History, Wonder Tales, Fairy Tales, Myths and Legends How to Write A Good Fairy Tale | Page 51

THE HISTORY OF FAIRY TALES:
Fairy Tales first recorded 12th – 15th cent. (middle ages):
shaped in Christian era of patriarchy & wealthy elite
(motifs similar in some pre-Christian epics, poems, myths, fables, etc.)

LITERARY TRADITION:
Men firmly in control (see list pp. 851-2, Zipes)
Can trace: motifs, characters, topoi, magical properties to Orient & Occident (religious &
secular examples from India, Egypt, Greece, Rome, etc.)
Stories first gathered, institutionalized, recorded in late Middle Ages
14th c. Florence flourishing center of literary activity
STRAPAROLA
(little known, clearly well-educated); name = “loquacious”
1st edition 1550/53 The Pleasant Nights (widespread, influential)
Set frame of characters, topoi, motifs, metaphors, plots (convention)
Tales: mastery of lang, critical view of politics, erotic/obscene riddles
Message often ironic / pessimistic (focus on power / fortune)
Hero: needs luck (magic) & knowledge of how to use it to succeed
Most protagonists are MALE, act to exploit opportunities for wealth, power, adventure
BASILE
from middle class Naples, educated, traveled, administrator, writer
1575, 55 tales published (widely circulated, read, translated)
Tales:
hilarious, ironical, original, brilliant, witty, truly “fairy tales”, full of conflict and
mirth. Sympathetic to the folk: minimalizes differences between peasant & aristocrat
FRENCH SALONS
space for women intellectuals in 18th c France
Recounting tales grew out of literary entertainment / parlor games; chose genre partly b/c
considered frivolous, only way for soc women to write
MADAME D’AULNOY
17 tales, long, intricate discourses on love & tenderness
Critiques conventional court manners w/ dialogues & narrative frames
Coined term – conte de fée (=fairy tale)
1720 – FRENCH TALES:
During period of discontent, reacted w/ sensitivity
Ingenious combination of salon culture & folk idiom (& role of precocious women)
Marvelous realms governed by fairies (more feminine reign) vs. corrupt men of reality in
power.
Vast cross-cultural connections (pan-European tradition)
Throughout Europe – Rise of fabulous tales in earnest (interest in the exotic)