There was, and there was not…

I was asked “Shall we pretend that only fairy tales exist?”

Yes.  Because fairy tales (or folk tales, nursery tales, Anansi stories or myths) are the tools that we use to let others know how to deal with problems.  Which would you rather?  Explain to a child that the world is harsh and evil, that wicked people are everywhere and that they are powerless against the harm or explain that although the world can be hard, there are good things to be found?  Would you rather tell someone that they are useless, worthless, wastes of time, or tell them that they have intrinsic value?  Because that’s what fairy tales do.  They take the dark, cruel, hard world, which is pitted against small, powerless you, and show that you can overcome by hard work, kindness and some luck.

The tales compiled by the brothers Grimm, with which most of us are familiar, are dark and often terrifying.  They speak of cannibalism, murder, rape, incest, hatred and all of humankind’s vices.  Hans Andersen, writing out of Denmark, created several beautiful stories that centre around something painful.  (I will pause here to register again my undying dislike of Disney’s adaptation of The Little Mermaid!!)  And yet, invariably, evil is punished, the good are rewarded and nobody escapes unscathed. 

Then there are the stories of Anansi, the spider man.  The smallest and weakest of all the animals, Anansi is the spirit of rebellion; he is able to overturn the social order; he can marry the Kings' daughter, create wealth out of thin air; baffle the Devil and cheat Death. Even if Anansi loses in one story, you know that he will overcome in the next. Anansi conveys a simple message from one generation to the next: that freedom and dignity are worth fighting for, at any odds.

The point is that fairy tales, far from being saccharine-sweet bland “once upon a time, the prince rescued the princess and they lived happily ever after” stories, tell us that “dragons can be beaten.”  Even if it seems that the monster has won. Isn’t that a worthwhile message?  Aren’t we all striving against our own dragons and monsters?  Do we just surrender, or do we keep on fighting?

I’m going to argue that we keep on telling fairy tales, complete with their scary sides.  As children, we need these stories to know that the world is not always going to be easy, but that we can triumph.  Oh, and that adventures are almost never as much fun while you’re living them as they are in the telling.  As adults, we need to remember that even though times are tough, we’ll get through them and find better things. What exactly is wrong with that?

To those who think that they foster unhealthy world views, I’ll say that you missed the point totally.  Go back and try again.

Meanwhile, remember:

Someday you will be old enough to read fairy tales again.

C. S. Lewis

Crick, crack, monkey break he back on a piece of pomerac!  Wire bend, story end.