Which of the following essays do you find more productive in helping you to think about fairy tales as more than children's entertainment? Why?
- Robert Darnton's “Peasants Tell Tales: The Meaning of Mother Goose”
- Bruno Bettelheim “The Struggle for Meaning,”
Well, obviously, since Bettelheim's argument was to highlight the importance of fairy tales in children's literary repertoire, I'd have to say Darnton's essay is more productive in separating fairy tales from children's entertainment. By going into detail on the psychoanalytical interpretation of texts like "Little Red Riding Hood," I mean, how much more detached from children's literature can you get? Menstruation, virginity, sterility...not really kid appropriate.
ReplyDeleteDarnton goes as far as to show that it certainly was much more than children who listened to these stories. Clergymen, French refugees, and bourgeoisie benefitted mostly from these tales, indicating that these fairy tales were a socio-political response to more than just folklore to scare and excite little children. There is deep symbolism that, in their young imaginations, they are not yet capable of understanding.
i think that Darnton's essay is definitely more explicit than Bettelheim. I agree with Ellie that it is definitely not kid appropriate- definitely more like rated R than G. Bettelheim also goes on to say that fairy tales do carry both overt and covert meanings in its stories, thus they are able to communicate to both the forming mind of young children and the learned and sophisticated minds of adults (it speaks to a wide range of personalities and "stages of life"). Although I do agree that Darnton does a better job at picking apart at the symbolism that fairy tales have to offer and explains those in detail because those details and symbolism are important in helping us understand more fully.
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