Why Fairy Tales Stick: The Evolution and Relevance of a Genre

by Jack D. Zipes

In his latest book, fairy tales expert Jack Zipes explores the question of why some fairy tales "work" and others don't, why the fairy tale is uniquely capable of getting under the skin of culture and staying there. Why, in other words, fairy tales "stick." Long an advocate of the fairy tale as a serious genre with wide social and cultural ramifications, Jack Zipes here makes his strongest case for the idea of the fairy tale not just as a collection of stories for children but a profoundly important genre.

Why Fairy Tales Stick contains two chapters on the history and theory of the genre, followed by case studies of famous tales (including Cinderella, Snow White, and Bluebeard), followed by a summary chapter on the problematic nature of traditional storytelling in the twenty-first century.

Genres: Nonfiction, Fairy Tales, Books About Books, Folklore, Research, History, Literary Criticism

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Jack David Zipes is a retired Professor of German at the University of Minnesota. He has published and lectured extensively on the subject of fairy tales, their linguistic roots, and argued that they have a "socialization function". According to Zipes, fairy tales "serve a meaningful social function, not just for compensation but for revelation: the worlds projected by the best of our fairy tales reveal the gaps between truth and falsehood in our immediate society." His arguments are avowedly based on the neo-Marxist critical theory of the Frankfurt School.

Zipes enjoys using droll titles for his works like Don't Bet on the Prince and The Trials and Tribulations of Little Red Ridinghood.

He completed a PhD in comparative literature at Columbia University. Zipes taught at various institutions before heading German language studies at the University of Minnesota. He has retranslation of the complete fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm.

Reviews

[Anna Biller · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book draws on Richard Dawkins' meme theory to assert that certain myths and fairy tales have inherent sticking power. This is because there is something inside of them that adheres to human consciousness, imagination, and memory, and gains new relevance as each tale is told and retold, shifting along the way to adapt itself to the current environment.

I especially enjoyed the sections that talk about the evolution of the fairy tale. For instance, I didn't know that the sources of the Grimm's fairy tales were so widespread and diverse as to include tales from The Arabian Nights, The Decameron, and stories from all echelons of society, including the French court; in other words, they were neither especially "German" nor especially from the "folk."

Since this book came out in 2006, a lot has changed in the literary landscape. Zipes describes new and exciting iterations of fairy tales from the late '90s and early 2000s, many of which have since been buried under thousands of newer retellings, making these sections the least interesting in the book. More interesting is the analysis of the original tales: Cinderella, Red Riding Hood, Hansel and Gretel, Snow White, and Bluebeard.

Not surprisingly, I found the Bluebeard chapter to be the most interesting chapter. One thing particularly struck me, which was his assertion that Charles Perrault was an advocate for the woman's cause. This hit me like a ton of bricks, and made me realize why Bluebeard has entrenched itself so firmly into culture and history, and remains so relevant today. I already knew through previous research that this tale has always been a "battle of the sexes" kind of tale, but it's Perrault who inserted the woman's agency into it and thus made it memetic.

Let me explain: I had just finished reading The Canterbury Tales and The Decameron, each of which contains the same story (in the former as one of the longest tales, in the latter as the final tale). This is basically the story of Abraham, but instead of God asking Abraham to kill his son, it's about a husband asking the wife permission for him to kill her children. She obeys without a single trace of resentment, and is later rewarded (he hasn't killed the children but merely hidden them, and after having arbitrarily banished her from the court, she is welcomed back and reconciled with her children). So although I haven't heard of any folklorist making this connection before, I believe that it's possible that this story may have been the basis for Perrault's Bluebeard. In The Decameron, Boccaccio (also an advocate for women) condemns the cruel husband, and wishes the wife would cuckold him for his horrible behavior. Perrault goes a step further, and suggests that it's virtuous for a wife to not blindly obey her husband's commandments (after she disobeys him and discovers his bloody chamber, he is killed by her brothers and she remarries and inherits his riches). So although he tacks on a dubious moral which pokes fun at woman's curiosity, the tale has become memetic because its real meaning is that women are rewarded when they think and act for themselves.

Although Zipes himself didn't make the connection between the tale of Abraham and the tale of Bluebeard, his analysis of how tales incestuously borrow from one another, and how The Decameron and its literary descendants were part of the inspiration for many of the classic fairy tales, as well as his final chapter analyzing the tale of Abraham and its implications for patriarchal oppression in storytelling, led me to this conclusion. Overall, an intellectually stimulating and worthwhile book.

[Anarda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting theory using Richard Dawkins' "memes" to explain the 'stickiness' of fairy tales, but the book goes far beyond this in revealing more interesting depths to Zipes' ongoing discussion about fairy tales. Zipes keeps chipping away at the importance of these traditional tales, but never falls into the trap of a Freudian, Jungian, post-structuralist,etc., etc., posture that would prevent him from 'digging' in another direction. He adds to the scholarly/literary discussion of fairytales and their rewrites, but never forgets the importance of keeping himself squarely on the side of children vis a vis the traditional abuse of children in these stories.

[Katherine Sas · Rating 2 out of 5]

I respect Zipes as a critic, and I appreciate that there is a usefulness to Marxist criticism, but this is where it falls short for me. Never does (or seemingly can) Zipes explain the question he begs in his title: "Why Fairy Tales Stick." His application of Richard Dawkins' theory of memes to fairy tales is interesting enough, but all that tells me is that fairy tales are ideas and ideas stick. I'm not sure I understand fairy tales themselves any better than when I started the book.

[Dianna]

DNF. It's a great topic that I'm interested in, but the writing was dry and academic to the point of putting me to sleep each time I picked up this book. I can't believe I used to read this kind of stuff all the time in college.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Parts of this - where he was discussing the history of the genre, or individual tales - were quite interesting. Generally however there was just too much abstract academic waffle.

[Andy Crane · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book could have benefited from a closer edit. Zipes repeats himself frequently, without saying very much of anything. Still, his basic premise that fairy tales stick with us because they give us valuable information about how to navigate our world is an interesting one.

[Josie Kochendorfer]

I want to kiss this man on the forehead

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's hard to rate this book. On the one hand, I disagreed with at least half of what the author had to say. On the other hand, I found it a fascinating book that helped me to think more about what fairy tales say.

For instance, I think Zipes is too hard on the Grimms. If you judge the Grimms by modern methods of scholarship, then yes, they did a horrible job of preserving the tales (interestingly, Zipes points out that more than a few tales weren't even German in origin). However, I think that what the Grimms seem to have been doing was to present stories for the amusement of the general public (hence, the drastic editing).

I found myself disagreeing with so many of Zipes' conclusions, but I was also fascinated and intrigued by how he went about thinking about fairy tales. I'm also fascinated by all the snippets about the history of various fairy tales (such as the earlier version of Red Riding Hood, in which she manages to outwit the wolf on her own).

[Rebekah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Meme theory as applied to fairy tales. Very interesting to think about, especially with the current popular culture boom of rewritten or "true version of" fairy tales on TV (Once Upon A Time, Grimm), movies (Mirror, Mirror, Snow White and the Huntsman) and in books (Cinder, Sweetly).

[Tori]

Fairy tales as memes? I am intrigued...

[Janin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jack Zipes is insightful and easy to understand as he explores the cultural, historical and social relevance of Fairy Tales, Folk Tales and Oral Wonder Tales.