Not all fairy tales I read as a child had happy endings.
I notice this before I realised that many fairy tales I read were "sanitised".
Being a voracious reader, I read most of these tales myself rather than had an adult read them to me.
In JC, I discovered a whole study devoted to anthropological analysis of fairy tales and nursery rhymes.
Now with the internet, I found it so much easier to track down such discussions.
For a long time, I thought there must be some sort of happy-endings to fairy tales - I mean, who in all sanity would create a story to make children cry?
Unfortunately, I learn that there are people in this world who would, for whatever reasons.
A quick run down of some of Anderson's fairy tales which I now think I will let my children read and discover for themselves if they are so inclined rather than give to them.
Little Mermaid (which thanks to Disney, will confuse subsequent generations of children, at least for a while.)
Little Match Girl - In some translations, they balked at the original ending. Who's to say whether it was a tragedy or a triumph? This is where our answer tell us more about ourselves than about the author. Who'd thought it'd inspire the 1990s Japanese serial Heaven's Coins?
The Princess and the Pea - If anyone can explain its value (worthiness) to me, I'll treat you to lunch.
I just read HC Anderson's short bio at wiki. I wonder if his fairy tales is meant to cheer others or share his torments with his readers.
The Emperor's New Clothes seems to be about the safest. Many of his other tales aren't even well-publicised.
U are just so right.. when I read your first line, I immediately think of the Little Mermaid.. I remember the first time I read it when I was still a kid, I was so upset with the ending that the Prince married someone else that I could not pick up my guts to read or hear the story again. For fairy tales that I like, it is not enough for me to read it only once.. I would read the same story over and over again, tales like Cinderella, Snow White and Pinnocchio..
ReplyDeleteSnowy, you should read the original versions of many 'well-loved' fairy tales. Some earlier versions of Little Red Riding Hood is simply delicious. I can pass you my copy of Jin-Roh, but it comes with an R for violence rating.
ReplyDeleteI did read some original versions, which was how I realised they were sanitised.
ReplyDeleteYou referring to the version written by Charles Perrault for Little Red Riding Hood?
I have not read nor watched Jin-Roh - but it sounded like a reconstructionism of Little Red.
Time enough to deal with those when the children are older and come into contact with stuff like Akira.
Anyway, most fairy tales did not have an original author as they were folklores which had been around for a long time and people like the Grimm brothers merely compiled and edited them.
But Hans Christian Anderson actually wrote some originals, and after reading his bio ... well, he's got talent but he's got too much angst. Not the kind of guy I want to be a teacher for children.
Enid Blyton's life was not perfect, but when she wrote for children, she really thought for them.
Perhaps Anderson never claimed to write for children (he didn't want to be stereotyped), and he only wrote those fairy tales for a living.
I do sympathise with the bullying he experienced - I was bullied too until I fought back physically against the bullies, and realised what a bunch of physically unimpressive cowards they were.
But I must point out that my bullying came from fellow classmates, Anderson would have a much harder time than I did if he tried to fight back.
Actually I meant Jin-Roh for your personal rather than family viewing, but yes, it can wait a few years. Yes, Charles Perrault's version is the one most of the darker ones are based on, the one I have in mind is based on his with slight variation.
ReplyDeleteAs for fairy-tales, or perhaps folktales, I don't think they are the exclusive domain of children. The story may well be simple but I believe it was originally meant for a more general audience. Children in those bygone days are also a lot more used to the cruelties and harshness of life. In a world where infant mortality is high, starvation a very real possibility, the woods are a danger, bandits abound, and nobles treat you with less kindness their hounds, life is not quite as precious as they are today. Those stories probably were a lot more acceptable to children of the day then those now.
I think modern parents sometimes are a little fairy-tale like in their thoughts on bringing children. Children are not as fragile or vulnerable as we imagine them, or perhaps their fragility may well be a result of too much coddling on our part.
My favourite fairy-tale is that of the Three Little Pigs by the way. I use to have this wonderful half-sized record that I would play on a gramophone over and over again. It was wonderful rendition of the Three Little Pigs story complete with Sound effects and music. Published by Disney if memory serves.
I don't think you're the only one. There was 1 Doraemon (小叮噹) comic about it too.
ReplyDeleteI remembered it well because it's one of those Doraemon items I'd like to have.
A short summary - 2 visitors came to Nobita's (大雄) house, a mother and a daughter. Nobita fled the house because the little girl is a crybaby. Doraemon thought Nobita was over-reacting, until Doraemon read her "The Little Mermaid" and the girl burst inconsolably into wails, and Doraemon got a scolding from Nobita's mother for "upsetting a visitor."
Indignant, Doraemon got a special pair of shoes from his inter-dimensional pocket which enabled him to enter into the world of the story and change it, such that the little mermaid and the prince married and they lived happily ever after.
After Doraemon left the story world and went off elsewhere, Nobita came home and was made to read the little girl a story to cheer her up. She asked for "The Little Mermaid." He read it all the way to its new ending, bewildered by the change, but the little girl cried again because "the story is not the same."
Yes, children are not meant to be overly sheltered and need to learn bad things happen in the world too. But they also need to have some protection and learn to be confident, initially by being confident that they are loved.
ReplyDeleteNot sure about Ur's idea that the stories were more acceptable to children of yore. I would imagine in 19th century Europe/England, children of the upper class were quite priviliged and want for nought, while children of the working class might not have any luxury of listening to fairy tale stories.
And I think fairy tales in their current 'nice' forms started appearing about then. I was referring more to older times, where the concept of fairy-tales for kids did not specifically exist (example Hood easily traces its origins to medieval times), though folk tales abound and are meant for a general audience. Man is a story-telling creature, we like telling stories and listening to them. We still do today, only the medium has changed.
ReplyDeleteOnly a true Princess can ever be one, so you commoners had better learn your station in life and not upset Things As They Ought To Be.
ReplyDelete