The fairytale has been around for millennia and has shown to be a strong genre that appeals to many different people. The Fairytale genre has many different forms of stories but they all follow a very distinct pattern. As laid out by Steven Jones in his book “The Fairy Tale: The Magic Mirror of the Imagination”, the pattern in the story must first have a piece of fantasy that is directly related to the main plot. Along with that there has to be a protagonist and a problem of some sort. The problem should relate to a real-world problem that people often run into on some scale. The protagonist should be a good person. Finally, there has to be a moral to the story (Jones 2002). This paper is looking at the history of fairytales and two specific fairytales “The Sleeping Beauty In the Wood” by Charles Perrault as our lens text and “There Once Was” by Margaret Atwood, in order to see a broad view of the genre. Perrault wrote an classical fairytale that has followed the classic storyline, and Atwood has wrote an piece calling for a change to this tradition. In order to see if the change called for by Atwood is needed this paper seeks how they compare to the traditional sense of a fairytale and how they compare as overall stories. 

The origins of fairytales are largely unknown but what historians do know is that it started off as word of mouth folklore thousands of years ago. Some of the earliest known folklore is from Aesop who used animals and personification to portray morals in his stories (Jones 2002). As time went on fairytales changed to match the needs of a society. Stories went from animals to people as the protagonist. The morals changed. The styles changed. Everything changed as time went on. The stories showed the quests for desires that matched the what society wanted in order to make it more relevant. So as time went on and the people changed so did the stories that were told. This change allowed for fairytales to become the people’s favorites because it allowed for a fun way of getting across stories that matched the desires of the people at the time (Zipes 1983). Though some stories have stayed with society through time most have not. This is because the stories did not have a relevant moral or quest that would stick through the changes in time. In order for a fairytale to be relevant after changes in society that fairytale must be relatable.

 Perrault’s story is a classic example of a fairytale with the princess in distress and a prince to the rescue. It has all the basic elements of a fairytale. The first element is required of a fairytale is the need for a fantasy element such as a fictitious character or an item that is magical of some sort. The fantasy element also has to play a key role in the story as to give it purpose. Perrault has fairies, magic, and ogres which all play key roles in the story. The next thing a fairytale needs is a protagonist which is generally a good person. Perrault has the Fairy who saves the princess from dying, Prince who is a kind and brave man who saves the day twice, and the servant who save the queen and her kids (Harley 2016). A fairytale also requires a problem that arises and this problem generally relates to a real-world problem somehow. In Perrault’s work, he first has the curse on the princess which is lessened by the fairy and solved by the prince. He also has the ogre queen try and eat the queen and her kids which is resolved by the servant first and then the prince. The first problem relates to the quest for love in real life and the second problem relates to doing the right thing. The Final requirement of a fairytale is it needs a moral which Perrault clearly lays out in the end and that is love can wait. Perrault clearly has all the basic themes of a fairytale and clearly follows the general pattern. He didn’t do anything special he just went with the old technique. This created a story that didn’t stick out and felt just like all the others. He wrote a fairytale but it was a story that just is forgettable.

As for Atwood’s story it contains no clear themes from the traditional definition of a fairytale. But even so the book considers it a fairytale. So why would it be considered a fairytale? This story has no fantasy elements in fact it never even gets to the story due to the narrators arguing. The story has a protagonist but we don’t learn much about her and the narrators keeps changing who the protagonist was. The problem was initially the stepmother but then that changed to stepfather and kept changing due to the narrators. Finally, there was no clear moral. According to the traditional pattern this is not a fairytale. This being said the point of the book is it is trying to change the traditional sense of a fairytale. The entire book consists of two narrators arguing over why the fairytale has to go the way it usually does when it could do something different. Atwood’s piece I believe is not a fairytale but a satire trying to change the traditional pattern of fairytales. She uses the satire to point out the ridiculousness of the traditional fairytales. Atwood is trying to say that the traditional is not the best way of doing things anymore, and that fairytales can be something more to help more relate to the modern day. Atwood wrote a satire of a fairytale that showed the problems of the basic fairytale outline. Her story was interesting and memorable even though it never had the traditional elements.

In the end, Atwood’s story and Perrault’s story were very different pieces. Perrault wrote a classic fairytale that followed the basic outline laid out by Jones. Perrault was very traditional and didn’t do anything spectacularly different. Atwood went out there and did something memorable because it was so off the normal path. Atwood is trying to show that the traditional path has lost its luster because it has been used so much. Perrault’s book showed us that the classic path is forgettable. Atwood’s book showed us a different path that fairytales can take by making fun of the old ones. She is trying to show that by taking a fairytale and making it original you can make a piece that is truly memorable. Perrault’s story may have been a textbook fairytale and a prime example of the genre, but Atwood is rewriting the genre by showing the inadequacy of the traditional in our modern times, and the need for something different. Perrault had a story with no modern relevance and as established in order for a fairytale to survive it must keep relevance. Atwood is trying to bring about that change in fairytales that must come every so often in order to relate to society. Atwood sees that the traditional fairytale has been overused and has become boring. She is trying to point out that modern society no longer relates to the damsel in distress and the knights fighting dragons of the old style of fairytales. Her piece is showing that the modern age calls for a modern story. Atwood sees that our society is at a changing point no longer for the old ways and sees the genre needs to be renewed. So finally, is Perrault’s piece a fairytale? Yes, it is. Is Atwood’s piece a fairytale? Not Really. But Atwoods piece is an anti-fairytale. A Story that is where the tale does not go by the traditional path and therefore is not a true fairytale. By doing this she made a piece that was not some reused storyline, she created an original piece. This was done in order to create a memorable piece that would change the way people think about the genre, and hopefully help change a genre that has become outdated.
