Lecture 1: Introduction to Fairy Tales

Course Overview

• 10 lectures on the fairy tale genre.
• Focus on clusters of fairy tales weekly.
• Explore fairy tales globally, e.g., Cinderella in various cultures.
• Emphasis on recognizing signature elements of fairy tales.

Key Signature Elements in Fairy Tales

• Pricked finger: Sleeping Beauty.
• Red cape: Little Red Riding Hood.
• Helpful cat: Puss in Boots.
• Poisoned apple: Snow White.
• Hundred mattresses: The Princess and the Pea.
• Magic beans: Jack and the Beanstalk.
• Worn out shoes: The Twelve Dancing Princesses.
• Golden hair: Rapunzel.
• Weaving straw into gold: Rumpelstiltskin.
• Trail of breadcrumbs: Hansel and Gretel.
• Forbidden room: Bluebeard.

Lecture 1: Definitions and Characteristics of Fairy Tales

Etymology of Fairy Tales

• Fairy: Related to Latin ‘fatum’ meaning fate.
• Romance languages: French 'fée', Italian 'fata', Spanish 'hada'.
• Fairies as foreseers of the future and past.
• Other meanings: Old English roots relating to joining or binding, emphasizing marriage.

Major Collections of Fairy Tales

• One Thousand and One Nights (Arabian Nights): Translated by Antoine Galland (1704-1717).
• Impact on European culture in art, architecture, literature.
• The Tale of Tales (Pentameron): 50 tales framed by the 50th tale.
• Charles Perrault's Tales: 8 tales with morals, intended for French aristocracy amusement.
• Madame d'Aulnoy's Tales: Also aristocratic tales for amusement.
• Brothers Grimm’s Household Tales: Collected from educated classes, not written by Grimm.
• Norwegian Tales by Asbjørnsen and Moe: Local collection from Norway, represented local peasantry tales.
• Alexander Afanasyev’s Russian Folk Tales: Published in parts (1855-1863).

Characteristics of Fairy Tales

• Unbelievability and Supernatural Elements: Suspension of disbelief.
• Focus on One Person: Usually a young, disowned or abandoned character.
• Stock Characters: Flat, archetypal figures.
• Magic Objects and Tasks: E.g., magic mirrors, impossible tasks.
• Formulaic Opening and Closing: "Once upon a time", "Happily ever after".
• Emphasis on Marriage or Riches: Goal of many fairy tales is the marriage or acquiring of wealth.
• Repetition and Hierarchy: Events often repeat in threes with increasing significance.
• Metamorphosis: Shape-shifting of characters.
• Counterfeiture: Deception and disguise.

Analyzing Fairy Tales

• Pigskin (Russian Folk Tale): Elements of Cinderella with a focus on themes like incest and threat-to-mercy dynamics.
• Little Lucy Goosey Girl (Norwegian Tale): Uses bed trick, repetition, and hierarchy, with a focus on deception and disguise.
• Seven Brooms (Pentameron): Kindness to animals theme, emphasis on the youngest, alternate endings.

Essay Assignment

• Compare the clever strategies of heroines: Little Lucy Goosey Girl vs. Fortuna.
• Analyze strategies and present evidence for your chosen heroine as the master trickster.
• Write a 2-3 page essay including introduction, development, and conclusion.