Tea at Trianon: The Four Founders of Fairy Tales

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Thursday, September 12, 2019

The Four Founders of Fairy Tales

From the Victorian Trading Company blog:

Charles Perrault
From: France, late 17th century
History: Born to a wealthy family, Perrault studied law and had a career in the French government. He was involved in the development of art and literature during his lifetime.
Writings: Perrault spent much of his career publishing essays on art, literature, and even the development of opera. In 1686, he wrote an epic poem about the Christian saint, Paulinus of Nola. Then at the age of 67, Perrault published a collection of fairy tales, Tales and Stories of the Past with Morals, subtitled Tales of Mother Goose. Later would come to publish a French translation of 100 Fables from the Latin poet, Gabriele Faerno.
Inspiration: Perrault drew mostly from the tales that were handed down orally for generations.
Most Famous For: Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Puss in Boots, and Sleeping Beauty.
Legacy: Perrault is considered by many to be the founder of the modern fairy tale genre, even though it had existed previously. (Read more.)

julygirl said...: I was once a 'Nanny' for parents of two adventurous little boys. There was a large wooded area behind their home and the parents told the boys that the woods were full of spiders, (the boys were deathly afraid of spiders), so that deterred them from exploring. I believe in past ages parents told frightening tales to children in order to keep them close to home.; September 12, 2019 at 10:07:00 AM EDT