Fairy Tale Defined -- by Wally Hastings

In responding to a query in ChildLit listserv, Wally tried to define fairy tale. Of course, this is only one possible definition from many.

To arrive at a single definition of the fairy tale that would satisfy all comers is one of those Solomonic tasks that one should be justly reluctant to undertake. When I introduce the fairy tale in my course, I try to cite various definitions from different sources. For instance, the folklorist Stith Thompson resisted the term "fairy tales," noting that such tales rarely contain fairies; his preferred term is Marchen, which he defines as "a tale of some length involving a succession of motifs or episodes, moving in an unreal world without definite locality or characters." He is clearly talking about folk fairy tales here.

Linda Degh says a fairy tale is ". . . a magic story which cannot be true" and is known by its audience to be untrue and impossible, thus distinguishing fairy tales from legends, which may be true. Tolkien provides the following definition: ". . . fairy-stories are not in normal English usage stories about fairies or elves, but stories about Fairy, that is Faerie, the realm or state in which fairies have their being."

These definitions are not by any means exhaust the possibilities, but they may suggest the range of ideas. Generally speaking, most people simply identify fairy tales by the rough rule of thumb, "I knows em when I sees em."

The distinction between fairy tales with a specific author and those from the folk tradition comes from folklorists who follow Thompson and further distinguish between the "fairy tale" (= Kunstmarchen) and the "folk tale" (= Volksmarchen); these two types may also be defined as "literary fairy tales" (the kind with an identifiable author) and "folk fairy tales." The folk tale is the older form, and it is oral and communal. That is, it has developed through repeated oral retellings within a society or community; each person who retells it makes his/her own contributions to the story, altering it in some way. If it does not continue to meet the needs of the community as well as of the individual teller and his/her audience, it will disappear from the oral tradition (this last point comes from J.L. Fischer).

Characteristics of oral texts:

1. Emphasis on plot; setting and characters are generic rather than specific.

2. Repetitive; repetitious elements help in the memory process

The fairy tale is a literary production modelled to a greater or lesser extent on folk tales. As a literary work, it has a more set form; i.e., you can make a claim for an authoritative version, that of the original author (but consider in re Andersen's "Wild Swans"). Since it is reproduced in text, it does not necessarily have to meet community needs at different ages; it has the ability to be transmitted across gaps. Nevertheless, the most successful fairy tales usually exhibit the same kind of sociopsychological effect that Fischer sees in the folk tale.

Characteristics of literary texts:

1. More specific characters, often with greater interiority and developed personality.

2. Greater description of individuals and of settings.

3. Repetition tends to be minimized as distracting from flow of story.

The above material is somewhat distilled from my teaching notes; I hope it will be helpful to you.

Last Updated

March 21, 2004