When I examine myself and my methods of thought, I come to the conclusion that
the gift of fantasy has meant more to me than any talent for abstract, positive thinking.
— Albert Einstein
FAIRY TALES AND FOLKLORE
I remember my mother telling me the story of Hansel and Gretel when I was five years old. The story included the defining elements of fairy tales, such as magical creatures, a witch, and the fantasy setting of an edible candy house. Like all fairy tales it was creative fiction written for entertainment. My mother put the book away and what ended as a fairy tale turned into folklore when she orally told me about the historical events that inspired Hansel and Gretel.
Gone was the witch with her tasty, tempting candy shack lying in wait for the children, replaced by the real-world setting of a backwoods wilderness overflowing with hungry woodland animals and the poverty-stricken villagers who abandoned their youngest progeny to the starving beasts during the Great Famine of early 14th century Europe. Folklore was orally passed down from one generation to the next for centuries, although the term folklore first appeared in writing in 1846 by Englishman William John Thoms in a letter to the editor of the London magazine The Athenaeum. Writer Charles Perrault, born 1628 in Paris, France, laid the foundation for the new literary genre of the fairy tale, with works such as Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, and Sleeping Beauty. Perrault influenced later authors of fairy tales such as the German brothers Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm and Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen.
In the 20th century, fairy tales and folklore became more popular and present in various segments of society than ever before. Walt Disney and other artists created an empire using existing fairy tale and folklore stories with artist-drawn cartoons in animated films. The writers of the 1950s TV series Rocky the Flying Squirrel animated fairy tales in Fractured Fairy Tales. When the writers ran out of existing fairy tales, they invented their own to continue the genre. Meanwhile, Swiss psychologist Carl Jung studied fairy tales and folklore, dreams, and the collective unconscious. Jung theorized that these elements form archetypes, twelve characters, each with specific personality traits that influence our thoughts and behavior and that we need them to help us to understand the complexities of life.
Nowadays fairy tales and folklore are the basis for entertainment and information for both children and adults. Can you guess which character matches the archetype for the following creative works? There are twelve archetypes to choose from. They include the caretaker, hero, innocent, orphan, explorer, rebel, lover, creator, jester, sage, magician, and the ruler. These archetypes from fairy tales and folklore are featured in works such as:
Movies:
- L. Kasdan/G. Lucas/P. Kaufman 1981 Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (the explorer),
- J. K. Rowling 2001/Steve Kloves 2015 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (the hero and the orphan),
Classical Music:
- M. Ravel, 1910 Ma me’re l’Oye—“Mother Goose Suite” (the caregiver),
Art:
- V. Hartmann, 1864/M. Mussorgsky, 1874 Tuileries (the innocent),
Books and Movies:
- C. Dickens, 1838/R. Polanski 2005 Oliver Twist, (the orphan),
- M. Puzo, 1969/F. F. Coppola/M. Puzo, 1972 The Godfather, (the ruler and the sage),
Television Series:
- P. Barnes/E. Khmara/D. Stevens 1998 Merlin (the magician and jester),
- S. Carpenter/D. Greenwalt/J. Kouf 2011 Grimm (the rebel, creator, and lover).
We hope you enjoy this December issue themed Fairy Tales and Folklore, in which the best of creative fiction, nonfiction, and poetry from around the world has been chosen for your perusal and pleasure. If you would like to have your own creative writing featured in our March 2025 issue, themed Midnight, submit your entries for this issue between December 1st – February 1st. Please carefully read our requirements for submission and remember to follow us on Facebook and X.
Answers:
1. Indiana Jones
2. Harry Potter; Harry Potter, Professor Snape
3. Mother Goose
4. The Children
5. Oliver Twist
6. Vito Corleone, Michael Corleone; Vito Corleone
7. Merlin; Frik
8. Teresa Rubel; Rosalee Calvert; Monroe
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Sherri Miller is a fiction editor at Halfway Down the Stairs.
© 2024, Sherri Miller
Halfway Down the Stairs 