne-Marie Le Prince de Beaumont does a very exceptional job at sending the moral over to the audience in a meaningful manner. It can easily open the reader’s or viewer’s eyes and make people realize that life is not always about the sparkly and good looking things, instead the less obvious and hidden features. Of course, not all morals in fairy tales succeed. The moral in the Grimm brother’s version of Snow-White fails its intended purpose because it allows children to see that talking to strangers and opening the door when told not to is okay. I believe that situation equates to when a mother tells her children not to touch the stove, but they do it anyway. This just adds more danger to a child who is young and curious and will do anything they see because they are not aware of the consequences.