A Brief (and accidentally feminist) History of the Fairy Tale
Izzy Woods
In the contemporary psyche, it might be the colourful, musical Disney adaptations that come to mind when the phrase ‘fairy tale’ is uttered. Perhaps at a push, it could be the more gruesome tales penned by the Brothers Grimm. However, researchers at universities in Durham and Lisbon found that some fairy tales have roots from before the earliest literary records, with one believed to have originated during the Bronze Age. It was only during the 17th century that the name ‘fairy tale’ (conte de fées in French) was ascribed to them by Madame d’Aulnoy, who herself was known for writing fairy tales. Meanwhile, some folklorists prefer to use the German term Märchen or ‘wonder tale’. ‘Mӓrchen’ is the diminutive of ‘mär’ which means story or tale, and therefore signifies a ‘little story’. Combined with the commonly used opening ‘once upon a time’, and the less common German preamble ‘in den alten Zeiten, wo das Wünschen noch geholfen hat’ (‘in the old days when wishing still helped’), we learn that fairy tales were originally little stories from a long time ago when the world was still magic. The Brothers Grimm would have sided with 21st century researchers when they committed some of these tales to paper in the 19th century, as they believed that they were passed down generations orally, originating in a shared cultural history dating back to the birth of the Indo-European language family. If this is the case, it is likely that the tales began and lived on through the lives of women, as storytelling had long been their domain. The tales themselves reflect some of the hopes and fears of women: that they would find a prince, or a castle, or just simply someone or something that could provide a happy ending; or, on the flip side, that their children would be taken away, they would be mistreated by men, or that they would succumb to the process of ageing. The popularity of fairy tales in Europe surged in the 17th century through the salons of Paris, which were gatherings hosted by aristocratic women, intended to discuss matters of concern to them. During this time, a parlour game based on fairy tales came into vogue. Individuals would retell an old tale or rework an old theme, simultaneously creating new stories and reflecting upon aspects of aristocratic life. These tales often featured young and clever aristocratic girls whose lives were controlled by the whims of overbearing men, as well as tales in which groups of wise fairies stepped in to put the world to rights (anyone else thinking of Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather? Sidenote: Disney’s Sleeping Beauty actually passes the Bechdel test...). 27
