Research Paper

http://guintoellefranchesca.blogspot.com/

THE REASON WHY THE BROTHERS GRIMM'S

 FAIRY TALES ARE REVISED 

A Research Paper Presented to

The Faculty of the English Resource Center

School of Multimedia Arts

Asia Pacific College

Magallanes, Makati City

In Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements of the Course

ERESWRIT - Research Writing

Elle Franchesca Guinto

April 2014

Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study

The Grimm's fairy tales are one of the popular sources of children tales, back in the Medieval, and still in the present. The Brothers' Grimm, Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm, are one of the popular authors that paved the way for the fame of fairy tales. These tales, are the stories that we see today, the one that are usually produced by Disney. Fairy tales, as some had noticed, had a series of sort of cliched pattern. They have the perfect endings, the so-called 'happily ever after', which can be found and present on almost all the fairy tale movies. They are also told in a less violent way, though still retaining the story line. In the succeeding years that they are made, they had always been safe for children and in public. Or should we say, they are the cleaned versions of the stories. 

With a bit of history, The Brothers' Grimm have gone way back to the Medieval times. According to an article written by Francine McKenna entitled "The History of the Brothers' Grimm",  They had been travelling around countries, gathering information and different lores and tracing the German culture to its roots. McKenna stated that "Researching forgotten roots, the brothers Grimm had originally immersed themselves in the study of Old German which had then developed in the direction of all things Germanic, anything that might help to forge a common German consciousness, hoping their writings would help towards creating a sense of German identity"  (http://www.germanpulse.com/2012/04/10/the-history-of-the-brothers-grimm/).

Some of the popular Grimm's tales are Snow White, Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, The Frog Prince and Rumpelstiltskin. And even with these stories, they are enough to prove that the stories have a 'different' kind of way that they are told.

Alessandro Cima wrote an article called "Grimms Fairy Tales". The article talked about how these stories have a certain effect to children reading them.These tales are observed to have 'different' kind of ways they are originally told, since most of these tales are retold to a cleaner version through Disney's cartoon movies and are revised from different literary authors. The originals, are found to have gory details and cannibalistic nature on the characters. He stated that "Grimm’s Fairy Tales are not all appropriate for very young children. Some the of the tales contain violence and prejudice. Unfortunately, they do reflect some of the less admirable qualities of the people who told the tales and spread them from one region to another. Some of the prejudice in evidence still exists today and cannot be viewed as entirely historical in nature" (http://www.candlelightstories.com/storybooks/grimms-fairy-tales/).

The Grimm's tales are passed on multiple times to different versions. Some had been retold to a much finer way that is more pleasant to the audience. A factor that could made this possible is the travelling of Brothers to different countries, gathering tales and lores all over, and retelling and compiling them for their literature. 

According to the article "Grimm's Fairy Tales and Other Versions" by Elizabeth Kennedy, the article talked about the Brothers' Grimm on their travel as they go around countries collecting tales. And with the published stories of the Grimm's they attracted children as audience. She stated that, "The subject of fairy tales is a fascinating one, particularly Grimm's fairy tales. Many of the most popular fairy tales of today developed centuries ago and have evolved over time into stories for children" (http://childrensbooks.about.com/cs/fairytales/a/grimm.htm).

The researcher observed that the original versions that are made by the Brothers' Grimm are different from what are seen today. They had been interpreted to different versions and editions that are less than the original and are the ones present and viewed today. 

The information the researcher found in these paper is will help in knowing why the Grimm's fairy tales are revised or changed will help the readers in understanding the reason why certain revisions of stories are made. This can also help prevent future misconception, especially to the readers of the Grimm's tales, that the tales are still worth reading and that they still are open to be told whenever.

The main focus of this paper is to know why the fairy tales of the Brothers' Grimm are revised. The tales may have gone a long way but knowing they are revised can promote a better understanding and knowledge.



B. Statement of the Problem


This study aims to answer this question:

1. What is the reason why the Grimm's fairy tales revised?


C. Significance of the Study


Writers. This research paper would help to inform present and future writers about the possible new methods of approach to create stories and literature. With this research paper, it may help them learn from the ways of classical writers (such as the Brother's Grimm) and use it for their own. This can also widen their knowledge about what are the things that can make a story change.

Readers. Knowing why the Grimm's tales are revised or changed will help the readers in understanding the reason why certain revisions of stories are done. They can also be aware that the stories nowadays had come from distant originals that are almost forgotten through time.

Future Researchers. This paper will help future researchers that will probably want to know more of the subject. It will contribute to what they want to know especially if they are also researching about fairy tales and the history.

Parents. This paper will help in guiding their children fro better learning with the correct mediums. 


D. Scope and Delimitation


The focus of this paper is to explain why the Grimm's fairy tales are revised. Fairy tales are made as a source of learning and the reason why they are revised may help in further development of writing  literature.

Due to time constraints, this study will no longer discuss other linked factors such as the real stories about the fairy tales, the journey of the brothers, and the sources to how they found the tales. This will focus mainly on research why the fairy tales are changed to lighter versions. 


E. Materials and Methods



The researcher will use the method of searching links through online sources for articles, essays, and journals that is connected and will support in the study. It will focus on research about what had happen why the tales are changed and converted to different editions.

The materials that the researcher will use are articles, essays, and journals that can be found through online access.


F. Definition of Terms

1. Fairy Tales - a story (as for children) involving fantastic forces and beings (as fairies, wizards, and goblins); a story in which improbable events lead to a happy ending (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fairy%20tale).

2. Revision - a change or a set of changes that corrects or improves something; a new version of something : something (such as a piece of writing or a song) that has been corrected or changed (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/revision?show=0&t=1397185016).

Chapter 2

DISCUSSION

What is the reason why the Grimm's fairy tales are revised?


Definition of Fairy Tales


Fairy tales are the short stories of fantasy that are purely fictional and is used for children nowadays. It is a kind of story that involves different magical creatures like fairies, wizards, unicorns, etc., and also includes sorcery and magic in its plot. 

To define more of fairy tales, the researcher found an article entitled "Fairy Tale Defined" written by Wally Hastings from the site Fairrosa.info. In the article, Hastings talked about the different ways of the term "fairy tale" is defined from different sources. According to the article, the way of distinction between fairy tales and those with folk tradition comes from folklorists who follow the folklorist named Stith Thompson and distinguish the item between the "fairy tale" (Kunstmarchen) and the  "folk tale" (Volksmarchen). He said that these two types can be defined as "literary fairy tales" and "folk fairy tales." The folk tales are the older form which more oral and communal and that it is developed through retellings within a society. While, the fairy tale is a literary production made to a greater or lesser extent on folk tales and it has a more set form, meaning you can claim an authoritative version than the original author (http://www.fairrosa.info/disc/fairytale.definition.html).

As fairy tales are confused with folk tales, there is another article the researcher found entitled "Answering What is a Fairy Tale" written by Heidi Anne Heiner form the site SurlaluneFairytales.com. In the site, almost the same as Hastings, Heiner talked about how different authors define fairy tales. Cutting a quote from the site, she stated that "...fairy tales are part of folklore, but folk tales are not necessarily fairy tales. The simplest way to explain this is to think of fairy tales as a subgenre of folklore along with myths and legends" (http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/introduction/ftdefinition.html).

In short, fairy tales are the retold version of the folk tales that is improved depending how a certain author decides it to be. Fairy tales are derived from folk tales as they passed on, retold from different tellers. As Heiner said in her article, "Once the story is written, it becomes static in that version. It is no longer only folklore, but part of the world's body of literature" (http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/introduction/ftdefinition.html).


Reasons Why The Grimm's Fairy Tales Are Revised


I. Children as Audience


As the Brothers' Grimm were collecting their stories by travelling from one place to another they were also in the process of publishing their editions. Until later they realized that they developed the children as the major audience in their works. 

There was an article entitled "Guardians of the Fairy Tale: The Brothers Grimm" written by Thomas O'Neill from the site NationalGeographic.com. In that article, Thomas talked about the legacy and process of the Brothers Grimm from the moment they started up to their last as their stories progressed and developed from time. The children were apparently attracted to the idea of princes rescuing princesses and how things magically happen, though in the first place, the tales were not really aimed for children. It is only to preserve the Germanic oral tradition.

In the article, he said that "Once the Brothers Grimm sighted this new public, they set about refining and softening their tales, which had originated centuries earlier as earthy peasant fare" (http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/introduction/ftdefinition.html).

Because of the attention they attracted to children, English publishers started to make beautiful and pleasant images of the stories that will satisfy their audience. And of course, as they were being translated and retold, the elements softened and the brutal and cruel parts were sensored, leaving the image of how we see 'fairy tales' in our days. A perfect example is how Disney portrayed it in their cartoon animated films that started with their version of "Snow White" and "Cinderella". 


II. Offended Adults


If the audience the Grimm Brothers attracted are the children, there is also a big possibility that they would attract the adults as well, since children always rely on their parents. As their stories are exposed, adults also begun reading them and they noticed of the 'way' the original stories are told. With matured minds, they reacted on why the stories are made in such a way that they were brutal and violent. 

Also from the article of Thomas O'Neill, he said that there was an American educator back in 1885 who railed that "The folktales mirror all too loyally the entire medieval worldview and culture with all its stark prejudice, its crudeness and barbarities." The original stories, as they were told, were pretty violent and the psychology were almost realistic but a little too cruel. The other adults who have read the stories were offended and they objected the Grimm's way of punishing the villains in their story. 

Examples of these are the original story of "Snow White" where the evil stepmother is forced to dance on iron-hot shoes to death. Another is "The Goose Maid" where the servant is stripped, forced into a barrel studded with nails and dragged through the streets. 

Almost all of the Grimm's tales are written in those way. The villains with unusual motives such as the evil stepmother of Snow White who is actually a cannibal wanting to eat her heart, are punished in a way they were cruelly tortured or violently punished. As the adults saw this, they resisted these kind of ways the stories were told and also they think that it is not suitable for their children to read.


III. Family Viewing


While they already attracted the children and the adults for their tales to be in favor of their audience, the tales continued to be revised to newer versions. One of the major roles that played a part in this is the company of Walt Disney. 

The researcher found an article entitled "Disney v. Original Fairy Tales", a final project by Abby Quick from the site Quick105.Wordpress.com. In the article, she talked about the comparison of the Disney Movies from the original versions. In the bottom part which is her conclusion, she talked about the changes and the tales that were adapted to the movies. As their now target market as which is the children, Abby said that it is only understandable that Disney converts the tales to a cleaner version. 

In the article, she said that "They feel the need to make the tales suitable for family viewing and don’t want to raise controversy. In more cases than not, Disney changes the main message of the fairytales they adapt. I think Disney changes the stories in order to put the values that they deem important. Because Disney is such a big and influential company, the values they instill are engrained in our youth" (http://quick105.wordpress.com/). 

Nowadays, Disney had the most impact if talking about fantasies and fairy tales. And with their influence, they now played the big role of retelling these stories to a more child-friendly way and that is what they did. With Disney started the fairy tale retellings and animated them, they had become the main source of the tales nowadays that what they started is what most of believed in. 


IV. Fairy Tale Revisions Necessary


Fairy Tales, regardless if they were meant for children or not, are the ones that spearheaded that short stories influence the children more. As most of us had grown to, we've always thought that fairy tales are meant for children and even though they really are not, the revised ideas of the fairy tales are where most values that we teach nowadays are taken from. The fairy tales that are retold to us, which are the improved and the cleaner versions, had always given us a good impact that they had been subject to basic value teachings to children. And as what the researcher had thought, it is only good that they are revised. 

The best method to make a child learn is to let him/her read different books that will supplement her basic knowledge. And since fairy tale plots are the simplest and the easiest ones to teach, we had grown accustomed to them being the primary source. With their easy to follow plots and easy to recognize characters, even back in the Grimm's time they had attracted the attention. And by their help of the revised children versions, it developed a new method to teach youngsters without being much technical.

The researcher found an article entitled "Influence of Fairy Tales on Children" written by Rave Uno from the site Buzzle.com. In the article, he talked about the good points why children should read fairy tales. He also expressed the benefits of making kids read them and the good effects of it to their brains. 

One point is that they "encourage the children to dream and imagine". According to him, childhood is the stage in life that dreaming is uncontrollable to children and their imaginations are wildly active. The idea of kingdoms and magic fulfill their creativity as a child especially when they read fairy tale books. In the article, he stated that "A child's mind with video games and movies is given the thought or the concept, he/she has not had a chance to imagine or think of it on his/her own" (http://www.buzzle.com/articles/influence-of-fairy-tales-on-children.html). 

Chapter 3

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION, RECOMMENDATION

Summary


This paper aimed to discover the reasons why the Grimm's fairy tales are revised.

The research design used in this study is descriptive research method wherein data from documents, studies and articles found on the internet were used to answer the research question presented. 

1.Fairy tales go long way back to the Medieval period courtesy of the Grimms gathering them all around Germany. The tales are having cliched pattern of characters and endings as what their image had been portrayed today.They all have happy endings and they have this clean image of their plots with pleasant details. 

2. The researcher learned that there was a time in the past that stories are written in a way that they had been brutal and violent before and most of the stories are revised. 

3. The information the researcher gathered aimed to know the reason why the Grimm's fairy tales had been revised. 

Conclusions

Based on the findings of this study, the following conclusions are drawn: 

1. The children as audience is the major reason the Grimm's fairy tales had been revised, though them being the target audience was not intended. The Grimm's intention was to preserve their Germanic culture but their works apparently attracted the children.

2. The Grimm's tales attracted the adults as well but they soon noticed the way the tales are written and they found out that they were too violent and evil.They also objected the idea of the Grimm's tales of how they cruelly punish their villains.

3. As the children as their now audience and they have the adults attention as well, revisions that came after aimed the stories for family viewing in which the company of Walt Disney is responsible of. The animated cartoon movies that they produced became the child-friendly type version that is viewed today.

Recommendation

After drawing the conclusions of the study, the researcher hereby make the following recommendations: 

1. Writers should take consideration of the way they write their stories since literary works are not entirely controlled for a specific audience. Though each have their own style of writing, they should at least make sure that their works are aimed to their specific target. 

2. Readers who had read this research should be more open to research of the books or literary works that they read. It will help them gain more knowledge of how they are written and why they are written in such a way that is appealing to the audience. In short, it could give them more awareness to the things that they read.

3. Future researchers should be open more in their research in order for them to find out how things happen. They can also find more information of their topics that will can raise another of their interest.

4.Parents should guide their children more on what they read and what they see. Proper guidance to children is the best for them to learn the best things. 

References

A. Electronic Media

Francine McKenna "The History of the Brother's Grimm" from

http://www.germanpulse.com/2012/04/10/the-history-of-the-brothers-grimm

Alessandro Cima "Grimm's Fairy Tales" from

http://www.candlelightstories.com/storybooks/grimms-fairy-tales

Elizabeth Kennedy "Grimm's Fairy Tales and Other Versions" from

http://childrensbooks.about.com/cs/fairytales/a/grimm.htm

Wally Hastings "Fairy Tale Defined" from
http://www.fairrosa.info/disc/fairytale.definition.html

Heidi Anne Heiner "Answering What is a Fairy Tale?" from
http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/introduction/ftdefinition.html

Thomas O'Neill "Guardians of the Fairy Tale: The Brothers Grimm" from
http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/introduction/ftdefinition.html

Abby Quick "Disney v. Original Fairy Tales" from
http://quick105.wordpress.com

Rave Uno "Influence of Fairy Tales on Children" from
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/influence-of-fairy-tales-on-children.html

Blogpost 8: Rapunzel: Narcissism and Hair Syndrome

Rapunzel.. the girl with long golden silk hair... Those blonde wavy locks that flows all the way from the top to the bottom of a tall tower... Well she might pay a million to a stylist to do some hell a lot of a job, but I agree that hair was really admirable. To be able to use that on hauling people down and up? Totally essential. I'm always fond of long hairs, but not Rapunzel-long hair. Good luck to those dandruffs though. 

Well let's get to the topic and let's see what research had thought of our Rapunzel.

I found an article entitled "Rapunzel, Daughter of a Closet Narcissist" written by Gudrun Zomerland from the site ChinnStreetCounseling.com.

Zomerland talked about the movie "Tangled" and it's sort of psychological challenge. It said that with the "Mommy Dearest" endearment that Rapunzel calls her 'mother', it shows a type of narcissism  that is focused on self-absorption that molds her daughter to an exact copy of herself. There was this thing called "closet narcissists" that clearly describes the mother with characters mentioned. They are not bad as the article says, they are mothers still in their child-like mentality, sort of.  They live in their so-called fantasies. 

The article said that "She had her own fairy tale to live through. However, without her having inner and outer resources for healing herself, her trauma became generational and it was passed on to me."

Come to think of it, I had seen some experiences with mothers with that attitude. They tend to be a little overprotective at times in their children and kept on dictating them on what they should do. They claim that they "know best" but really, they should took pity on their children. Spoiling them won't do any good.

On the side of science, I found this article entitled "5 Psychological Conditions Named for Disney Characters" written Lauren Baker from the site MentalFloss.com.                                                                                                                                                                 I found out that there is a thing called Rapunzel Syndrome where it is an intestinal condition that results people to eating hair, from a disorder known as Tricophagia. They swallow hair and as a results, it grows to a ball inside their intestines. 

As disgusting as it is, it actually exists. I'm just thankful that I never got that habit. It needs operation in order to pull the hair out from the stomach. And as I searched for images, I advice that you don't. I'll describe it anyway. It looks like a big bulk of feces but as you look closer, it is made of hair and the wastes inside the intestines. Really weird and disgusting.

So much for having Rapunzel. I think with all of the above infos it just gives a small piece of advice, to take care of yourself and do not let hindrances keep you from growth. Following our parents are never wrong, but sometimes, you just need that little dose of rebellion in order for you to find who you really are.

Blogpost 7: The Frog Prince: Dreams and Growth

I've been into giving quotes that matches the topic fairy tale and here I will say that this one we got here is the perfect one for "Don't make promises that you can't keep." The "Frog Prince" or in its original German translation, "The Frog King" or the "Iron Heinrich"; still written by our favorite the Brothers' Grimm. Either way it's till the same. A short story of finding a true love; but not so good of the characters. Personally, this is the most boring story for me, because I see no essence of true love in it. But as I go along the research, well, as always, there's more than meets the eye.

As everyone is familiar of the story, I will jump to the first favorite branch: mythology.

Heket

I found an article entitled "Frog, Toad - Dream Symbol" written by Lori Phillips from the site BellaOnline.com.                                                                                                                                                               Phillips talked about the different interpretations of a frog in various mythologies such as it being a symbol of transformation or fertility. In Egyptian Mythology, there was a frog goddess named "Heket" and she symbolizes life and fertility to the Egyptians and her image was worn for pregnant women in belief that they would give a safe birth. In Native American mythology, they are believed to control the rain. While when they appear in dreams, frogs symbolizes the deeper aspect of one's self, may it be thoughts, emotions, or creative aspects. As stated earlier, they also symbolize fertility since they lay a lot of eggs and also can mean birth of ideas. The leaping frog in a dream are seen as positive symbols, but may also mean inattentiveness because of the frog leaping around, it may mean of things incomplete or undone that we have missed.

Phillips also said that "When thinking of animals associated with rebirth or transformation in mythology, it may be easy to overlook the lowly frog. But the frog has a prominent place in the mythology of many world cultures as a symbol of transformation or fertility meaning that the little green gal also has a firm footing in the collective unconscious, the place where dreams are made."

Looking back, we might have ignored the value of frogs in tales but really, this little guys have declared some special value for themselves. I never experienced of encountering a frog in a dream; or I might have but I can't really remember. The frog had always been that tiny subject that is passed out from judgement. And now that we know that they mean a lot, maybe it's time to take a look on the little creatures.

It seems like I haven't gotten enough from sexual topics that I found the article entitled "The Individuation Process: The Shadow" by Carl Jung from the site MythsDreamsSymbols.com.

In the site, there's a part that stated that the story of Frog Prince shows the meaning of a young woman overcoming her fear of sex. It said that the frog has a connection to dragons and monsters that guards treasures; where the treasure is the true self; the princess's kiss on the prince is the acceptance of the shadow (the underside of one's personality); and the transformation of the prince is the wholeness of discovering true self-hood.                                                                                                               In other words, it sort of symbolizes maturity of a woman to overcome her own fears, not just sex.

                                                                       

If you had read the story, the princess was a stubborn and irresponsible kind of girl at the beginning when she broke her promise to the frog. While she ignores the callings of the frog to let him inside her room, it took him 3 tries for her to finally allow him to her bed. But by then, the princess already accepted him and that's why he was given the kiss that released him from his spell. We may hate the princess, but yeah, she had proven something.

I'll hate the princess for all she cares, but still she got the last laugh. But not only that, there's still some morals though. A girl in order to become a woman should come out of her cave and explore what's outside, her fears and beliefs included. To grow, it doesn't take us overnight, (well yeah the princess kind of did but that's not the point), there's always that little lesson that should slap us back to our senses. And also for the prince's part, to be fully free on our self-inflicted spells, we must endure sacrifice and spin a lot of hope and patinece in order for us to achieve the dreams we have been waiting.

Blogpost 6: Beauty and the Beast: Origin and Delusions

While before The Little Mermaid is an example of "Be careful what you wish for", this story, one of my favorite stories of this subject, is the perfect example of "Do not judge a book by its cover." The "Beauty and the Beast" with the oldest version written by Gianfrancesco Straparalo way back in the 1550s. I personally love the movie of Disney's version because their love story is just to great and really inspiring, talk about those cheesy moments in the castle. I've always admired the strong character of Belle and how she managed to handle a short-tempered, and not to mention a hideous looking beast under her wings. Tough one of a girl she is. 

Since this story's history is not much familiar to us because most of us knew only the one we saw in the movies, (which is probably still Disney) I decided to trace its roots to back mythology. 

As always, research never fails me. I saw an article entitled "Beauty and the Beast" from the site WillOfTheWisp1.Webs.com written under the username of Abby's Lair. 

The article tells about the different evolutions of the story Beauty and the Beast whereas the first origin is tracked down from the love story of Psyche and Eros; their love story filled with hindrance. Next is the vague love of the couple Hades and Persephone; the two not-so-happy couple. The story went on to Europe where it was first included in an anthology by Starapalo; but the famous version we know today is from Madame Gabrielle-Suzanne. It is now the story of the merchant agreeing to pay for his intrusion in the Beast's property with his daughter; the one also with Disney. 

As time goes by version's of the story came made up to the famous "Phantom of the Opera", where the story of Erik, a man with a body of corpse falls in love with Christine that leads to a disaster. And another Beauty-and-the-Beast-like version, "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" with a hunchback named Quasimodo loved by a gypsy Esmeralda despite the odds that he was deaf and an orphan. 

The article said, "As time goes on, the misfit Beast often becomes more understood, more pitied by the heroine, herself taking a more proactive role in the story, choosing her role rather than being forced into it by her father.  A fairytale must reflect the society that tells it, and judging by the telling of Beauty and the Beast, society seems to be changing for the better." 

As a bit of a fan of this story, I agreed to everything the article said as quoted above. From the first origin to the latest connection, it clearly it shows it has the most different approach of fairy tale stories made so far. Belle, and the other female characters that symbolizes Beauty, had this certain characteristic of a strong-willed woman that makes it even more unique. In here, it's not the man who only fights for the love but its the female role that played a big part. It is from the woman that the story completed its circle and giving it a happy ending. Cheers to girl power!

Such happiness as I've read the past article, but the next sort of crashed my beautiful painted image of the story Beauty and the Beast.

It's an article named "Beauty and the Beast’s Dark Delusion" written by Peter Gross from the site OverthinkingIt.com.

The article, well, quite shocked me to some revelations. It stated the Belle's story is a bit of a psychological drama, she being schizophrenic with hallucinations. Also, her having Stockholm Syndrome; a psychological phenomenon that hostages develop sympathy and positive feelings to their captors, which is considered irrational since it is an open risk captors are engaging at.  It also stated that the "enchantress" actually Belle's super-ego (meaning conscience) telling her the high moral cost of having the high standard lifestyle of aristocracy. For Belle to survive between the wealth distributions, she would need to "stop viewing people as human beings", see them as objects as the movie of Disney interpreted in the household. 

As if it's not shocking enough, the view on Gaston as the villain in the movie seemed misinterpreted. It stated that Gaston is actually concerned about Belle's seemingly weird being and that he was actually trying to help her, because he thinks that Belle is on her way to a tragic outcome because of her own beliefs. He was trying to convince her to be one with the villagers, to find her function but since it was contrary to Belle's imagined aristocrats with nothing common with the working class, she refuses. Having two options in order for her to function in the society, since she only shows interest in reading but not of science and maths and not writing on her own, she falls to only marriage and prostitution. In the near end of the movie, Gaston was asking her to marriage and it was misinterpreted for selfish reasons because he was actually helping her from falling to tragedy.

Since we sort of "thought" Belle as a tough woman, it became hard for Gaston to convince her and ended up rallying the villagers to kill the Beast, trying to stop Belle from her so-called delusions. 

(So much information that I can't explain all of them. So if anyone's interested, click the link to the article above.)

A neck-breaking info I found there. It gets a little complicated at times because the article was really particular on the details. And now my impression of the perfect story just crashed. Belle as schizophrenic? Who would've thought about that! But in a way, I found it a bit true since she really is against all odds in the movie. And it scared me of how true these observations could have been. I hope they're not, but I feel that they are.

I might say the most sweating research so far. This is my favorite. Honestly. I never thought I would found such heavy infos because I never searched about this before. Well I guess there'll be a lot more. Got a little heartbroken though.

Blogpost 5: Little Red Riding Hood: Morals and Sexuality

Deception is just a cruel thing isn't it? You get to make someone believe into something to get what you want. A commonly used trickery in stories and movies but it never gets old. Ever since in Snow White, the idea of deception is just the favorite act of villain characters. And up until now, it's still the best way to make one story exciting. 

So I'm going to tell one story of deception: Little Red Riding Hood written by the Brother's Grimm and has a version with Charles Perrault. Actually there were a lot of versions of this story. One with Red Riding Hood and her Grandmother got saved by a Woodsman; another with Red Riding Hood killing the Wolf and saving her Grandmother by dissecting the Wolf's belly; the other, a grosser version, is the Wolf dissects the Grandmother and invites Red Riding Hood to eat her flesh, but ended up eating her; and the other, well I might say the weirdest one, is Red Riding Hood stripteasing the Wolf while he lies in bed and escaping while he was distracted. (That one shouldn't have been included.) While a lot of versions are done, the original story goes like this: Red Riding Hood encountered the Wolf; the Wolf ate her Grandmother and when the little girl came, he ate her too. THE END. 

Boring? Yeah I know. So I decided to break one rule in researching and I searched for the meaning why "Red Riding Hood" is "red". 

Amazingly, I found an article that directs me exactly what I'm looking for, entitled "A Deeper Look Into Little Red Riding Hood" from the site Werewolves.com written under the username of Moonlight. 

As the title implies, the article talked about different symbolisms as well as hidden morals from some of the versions of Red Riding Hood. One is of course, with the color red. According to the article, before it was not really supposed to be red and that red is placed on to place some hidden morals. From one version that I said about the girl stripteasing, red is made to be its color as it represents sins and lust, and some versions are mixed with sexuality. An example is one with Red Riding Hood stripteasing the Wolf  to distract him; and another one is teasing the Wolf offering her clothing to buy her freedom; but ended up eating her anyway.                                                                                                There are bonuses that the article offered and I am not the one to refuse such valuable information. Another moral in it is from a version that Red Riding Hood strayed from the path given to her and that it symbolizes maturity, she is free from childhood and is gaining her own independence.

There's also a version about the Huntsman/Woodsman where he rescues them by slicing the Wolf's belly and pulling the Grandmother out who is still alive. Still in the article, it implies a lesson that on whatever life throws at us, there will always be a way to pull ourselves out from those troubles and we would still be complete and intact.

Lastly, is about the rocks where on that version Red Riding Hood cuts open the Wolf's belly and stuffed rocks inside and sewn it back, making his belly heavy and killing him with a broken heart. The rocks symbolizes the heaviness of the Red's experience and that she will never be fooled again.

Too much information on one article, but no, I'm not complaining. Really helpful it is though breaking a rule. I'm delighted to hear those symbolisms and morals and it gave the story more value than before. A little ticked off at the sexuality parts as it shows pedophilia, I mean, red Riding Hood is a little girl right? Stripteasing is a too sensual of a way to use as a method in a kid's story. Such a bad example. Whoever made that version is probably a pedophile. Either way I would probably never look at Red Riding Hood the same way again. 

And as if I hadn't gotten enough of sexuality, it grossed me even more as I found another article that is on the subject. An essay entitled "Psychoanalytic Approach to Little Red Riding Hood" from the site StudyMode.com written under the username of Putiputi. In the essay, it says that it was Sigmund Freud that started the psychoanalysis of a theory in human behaviors that is motivated by sexuality. And he gave the story of Red Riding Hood as an example, which is apparently abundant on the sexuality thing. It stated that the story's purpose is to actually warn from the "smooth-tongued" and "dangerous beasts" that steals ladies from innocence. From Perrault's version, it said that before the Wolf devoured her, the Wolf made her took off her clothes and after the girl commented on the Wolf's "big" body parts, he "jumped on her". 

Another thing the essay wanted to point out is the repression of sexual desires which is seen in the Wolf as he waits for the perfect timing. And he didn't eat the male woodcutters around the area and waited to prey instead on a young girl, which is a little weird. The version said that he made her naked first before going to bed before completely eating her. The Wolf was representing the psychic energy of an id; the first psychic zone of the mental process that consist lacking of logic, and functions only for "instinctual gratification."

The essay said that, "In stories such as this, the sexual undertones are clearly evident, and thus substantiate the intricacies behind the approach. Perhaps it is a bit untraditional. However, this investigation remains both thought provoking and brilliantly compelling."

Truly untraditional it is, for some elements like this to be included in a folk tale. For me, subjects like this gets a little uncomfortable. Maybe it's because we're talking about children stories here; the ones where you supposed to tell them before going to bed and that they will learn something from it. But from this different point of view, I guess there's more things that children can learn from bedtime stories.

Fairy Tale stories' origins have always been interesting. But it's always, the philosophy, psychology and mythology that keeps everything running. And I understand why my blogposts always revolves around them. The human mind is such a wide subject, especially when you focus on how it works. There's a ton of possibilities the human mind can offer and who knows? Maybe in the next few years of Fairy Tale evolutions it would not only be deception this time.  

Blogpost 4: The Little Mermaid: Syndrome and Disorders

They always say, "Be careful what you wish for", because people tend to be careless thinking that they need something when they really don't. Why? Because everything and anything goes upside down when emotions are involved. And that is something humans will never seem to control. We are forever enslaved by our emotions and once it took over, wrong will be right and right will be wrong. We tend to be blinded and got fooled easily by the things that we feel than the things that we should see. It's now a matter of decisions whether we chose to be foolish and or to be stupid. If that makes any sense.

So... the fourth post for my fairy tale series. Getting bored? You shouldn't. Because this next one is one of the most popular stories that has a very different origin, and one of the tragic ones that I have read. Behold... "The Little Mermaid" written by Hans Christian Andersen. As horrible as it is, the real story is about the little mermaid is that when she fell in love with the prince, she bargained with a witch to change her tail to legs; meaning literally cutting it and left to bleed. The 'not-so-charming' prince found her and was said to use her for fun. He married another woman whom he thought saved him (but was really little mermaid) and little mermaid was forced to kill him in exchange for her tail again. But since it is "emotions" that we're talking about she didn't get the chance to kill him and let herself be dissolved to the sea.

So much for these emotions. And as if her story is not tragic enough, there is a this psychological syndrome that is very much derived from our Little Mermaid's foolishness.

An article entitled "Impulsivity and "The Little Mermaid Syndrome" - Psychology Today" written by Shauna Springer, Ph.D from the site MarriageAdvocates.com; said that the "Little Mermaid Syndrome" is actually what we call 'love at first sight'. It is also the unrealistic fantasies that a girl constructs when she sees her 'prince' and had the tendency to ignore or give up herself, her family and other responsibilities with this guy. A girl with this syndrome has a high level of trust, reliance, and commitment but has no whole knowledge of who the guy is. In short, she is just smitten by the guy's charm and appeal and it caused her to fall for him in a way that is stupid.  And the thing is, there are "Ariels", as the article call it, in both men and women who had this kind of syndrome. They take their chances seriously because they believed and trusted the persons they fall to deeply.

Shauna's quotes said, "Be careful of trusting too much, too soon, in matters of the heart." ... "Guarding your own safety means trusting someone only as much as you know them, which is an elegantly simple, but profoundly important..." 

We can't get rid of recklessness. As much as we can't control our emotions, it is always best to at least keep ourselves on guard for whatever it is we are about to face. It can't hurt to be careful can it? I mean, obsession never gets to something good.

Since I began through psychology, might as well continue it since I found another interesting article.

It was entitled "Psychological Disorders in the Little Mermaid" an essay written by the username of Hoopzgrl from the site StudyMode.com.

In the brief sample of the essay she talked about the different psychological disorders the different characters possessed in Disney's "The Little Mermaid". Though not intentionally made to be like that, her personal observations say otherwise. Apparently there are symptoms of psychological disorders observed from the characters Flounder, Triton, and Sebastian. For Flounder, it was discovered that she had Panic Attacks in the movie. Panic attacks are the sudden feelings of terror that strike without warning. They even occur during sleep and it creates the illusion that the person is having a heart attack.  King Triton has Separation Anxiety, a feeling of needing attachment to a person always. As seen in the movie, he is desperate to get Ariel back and since it's his daughter, the anxiety has a greater impact. And lastly is Sebastian with an OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) which is like the highest form of perfectionism. 

Back then it never occurred to me that such characters could have disorders beneath  their images. Or if it's just the article, I'm not sure.  But going back when I watched the movie, it just seems normal that Flounder should be worrying for Ariel as a friend and King Triton wanting her back since she's his daughter. So I think these psychological disorders are just relied observations. Or if Disney secretly included them, it's doesn't destroy the movie's essence.

Little things beneath stories that have always been ignored could sometimes really stir something if you're interested to look it up. As petty fairy tales might seem to others, for me, it changed a lot to how I view them now. As I continue these posts, it opened me to a new point of view where I could see it in a different angle. I already expected it, but there are always things that are not meant to be expected. 

Blogpost 3: Cinderella: Myth and Complex

     

Having a 'happily ever after' is amazing right? Especially when it's a prince we're talking about.That's like the perfect thing that could happen to a girl. But at the same time, an impossible fantasy that is rarely achieved. Not everyone has it, at least in the real world. That's why there are fairy tales. They keep girls in fantasies that rarely, and mostly, never happens in real life. And as of what happens in my previous posts, even fairy tales didn't have such happy endings. Well, they still do but their stories are not as happy as the results. Funny that I haven't gotten to the rest of our princesses yet,  I found one that had such a happy ending that there is said to be anomaly in the story. You really can't have it all.

Cinderella, the servant-turned-princess without absolutely doing anything but attending a party and fitting a shoe. Well, now that I thought of it, it is quite weird. Yes she suffered under her stepmother and stepsisters reign but really, how she got her happy ending sounds so sure. Well enough of this and let's get to research.

There was this article I found entitled "After the Ball Is Over: Bringing Cinderella Home" by Rob Baum from the site Socrates.Berkeley.edu.

This is a hell a long of an article but since I was searching for the branch of study that is mythology, let's focus on that part. The thing about the mythology part is that it focused on Cinderella's being as what I've described earlier. It is said to be "mythical" because her luck seems to be surreal, that she didn't have any specific goal or direction from the start and there was no growth in her character. But on the other hand, her character was praised for she exceeded some mythical boundaries. 

Rob said, "Cinderella defines girls' first choice for a romantic partner, the structures of friendship and obedience that girls are trained to uphold, unconditional family love and, not least, ideals of personal appearance and deportment." 

So much for the flat character, but what he said was correct. Cinderella may not have grown to prove something but she did anyways in her own way. As actions speaks louder than words, she valued a lot in her surroundings. Coping with evil relatives is hard enough, especially if stacked with a 10-ton laundry. 

Unique connections to Cinderella have been bland. So I'll share I saw in relation to psychology.

The article was entitled "The Cinderella Complex" by Colette Dowling on the site Womens-Wellbeing-And-Mental-Health.com.

It was actually a book Dowling wrote that tackled about the women's conflicts regarding independence and the article uploaded is the opening pages of her book. She talked about the said 'Cinderella Complex' which is the tendency or an unconscious desire to be taken care of for fear of independence. Like Cinderella, women had this sort of inborn fear that she may not be able to take care of herself. So it was causing her to rely on someone, a man, for example, to hold on to. Dowling was speaking as of  personal experience and that she had went through the same problem. She found out that it was the Cinderella Complex that is running through her life from the mishaps that she encountered. 

Dowling said, "Any woman who looks within knows that she was never trained to feel comfortable with the idea of taking care of herself, standing up for herself, asserting herself. At best she may have played the game of independence, inwardly envying the boys (and later the men) because they seemed so naturally self-sufficient. But you know what? It isn't nature that bestows this self-sufficiency on men. It's training, pure and simple."

Inspiring as it is, I myself feel the same at times. I mean, who doesn't? All rights are ventured on men, there was nothing for them to fight their rights for because they are naturally bestowed on everything. As a woman, it feels really unfair seeing the opposite always with the greater advantage. But as Dowling had said, it comes from training oneself. And I think maybe, Cinderella (the fairy tale character), kind of took this action on her own. She was living an unfair life with her stepmother and stepsisters but she never complained about it. She shouldn't ignore it but, you get the point. She was worth recognizing on this one.

I must admit not really a satisfying kind of research for me as it didn't centered on the story itself. But really, this one's kind of unique. Centered on values and women rights and as always, I get learn something. Cinderella is not as plain as she is. If you would really think and reflect about her, she is one tough woman. Even without of the help of her Fairy Godmother, I think she would do well on herself. Good life was always meant for the good people.

Blogpost 2: Snow White: Apple and Alchemy

“Lips red as blood, hair black as night, bring me your heart, my dear, dear Snow White.” 
-  Queen Ravenna; Snow White and the Huntsman

       

Just like any other fairy tale, the princess of the woods, Snow White, has her own unique story. Another fairy tale written by the famous Brothers’ Grimm; and one of the first Disney classics released back in December 1937, it was one of the major hits of fairy tale back in the generation. With its different story line and happy ending, it sure garnered a lot of interest and therefore is one of the famous classics made. Like any other fairy tale, it was always Disney to be the first to animate them out. And like any other Disney animation, this story was not an exception that has origins of a darker version.

Here we go again for another fairy tale dig up. Writing this kind of posts tires me and always results to procrastinating. As I have started this, there's no going back. But like the first one, as I went through research, there's a lot of interesting things that Snow White has to show. As a bit of a classic enthusiast, I conducted a little research on our little princess’ story; or as the Grimm’s call it by the original name, Little Snow White.

There are some interesting connections I had found out while conducting this research. One is with the two material elements in the story: the apple and the mirror.

I came across an article entitled “Venus: Snow White or Wicked Queen” written by Monica Davis from the site WisdomOfTheToga.com. 

The article was a compilation of different connections that the fruit apple has to different stories and also, to the goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite. The apple and the mirror were apparently the goddess’ symbols. And from that different connections from the apple came including the battle of who is the fairest in the story The Judgment of Paris back in Greek mythology; which is seen as the evil queen was talking to the mirror, demanding who is the fairest of the land.

According to her, she said that “Apple is a long generic term for many kinds of nuts, fruits and vegetables: tomatoes – love apples; cucumbers and potatoes — earth apples; melons – gourd apples. But “apple”, paired with a woman has a curiously powerful historical alliance. ” 

With that being said, and from the connections she stated in the site, there is a clear proof that the apple and the female has its own valuable importance being used in different times, such as the apple as a symbol of deception from the Bible when Eve forced Adam to eat it. The mirror, as one of Aphrodite’s symbols is therefore related to beauty. 

That was for Snow White’s connection to mythology. As I dig on further, there’s another connection that makes Snow White’s tale a bit more interesting.

I found an article entitled, “Guest Post: Snow White and the Philosopher’s Stone” written by John Patrick Pazdziora, from the site FairyTaleMagazine.com. 

According to this article, John was also digging about fairy tale stories and he came out with an interesting idea that Snow White has a connection to alchemy. Alchemy is this certain study of elements in science that involves transformation of substances into another substance but of greater value. Back in the Medieval Ages, alchemists are said to contain magical powers because of this certain field of study.

Back to Snow White, there is a sentence from the first paragraph of the original fairy tale:

“If only I had a child as white as snow, as red as blood, and as black as the wood in this frame.”

According to John, black, white, and red are the classic color spectrum in the literary alchemy. Each color represents a phase of the chemical process, the Great Work as the alchemists call it. Black is the nigredo stage or where the base metal is burned to cleanse it. White is the albedo where the purified element is washed repeatedly for the final stage, rubedo. It is the blossoming of a streak of red in the white metal; it is put into a container until the transformation is complete, symbolizing a burial in the coffin. And what this does to alchemy is that once this process is complete, it said that it possesses the power to transform all material substance into gold.

For Snow White, John stated Snow White as a philosophical orphan, “The nigredo is her loss of home and self-identification in the forest, that labyrinthine fairy tale symbol for peril, liminal space, and the transmigration between worlds. The albedo is her time with the seven dwarfs. The end of the calm albedo is signified by the arrival of the queen-crone, and specifically an apple that’s half white, half red.” 

With these that he stated, he went to a conclusion that Snow White is a possible alchemical tale. The way her tale comes full circle has similarities to the Great Work’s process, may it be intentional, or coincidence. 

I’m surprised how these connections occurred. And quite fascinated that it looks like the Grimms are not just story tellers, but philosophers as well. 

I’ve read another thing that the seven dwarfs represent the stages of being high. Like, drug-like high. But no, it’s not. For the dwarfs, an article entitled “The Philosophy Behind Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” written by Thais Campos from the site Suite101.com.

It said that they actually represent the seven planes of consciousness that philosophers believed in each person. According to the article, Snow White arrived at the dwarfs’ house with the place in a clutter of mess and decided to clean the whole place. This action symbolizes cleansing of one’s soul so the seven planes can be in harmony; making a pure soul. Same as the way the alchemy thing is discussed earlier; a process of cleansing and purification to make a something whole.  

Campos said that “These [seven] planes correspond to the physical realm (body, sensations, emotions and concrete mind) and spiritual realm (pure mind, intuition, will).” 

So having the seven dwarfs as characters for this story is not for fancy. Their significance had been proved as well as the number "seven", and there's a lot of explanations for that number.

To how and why these details are implied by the brothers’, maybe they are sending us a message. These details couldn’t possibly be put for no apparent reason. As John had said, “Maybe we don’t ask questions of fairy tales because they’re asking questions of us.” Based on the earlier studies and information that I had found, the way they made the story is not for a petty children’s fairy tale. Well, in its image, maybe they are. They are ‘fairy tales’ after all. But based on the Grimm’s structure, they don’t just make it as it is, they have different values they want to show, though it’s up to the readers if they are interested enough to search for it.