Customer Reviews

Off with Their Heads! Fairy Tales and the Culture of Childhood

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Tatar's text discusses readers as an "interpretive community" of individuals who are responsible for distilling meaning from stories independently but within a cultural framework. She points to an agenda of socialization and acculturization in children's literature, and notes that the values meant to be conveyed have shifted over the centuries. Though some of the language follows the challenging tone of literary criticism, on the whole this is a very readable text filled with invaluable insights.

Of particular interest is a chapter devoted to the study of fairy tale heroines, in which Tatar asserts that the characters' roles were meant to groom them for marriage and subservience. The text is well-researched, well-written and thoroughly considered. Though it displays a clear feminist bias, the observations stemming from that bias help to make this book of particular use to anyone interested in exploring the use of fairy tales as a form of indoctrination for young girls, as well as the villainization of women in fairy tales.

Maria Tartar's _Off With Their Heads_ is a brillilant analysis of European folklore and fairytales, showing not only the surreptitious way in which familar stories were "sanitized" for publication by notable folklorists such as the Grimms, but also the way in which the messages of the stories subtly (and sometimes not so subtly) were manipulated to become cautionary tales and to frighten children into behaving as adults want them to.

As D.Blankenship points out, much of Tartar's analysis is through a feminist lens; this makes sense, as many of the stories examined have female protagonists (from Rapunzel to Cinderella to the lesser-known "Mother Holle.") The gist being that girls are taught from a young age (old enough to listen and understand children's stories) that (1) beauty wins over ugliness, (2) minding your parents - especially your father - is rewarded, and (3) not minding your parents typically results in a horrible punishment disproportionate to the act. Later chapters are analyzed with a more psych-analytical lens, but with similar conclusions regarding wish-fulfillment and child-parent relations.

What struck me most powerfully was the way in which folktales, which were originally very scatalogical and "earthy" were modified and re-written to become not only cautionary tales, but also tales to "improve the moral standing" of children. That particular emphasis was put on breaking the spirit of the child - the earlier the better - in order to make them malleable and manageable I found particularly interesting (and appalling.) Given the early stages of industrialization when many of these tales were put to print, this makes sense. Tartar doesn't go far enough, I think, in drawing the parallel that these ideas remain in some parenting books and in the way in which some children are instructed even today.

A fascinating read, and one which I strongly recommend, particularly to those who have children or teach.

This is a book that educators, therapists, parents and others interested in the welfare of children, need to read. This is an important counterpoint to the books of authors who believe the fairy tales useful for personality development of children. Maria Tatar shows that, emerged in a world in which terrorizing was considered a valid means to educate (see, for instance, the books of French historian Jean Delumeau about fear in the West between the thirteenth and eighteenth centuries), many of these tales cannot be beneficial.

I absolutely despise the term "a must read" but I almost have to use it in this case for anyone engaged in the study and understanding of fairy tales or folk lore, and the impact these tales have had upon our society through the years. This is probably one of the most readable and insightful works on the subject I've had the pleasure of reading and I learned much. As with any such work, the reader needs to combine the information found between the covers of this book and compare it with other works of this ilk and the own readers knowledge and common sense. That being said....

Mara Tatar, of whom I am a big fan, has broken this work down into chapters, each covering ad different aspect of the traditional fair tale. These various subjects include Rewritten by Adults: The Inscription of Children's Literature, Teaching Them A Lesson: The Pedagogy of Fear in Fairy Tales, Just Desserts: Reward-and-Punishment Tales, Wilhelm Grimm/Maurice Sendak: Dear Mili and the Art of Dying Happily Ever After, Daughters of Eve: Fair Tale Heroines and their Seven Sins, Tyranny at Home: "Catskin" and "Cinderella," Beauties and Beasts: From Blind Obedience to Love at First Sight, "As Sweet as Love": Violence and the Fulfillment of Wishes, Table Matters: Cannibalism and Oral Greed, Telling Differences: Parents vs. Children in "The Juniper Tree," and Reinvention through Intervention.

Each subject chapter is interlock with the others and there are frequent footnotes and cross references. It is noted that the general flavor of this work leans towards feminism and the use of the fairy tale to either control or encourage the female child. It also leans heavily toward the psychological significance of each of the tales covered both from a current perspective and the past. The author has done a wonderful bit of research in bringing us the origin of these tales, their purposes and their uses over the years. Emphasis has been placed upon the difference of the oral telling of these tales and that of what finally came into print. The text also gives us a good look at the evolution of these tales down through the years, from culture to culture, from era to era.

I was particularly glad to read the section devoted to violence and fulfillment of wishes and its addressing the cruelty to not only people, but that of animals. Between this and the sections dealing with sexual matters (which by the way, there were many), the reader must be prepared for some very grim reading. At the same time, the reader needs to constantly remind themselves when and for whom these stories were written for and what their original intent was. The historical period in all of these stories is quite important.

Ms. Tartar has approached her subject with great taste and high standards of literacy. You actually learn something from reading this work. Some may not agree with her premises all of the time, but I personally would have no qualms in defending a vast majority of her opinions.

Again, this is a work that should be read with others and comparisons made, but those who have an interest in this subject should certainly place it toward the top of their reading list.

Don Blankenship
The Ozarks

As a graduate student, I was introduced to Tatar by a professor in a Fairy Tales class. This book was VITAL to all of our discussions and papers. Plus, it is simply an interesting read!! A MUST BUY!!!!!