Fairy Tales

[The following essay was originally written for an online writing class I had to take in 2010, and so bears the marks of being a “school assignment”. Notwithstanding, it expresses some ideas I have not expressed elsewhere, and therefore I include it here.]

What is the most realistic type of fiction that has commonly been read or listened to by the majority of people throughout history? The answer to that question is easy enough to answer. Naturally, it would be fairy tales. It is true, as some may perhaps object, that one does not often in his daily experience come across pumpkins turning into coaches, or magic beanstalks, and so such people may question as to how realistic such stories actually are. However, I believe this shows a basic confusion as to what “realistic” should mean in this regard. These are only minor details, after all, of what is admittedly a fictional story. In details such as these, any fictional story is (by definition) not realistic, at least in the sense of narrating something that really occurred. (Of course, people often use the term “realistic” in a different sense, but for the moment I am simply going to the root of the word). However, in the more fundamental sense of dealing with truths which certainly are real and expressing them most strongly, it is difficult to come across a better vehicle of expressing these realities than fairy tales. An excellent example of one such tale that expresses important truths (in this case, the nature of true love), and which it would be valuable to analyze to demonstrate what I mean, would be “Beauty and the Beast.” Its depiction of love as well as the assumptions that such is based on go far in showing how true fairy tales really are.

Thus, in this classic, the truth about love is shown in its full beauty. Beauty, perhaps, is the perfect word to describe it. For in this fairy tale, beauty is shown for what it actually is, a quality of the soul, and not merely a matter of appearances. (Perhaps in no other story is the saying “Appearances can be deceiving” so perfectly portrayed.) The tale begins by mentioning three sisters, all three of whom are beautiful as far as outward appearances are concerned, but none so much so as the youngest, Beauty, who is beautiful in soul as well (in contrast to the other two sisters). As a consequence, her humility, love, and goodness enable her to have the wisdom to perceive where true beauty lies when she encounters the Beast. It is true that his external ugliness and apparent lack of sense are not qualities which help to attract her, and in fact she does not wish to marry him at first. However, his constant goodness of heart and patience more and more take the central place in her vision of him, and naturally her own wisdom reinforces her perception that this is a much deeper beauty. At the end, when she fears that the worst has occurred and that he may be dead, she realizes the extent of the love that she has for him, and finding him alive, expresses her wish to marry him. At this point, the Beast is no longer under the condemnation he had been placed under and is now shown to be a handsome prince, but this only externalizes the more important qualities that had lain within all along.

Naturally, such a story has much to teach us about what the basis of true love should be. In a world that so often places emphasis on superficialities such as looks or money, it expresses that such assumptions not only do not display deep love, but neither do they display deep thought. Attraction should not be based by simply noticing the outward qualities of others. If their souls are ugly, one soon ceases to notice even their outward appearances or wealth. Beauty’s sisters discovered this in the case of their own husbands, for instance. Moreover, such beauty as these people have will eventually fade, in any case. At that point, only the internal ugliness will remain. On the other hand, if one realizes, as did Beauty, that inner qualities of the soul are what should be sought for, then that person will discover what really strengthens true love. After all, at the end of the story, does anyone doubt that, even had the Beast remained as he had been before, that in Beauty’s mind he would still appear a handsome prince?

“Beauty and the Beast” is only one example among many that could be presented which show how fairy tales present the deepest of truths. Indeed, that fairy tales are the most realistic form of literature is shown by the fact that the same stories transcend cultures. They do so precisely because they express realities that are so fundamental that they are found in every culture, and are not limited to only one. Everybody should know the story of “Beauty and the Beast” naturally without having ever to hear it. The details might be different when one actually first reads a version of the story or sees a production of it (just as the details are different in the variations of the story found in other cultures), but the basic lesson it contains, which is the greatest part of the story, can be found in our hearts, if only we will listen. In that sense, fairy tales do not teach children about right and wrong. What they do is present to them concrete examples of what children already know. They give encouragement to them. Thus, when “Beauty and the Beast” shows them where true love is to be found, children do not in general criticize the story as being “unrealistic.” It is only later in life that people can come to such a cynical conclusion, after allowing themselves to be deceived by superficialities. If true love is indeed to be found, however, it is only because those involved have retained such childish wisdom. Perhaps this is an additional meaning of the saying that unless we become as a little child, we shall not enter the kingdom of heaven. Certainly, we shall not find a match made in heaven.

In any case, one can hardly find a more moving portrait of true love than that found in “Beauty and the Beast.” If its depiction of true love and the assumptions that underlie such a depiction seem silly to many, and unrealistic, then I can only say so much the worse for those people. It is a belief to which I cannot give my assent. To slightly alter the words of Scripture, the foolishness of fairy tales is wiser than the wisdom of “realistic” literature. Fairy tales deal with realities that all cultures find to be true. If the collective wisdom of mankind is to be despised, then at the least it is safe to say we are no longer democratic. However, the fact that such stories continue to be told fills me with hope that, despite all the challenges to the contrary from our culture, we have not lost this basic grasp of reality. We do not, admittedly, always act on such wisdom as is handed on to us. However, we have not forgotten lessons such as what constitutes real beauty and real love, even if for a time we ignore them, and live to regret it. May we all come to a deeper appreciation of the realistic nature of fairy tales, and be blessed by the lessons they teach.