#AtoZChallenge: Fairy Tales

Next up for my #AtoZChallenge: F is for Fairy Tales.

Hans Christian Andersen, Aesop, Charles Perrault, Madame d’Aulnoy, Joseph Jacobs, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm; a few names that have made their mark in the genre of fairy tale. These short stories filled with folklore, enchantments, often far-fetched plots or circumstances, have been told for over a thousand years. The first literary fairy-tale is considered to be Cupid and Psyche, which was written in Apuleius’ The Golden Ass, and since then fairy tales have evolved through culture and national borders to teach lessons, entertain, and reflect social constructs.

If you’ve been following my blog, you may have read my posts on Grimm’s Complete Fairy Tales. I’m currently on a quest to read all 211, and it’s been quite enjoyable. I’m learning not only about the Grimm brothers and their tales, but of the genre in general. I think a lot of the time [in pop culture] fairy tales get a hollow rap; I feel that their historical richness and dynamics are quite underrated. Or maybe that’s just my guilt over not giving this genre of literature as much attention as it deserves.

So to all of you fairy tale doters out there – please add me to your contact list, and share your favorite tales, variations, and writers I did not mention above (there are many others). And, I’ll leave you with this simple request: Never stop believing in 398.2.