Once Upon A Time. Four words that tell us the story we are about to hear is a familiar one. A story that reflects who we are as well as where we have come from. It’s a story handed down from generation to generation: a gift of advice, a warning of danger, an admonishment to stay the course but most of all, it’s an invitation to indulge in a bit of magic. Perhaps that’s why we think fairy tales, and the wider genre of folk tales, are stories meant only for children; forgetting that even adults are children at heart.
As a young girl I was introduced to fairy tales via the Little Golden Books and Disney’s animations but as I got older I discovered their true origins. I found a copy of the Grimm’s Brothers collection of Germanic Folk Tales. Titled Children’s and Household Tales, it contained more than a few stories that by modern standards, would be too gruesome for children but censorship in the 50s and 60s might have kept TV moms and dads in separate beds but it didn’t keep Grimm’s out of children’s hands. They were gruesome tales. The kind that would carry trigger warnings, today. Tales that involved self-mutilation (Cinderella’s sisters cut off their toes in an attempt to fit into those glass slippers), child abandonment and abuse (Hansel and Gretel dumped in the forest like unwanted pets), not to mention the sadism and mysogyny of The Robber Bridegroom which featured a gruesome scene with a young maid being disrobed and dismembered. I remember being shocked, horrified even, but that didn’t stop me from reading it. But then again,my generation enjoyed a good fright, just ask Steven King. But aside from the gruesomness and gore of the Germanic fairy tales written down by the Grimms brothers, folk tales also included the Danish stories created by Hans Christian Anderson (The Little Mermaid, The Ugly Duckling), the French ones written by Charles Perrault (Rapunzel, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Little Red Riding Hood), the English tales of Joseph Jacobs (The Three Pigs, Jack and the Beanstalk, Henny-Penny), and last but not least the French collection assembled by Madame d’Aulnoy (The Story of Pretty Goldilocks, The White Cat, The Blue Bird). It was d’Aulnoy who introduced Prince Charmant and who is also credited for introducing the term conte de fées. While the English term Fairy Tales, according to its inclusion in the Oxford English Dictionary, references its use in writings of the clergyman John Swan as early as 1635, it is d’Aulnoy who 3 years later, applied it to her group of stories and therefore gets credit for the name. Regardless of who said it first, over time fairy tales have come to include any story that involves magical beings with fantastic characters and marvellous events told for the entertainment of children. Even the terms fairy tale and folk tale have become synonymous and the adjective fairytale (or fairy-tale, if you prefer) describes something as wonderful as it is improbable.
Beyond their entertainment, however, folk tales provide us with something else. They are a glimpse into the world our ancestors inhabited; the traditions they wanted to reinforce, their morals, their fears and their desires. While many of the stories are set in a time long gone, their messages live on. Anthropologist-linguists theorize that the story of Jack in the Beanstalk dates as far back as the proto-indo-europeans, making it 5,000 years old. The archetypal fairy tale characters, the beautiful princess, the evil step-mother, the prince charming and the simpleton, not only pervade these stories, they are self-perpetuating stereotypes that we subconsciously buy into even as we try to adapt them to ourselves.
Take Snow White as an example. In the original Grimms’ version, the story ends with the evil queen going to Snow White’s wedding. There she is unmasked and forced to dance in red hot shoes until she dies. In the version of Snow White popularised by Disney, the evil queen is chased to a cliff where she attempts to roll a boulder onto the dwarves but instead lightening strikes and she falls, presumably to her death. Disney ensures that the evil queen is punished but spares us the guilt of having her tortured and murdered. While Disney’s adaptation is remembered for its ground breaking animation, I can’t help but think that its real success was based on Disney tapping into the American psyche. It certainly wouldn’t have the same appeal today but in. 1937, the US was just coming out of the Great Depression. Many could relate to the evil forces that had sent them into poverty. They were looking forward towards brighter times ahead and Disney gave them the happy ending they longed for.
Since then, Snow White has evolved along with the feminist movement. The 2012 movie, Snow White and the Huntsman introduces an older Snow White; one who is more self-sufficient. Instead of the passive 16 year old, we have an action oriented woman. Instead of romance, we get action. Even the conflict alters. The rivalry between Snow White and the evil queen is generational. It’s not beauty that’s at stake. It’s aging. This newer rendition is a reflection on the modern woman’s deepest fear, that of growing old.
Within my lifetime, Disney females have evolved from the passive Cinderellas, Sleeping Beauties and Snow Whites to the more empowered Mulans and Moanas, while Disney’s male characters have evolved from the hero who swoops in to save the heroine to males that are more sensitive and vulnerable. And yet, ask any little girl what she wants to dress up as and she inevitably goes for the fairy princess while little boys choose batman or spidermanIt. It is this yin and yang between conforming to the past stereotypes while pushing for change that intrigues me most about modern day retelling of traditional tales. We adopt them even as we adapt them.
When I decided to write The Crones’ Tales, I wanted to diverge from the fairy tale as a plot driven story to one that was more character focused. I wanted to explore the characters’ internal feelings but in true folk tale fashion I wanted to explore modern themes. And being an old feminist, I wanted to explore how feminist themes have pushed boundaries, expanding women’s views on what they can accomplish as well as what constraints we still struggle to overcome. As each crone tells her tale, the themes get darker, the stakes higher.
If you haven’t been following the early drafts of these short stories they will be on my website for a few more months. The final book, a novella, will be launched in 2026. And while we are looking ahead to 2026, I’ll mention a few events where you can catch me in person. I’ll be at Book Fair Australia which is being held in Melbourne from February 21 to the 22. I’ll also be attending the Clunes Book Fair from March 21-22.