The Cambridge Companion to Fairy Tales

An international team of scholars explores the historical origins, cultural dissemination and continuing literary and psychological power of fairy tales.

Maria Tatar (Edited by)

9781107634879, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 11 December 2014

272 pages, 8 b/w illus.
22.6 x 15 x 1.8 cm, 0.43 kg

Fairy tales have never known geographical, disciplinary or cultural borders. In many ways, they provide a model for thinking about storytelling on a transnational level long before comparative literature began transforming itself into world literature. As the simple expression of complex thought, fairy tales have increasingly become the focus of intense scholarly inquiry. In this Companion, international scholars from a range of academic disciplines explore the historical origins, cultural dissemination and psychological power of fairy stories, and offer model interpretations of tales from a variety of traditions and sources, including Charles Perrault, the Brothers Grimm and the One Thousand and One Nights. Rather than disenchanting the stories, the essays in this volume broaden our understanding of them and deepen our appreciation of the cultural work they do. A chronology and guide to further reading contribute to the usefulness of the volume for students and scholars.

Introduction Maria Tatar
1. Fairy tales, copyright, and the public domain Valdimar Hafstein
2. Female tricksters as double agents Maria Tatar
3. While beauty sleeps Shuli Barzilai
4. Fairy-tale adaptations and economies of desire Cristina Bacchilega
5. Fairy-tale symbolism Francisco Vaz da Silva
6. Trickster heroes in 'The Boy Who Steals the Ogre's Treasure' Nancy Canepa
7. Exploring empathy and ethics in 'Tales about Three Brothers' Maria Nikolajeva
8. The creation of Cinderella from Basile to the Brothers Grimm Armando Maggi
9. The soul music of 'The Juniper Tree' Stephen Benson
10. Sex, crime, magic, and mystery in the One Thousand and One Nights Ulrich Marzolph
11. Media-hyping of fairy tales Jack Zipes
12. Transformations of E. T. A. Hoffmann's Tales from Hawthorne to Oz Holly Blackford.

Subject Areas: Literature: history & criticism [DS]