Darnton's take on the mother goose tales is highly analytical, and I think takes away from some of the enjoyment of the actual story. When reading little red riding hood, I don't want to be reminded of the fact that the wolf if symbolic of a predatory pedophile male figure.
I was shocked to see how much the stories have changed over time. It wasn't until last Thursday's class discussion that I realized that the stories mirrored the time period. At the time that the little red riding hood story on the first page of the Darnton article was written, vulgarity was more widely accepted. In that story, not only did the wolf kill the grandmother, but he also cut up her body, drained her blood, and then served it to little red riding hood. Is it necessary to add an element of cannibalism to a child's story? No... but it definitely makes it more interesting. In modern times no parent would dream of reading a story about little red riding hood consuming her own grandmother to their child, but I'm sure it would make a great twisted horror movie. In many modern day little red riding hood tales, both grandma and red manage to get away, and it is actually the wolf that dies. The story has changed to fit the values of the time period.
In Levine's article however, it is highlighted that the stories never change. I found this to be an interesting contrast from Darnton. You can change a fairy tale to cater to the times, or to the children. However, a slave story has little room for modification since it is mirroring actual events. As fairy tales change from vulgar to semi appropriate, to PG cookie cutter clean, a slave story will always be a slave story. It will always be horrific, terribly depressing, and undeniably truthful.
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As you pointed out, the fairy tales that we have come to love and cherished have changed drastically over time. It was not until reading your post that I realized how much of an impact the times have had on the stories and how they end up being altered to adapt the standards of the time period in which they are being told.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I must admit that personally, I think that regardless of the time period, the modern day, "childproof" version of fairy tales are much more suited to be heard by children, regardless of age, culture, or time period. I think that regardless of what else is going on in a child's life or what the time period may be, a child deserves the escape of a fairy tale and to have it not mirror the problems that he is bound to witness every day. One thing that I love about reading fiction is that it allows me to think of other worlds, people, and problems and for a brief period of time, escape my own reality. I think the same courtesy should be extended to children.