Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Why I Still Love Fairy Tales (Part 1)

(Brief intro: It may be a bit harder to post once a week than I thought, what with AP classes and band rehearsals, and trips out of town. Still, it's a goal and I'm working on it, so stick around, and don't forget to subscribe!)

I think I have always been a big fan of fairy tales. Like many little girls, my room was once decorated with Disney princesses and pink flowers and anything sparkly. I liked dressing up and wearing my tiara and waving a magic wand. For a while, I even refused to wear anything that wasn't a pink dress. And while I've since stopped waving glittery plastic wands and my favorite color is now blue rather than pink, I'll admit that Disney princesses- and fairy tales in general- still hold a special place in my heart.

I'll admit that I still like dressing up. Prom is this year, and yes, I am excited to wear a pretty dress and feel like a princess. (I know some of you out there feel the same way, just admit it.) I'll even admit that I still have princess themed birthday parties. (I saw the Cinderella movie and a local high school's Cinderella play for my birthday last year. More on my slight obsession with Cinderella to come in another post!) Fantasy books still take up the most room on my bookshelves. I even named this blog after a fairy tale.

I think many people wouldn't want to admit they like fairy tales. I see the comments all the time. "Life isn't a fairy tale." "Fairy tales are for kids." "None of that is real." Even "Disney princesses are bad role models." And while the logical, rational side of me agrees, that princes don't really come along with a glass slipper, and that most Disney movies are directed at kids, and that fairy godmothers aren't exactly real, and that I'm not the biggest fan of the damsel-in-distress-waiting-for-a-man cliche, I also see the other side of the argument.

Great people with great minds like Albert Einstein, C.S. Lewis, Audrey Hepburn, G.K. Chesterton, and yes, Walt Disney, see the other side too. Einstein is credited with saying, "If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales." Unfortunately, I haven't seen much of his explanation, but hey, it's Einstein. Chesterton is the source of another wonderful quote:
"Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten."
I think he is exactly right. Fairy tales show us people who have overcome adversity of all kinds. Nearly all of us can find a fairy tale or myth or legend we relate to; goodness knows there's plenty to choose from. We have all gone through things, but that's not the end of the story. Rags-to-riches stories are still possible, although difficult. Falling in love is still possible, although it's more than one dance.

We have all gone through things, but at the end of the day, at the end of the story, it's still possible to be happy.


How do you feel about fairy tales? Do you have a favorite? Let me know in comments!

No comments:

Post a Comment