4Real Forums: Fairy Tales

Oh, Dearest Mother, Sweetest Virgin of Altagracia, our Patroness. You are our Advocate and to you we recommend our needs. You are our Teacher and like disciples we come to learn from the example of your holy life. You are our Mother, and like children, we come to offer you all of the love of our hearts. Receive, dearest Mother, our offerings and listen attentively to our supplications. Amen.

Active Topics || Favorites || Member List || Search || About Us || Help || Register || Login

Living Literature
4Real Forums : Living Literature

Topic: Fairy Tales

Author

Message

<< Prev Topic | Next Topic >>

CrunchyMom
Forum Moderator

Joined: Sept 03 2007
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 6385

Posted: Feb 18 2010 at 7:31pm \| IP Logged

I read this articleOn Mermaids and Witches: Fairy Tales and the Gospels which was apparently linked the first time it was published a few years ago here

I really liked it, and it inspired me to pull out the illustrated Orange Fairy Book I'd picked up at the used book store!

This week, I read a symposium on Harry Potter from an old issue of the Chesterton Review that I had ripped out while doing some decluttering some time back and came across as I was cleaning the school room (school room is still dirty because it was WAY more interesting to read all those articles I'd ripped out and saved to read later, lol).

I'm not looking to discuss Harry Potter, and of course, the essayists presented all different views of HP, some claiming Chesterton would have loved it, others claiming the opposite

However, it did get me to thinking about fairy stories and the use of magic in a story. One of the author's quote Chesterton as saying, "Magic for magic's sake like art for art's sake, is found in fact to be too shallow, and to be unable to live without drawing upon things deeper than itself."

Yes, a fairy story should delight, but it seems that its purpose should be more than that. Traditionally fairy tales are quite dark! In college, I was a lead in the musical Into the Woods, and I was shocked at how much fairy tales had been sanitized!

Now, I am much more satisfied with the non-sanitized versions of tales--and this article made me understand why. It also made me a little suspicious of tales where magic was just for fun without a deeper purpose as a literary device, but I haven't thought this through in its entirety.

Anyway, I wonder if others might care to share or discuss this idea of fairy. I also get the impression from the older thread that the author of the article wrote books. Can anyone recommend them?

__________________
Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony

[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR

JodieLyn
Forum Moderator

Joined: Sept 06 2006
Location: Oregon
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 12234

Posted: Feb 18 2010 at 7:57pm \| IP Logged

Interesting article.

I've thought of fairy tales as telling truths in stories for some time.

It's one way I think to tell good fantasy from poor fantasy.. does it support (retell) a truth or detract from it.

__________________
Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4

All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott

If you wish to post a reply to this topic you must first login
If you are not already registered you must first register

[Add this topic to My Favorites]

Printable version

Forum Jump

You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot create polls in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum

Hosting and Support provided by theNetSmith.com