Ella's Blog

The original Brothers Grimm Snow White fairy tale is quite different from what most of the world knows as Snow White. This is due to the popular film by Walt Disney released in 1937. Disney became a master of contaminating fairy tales and Snow White was his first feature film. A lot of what Disney changed between the original tale and the feature film is what added meaning and authenticity to the tale. He contaminated it to appeal to a wider younger audience and to make the story last the full 88 minutes. An important difference to note is the dwarves. In the Brothers Grimm version they are important characters that provide an opportunity for Snow White to be safe and learn domestic skills. They also allow her to stay with them as long as she cleaned, cooked and looked after the house due to a contract between them. The dwarves also do nothing but warn Snow White of the Queen and save her after the first few attempts on her life. In the Disney film, the dwarves are given names (alo...

To achieve success or riches with magic or marriage really depends on how you define success. In fairy tales, due to the patriarchy present, success is generally interpreted as marriage to a prince or a climb in the social hierarchy. So with this definition of success, it is true that people can achieve success or riches with magic or marriage. However, if referring to real-life success which can mean anything from getting the job you wanted to having a family and children then it is a bit more complex. In this case, nothing is really achieved with magic or marriage. Magic isn’t real and marriage doesn’t mean that you have achieved success in life.  There are many true stories around about how people went from being dirt poor to billionaires (rags to riches). This generally has been through hard work and a little bit of luck. Now it could be said that luck is the real-life version of magic. Luck gives us that little boost that we need now and then or it kicks us...

A fairy tale is something that enchants and excites us. Its influence not only occurs during childhood but can span a lifetime. To define a fairy tale an understanding of myths and legends comes into play. At the centre of a myth is the Gods and an underlying moral to the story. Myths teach us lessons through a tale involving Gods. At the centre of a legend is a miracle. The stories involve humans coming into contact with the supernatural (miracle). They are more realistic in the way people react and come into contact with the supernatural and skepticism can be a part of them. At the centre of a fairy tale is magic and fantasy. Miracles are also a vital part and permeate the entire tale as there are more than one. Max L üthi describes fairy tales as “a work of art” and identifies ten characteristics of a fairy tale. Formulaic expressions- “Once upon a time..” these suggest what has happened in the past will happen again. They don’t stress the importance of...