I’ve always had the impression that fairytales were innocent stories of finding true love and living happily ever after, like the way Disney depicted them to be. I never thought about where these stories came from and the different themes and symbols that were relevant of that time. Some of the things I’ve learned about fairytales have not only shocked me, but has also made me reevaluate everything I know about fairytales. Something I never knew about fairytales is that they weren’t always for children. I’ve always associated them with a younger audience so thinking that these stories were written for adults enjoyment is really crazy to believe. I found that the reason these stories weren’t for children was because the “idea” of being
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My favorite as a child was Disney’s version of Cinderella, which is the story I most enjoyed reading the differences between the new and older versions. The first difference you see straight away is that the name of the story wasn’t originally Cinderella, but Aschenputtle. She was called Aschenputtle because she was always dirty covered in ashes, which represented her losing her virginity. In this case, Aschenputtle lost her virginity through incest and because of this her stepmother hated her. This was something I didn’t think to be the case when watching the Disney film. It opened my eyes to the real reason behind the stepmother’s hatred that I never would have believed to be a theme in the story and many others. Another story that I really enjoyed understanding and learning about was Little Red Riding Hood, originally known as Little Red Cap. Before digging deeper into the meanings of the symbols throughout the story, they just blew over my head. I never thought that the girl’s cape was made red for a reason and I never would have thought that it represented the loss of her virginity and her basically being a prostitute! That knowledge completely blew my mind and it really made me feel sorry for the girls during the time this story was
My favorite as a child was Disney’s version of Cinderella, which is the story I most enjoyed reading the differences between the new and older versions. The first difference you see straight away is that the name of the story wasn’t originally Cinderella, but Aschenputtle. She was called Aschenputtle because she was always dirty covered in ashes, which represented her losing her virginity. In this case, Aschenputtle lost her virginity through incest and because of this her stepmother hated her. This was something I didn’t think to be the case when watching the Disney film. It opened my eyes to the real reason behind the stepmother’s hatred that I never would have believed to be a theme in the story and many others. Another story that I really enjoyed understanding and learning about was Little Red Riding Hood, originally known as Little Red Cap. Before digging deeper into the meanings of the symbols throughout the story, they just blew over my head. I never thought that the girl’s cape was made red for a reason and I never would have thought that it represented the loss of her virginity and her basically being a prostitute! That knowledge completely blew my mind and it really made me feel sorry for the girls during the time this story was