Literary Theory - General & Miscellaneous, Pragmatics & Discourse Analysis, Folklore - General & Miscellaneous, Fables, Fairy Tales, & Folk Tales - Literary Criticism

Happily Ever After

Name: Happily Ever After
Author: Jack Zipes
ISBN: 9780415918503

by Jack Zipes

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Overview

In Happily Ever After, Jack Zipes addresses his ongoing concern with the socialization of children, the impact of the fairy tale on children and adults, and the future development of the fairy tale as film. As a result of analyzing the historical trajectory of storytelling and the literary fairy tale, the essays in Happily Ever After move from the sixteenth century to the present, between different cultures and societies, and from specific analyses to general syntheses. Zipes demonstrates how Straparola's 16th-century Puss in Boots tale is related to Disney's 1922 film version. He examines the narrative structure of Hansel and Gretel as a rationalization for child abuse, tracing the same theme in Collad's novel Pinocchio and its Disney film version. He concludes by examining how we have come full circle from the early oral tradition in light of the rise of storytelling throughout the world. Underscoring all these essays is the question that all fairy tales raise: what does it take to bring about happiness? Is happiness only to be found in fairy tales?

About the Author, Jack Zipes

Jack Zipes is Professor of German at the University of Minnesota. He is the author of Fairy Tales and the Art of Subversion, Don't Bet on the Prince and Creative Storytelling, all published by Routledge.

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Editorials

Library Journal

Zipes (German, Univ. of Minnesota), well known in storytelling and folklore circles for such works as Fairy Tales and the Art of Subversion (Routledge, 1985), confronts in this series of essays the question much discussed recently on listservs: How have the relatively new media of film and television affected traditional storytelling and stories, particularly fairy tales? Zipes is concerned with the "commodification" of fairy tales, la Disney, where the films are designed more to sell a line of toys and other products than to present a story to an audience. Zipes traces the use of fairy tales in the acculturation process through various time periods, emphasizing the importance of being cognizant of the process itself. The beginning of an important discussion, his work is recommended for academic libraries and public libraries with substantial collections in either folklore or media studies.Katherine K. Koenig, Ellis Sch., Pittsburgh, Pa.