Fairytales and Violence 1

Running Head: Fairytales and Violence 1

Fairytales and Violence 5

Fairytales, just like other stories, have been used to bring to light some of the various issues that affect our society today. However, when portraying these societal issues, the authors of these fairytales do so in a calm, carefully calculated and shallow manner so as to not scare off or traumatize the tales’ primary audience, that is, the children. One of the major themes/issues portrayed in these fairy tales is that of violence. In society today, violence poses a threat to the education, family & friends, and government institutions, thus it is quite hard not to encounter it in one way or another. In this paper, we shall look at the how various authors have portrayed the theme of violence in their writings. Seeing as though some of these fairytales’ content have been altered, we shall also look into the original versions of some of these writings and learn what theme(s) the authors originally intended to communicate to their readers.

There are various examples of fairy tales that have been successful at portraying dark and violent themes to their audiences. One of these is the story of Little Red Riding Hood. This story teaches children never to talk to or trust strangers, as they may be dangerous and with bad intentions. In the version of the story that is currently in existence, we are told of a girl who used to live with her grandmother, both of whom were gobbled by a wolf. The story gives us a happy ending, where the huntsman rescues the girl and her grandmother from the wolf. However, the initial versions of the story lacked a happy ending as the two were not saved from the wolf. The wolf was representative of a sexual predator. In those days, a girl who was no longer a virgin was said to have met the wolf. In this case (currently), the wolves represented strangers, who could be dangerous and up to no good. Children were warned to avoid socializing with them.

Another violent fairy tale is that of Cinderella. The version of this story, one which most are familiar with, is that of a lonely girl living with her stepmother and three stepsisters, all of whom mistreated her and turned her into a slave. A fairy godmother sees how Cinderella is mistreated and convinces her to attend a party held by the prince at the palace. The fairy gets Cinderella all dolled up and beautiful, though for a limited number of hours (until midnight). This is where the Prince met Cinderella and danced with her, after which Cinderella took off before the clock struck midnight. The stepsisters and stepmother discovered this and became angry that Cinderella attended the event even after she was denied permission to do so. The prince promises to marry the owner of the slipper, the one which Cinderella left at the palace when she took off from the party. The stepmother and her daughters do whatever it takes to prevent the two from meeting, but to no avail. To their dismay, the Prince and Cinderella met and got married. Another more powerful version of this fairytale shows the jealous stepsisters cutting off fragments of their feet in a bid to fool the prince in his quest to find the lady whose feet fit the glass slipper. However, their plot to trick the prince was disrupted by two pigeons who pecked out their eyes (The Eight Darkest Fairy Tales). In the end, while Cinderella lived in luxury at the palace with the prince, her three stepsisters ended up as lame beggars. The story teaches on jealousy, feud, and cruelty.

Another violent fairytale that portrays a theme of jealousy is that of Beauty and the Beast. It is the story of a merchant meets with a hideous beast who kidnaps him, and would only release him if the dealer agreed to send his daughter, Belle, to him (the beast). The merchant agrees and does as he is told. The creature made many attempts to show his love for Belle and his intention to marry her, and showered her with many gifts, clothes, and food, but she was still reluctant. Her loneliness drives her to seek permission to visit her family on a weekly basis. The beats agree, on condition that she takes an enchanted mirror her with her so that the beast can keep track of her. It is then that we see the jealous side of Belle’s sisters, as they try to convince to stay at home, all in an attempt to make the beast angry. It was one day when Belle looked into the mirror that she discovered that the creature had become lonely and heartbroken, that she decided to run back to him amidst tears. She then publicly professed her love for him, and suddenly the beast turned into a handsome prince. Despite the fact that children should not anticipate this in real life, they learn that jealousy amongst siblings exists and that kidnappings do happen.

The fact that authors of fairy tales choose to highlight themes of violence and fear has sparked controversies, as many are against this idea. Many people believe that children should be shielded from any violent content, even when it is mildly displayed as is the case with fairy tales. This is so since some kids tend to have over-imaginative thinking. Thus, they may start to get traumatized, become fearful and expect to anticipate the worst of society. Others may even start emulating what they see or hear. Lots of violence is also portrayed in movies and video games. Despite this, there are others that are of the opinion that depicting violence and fear in fairytales contributes to a safer and more educated society, by sharing cautions, concerns, and values (Boudinot, 2005). Initially, fairy tales were meant for adult audiences, as they contained lots of symbolism demonstrating the reality of social behavior. However, they were still used to communicate morals and values to the world, no matter how intense they could get at times. The Grimm’s Brothers fairy tales are known for mostly portraying violence (Alcantud-Diaz, 2010).

Violence and fear have gained prevalence in most societies in the world today is the reason as to why it’s not surprising that they also find their way into writings. There have been tales that have had quite dramatic and scary storylines, aimed towards portraying how society can be cruel, violent and creates lots of fear in people. Some are tales of monsters eating children, parents beating their children and witches casting spells and curses on beautiful and innocent maidens, to mention but a few (Boudinot, 2005). These were useful in reminding children to be cautious wherever they go, not to talk to strangers or take anything from them, not to disobey their parents, to be respectful of their elders. To be contented with what they already have, not to be jealous of others and to learn to be courageous and overcome fear when in traumatizing situations. However, before children get to learn these important values and lessons, they are first introduced to the harsh realities of society and the ugly sides of human beings. Most of these fairy tales have succeeded in encouraging their audiences (children) to be courageous and forego fear whenever they find themselves dealing with the dark forces in their lives.

With violent fairytales, children learn how to protect themselves and stay safe, especially when encountering scary situations in the absence of their parents or any other elderly people they feel safe being around. They also get to improve their judgment and critical thinking skills (Boudinot, 2005). They make smart decisions by carefully judging the situations they are presented with and rely on their crucial and creative thinking skills to come up with innovative and brave ideas on how to fight adversities in the real world or even in their imaginations. If the fairytales fail at instilling great fear in their audiences, then it will be hard to tap into their (the audience’s/children’s) creative and innovative potential. Thus, fear is a paramount factor in determining survival when under harsh predicaments. This factor has been backed by Charles Darwin in his findings, where he acknowledges fear as a significant aid to survival.

In conclusion, we learn that fairy tales have been useful in educating their audiences, especially children. Despite the fact that the violent nature of these stories is quite alarming, these instill a certain level of fear in children, one that triggers their creative and innovative side. Through these stories, their eyes are opened regarding the various wrongs that exist in this world, and they get to sharpen on their imaginative, critical and creative thinking, and problem-solving skills. They try to apply these skills to real-life situations.

REFERENCES

Alcantud-Diaz, M. (2010). Violence in the Brothes Grimme’s Fairy Tales: A Corpus-Based Approach.

Boudinot, D. (2005). Violence and Fear in Folktales. The Looking Glass: New Perspective on Children’s Literature Vol. 9, No. 3 .

The Eight Darkest Fairy Tales. (n.d.). Retrieved 05 10, 2016, from Stylist Magazine: http://www.stylist.co.uk/books/the-eight-darkest-fairy-tales