The evolution of the fairytale

Most know fairytales as the stories of their childhood. It might interest you to know that the majority of fairytales were not written with a childhood audience in mind. The moralising and socialising role of the fairytale occurred post-publication and through numerous alterations and adaptations in edition after edition.

Various editions of the Grimm Brothers' Kinder- und Hausmärchen

In most cases, the first editions of the childhood tales we know so well were littered with incest, violence, murder, rape, necrophelia and cannibalism amongst other acts frowned upon in today’s mainstream society. For the tales attributed to the Grimm Brothers, this was due the tales being aimed at preserving Germanic folklore.

1925 edition of Il Pentamerone

Another example is Giambattista Basile. For those who think they aren’t familiar with him, he was the author of the earliest known versions of Rapunzel and Sleeping Beauty amongst others. His compilation of collected and written fairytales were meant as a form of adult entertainment, some meant as a mockery of society to a certain extent. His works were published posthumously as Il Pentamerone – the Tale of Tales.

True, Il Pentamerone was presented as a collection of tales for the entertainment of children but were hardly suitable reading material for such an audience and were considered subtly restricted reading material in their time. In other words, in the opinion of publishing houses of that period, for the bourgeoisie who were wise enough to enjoy tales without being influenced by them. The Grimm’s first publication was titled Kinder- und Hausmärchen – Children’s and Household Tales. Their initial content was also unsuitable for youngsters.

Then, along came commercialism and capitalism and the opportunity to tap into another market segment – the kind that was very impressionable. Anyway, these tales were repackaged, and then re-repackaged, and then repackaged some more, until they were deemed suitable for children and that is the form in which they made their journey into the twenty-first century.

In this age of special effects, high-definition imaging and colour that bursts off of your screen (quite literally) to delight the visual senses, fairytales have once again taken on a new face. Recent cinematic adaptations of fairytales were targeted at adults in the form of horror and action films and were very much age restricted. Releases such as Snow White and the Huntsman, Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters and Red Riding Hood are perfect examples of this. And this trend is said to continue in 2013.

Dr. Sarah Dunnigan, a senior lecturer in English and Scottish literature at the University of Edinburgh, teaches the honours year Fairy Tales course. According to her, the rise in popularity of fantasy films has unveiled a pre-existing appetite for the fairy tale genre and one that has been moulded to the interests of the ‘Twilight generation’. Beauty, death, desire and horror are the aspects that today’s fairytale film industry are appealing to in this line of audience. As opposed to attempting to moralise, mainstream fairytales are being used to pander to the fancies of a new audience, repackaged and repurposed – once again. 

The pendulum has come full swing. We see the return of some of the original themes in fairytales, even if a tad watered down for the sake of keeping the films blockbuster material. Fairytales are once again being orchestrated for the entertainment of adults, or at the very least, young adults – and once again due to commercialisation and the target market. And they seem to be making their mark on the popular culture industry.