Fairy tales didn’t start as their own genre, but over centuries after noticing that so many cultures developed their own and that they all collectively shared similar characteristics, a genre was established. Charles Perrault and the Grimm Brothers are staples of this genre, but, what did all of these fairy tales have in common? Here is a list of a few characteristics they all shared:
The fairy tale must have a lesson: In general fairy tales had to teach a lesson to its readers. Whether it was about talking to strangers like in Little Red Riding Hood or loving someone past beauty like in Beauty and the Beast, they must all conclude with a moral. Fairy tales served as easy channels of education for everyone despite their social class.
Talking animals or plants are usually important characters: if you read a lot of fairy tales you will notice that, not only are talking animals and plants the main feature of fairy tales but that many animals played recurring roles. Wolves would be villains in several tales, even if they came from different cultures, but house pets like cats, dogs, and rabbits would be heroes or sidekicks.
They share similar opening and closing words: whether set in the past or not, it’s almost essential that fairy tales would start with ‘Once Upon A Time’ and end with “Happily Ever After’. These words help make the story feel complete and magical as they give a proper sense of start and finish, with no open ending. They also helped establish this genre since it formed a pattern that many stories shared.
Poverty is a starting point, but royalty is endgame: whether they were actually poor or lived in poverty out of an injustice, like Cinderella, poverty is where we usually find our main characters. Throughout the story, we see what struggles they might face, but we understand that royalty, status and wealth is usually their happy ending. It helps give a sense of closure since you see the character end in a better place than where it started.
A battle between good and evil: Fairy tales must have a good character and a bad character that struggle against each other. This is because fairy tales must teach lessons, usually about morals or values, which is why you must show the good character defeat the bad, as usual, they are symbolic figures of corruption.
Magic as a protagonist: curses, fairy godmothers, and witches are always a key element of fairy tales. Magic carries the story as it usually sets the plot and determines the journey and challenges the characters will have to go through to achieve their happily ever after. Whether overcoming a curse or protecting magical objects, magic can be counted as a character in fairy tales since it’s always a big part of the story.
Takes place in a magical setting: magic is not just present in its characters, but also in the setting. Whether it’s in an enchanted forest, a magical cave or a haunted castle, the plot takes place in a setting that is very different from whatever the reader knows. This helps to create a feeling of escapism that allows all the crazy things that happen in fairy tales to be possible.
Family or lack of family pushes the story: many fairy tales touch the topic of family. Lack of family or proper parent figures tend to push the main characters into the story. This is why many fairy tales are coming of age stories. Essentially many stories like Cinderella, Puss in Boots or Snow White show the main character struggling because they don’t have a proper family dynamic that reflects traditional values. Yet when they reach their happily ever after, they are shown as having a functional family, enforcing the importance of family values.
There are several other characteristics you can find in all fairy tales. The best thing you can do is explore the different fairy tales we have in our online library www.hublmedia.com and see what recurring features you find.
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