Fairies in Folklore and Literature Essay -- Exploratory Essays Researc

Fairies in Folklore and LiteratureFairies have been part of literature, art, and culture for more than fifteen hundred years. With them have come umpteen stories about their interaction with adults and children. These stories have been compiled by men such as Charles Perrault and the Brothers Grimm, who provided the world with a large compilation of fairy tales, which are still told today. Perrault and the Grimms in concert compiled over six hundred legends that originated from all around Europe. These myths and legends often included imaginary being called fairies, sprites, and nymphs. Fairies are frequently described as tiny human beings. Their clothing, which is unremarkably green, gold, or blue, is thought to have been created from natural elements such as leaves and vines which have been sown together to make their dresses and loin cloths. Many of these wizardly beings had travel and could change forms and disappear when they had to. There were both male and female fairies, some good and others evil. Evil female fairies were usually associated with female sexuality and abused their magical powers by doing harm (Rose 107-9). They also had two, distinct living groups. One was called the trooping group, a group of fairies that lived together in a community with governmental authority and laws, usually a monarchy. Most of these trooping groups were found in Irish and occasionally in English folklore. The other fairies are simply known as solitary fairies, the ones that do not live in spite of appearance the community and are associated with outside families, places, or activities. This group would include fairy godmothers (Rose 107). All fairies were said to live in the ground, within a forest. If humans wanted to find the fairie... ... Jane Eyre can been seen in the compilation of Charles Perraults work, especially in Tom Thumb and Bluebeard and The Fairies. It could also be argued that Charlotte skill not have read or heard these stories but was intr oduced to many of the same themes through gothic novels of the time. Works Cited Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. Ed. Beth Newman. New York St. Martins, 1996. Fraser, Rebecca. The Brontes Charlotte Bronte and Her Family. New York Crown, 1988. Perrault, Charles. Perraults spotless French Fairy Tales. Austria Meredith, 1967. Rose, Carol. Spirits, Fairies, Gnomes and Goblins An Encyclopedia of the Little People. Denver ABC-CLIO, 1996. Silver, Carole. Strange and Secret Peoples Fairies and Victorian Consciousness. New York Oxford UP, 1999.