Christina’s Reviews > The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales > Status Update

'Once upon a time, there was a woodcutter who had seven children, all boys. The oldest was only ten years old, and the youngest was only seven.' As Tartar wryly observes, "Tom Thumb's mother bears children in nearly biblical proportions."

I can't believe I missed that the Marquis de Carabas from Neverwhere was a reference to Perrault's version of "Puss in Boots." 'He was ushered into the chambers of His Majesty, and, upon entering, bowed deeply to the king and said: "I am presenting you with a rabbit from my lord, the Marquis de Carabas (that was the name he had bestowed on his master). He has instructed me to present it to you on his behalf."'

'Whenever a prohibition is issued in a fairy tale, we know that the next scene will display its violation.'

The giant beanstalk that Jack climbs "has a certain whimsical inventiveness, for beanstalks are notoriously unstable and usually require staking to remain propped up."

Most variants on "The Frog King" give us a princess who commits acts of great violence against the frog, which turns him into a prince. 'Deeds of passion as much as acts of compassion have the power to disenchant. Although the princess of "The Frog King" is self-absorbed, ungrateful, and cruel, in the end she does as well for herself as modest, obedient, and charitable Beauty.'

'Rapunzel or rampion is a plant that can fertilize itself. "Most versions of the story give the girl the name of a savory herb."

Various writers and literary scholars have pointed out over the years that our titular heroine in "Snow White" is quite passive for the most part. Things mostly happen to her. The wicked stepmother is the protagonist, "who becomes the center of narrative energy, advancing the action and providing powerfully attractive twists and turns to the plot."

'The Grimms, in an effort to preserve the sanctity of motherhood, were forever turning biological mothers into stepmothers.'

The earliest Cinderella was named Yeh-hsien, recorded around 850 A.D. by Tuan Ch'eng-shih. Yeh-hsien is granted a dress of kingfisher feathers and shoes of gold from a ten-foot-long fish, who also gives her pearls and food. Her stepmother and stepsister (just one, apparently) are killed by flying stones. Almost every known culture has a version of this story.

The endings of Little Red Riding Hood that we're all familiar with come from Charles Perrault (eaten by the wolf) and the Grimms (rescued by the huntsman). Earlier, oral versions have a more resourceful heroine, including one from France that had Red outwitting the wolf by performing a stiptease, then asking to go outside to relieve herself. Angela Carter's versions were actually closer to tradition! :)