Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
The effect of fairy tales on human development
Fairytales and their impact on human development
The effect of fairy tales on human development
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: The effect of fairy tales on human development
Fairy tales have been part of our lives ever since we were young children. We all either grew up watching Disney renditions of fairy tales, or we had storybooks filled with vivid pictures of a tale. Fairy tales are so important in our culture that it would be difficult to find someone who has not heard of Sleeping Beauty, Little Red Riding Hood, or other fairy tale protagonists. Interestingly enough, fairy tales have been a very integral part of Western culture since the time they were written. Fairy tale writers, such as Charles Perrault and the Grimm Brothers, revolutionized culture in the 17th and 18th centuries with their writings. Not only did these writers write these tales for entertainment, but they also accomplished to influence the …show more content…
cultural way of thinking by incorporating morals and ideals into their stories. Such morals and ideals were usually for children and involved topics such as: obedience to elders, talking to strangers, proper behavior, and so on. However, most of these ideals were also targeted to adults. Specifically, some of these tales influenced cultural thoughts on women, especially how a woman is supposed to act and look physically. All throughout the most famous fairy tales we get a very detailed description of how the female protagonist is seen physically and sexually; however, we get hardly any details of her personality. Tales such as Little Red Riding Hood and Sleeping Beauty, by both Perrault and the Grimms, give detailed accounts of how beautiful the female is and how she is pleasing to the eyes. Present day, we often blame social media and other mass media outlets in producing the beauty standards to which we hold women today. However, we have forgotten that our early exposure to these fairy tales as children has influenced the beauty ideals we glorify today. The beauty standards that Perrault, the Grimms, and other fairy tale writers helped popularize in the 17th and 18th centuries are the same standards to which we hold women today, and thus the female beauty perceptions have not changed. In his article, “The Ideal of Feminine Beauty in Medieval Culture,” D.S. Brewer points out the description of the physically ideal female at the time that fairy tales were written. The “beautiful” woman in the early seventeenth century had “milky whiteness…and youthful skin (258). This conforms to the fairy tales by Perrault and the Grimms because their stories emphasize on the importance of the “beautiful” woman being fair (which in the true context means white and pale skin) and young. Perrault’s Sleeping Beauty is a perfect example of this when he describes Sleeping Beauty as a “fair and young maiden…pleasing to the eye…everyone who saw instantly liked her” (165). Interestingly, the gift of beauty was given to Sleeping Beauty by the youngest fairy in the land in the Perrault narrative, which shows how beauty and young age are ideally supposed to go hand in hand. Also, in Geoffrey Chaucer’s famous story, “The Wife of Bath’s Tale”, we see that happiness was thought to come by having a physically beautiful and most importantly, young, wife. We also see throughout various fairy tales that the evil stepmothers and witches are presented as old hags; thus, we can perceive that the appearance of old age in women was strongly associated with ugliness and evil at the time of these fairy tales. Present day, our culture still idolizes youth and pale un-dark skin. In a study done by Laura C. Hurd Clarke in the early 21st century called “Beauty in Later Life: Older Women's Perceptions of Physical Attractiveness,” various women aged sixty-one to ninety-two were interviewed and surveyed on their perceptions of beauty and aging. The women in the study tended to “equate physical attractiveness to youthfulness (429). Most of the women in the study agreed that they felt much more beautiful when they were in their early twenties than they did when they reached their forties. They also equated beauty with having “soft and light toned young skin” (431). The study shows us that like the fairy tales mentioned above, women today are inclined to associate a few wrinkles with hideousness, and they perceive dark skin tones as less aesthetically pleasing. Another study done by David B. Sarwer et. al. called, “Physical Appearance and Cosmetic Medical treatments: Physiological and Socio-cultural Influences,” also showed that women often get cosmetic treatments to look younger. The data presented by Sarwer et. al. shows “ratings of youthfulness and facial attractiveness are highly correlated, with ratings of attractiveness typically declining with age, particularly for women” (29). The study clearly shows that the idea that youthfulness connects with beauty is shared among fairy tales and our present day reality. Today, we see countless television ads promoting feminine products that reverse the effects of aging, lighten skin tone, and remove dark spots and wrinkles. These ads are not targeted to men, but to women alone. One of the ads shown on television presented Julie Andrews promoting an anti-aging skin crème. In the ad, she states that she “[felt] like a princess again”. The commercial gives us the perception that apparently, princesses cannot be old. Also, in all of the 20th century Disney adaptations of fairy tales, all of the princess protagonists are depicted as young and white because this is how they were described in the original tales. Thus, since we have grown up with the image of the beautiful princess as white, fair, and young, this depiction has helped shape the beauty standards we hold today. Present day examples like these clearly show that the beauty standards that D.S. Brewer discovered in his early 17th century literature analysis and those that are presented in fairy tales are definitely still present today. Besides youthfulness and skin paleness, another element of beauty that is glorified in both fairy tales and our reality today is slimness.
In her book, Fabulous Identities: Women’s Fairy Tales in Seventeenth Century France, Patricia Hannon explains how Perrault was inspired to write about the female protagonists in his tales by the pompous salon women in France. In her book, Hannon describes the beauty rituals of these women and how the beauty of these women can be seen resonating throughout Perrault’s fairy tales. Specifically, Hannon explains how slimness and waist-to-hip ratios were of high importance to these women, and thus were important to men because these women’s beauty rituals were solely for their “male partner’s sexual pleasure” (45). One way seventeenth century women achieved the ideal body slimness was by wearing tight corsets in order to make their hips appear wider and their waist to appear slimmer. In his book, The Cultural Identity of Seventeenth- Century Women, N. H. Keeble also tells us that these pompous women would hold large gatherings and not eat in order to keep their figures slim. Keeble tells us that the celebration of slimness in women is seen throughout countless fairy tales and was seen by 17th century culture as ideal because women “could be more easily dominated and subdued” (54). D.S. Brewer also gives us some examples of how small waists were valued as beautiful when he relates that in most of the 17th century stories, such as Chaucer’s tales, the “beautiful [woman] had a very small waist” (258). In most fairy tale illustrations, such as those by Arthur Rackham, the female protagonists are shown having really small waists or wearing a fashionable tight corset. Even in today’s Disney adaptations, all the princesses have tiny waists and Belle from Beauty and The Beast is shown with her tight corset. Of course, we know that today thinness and slimness are widely acclaimed in almost every aspect of our culture, as every woman wants
to be a size four or less. In the study by Sarwer et. al. mentioned above, the authors also showed that today’s women also often get cosmetic surgery for losing weight and appearing slimmer. In their analysis of beauty by the decades, Sarwer et. al. note that “thinness has remained the defying characteristic of physical beauty in women” (32), noting that waist-hip ratio plays an important role in determining the way cosmetic procedure will be conducted. Like the women mentioned in Hannon’s book, women today not only want to be slim, but they also want to have the proper waist-hip proportions to look ideally beautiful. Celebrities such as Kim Kardashian often show themselves participating in “waist-training,” which makes the waist smaller in proportion to the hips. The idea, as it was in the 17th century according to Hammond, is to be more sexually appealing. Sarwar et. al. confirm this when they say that, today, a thinner waist and bigger hips contribute to a higher sexual attraction of males. Hurd Clarke’s study, which was also mentioned above, also studied how elderly women today viewed slimness. The women in Hurd Clarke’s study also equated physical attractiveness with slimness as they “[disparaged] obese indivudals” (429). However, the women in this study rejected “the extremes of thinness…and [argued] that thin older women appear scrawny“ (429). Together, Sarwer et. al. and Hurd Clarke both show that having a slim build, but with proper proportions is what is considered beautiful in women today. Thus, if we compare their conclusions to Hannon and Keeble’s analysis of women in the fairy tale age, we can clearly see that this beauty standard still remains. Indeed, celebrities today are considered beautiful for the same reasons that the pompous women that inspired Perrault’s writing were considered beautiful in their time; both celebrities today and French salon women had small, slim waists and large hips and bottoms.
Fairy tales connect to our owns lives, dreams, anxieties, and help us to consider what we would do in their shoes. Many cultures have their own spin on common fairy tales like Sleeping Beauty, with their own cultural flavor. We read those versions and know that we share something important and the hope for good to overcome evil.
A fairy tale is seemingly a moral fiction, intended mainly for children. A lesson in critical analysis, however, strips this guise and reveals the naked truth beneath; fairy tales are actually vicious, logical and sexual stories wearing a mask of deceptively easy language and an apparent moral. Two 19th Century writers, the Grimm brothers, were masters at writing these exaggerated stories, bewitching young readers with their prose while padding their stories with allusion and reference: an example of which is "Rapunzel." Grimm's "Rapunzel" is packed with religious symbolism, which lends a new insight to the meaning of this classic story.
Fairy Tales are fantastic elements, may have magic, conflict between good and evil, and imaginary creatures.
As we look back on the history of fairy tales, we find that they are stories passed down to generations through the oral tradition that generally include a moral or pervading theme that is meant to aid the listener. One characteristic of oral stories are the variations that often occurred with each retelling as a result of errors in translation and interpretations, as well as changes driven by the storyteller’s desire to share a particular point of view with the listener. A modern twist on these variations is evident in children’s literature today. “The Sisters Grimm”, a popular series written by best-selling author Michael Buckley, offers a whole new dimension of changes to classic fairy tales as he reinvents the stories by adding depth, meaning, and humanity to many of the popular characters. Over the course of this paper, I will examine those changes and how they compare to the original Brothers Grimm version.
During the 19th century, Grimm’s fairytales were strongly disapproved of due to harsh, gruesome details and plots. One American educator from 1885 stated, “The folktales mirror all too loyally the entire medieval worldview and culture with all its stark prejudice, its crudeness and barbarities.” As childre...
Fairy Tales have been around for generations and generations. Our parents have told us these stories and we will eventually pass them down to ours. In this time of age the most common fairytales are Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and The Beast and many more. Children idolize their favorite character and pretend to be them by mimicking everything they do in the stories. The character’s behavior is what is viewed as appropriate in society. These fairy tales show a girl and a boy fall in love and live “happily ever after”. The tales in many people’s eyes resemble a dream life that they would want to have of their own. However, have you ever really looked at what makes up a fairy tale? Many things are unrealistic but the most unflattering aspect of these tales is how women are depicted in them. Fairy tales give an unrealistic view to how women should look and behave in real life.
Fairytales, like other commonly performed cultural texts, must be seen in some sense as methods of instruction. We tell stories to our children to entertain and amuse them, to ...
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.
Fairy tales are an integral part of American culture. From Grimm’s Fairy Tales --- what most people consider the “classic” or “traditional” stories --- to Disney movies, the idea of the fairy tale permeates our society. While the written fairy tale is, at its base, literary, the social sciences also can illuminate the origin and meaning of fairy tales. At a glance, Rumpelstiltskin looks just like any other children’s fairytale, but when further examined, new and deeper meanings are discovered. The concept of Rumpelstiltskin has gone through many permutations in western society. Even in recent years, fairy tale retellings have become more popular, suggesting that fairy tales still hold a deep resonance in our culture. The contemporary literary
My history knowledge and curiosity of history are both lacking. I have read Scott Harshbarger’s "Hansel and Gretel" and Fairy-Tale Nationalism. His analogy of Hansel and Gretel to some of the events surrounding World War II took a great deal of research and study. The metaphor surely is plausible and seems to whisper a truth. Each character and their role are added a visual connection which fastened the metaphorical nd analogy. He went into detail with terms such as "narrative transport," a term coined by Richard Gerrig to describe what happens in the mind when we are swept away by a story. Adding a touch of German History the reader can most definitely see there is a connection. If you take the time
While there has been much academic disagreement over the years regarding fairy tales, most scholars and critics agree that fairy tales emanated from oral traditions. However, there remains no consensus around their origins, or how they evolved and spread. In fact, a pair of researchers has conducted a phylogenetic analysis on common fairy tales and has found that many of them appear to be much older than has been thought; some perhaps thousands of years older than believed. Their research was based auto-logistic modelling to analyze the relationships between folktales, population histories and geographical distances using signatures found in cultural traditions. However, their investigations have been complicated by a lack of historical data.
Fairy tales are children’s first introduction to different cultures of the world. A click of heels or sprinkling of magic dust can transport children into the jungles of Africa or the countryside of England. Amongst the magical wands, princesses and frogs are the beliefs and customs of the tales’ origin. This is evident in two variations of the fairy tale “The Three Little Pigs”. For example, Andrew Lang’s English version “The Three Little Pigs” represents the culture of England. Likewise, Joel Harris’ African version “The Story of the Pigs” represents the culture of Ethiopia. Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the term fairy tales as “a story in which improbable events lead to a happy ending”. Life is similar to fairy tales. Throughout life there are new beginnings and if we’re lucky happy endings. Culture is defined as “everything that makes up a person’s entire way of life”. Both the English and African versions of “The Three Little Pigs” affirm how fairy tales imitates culture. Fairy tales offer a glimpse into parts of a culture such as traditions, languages and beliefs.
A report from childREACH discusses this topic, “Fairy tales offer new dimension to a child’s imagination. His imaginings can influence his own daydreams. Tales speak to children in the language of symbols. ” (childREACH) As we all know, when kids are young, the development of their thinking and imaginations is pretty important. Fairy tales give them the chance to image and think the real world in a unique way which gives them basic concepts such as the good and evil. Even their daydreams are also influenced by the fairy tales kids have read. “Fairy tales deal with the basic human condition. At the start of many tales, a mother or father dies. In the Grimm version of “Cinderella” her mother’s death is not a mere mention, but an integral part of the story in which Cinderella grieves and finds closure in a meaningful way.”(childREACH) Fairy tales give children basic human condition, the good and evil. They can give kids simple judgements and give them preliminary understandings of the world, which helps them learn other knowledge of the world easily and avoid to misbehave out of curiosity. “‘Fairy tales enrich a child’s life and give it an enchanted quality just because he does not quite know how the stories have worked their wonder on him.”(Bruno Bettelheim). Children of all ages can enjoy fairy tales, hence Disney’s foray into fairy
People all over the world have enjoyed telling stories for as long as people could communicate. Fairy tales in particular have been told in many different variations (due to many stories being told orally instead of being written down). Some notable fairy tale authors include: the Grimm brothers, Hans Christian Andersen, and Walt Disney. The Grimm brothers helped to make the fairy tale world something everyone wanted to be a part of, however, his stories has dark and twisty endings, with something terrible happening to the main character in the end. Hans Christian Andersen sits in the middle of the spectrum. The stories that he wrote sometimes were dark and scary, but were also happy and had feel-good endings.
Fairy tales are widely known around the world for being a positive part of one’s childhood. Fairy tales often promote kindness and good character. Although this is true, fairy tales also place great emphasis on physical beauty. Because the beauty displayed is often unnatural and unattainable, the emphasis placed on it is detrimental to both boys and girls. The physical appearance is also often equated with character, thus teaching children that the good people worth emulating are beautiful. Children learn to compare themselves to others, including and perhaps especially to the heroes of the stories they love. If children see they do not have the features that princes and princesses have, they will feel lesser and may develop a series of