Old Wives’ Fairy Tales provides an extremely well-written, intelligent take on the oral tradition, and the tales which have been passed down throughout the generations.
“When we hear the formula ‘Once upon a time’, or any of its variants, we know in advance that what we are about to hear isn’t going to pretend to be true. Mother Goose may tell lies, but she isn’t going to deceive you in that way. She is going to entertain you, to help you pass the time pleasurably, one of the most ancient and honorable functions of art. At the end of the story, the Armenian storyteller says: ‘From the sky fell three apples, one to me, one to the storyteller, and one to the person who entertained you.’ Fairy tales are dedicated to the pleasure principle, although since there is no such thing as pure pleasure, there is always more going on than meets the eye.”
Furthermore, “These stories have only one thing in common — they all centre around a female protagonist; be she clever, or brave, or silly, or cruel, or sinister, or awesomely unfortunate, she is centre stage, as large as life, — sometimes, like Sermerssuaq, larger.”
Carter understands the value of the “voice” in telling a story. As a result, the stories collected in this volume have been told in their original “voice,” be it North American Ozarks, English dialect, English Gypsy accented, or what-have-you. The stories range across the world, sparing no corner, no heritage, to turn out some of the very best examples of women in fairy tales.
Old Wives’ Fairy Tales is separated into categories such as “Brave, Bold and Wilful,” “Clever Women, Resourceful Girls, and Desperate Stratagems,” “Sillies,” “Witches,” “Moral Tales,” “Unhappy Families,” and “Good Girls and Where It Gets Them.” As we can see, she’s managed to capture a number of the archetypical situations in which our heroines manage to become involved, be it the hapless “Armless Maiden,” the moralistic “Little Red Riding Hood,” the never-satisfied “Woman Who Lived In A Vinegar Bottle,” or the daring “Kate Crackernuts.”
Mind you, that’s only four out of dozens of stories. I highly recommend this book, for quality all around. Angela Carter is one of the better editors you’ll find in the field, and her retellings are noteworthy for capturing the true essence and darkness inherent in fairy tales.
(Pantheon, 1990)
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