What are fairytales? We have all heard the word Fairy Tale at some point in our lives. Most likely as bedtime stories our parents would read to us before they would tuck us in to go to sleep at night. But what does the word Fairy Tale mean? Well, according to the American Literature the website, Fairy Tales are stories that usually consist of extraordinary and interesting characters who always find themselves in situations where they are dealing with conflict of some sort, usually good verses evil, to be exact. Fairy Tales always have interesting characters such as dragons, fairies, and witches, knights, elves, princes and even princes. Examples of these Fairy Tales include Snow White, Cinderella, Hensel and Grete, Beauty and The Beast, The Little Mermaid, and many others. Common knowledge to Fairy Tales is how usually start with "Once Upon A Time..." and in "... and they lived happy ever after." We have always heard of Fairy Tales ending that way, but have we ever of Fairy Tales ending that way, but have we ever considered what happens after "...happily ever after"? Fairy Tales and Reality Fairy Tales and reality very different. We live in a world where women can fight for themselves and don't have to be damsels in distress to achieve their dreams. If we lived in a world where it was a replica of something found in a fairy tale, it would be like living in oblivion. In reality, men and women face struggles and obstacles, probably more so after they get married. So when young girls hear a fairy tale they would tend to picture how they would to romance as they get older and dream about their future wedding. Another thing to notice when it comes to Fairy Tales is they always have some form of conflict that is good or evil. For instance, Cinderalla. She grew up as an orphan and lived as a servant to her evil stepmother and stepsisters who abused her verbally and emotionally. and and when she wants to go to the ball to meet Prince Charming, her fairy godmother comes in to help her dress for the occasion (in the Brothers' Grimm version, its a willow tree that aids her not a fairy godmother) and she arrives their in a pumpkin carriage and wears a nice dress and glass slippers. She of course dances with the prince and when the clock strikes 12, she has to hurry home before her stepmother and stepsisters do, and also leaves behind a glass slipper in the process, prompting Prince Charming to find her. Cinderella is a perfect example of a Fairy Tale vs. reality. In the fairy Tale, the prince finds her in the cellar of her stepmother's home where she is cleaning, and when he puts the glass slipper her on her foot , its a perfect fit and he saves her from the torment of her stepmother and stepsisters and lives a happy live after saving her. How ever in reality, being saved from a situation like that would be very highly unlikely. In reality, if a girl were mistreated from her family, she would probably choose not to have anything to do with them when she becomes an adult, or she would probably rebel and fight for herself and the better future she wishes to have. (Cinderella is a Fairy Tale by the Brothers' Grimm and their version and more darker morbid: such as one stepsister cutting of a heel and the other cuts off her toes to fit in the glass slipper, and it ends with them becoming blind due to doves plucking out their eyes) Furthermore when you hear the real versions of Fairy Tales such as Cinderella you would begin to think differently on how Fairy Tales have really been told through out history and will see it's nothing compared to how society views a Disney princess. So when Fairy Tales are told, you usually hear a sugar coated version and not the whole, real, in-depth story. Real World When a couple becomes married in the real world , their ending will not stop at the wedding and live happy ever after. Although they are more than likely happy after the wedding, marriage does take a lot of work and effort. Fairy Tales do not explore aspects of real-life situations when two lovers become married. Married couples have the rest of their lives together and in order for them to live happily, it takes work. This work can include paying bills, trying to start a being committed to each other, etc. Take Princess Diana for example. She married Prince Charles, second inline to the British throne, and everyone described her as ordinary, shy girl living a Fairy Tale life. However she didn't get the happily ever after she was hoping for because as the narrator said when showing a trailer of season 4 of The Crown "The Wedding day is not the place of arrival, but the place where the adventure really begins". In Princess Diana's situation, Prince Charles was her husband, yet he was in love with another women , Camilla Parker Bowels, and Princess Diana described her marriage in a controversial interview as it being "crowed" and that there were three people in the marriage. needless to say", happily ever after takes a lot of work in order to maintain that happiness especially if that milestone has already been reached. And in the case of The People's Princess, She and prince Charles did get a divorced . Also, if we lived life as if it were a Fairy Tale, we would have ourselves set up for a heart break disappointment. In the real world, happiness is something every individual has to work with, and with that, one of the first things an individual should learn to be happy with is themselves. Being happy, how can they be happy with anything or anyone else? Overall perspective When we think of good vs. evil in a Fairy Tale we have heard with a happy ending, we begin to think that all Fairy Tales are like that, but that is far from the truth. Fairy Tales tend to be depicted as fantasies and never showcase realistic approaches. However, the movie Into the Woods (2014) does exactly this, The movie is an adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's and James Lapine 's1986 musical of the same name. The musical follows a baker and his wife who are struggling to bear a child due to a family curse, and when they are giving a task to complete by the witch who cursed them, they set out to retrieve hair as yellow as corn, a pure gold slipper, a cow as white as mile, and a cape as red as blood to use as ingredients for a potion. She gives them a few days to find these items and if they meet that deadline she will remove their curse. Into the Woods gives a twist on Grimm's' Fairy Tales when Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, Cinderalla, and Rapunzel overlap with one another as the baker and his wife try to find an item each character from the classic Fairy Tales possesses. The most interesting thing about this musical is it explores realistic approaches taken with each Fairy Tale. For example look at Cinderalla. She is a servant girl who married to a Prince Charming, but when the giant arrives and tries to destroy the village, viewers get a glimpse of what her life is like after her happy ending. She keeps visiting her mother's grave in the woods and even clothes she wore while living with her evil stepmother in order to sneak out of the palace to do so. At one point in the movie Cinderalla's Prince Charming explains to Cinderalla that he grew up to be charming and not sincere, and this is proven to be further confirmation after he tries to seduce the bakers wife. With that being said this is more validation that the origin of Fairy Tales are very different than the ones children hear as bedtime stories. So if one wishes to have a Fairy Tale life upon meeting Mr. Right and staying married to him till death do you part, keep in mind that reality is a key factor and staying in a happy marriage takes work ,but it is very possible to stay married to the love of your life till death do you part. Final Thoughts The true origins of Fairy Tales are completely opposite of the Disney versions we have often heard as children. If one where to life their life as a Fairy Tale it would lead to disappointment and not what that individual was hoping for. Yet, it is possible to have a happy ending to a love story, but it would require a lot of work, commitment, dedication, and motivation. So in conclusion if you want your love life to have a happy ending, remember it is nothing like a Fairy Tale and more importantly you must be happy with you as a person and love yourself and if you do that you will be happy with your soulmate and live out the happy ending you both have planned out for yourselves. . A big shout out to Kaitlyn M Rowe www.youngadultclub.com she did a fabulous job helping me write this post,
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Today I am sharing some valentines projects with you. The first project is pretty easy. You will need two sheets of pink or red construction paper I did mine with pink. The paper, some cute dollies. and little foam hearts where all purchased at the dollar store and all you need for this project, I buy a lot of my craft items there to keep the price down. Once you have what you need take one piece of construction paper and fold it in half than take a scalloped edge scissors and cut a half moon going from the open flap to the crease, I brought the scissors at hobby lobby for 2.99. Once the heart is cut out open it and get some glue, the other piece of construction paper glue the heart to the paper. Next you take and layer two heart dollies, I layered my off center using one white and one red. The last thing to do is to take the little hearts and make two eyes and a nose. The package of hearts come in different sizes so I took two different sizes and glued the bigger ones down first than the smaller ones inside the bigger ones. I took some little hearts and using the colors red and white decorated the top of the heart. It came out cute and no mess. Little hands will have fun designing this one! The Second Project can be done as a family project all you need is a 6inch foam flower ring I brought at the dollar store, Ribbon any color will work I used yellow, little hearts and glue. An adult may have to help glue the ribbon on to the ring, I glued the ribbon real tight around the ring than let it dry. The children can add the little hearts of different sizes all around the ring. I layered the little hearts around the ring so no ribbon is showing. For this project you will need pink or red construction paper and little foam hearts. First take the paper and fold it in half and using the scallop scissors cut a half moon from the open end to the crease. Open the heart and put little hearts on using glue, Have fun and be creative! I would like to include a valentine's book to read by one of my favorite authors Eric Carle "Love From The Very Hungary Caterpillar" The pictures are brightly colored and it is similar to his" Very Hungary Caterpillar" book. Stop by marciescaringhands.weebly.com for more projects.
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AuthorHi, I'm Marcie Kenny, the women behind this blog. I am not a mother, but I am number seven in a family of nine. I worked in childcare for many years before retiring; now I enjoy blogging about all that I have learned along the way. Archives
October 2020
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