Differences Between Goblins, Dwarfs And Fairies In Victorian Fairy Tales

The differences between goblins, dwarfs and fairies in Victorian fairy tales
The appearance of fantastic creatures and figures is very common in fairy tales. These characters usually serve as the support of the protagonist, who encounters various problems that cannot be solved alone, or they become the antagonist in the story trying to prevent the main character from achieving his or her goal. The aim of this essay is to highlight the differences between supernatural creatures that appear in various Victorian fairy tales, specifically goblins, dwarfs and fairies. There will be several aspects that will serve as the basis of the comparison among them, including their physical appearance in various other fairy tales. The fairy tales I selected …show more content…
An interesting fact is that in Amelia and the Dwarfs, the dwarfs were once called as goblins. This might mean that their nature is identical to the goblins’, or that they are the same species, or at least they are siblings. However, despite their basic similarities, they have many differences that should be noted. First of all, the dwarfs befriended Amelia and they never hurt her, but the goblins used force to achieve what they wanted and harassed the girls. Second, the goblins are living next to humans in the same world while the dwarfs live underground and they only visit the upper world occasionally. Third, the goblins have animal-like physical appearance, while dwarfs are just small men, who live longer than normal humans. Finally, the role they fulfill is different, as the goblins only care for themselves and they just use Laura and Lizzie and create the main threat of the story, but the role of the dwarfs is actually positive, since they are the ones, who teach Amelia to behave in a better way and how to be a better person by making her correct her mistakes. So in the end, goblins are perceived as much more negative and aggressive creatures, who are completely evil and whose desire is to taint young ladies, and dwarfs are just small people …show more content…
The three species represent three different personalities. The goblins are evil, the dwarfs are neutral and the fairies are good. However, it became clear that there are exceptions in most of these groups. Among the dwarfs, the one, who mended the china that Amelia broke was a rather good character, also Malevola among the fairies is purely evil, who never does any good. The goblins, however, have no such person. The physical appearance of such creatures is also something that varies among many stories. In the Goblin Market the goblins had animal-like characteristics, they represented, cats, wombats, rats and so on. However, goblins in other fairy tales are seen as little green people, who have long, sharp ears and big nose. Also, in many representations they invent dangerous machines, pick a fight with everyone and insult other people. There are not many representations of female goblins, as their characteristics are not in line with the females. Dwarfs in Amelia and the Dwarfs are shown as small men, who, have long shoes and carry a staff. The most popular representation of dwarfs is that they are half of a normal person’s size, have big beards and long hair and they are very grumpy. In many stories, they are seen as miners, especially after the release and big success of Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, which reshaped the image of