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

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Editorial Reviews

From Kirkus Reviews

Provocative observations on the uses (and misuses) of ``classic'' fairy tales are overwhelmed by academic jargon in this oddly disjointed and disappointing study from Tatar (German Literature/Harvard). Expanding on her The Hard Facts of the Grimms' Fairy Tales (1987), Tatar examines the transformation of often ribald adult folk-tale prototypes into sometimes horrifyingly violent children's stories rooted in the assumptions and realities of a particular social context. At the time when such well-known collectors as the Brothers Grimm, Charles Perrault, and Hans Christian Andersen were combining folk legends with the children's literary conventions of ``cautionary'' and ``exemplary'' stories, Tatar says, infant death, abandonment by parents, and starvation were not uncommon. Today, Tatar advises, these ``cruel'' and ``sadistic'' tales, anachronistic at best, with heroines earning redemption through ``a servile attitude'' and obedience, should yield to ``a creative folklore...reinvented by each generation of storytellers and reinvested with creative social energy.'' The author fails to elaborate on this point, however, with more than sketchy suggestions about discussing stories with children. Tatar does provide a neat common-sensical corrective to the interpretive inversions of Bettelheim's The Uses of Enchantment (1976), in which child victims become psychologically muddled villains (the starving Hansel and Gretel, Tatar points out, have reasons to devour the witch's house far more compelling than Bettelheim's ``uncontrolled cravings''). The author also offers an interesting dissection of the pervasive sexism of many fairy tales (why all the female villains?). The dreary monograph form of much of the book never quite gels, unfortunately, with Tatar's practical, if undeveloped, popular exhortations. (Thirty illustrations--some seen.) -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

As provocative and stimulating as her The Hard Facts of the Grimms' Fairy Tales, this book should give a salutary shock to everyone who brings children and tales together, convincing them that "every interpretation is a rewriting' and encouraging them "to identify what is transmitted in the stories we tell children.' -- Review

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Product Details

• Paperback: 332 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press (October 4, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0691000883
• ISBN-13: 978-0691000886
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #384,215 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A stellar resource, October 23, 2006

By	E. Carmichael "captain stardust" (Johnson City, TN USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Truly outstanding work on folklore and fairytales, July 3, 2009

By	doc peterson (Portland, Oregon USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

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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.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SOME RATHER GRIM BUT IMPORTANT READING HERE., January 14, 2009

By	D. Blankenship (The Ozarks) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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