Once Upon A Time... I read an essay a long time ago about the essential nature of Grimm's Fairy Tales. Modern readers often find the Grimm stories disorienting or troubling, and the consequences of a characters actions go against the grain of the reader's expectations.
The essay explained that this was because modern readers assigned very different attributes to the characters and their motives than 18th century storytellers, and modern values of fairness and merit were not part of the mental landscape of the tales' inventors. Where we would expect characters to suffer a tragic fate for their cruelty, the original audience would understand that he has the right to do as he does by dint of his position in the great chain of being.
Does anyone know what I'm talking about? Or am I hallucinating?
The essay explained that this was because modern readers assigned very different attributes to the characters and their motives than 18th century storytellers, and modern values of fairness and merit were not part of the mental landscape of the tales' inventors. Where we would expect characters to suffer a tragic fate for their cruelty, the original audience would understand that he has the right to do as he does by dint of his position in the great chain of being.
Does anyone know what I'm talking about? Or am I hallucinating?
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