Folk Lore and Fairy Tales Blog #10

Folk tales and fairy tales often have similar elements and themes around the world. Every culture has their own unique values that are shown within their stories. 

In Europe, many stories are more of a fairy tale type and commonly involve magic and a main hero. Many European tales are more patriarchal and can be demeaning towards women as well. European stories often have symbolism and meanings behind them, and reveal insights into issues going on in Europe at the time the story was written or originated. For example, “Hanzel and Gretel” features the family suffering from starvation because when the Brother’s Grimm wrote the tale, Germany was also facing issues with famine due to French rule.  

Other cultures also have unique stories compared to European ones, like Native American folk tales. Many Native American stories are origin stories and various types of myths involved with the creation of and how some things came to be within their extensive cultures. The tale of “How Men and Women got Together,” is a myth and origin tale of how; as the title says, men and women started getting together and living together. One of the unique aspects of this tale is how it is very equal among the genders, and clearly shows how men and women are on equal terms in this tale; in fact the women in the story are even portrayed as better than the men, unlike in European stories where this is rare. Native American stories are also usually very spiritual and always involve various aspects of nature and animals which shows the value it has within their cultures. European stories don’t always have these themes as much.  

Folk Lore and Fairy Tales Blog #9 (Partner Reflection)

One of the most unique aspects of Aryon’s blogs is how she writes them, because she writes them in a very causal manner that makes them seem like she is talking to the reader in face to face, and I really like that. She has a way of making the reader feel at ease and writes with the way of letting readers get to know her better.  

With her latest blog, Aryon discusses the role of heroes in fairy tales and she begins by asking the reader who their hero is, which is a unique way or starting her blog and I thought it was nice. Then she begins talking about “Jack and the Beanstalk” and how Jack is the hero of the story and how even though he may be considered a foolish character, he ultimately helps his family become better off with the riches he brings back from the giant.  

Another blog Aryon wrote talks about the African story teller guest speaker we had the other week. She really enjoyed his stories and the way he told them. I also really enjoyed his stories and his unique way of telling stories. I also enjoyed learning various aspects of African culture through the stories. In another blog Aryon discusses her thoughts on the music video for “Sonne,” which I found interesting because I didn’t know much about what other classmates thought about the song.  

Folk Lore and Fairy Tale Blog #8

Throughout fairy tales, children are often used as the main heroes in many stories for a variety of purposes. According to Maria Tatar, “the child protagonists of fairy tales do battle with dark forces, but, more important, they begin as hostile powers at home,” (Tatar 229). In many fairy tales, children are seen as trickster figures, who use their wits and skills to escape the villain or bad situation.  

In the Grimm fairy tale “Hanzel and Gretel,” the two children are the two main trickster characters which is also their main role in the story. In the story Hanzel and Gretel get abandoned by their parents in the woods and come across the witch’s house where they get trapped by the witch. This is when the two children act as tricksters and outsmart the witch by shoving her in the oven instead, and they escape with riches and go back to their parents’ house. Hanzel and Gretel had a rough life at home because their family was starving, and then when they leave the home setting, they face evil in the form of the witch, which is similar to how Tatar described child protagonists in fairy tales. One of the other main roles for the two children in this story are returning home with riches, which provides the family with wealth so that they no longer have to be starving.  

 In the Russian fairy tale “Vasilisa the Fair,” the main protagonist, Vasilisa, also functions as a trickster type of character. Vasilisa leaves home to get fire from the baba yaga, and when she gets there the baba yaga gives her all kinds of impossible chores to have done each day. Vasilisa is only able to complete the challenges with the help of her magical doll, who does most of the work for her, therefore she tricks the baba yaga into thinking she actually did all the work, when she didn’t. When Vasilisa is finally able to leave with the fire, she returns home and the fire actually ends up burning her step-mother and step-sisters to ashes. Then Vasilisa ends up getting married to the tsar and living happily ever after. Like in other child protagonist fairy tales, Vasilisa faces hardships at home from her step-family, and then she leaves and faces evil, and uses trickery to get away, and then eventually lives happily ever after. Vasilisa’s role as a trickster not only helps her escape the baba yaga, but it also helps her get away from her abusive step-family.  

Bettelheim described fairy tale child protagonists, such as Hanzel and Gretel as being “victims of anxious fantasies,” (231) and that they fell to their “oral craving” and “cannibalistic inclinations,” (231). Bettelheim had a rather harsh criticism on “Hanzel and Gretel” and their motives for eating the witches house, claiming that they fell to certain id desires when really in the story they were starving and that’s why they ate the witch’s house. He believes through the Freudian lens that Hanzel and Gretel had imagined the witch and abusive family and instead exploit the adults in their lives with their unhealthy desires.    

Folk Lore and Fairy Tales Blog #7

Out of the Bluebeard stories we read, it was very difficult for me to choose a favorite because I have trouble choosing favorites in general. I do know however, that the stories where the heroine saves herself are my favorite ones. The Brothers Grimm: “Fitcher’s Bird” and Joseph Jacob’s: “Mr. Fox” are probably my top two favorite Bluebeard stories. I like the ones where the heroine saves herself because they have stronger female leads than the other ones. 

 One of the main aspects of the “Fitcher’s Bird” I liked was the uniqueness of the story in comparison to the other stories. Rather than one girl there were three sisters and the third one was smart enough to outsmart the sorcerer and save her sisters. I also liked how she invited all the sorcerer’s friends and then ran out of the house disguised as a bird. I also liked the genius of her plan and how “she took a skull with grinning teeth, crowned it with jewels and a garland of flowers, carried it upstairs and set it down at an attic window, facing out,” (Tatar 195), to make it seem that she herself was keeping an eye out the window when she actually wasn’t. I thought that was rather amusing. I also thought it was unique how she practically brought her sisters back from the dead. I think the ending is very interesting because they not only killed the sorcerer, but they killed all his bad friends as well. 

The main reason I enjoyed “Mr. Fox” is because the heroine, Lady Mary, had absolutely no help escaping Mr. Fox, because she got out of his house on her own when she saw him with the beaten woman. I thought various aspects of the story were very unique, such as the fact that the main heroine actually had a name and how the walls and doorways were warning her and telling her to be brave. As gruesome as this part of the story is, I thought it was interesting how the severed hand of the woman landed in Mary’s lap and that’s what essentially saved her from the marriage to Mr. Fox. I really liked the part that Mary goes: “but it is so, and it was so. Here’s hand and ring I have to show,” (201), because of how lyrical it is and how those were the words that saved her from a grim fate.  

Originally I first heard about the story of Bluebeard through a show I watched not long ago called Strong Woman Bong-Soon, because in the show there was a serial kidnapper and murderer who was inspired by a play called “Bluebeard,” which I had never heard of, so I was surprised that it was actually based off an old fairy tale which I learned through this class. In the show the villain kidnaps young women and beats them and locks them up to be his brides. Eventually the main character and heroine of the show saves the trapped women, and in turn ends up getting captured herself because she upsets the villain. Although when she gets captured, she is able to have the strength to free herself and eventually capture the villain and turn him into the police. Through learning about the Bluebeard story in class I was very eager to see how it compared to the show I watched and if it was based off it, and I was excited to find out that it was definitely related.  

Fairy Tales and Folk Lore Blog #6

The most common motif in Cinderella stories is the “rags to riches” idea where the main character goes from having a poor miserable life to having a life of riches and success. In Cinderella stories this phenomenon takes place through some sort of magic or marriage. This outlook on success can often be seen as unrealistic because so much more goes into a successful and happy life than just magic or marriage. I believe Cinderella tales show people that happy endings can take place in the most unlikely situations and people, and that it can teach people not to lose faith in impossible dreams just because of what the reality of life is.  

Obviously, dreams and happy endings can’t take place through magic. They can happen in other ways, only much more difficult. The real magic in a happy ending or successful life, is one’s ability to work hard enough to make it happen, even if one’s situation says otherwise, as long as one keeps working for it and never gives up hope. As simple as this may sound to some, it is never that easy and it can only be achieved through a very long and hard journey, and for some no matter how hard they work, it may never even take place.  

Another part of the ‘magic’ in the motif is fate. In order to have a successful and happy ending type of life, it takes a great deal more than just hard work; there is a large amount of what you could call fate and luck involved. I believe fate and hard work are the real sources of ‘magic’ in “rags to riches” Cinderella stories.  

In Disney’s Cinderella, Cinderella is aided by the magic of a fairy godmother to go to the ball where she meets the prince who falls in love with her, and later searches the whole kingdom for her. They eventually get married and Cinderella is freed from the grasps of her evil step-mother and step-sisters, and lives happily ever after with the prince. Besides the magic involved in the story, Cinderella worked extremely hard everyday, not for a ‘dream’ or goal of success, but because she had to for her step-family who forced her to be their slave. Through the hard work she did and the terrible life she had, she still remained a kind and positive person; which in a way caused her to be graced by the magic of a fairy godmother. When going to the ball it was only fate that she danced with the prince who fell in love with her and wouldn’t rest until he found her again. Therefore, it was also fate that brought her and the prince together in the end.  

In the movie, Pretty Woman, the main character Vivian meets a business man named Edward who she begins working for, and they soon fall in love and eventually end up ‘living happily ever after.’ Before Vivian met Edward she was working as a prostitute and scraping just to get by. Even though her life was rough, she was still working hard to get through life. When she met Edward, it was fate that brought them together in a way, and he ended up being the cause of her having a more successful and happy life in the end.  

Happy endings and “rags to riches” tales don’t just take place through magic or marriage. There are always other more important aspects that take part in them that are the real causes for a ‘happy ending.’ Success stories take place through hard work, along with the luck and fate of opportunities and people that arise in one’s life that can end up leading to a happy ending.