A fairytale is a fictional story existing in oral folklores and literary forms. Some of them may date back to thousands of years and every community all over the world has them. Fairytales with similar plots and characters and often untraceable origins, have spread across many cultures due to the apparent intermixing of human ideas and experiences. However, they are supposed to attract mainly children because they easily understand the archetypal characters in such stories. In the modern times, colloquially, “a fairytale” can also mean a “far fetched story.” Similarly, the term “fairytale” is also used to describe something having to do with princes and princesses and all fairytales don’t necessarily have a happy ending.
Fairytales form those integral portions of the education system that understand childhood in depth.
Hans Christian Anderson, a writer, regards life itself as “the most wonderful fairytale.” Some folklorists have even interpreted fairytales as historical documents that provide an insight into the customs and society of the era in question. Nonetheless, according to a few philosophers, fairytales are those pleasant lies which, if not harmless, are certainly wasteful and are best if forgotten or unlearned. But in practice, it is also true that the requirements for the cerebral diet of children are not always met by the sternness of the adult wisdom and its binding realities.
Fairyland is indeed a strange world of childhood and fairytales capture children’s imaginations with skilled adaptations of the actual world. Although amusement might seem like the immediate purpose of fairytales, they are those integral portions of the education system that understand childhood in depth and are capable of leaving a considerable derivative and giving an appropriate form and direction to the personality of the little readers. After all, fairytales do not just depict that the big, bad wolf exists but they also teach that, with the correct attitude and adequate strength, it is possible to beat it.
However, some questions may arise: Are fairytales only meant for children? Or exclusively for those adults who simply refuse to “grow up”? And do they really have some significance in the lives of those for whom the rosy territories of childhood are long crossed and more or less forgotten?
In the world of adults, fairytales can be viewed with completely different perspectives and through a variety of lenses. For example, Hansel and Gretel are not just two children lost in the woods due to their step mother’s stone heartedness and almost killed by an evil witch. The mind of a modern day adult may perceives it as a story of two children deprived of their basic needs as well as the opportunities of good education and career developments due to their adverse economic conditions; ill treated by a woman and almost eaten by the other. Even if we look at Snow White and Sleeping Beauty, we find that it is usually the physically ugly witches that act as the antagonistic forces in the stories while the heroines are beautiful, timid creatures, always in wait of a gallant and charming hero who usually arrives towards the end in order to save the day. The female protagonists in Cinderella and The Beauty and The Beast are pretty, virtuous females who ultimately get rewarded for their exemplary attributes, ie, they are helped out of many tights spots by some magical creatures and they get married to their princes and live happily ever after.
Fascinating though they are for the children, grown up thinkers can raise certain questions over here. Are all good women supposed be timid and pretty? And are all unattractive women meant to be evil? Furthermore, does there always have to be a prince or some magic to put things right? Lastly, how happy the “happily ever after(s)” really are?
Likewise, Jonathan Swift’s “Gulliver’s Travels” and Lewis Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland,” which are regarded as children’s cult classics are much more than mere works of fantasy to an analytical adult’s perception. “Gulliver’s Travels” is regarded as a great social satire on false complacency, politics, human physiognomy, intellect, manners and morality. Similarly, “Alice in Wonderland” ridicules the system of class hierarchy in the society, (particularly Victorian society), plus the flamboyant display of wealth, superficial titles, levels of social status and degree of education.
Moreover, presently, along with the changing ways of life, issues regarding modification of existing ancient fairytales with respect to the contemporary times are also being raised. For instance, how about having a Cinderella who goes to college or a Sleeping Beauty who is smart enough to set off an alarm clock? As a matter of fact, fairytales are not limited to the pages of books anymore. They have already been adapted into cartoons, movies and even video games. Thanks to the advancement in technologies, today it is even possible to visualize a completely outrageous sequence where a princess in an elegant party gown attends the royal ball in a Mercedes with a prince in Versace while a wicked witch suddenly appears in a space ship and starts shooting crazily with a laser gun, all in the name of conquering the planet!
No matter what, it cannot be denied that fairytales are one of those elementary educative experiences that have taught us the fundamental lessons of life like goodness, courage, love, hope, relationships, optimism and the like. Therefore, it’s always worthwhile to go back to reading them once in a while because it never hurts to cast a backward glance down the memory lane at the carefree days of childhood.
And let’s just put it this way: Age is nothing but a number that increases continually in the case of everything that lives and breathes. But it’s never too late to chase a rabbit with a watch down a tiny hole, for who knows what wonderlands he may lead us to?
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What was your favorite fairytale growing up?
