As far back as I can remember, I have been a fan of fairy tales. Cinderella, Beauty and The Beast, Snow White, Aladdin, and others have captured my mind, and they continue to do so. Some might find it odd that a girl in her late twenties could still be attached to the fairy tales, but what do they know. These tales give me a reason to smile, a hope for a better tomorrow, and an inclination towards kindness. When Cinderella continued to follow her step mom’s instructions, she exhibited that nobody can take away your kindness if you don’t allow them to. The evil could only reach your heart if you allow it to get closer to your precious heart. If I were Cinderella, I would have rebelled against my step mom right at the beginning. Probably, I would have become a more evil person than that stepmom, and then the Prince would have run away at a lightening speed 😉 Not that my happiness would have depended on his presence. The bigger loss would have been the loss of my golden heart.
When Cinderella continued to follow her step mom’s instructions, she exhibited that nobody can take away your kindness if you don’t allow them to. The evil could only reach your heart if you allow it to get closer to your precious heart. If I were Cinderella, I would have rebelled against my step mom right at the beginning. Probably, I would have become a more evil person than that stepmom, and then the Prince would have run away at a lightening speed 😉 Not that my happiness would have depended on his presence. The bigger loss would have been the loss of my golden heart.
Similarly, all the fairy tales have something beautiful about them. I agree that sometimes, these tend to present a very unrealistic idea, but these are always somewhere closer to the reality than we notice at first. For instance, in most of the fairy tales, they talk about the magical power of “true love’s kiss.” I know that a true love’s kiss cannot bring back the dead, but it cures a person in more ways than one may anticipate. The elixir is not the kiss but all the little things that are immersed in a true love. A true love needn’t always be between lovers; a true love is beyond tags of relationships. A true love may exist between a mother and a son, siblings, a teacher and a student, and what not! Maleficent is one of my favorite fairy tales because this supports the idea of the love that brightens a darkened heart by its virtues. When Maleficent falls in love with the girl, whom she herself cursed, it really touched my heart.
The best part about fairy tales is that these try to broaden our perspectives in a non-preachy manner. Snow White is a princess, but, by surviving in the forest, she provides hope to all the less fortunate girls. She lives in the forest and survives even though she knows nothing about life outside her palace. Of course, a little drama is there when the Prince enters her life, but who doesn’t like a little twist. In Beauty and the Beast, Beauty breaks the stereotype and, instead of running behind boys, wealth, and makeup, she finds comfort in books. Beauty is not in all the outward characteristic, it is sometimes in a person’s mind; therefore, ladies must read well and work on their inner beauty, as well.
You see, fairy tales are not that far from our real world. These do not deny the existence of evil. In fact, these tales highlight that there is evil in the world. However, these also tell us that with kindness, love, care, courage, and determination, goodness may defeat the evil. In a way, fairy tales provide us the tools to survive in this world of hatred. As Neil Gaiman rightly said,
Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.
Do you believe in Fairy Tales? Let me know!
P.S. This post is in response to the Friday Reflections prompt – “Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.” – Neil Gaiman. Use this quote in your post or as an inspiration for one.
One thing I found out, after I grew up a little, was that the fairy tales I had read as a young child were not exactly the “real” tales. Some pretty awful, dark stuff had been left out of the modern version of the tales that had been part of versions hundreds of years ago. Some versions of The Frog King have the frog thrown against the wall. Hansel and Gretel are driven into the forest by starving parents during a famine. The Little Mermaid (in the original tale) has her tongue cut out. So, I don’t know. I haven’t read any of those tales as an adult. Perhaps I should.
Not that I have read these older, and might I say horrible sounding versions, but I believe even after these adversities, the “dragons” must have been slayed 🙂 Nobody can deny that we are living in the dark times, where people are slitting one another’s throats for their own benefits; however, we hope that light will shine again and dragons would be beaten. Don’t you think?
Your post made me smile and echoes kindness in all its forms as well as the refusal to be bogged down by meanness.
That was my motive behind writing this post. I’m glad that I could put that point across 🙂
I think there are many hidden messages in fairy tales. I like your thoughts on them. Dropping by from the linkup
I think what I found interesting about fairy tales was they tended to have a moral more often than not and in a way, that reflects real life or at least, lessons for life. Thanks for linking!