Research Essay

   If you’re ever in a moral dilemma, you can always look at fairy tales for help. Fairy tales have been around for centuries, they are stories used for many different purposes. Sometimes they can be used for spending time, or it can be a source to learn valuable lessons. There are many different teaching methods, and telling a fairy tale can really help explain situations. Before someone learns from their own mistake, it’s better to observe and learn from the mistakes of others. Fairy tales are filled with characters who make a lot of mistakes, and from reading or listening to these stories people can. Many fairy tales were made to teach children about morals and to warn them of certain dangers. These stories can also teach certain lessons to adults.  

   The fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood, by Charles Perrault, is a classic fairy tale that has been around for a long time, with the theme of stranger danger. This short narrative can really help teach children about the horrors of talking to people they don’t know. Little Red Riding Hood Then and Now is an article by Faye R. Johnson and Carole M. Carroll. In their article, they are talking about how Little Red Riding Hood compares with the past and present. Johnson and Carroll say that the social message of the story is to “beware of strangers, do alone, evil is everywhere, don’t talk to strangers”. In Perrault’s tale he starts off with a little girl called Little Red Riding Hood, she was on her way to her grandmother’s house, but then she was stopped by a wolf. The little girl didn’t know the wolf or what his intention was. “As she was going into a wood, she met Master Wolf, and he wanted very much to eat her up” (Perrault 80). Perrault goes on the story by saying “He asked her where she was going. The poor child, who did not know that it is dangerous to stay and listen to a wolf”. From the beginning of the story the readers know two important details, the little girl was approached by a stranger with bad intentions, and she was talking to the stranger. The little girl then tells the wolf all about her trip to her grandmother’s house, now the wolf has a devious plan. He plans on trapping the child and grandmother then eats them. The story ends with the girl and grandmother being eaten. Although the ending was scary, this will definitely teach children from speaking with strangers.  

   The story of Little Red teaches about stranger danger, but this tale is also used as a warning for young women. As said by Perrault, “pretty girls with charm, Do wrong and often come to harm, In letting those they do not know, Stay talking to them when they meet”. Perrault also says, young women need to be aware of who they speak to on the streets, though the stranger may seem nice, “They’re not as friendly as they might appear: These are the most dangerous wolves of all”. Francisco Vaz Da Silva is an author, with a PH.D, he published many papers on folktales. In an article called “Charles Perrault and the Evolution of Little Red Riding Hood”, by Da Silva, he gave an analysis of Perrault’s Little Red Riding Hood story. In Da Silva’s article he said “the scene of a wolf eating a young woman in bed, this thinly represents sexual violence”.  Though the story may not seem like it, this is actually a warning and lesson towards young women to protect themselves from the dangers of sexual violence. Be aware of “friendly wolves” (Perrault).

   In a different version of Little Red Riding Hood, by Italo Calvino, his story is called “Uncle Wolf”. The story of Uncle Wolf is very similar to Perrault’s story, but it teaches different lessons and morals. Greedy little girls will be eaten. Calvino’s tale starts off with a “greedy little girl” who was sent to pick up a skillet from Uncle Wolf, to make pancakes with. Uncle Wolf allowed the little girl to borrow the skillet, but he told her to return the skillet back with pancakes, a loaf of bread, and wine. But the greedy little girl got hungry on the way to return the skillet and ate everything from the skillet, then she replaced all the items from the skillet with donkey manure, lime, and dirty water. Uncle Wolf ate the terrible items on the skillet, and became filled with anger. Uncle Wolf looks at the greedy little girl then says,“Tonight I will eat you!” and the little girl goes running home. Uncle Wolf manages to go inside the house and eat the greedy little girl. Calvino wrote this story as a lesson towards little girls, to teach them to not be greedy. Although this would be considered a scary tale to a child, this would definitely make them think twice before they act in a greedy manner. “Teaching Morals to Little Children” is an article by Francis Weld Danielson. In this text, Danielson talks about many different methods of teaching children morals. Danielson says, to teach children morals you must “encourage certain tendencies and discourage others”. In the article it states, “Another common trait to children is greediness”. The article goes on to mention many fairy tales that mention greed and the punishment. Each of these stories have the message of “Greediness the cause of death.” as Danielson wrote. Although the ending of Uncle wolf was a frightening end, this story would definitely discourage children from having greedy tendencies and encourage them to avoid it.

   As adults grow older they may not be very willing to look at fairy tales for help in their life, but they can really learn from certain stories. One problem adults will have in the future is picking the right spouse. There aren’t many stories that can help with choosing the proper partner, but there is a certain tale that can help. Charles Perrault wrote a story called “Bluebeard”, this is a story that is definitely for adults. This tale contains a lot of violence and murder. This narrative starts off with the story of a nobleman with lots of riches and a blue beard, who has been married multiple times, but all his wives went missing without anyone knowing what happened to them. Bluebeard marries a noble lady’s young daughter. It took awhile to convince her, but Bluebeard showed her all his gold and silver, which gave her the motivation to marry him. Once they are married, she finds out a terrifying secret about her husband. Bluebeard has killed his previous wives. Bluebeard isn’t the perfect husband she thought she married. Alison Lurie is an American novelist, she won the Pulitzer prize and wrote many articles on literature. Lurie wrote an article called “One Bad Husband: What the ‘Bluebeard’ Story Tells Us about Marriage.” In this writing Lurie points out a mistake the young girl made while marrying Bluebeard. Lurie says, “she initially finds Bluebeard hideously ugly.” after she spends a week at one of his luxurious country houses where the service of dinner was in gold and silver, the furniture was beautiful, and the carriages were covered in gold leaf. This is when the girl decided that his beard “was not so blue after all”. The girl knew that Bluebeard was married multiple times before her and all his other wives were missing, but she chose to ignore that fact and decided to marry him anyway. Lurie says Bluebeard “tells us that the real trouble begins after the wedding”. Picking the right spouse can help to avoid the real trouble. The girl wanted to avoid all of the suspicions around her husband because of his wealth. Bluebeard can teach the lesson that picking the right spouse isn’t just about wealth, the background of the husband or wife should be looked at. If something in the background doesn’t seem right, it probably isn’t, and it should be avoided.

   Fairy tales have been around for many generations, these stories have different purposes. Most times they are seen as just bedtime stories, or an easy to read story. But they have deeper meanings, these stories can really help teach life lessons and morals. These lessons can help children and adults in the real world. So, if you’re ever in a moral dilemma, you can always look at fairy tales for help. 

 

Works Cited

Calvino, Italo. “Uncle Wolf.” Italian Folktales, Pantheon Books, 1981, pp. 152–154. Accessed 31 Oct. 2023.

Danielson, Frances Weld. “TEACHING MORALS TO LITTLE CHILDREN—(IV.).” The Journal of Education, vol. 83, no. 7 (2067), 1916, pp. 187–88. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/42825840. Accessed 31 Oct. 2023.

Lurie, Alison. “One Bad Husband: What the ‘Bluebeard’ Story Tells Us about Marriage.” The American Scholar, vol. 74, no. 1, 2005, pp. 129–32. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/41221385. Accessed 31 Oct. 2023.

Perrault, Charles. “Little Red Riding Hood.” The Tales of Mother Goose, Adrian Moetjens, 1696, pp. 80–84. Accessed 31 Oct. 2023.

Perrault, Charles. “Blue Beard.” The Tales of Mother Goose, Adrian Moetjens, 1696, pp. 66–74. Accessed 31 Oct. 2023. 

Vaz da Silva, Francisco. “Charles Perrault and the Evolution of ‘Little Red Riding Hood.’”Marvels & Tales, vol. 30, no. 2, 2016, pp. 167–90. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.13110/marvelstales.30.2.0167. Accessed 4 Oct. 2023.

Zipes, Jack. “A Second Gaze at Little Red Riding Hood’s Trials and Tribulations.” The Lion and the Unicorn, vol. 7, 1983, p. 78-109. Project MUSE, https://doi.org/10.1353/uni.0.0105. Accessed 31, Oct. 2023.