By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
Hans Christian Andersen (1805-75) is known throughout the world for his fairy tales, which are characterised by their focus on the individual who somehow stands apart from society: the Little Mermaid because she wants to be part of the human world but belongs in the sea, the Ugly Duckling because she’s considered ugly by the other ducks.
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
One central feature of the story of ‘Rapunzel’ is well-known: the beautiful blonde woman, imprisoned in a tower, who lets down her long hair for her lover. But what does the story of ‘Rapunzel’ mean? And how does the meaning of the very name ‘Rapunzel’ offer a clue?
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
A blonde-haired juvenile delinquent breaks into an ursine family home and proceeds to indulge her penchant for fussy eating and fidgetiness around furniture. This is, in brief, a summary of what happens in the fairy tale of ‘Goldilocks and the Three Bears’.
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
Child abandonment, poverty, gingerbread houses, and an enterprising hero: the fairy tale of Hansel and Gretel has it all. It arguably has one of the most satisfying plot structures of all the fairy tales.
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
How old do you think the story of Rumpelstiltskin is? It was famously included in the 1812 volume Children’s and Household Tales by the Brothers Grimm (a book that’s better known as Grimms’ Fairy Tales), but many of the tales written down by the German siblings were of a considerable vintage by then.