Welcome to Thoughtful Thursday!
This week I would like to discuss fairy tales and their influence over children and adults.
Have you read fairy tales as an adult? Why/why not? Did you enjoy them as a child? Which one were your favourites? Which one you hated? What do you remember about them? Whad did they teach you? Would you like to read them to your children? Do you like modern versions of fairy tales? Which ones?
I would love to know your thoughts!
Now some quotes concerning this topic:
Image via WikipediaHans Christian Andersen
Fairy Tales are more than true; not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.
G. K. Chesterton
I believe in everything until it's disproved. So I believe in fairies, the myths, dragons. It all exists, even if it's in your mind. Who's to say that dreams and nightmares aren't as real as the here and now.
John Lennon
The loveliest fairy in the world; and her name is Mrs Doasyouwouldbedoneby.
Charles Kingsley
The Water Babies.
John Lennon
The loveliest fairy in the world; and her name is Mrs Doasyouwouldbedoneby.
Charles Kingsley
The Water Babies.
If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.
Albert Einstein
Attributed, but unsourced.
Albert Einstein
Attributed, but unsourced.
The tooth fairy teaches children that they can sell body parts for money.
David Richerby
David Richerby
A woman is a female who is human,
Designed for pleasing man, the human male.
A human male is pleased by many women,
And all the rest you hear is fairy tale.
Oscar Hammerstein II
If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder without any such gift from the fairies, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement and mystery of the world we live in.
Rachel Carson
Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?
Douglas Adams
Designed for pleasing man, the human male.
A human male is pleased by many women,
And all the rest you hear is fairy tale.
Oscar Hammerstein II
If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder without any such gift from the fairies, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement and mystery of the world we live in.
Rachel Carson
Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?
Douglas Adams
You have so many questions! Ok I can't remember much, but I remember listening to the real version and found it highly fascinating that Cinderella's stepsisters cut of their toes and stuff
ReplyDeleteI ws more into greek myth stories :)
I didn't really care for fairy tales, but I just loved the illustrations. My fave has always been Beauty and the Beast because it was about looking beyond the surface and Beauty had a brain. I have been having fun with the retellings tho!
ReplyDeleteI like Lennon and Carson's quotes the best. :)
I love that quote attributed to Einstein. Here's one from Tolkien: "If fairy-story as a kind is worth reading at all it is worthy to be written for and read by adults." I love fairy tales. I think that is what is thrilling me most about the Nibelungenlied is the little glimpses through the garden gate.
ReplyDeleteI loved them as a child. I don't have a favorite, there are just too many great ones. Maybe the stories about Diamuid and Grainne.
I don't like the modern versions, they try to sanitize them. Real life is messy.
I loved fairy tales as a child, and when I read them to my children as an adult, I could see why. Fairy tales are important, especially the dark ones - Snow White may eventually end up kissed by a Prince, but she has to endure the attacks of her wicked Step Mother first.
ReplyDeleteAs for modern fairy tales - depends what you class as a fairy tale. LoTR of course, some of Terry Pratchett's novels - especially Wyrd Sisters and Hogfather, and two modern fairy tale movies - Stardust and Enchanted - two movies I enjoyed as much as my daughter did.
Thanks for your comments!
ReplyDeleteBlodeuedd you don't have to answer all my questions - you can pick and choose as you wish!
Melissa Mr. Lennon suprised me very nicely with that quote too!
The Red Witch I wonder whether Einstein really said that. I think he could. Diamuid and Grainne? I must find more about them!
Tracy Terry Pratchett's books are incredible and I enjoyed Stardust too! Nowadays fairy tales have been incorporated into many other genres I suppose.
I've always liked and read fairy tales. My favourites were those written by H.C.Andersen (but original versions, not this bowlderized stuff you usually find in illustrated children's books)and by Grimm brothers. I also was an avid reader of Greek mythology and, in fact, any other mythology I could find - Chinese, German, Norse, Slavic, whatever. I usually enjoy any modern version of these tales as long as it is not too 'beautified' or 'sanitized'. They taught me a lot, mainly about the complexity of life and the way people tried to deal with apparently insurmountable problems. I must also add it is a great fun to find tropes from these stories in movies and other books and you can find them everywhere!
Oh and if you wonder, I added that Oscar Hammerstein's quote for the sheer cheek of it!
ReplyDeleteI find it amazing that someone who wrote the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy thinks we shouldn't ask for fairies at the bottom of the garden too.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't considered modern fairy stories like Stardust although I did consider slapping that label on LotR which you know I love.
I used to love reading myths when I was younger too, anachronist - I still do, hence my recommendation of the Canongate Myths series.
ReplyDeleteYes, Douglas Adams quote is interesting - I think he's making the point that nature is fascinating enough in it's own right, we really don't need to invent fairies and elves, there are enough real mysteries in the Universe, which is true - but myths have an importance beyond that. Human brains need stories.
The Red Witch I suppose Mr Adams just wanted to tell us that it is not always necessary to look for a supernatural explanation of beautiful/great things. I agree with Tracy's explanation too - nature is so amazing that any fiction, compared to it, seems pale and ordinary. We still don't understand so many allegedly simple phenomena like migration of birds. So we invent stories. Humans have always been creative - in positive and in negative ways but creative nevertheless.
ReplyDeleteI did read fairy tales as a child. They were the sanitized ones though. The darker ones were definitely more instructive. The one thing I learned was not to take things that didn't belong to me, and beware of making promises out of desperation.
ReplyDeleteGreat lessons, Brooke thanks for a visit!
ReplyDeleteThose are great lessons. I think Mr. Adams, whom I otherwise like and admire, is wrong on this one. He is trying to deny the existence of the Old Ones.
ReplyDeleteThe Red Witch you don't have to believe him when it comes to the Old Ones. ;)
ReplyDelete