The Town Herald

The netpaper about Elftowners, by Elftowners, for Elftowners.

The Dark Side of Fairytales

by [shotokan_gal]

In the mood for a story? Now what would you like? One with a gruesome end in which an old woman is burned alive, in her own oven of all things? How about of the heroes who met their ends scratched and battered to death by a forest of thorns - or is that a bit too bloody? A dwarf who manages to tear his leg off trying to pull it out of the floor? (That’s what you get for treading on the cracks obviously…) Oh the violence!

Who would’ve thought that these were key elements of the stories you might read to your kids at bedtime on a regular basis. “But surely not!”, you exclaim! The violence, the gore. That’s the stuff that old-style fairy tales were made of says I. (To take the above examples: Hansel and Gretal, Sleeping Beauty, and Rumpelstiltskin respectively.) It’s a wonder little children can even sleep at night!

The Brothers Grimm were certainly grim indeed! Nothing of the sort would come within twenty miles of a kids’ book these days that’s for sure. Not unless the publishers wanted to be sued by angry parents. Or perhaps if put in a film? There would be a PG13 rating slapped on it before you could say ‘gingerbread house’ (some scenes may be unsuitable for young children).

Not convinced yet? How about the Juniper Tree, another old favourite. It features a wicked stepmother who takes closes the head of her boy in a chest, later serving him up for dinner to her unsuspecting husband. Only to get her just desserts having her head crushed by a millstone, dropped by said child reincarnated in a (surprisingly strong) bird. An eye for an eye and all that.

Which brings me to another point, these writers have a lot to answer for with regard to ‘cruel and heartless’ stepmothers and / or stepsisters. As well as the example above, we have Cinderella, tormented by the ‘ugly sisters’; and Snow White, whose death was plotted by her wicked stepmother. As well as many more. Such blatant sexism wouldn’t get an aspiring writer far in today’s politically correct world.

Fairytales were dark, and there’s no mistaking that. But what better way to make the point hit home? After all, every example above comes equipped with the token happy ending. The children escape the gingerbread house; the handsome prince wins his bride; the spinner of thread to gold marries the king. The evil step relatives usually meet their end in appropriate ways, with the remaining characters living a great deal better off without them. Happily ever after in fact.

The ‘good guys’ come out top. The moral is clear. Be kind, generous and good, and good things happen to you. Be not, and you just might be an evil witch’s next meal.


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