Fairy Tale as Myth/Myth as Fairy Tale (Clark Lectures)

By Jack D. Zipes

Book Overview

" Explores the historical rise of the literary fairy tale as genre in the late seventeenth century. In his examinations of key classical fairy tales, Zipes traces their unique metamorphoses in history with stunning discoveries that reveal their ideological relationship to domination and oppression. Tales such as Beauty and the Beast, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, and Rumplestiltskin have become part of our everyday culture and shapers of our identities. In this lively work, Jack Zipes explores the historical rise of the literary fairy tale as genre in the late seventeenth century and examines the ideological relationship of classic fairy tales to domination and oppression in Western society. The fairy tale received its most "mythic" articulation in America. Consequently, Zipes sees Walt Disney's Snow White as an expression of American male individualism, film and literary interpretations of L. Frank Baum's The Wizard of Oz as critiques of American myths, and Robert Bly's Iron John as a misunderstanding of folklore and traditional fairy tales. This book will change forever the way we look at the fairy tales of our youth.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0813118905
• ISBN13: 9780813118901
• Release Date: October 1994
• Publisher: The University Press of Kentucky
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.8" x 0.5" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

Wonderful Introduction To the Critics P.O.C Of Fairy Tales

Jack Zipes is perhaps the most renowned critic in writing about Fairy Tales. I love his style because he doesn't really show what he really thinks about them butt how the Fairy Ta;es have been shaped through out the centuries. Some how or another he is able to find excellent resources and drawings for the book. I highly believe it is for any one who is interested in starting to study, the true origins of Fairy Tales.

Excellent.

Zipes' qualifications for writing about this subject are impeccable, and his years of teaching show easily here. Chapters include stuff about traditional fairy tales, sure, but also writeups on Disney animation (hint: he's not real thrilled at some ways Disney has "tidied up" fairy tales). You'll never watch "The Little Mermaid" in quite the same way again.This is more of a philosophical treatment than anything else. There isn't extensive hard history here; they're writeups of lectures, not papers, though sources are cited. Consider these ruminations on fairy tales and their relevance to modern culture -- how they are treated, how they are disseminated, how they've changed in the past couple hundred years. The book isn't very long, but it has a lot of good observations in it.I found it invaluable for its insights; Zipes has found a sincere admirer in me. If you are interested in fairy tales in modern culture, this is definitely somewhere you might enjoy playing.