Anthropomorphism in European Fairy Tales

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Anthropomorphism in European Fairy Tales

• A Study of Four Animals

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Outline

• Introduction
• Part I. The lion
• Part II. The cat
• Part III. The wolf
• Part IV. The fox
• Conclusion
• References

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Introduction

• Fables, fairy tales and modern children stories
  tend to educate people by using a witty style and
  by offering a moral lesson to the reader.
• Anthropomorphized animals in these stories are
  portraits of human beings. They depict the
  passions and vices of men.
• Here is a short presentation of four animals
  portrayed in European stories for children the
  lion, the cat, the wolf, and the fox.

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Part I. The lion

• Lions are recurring symbols in the coat of arms
  of royalty and chivalry.
• In The Fox and the Lion by Aesop (620560 BC),
  the lion is called the king of beasts.
• In this story, the lion is nice, polite and
  distinguished for his kindness, he is treated
  with disrespect by a fox the author concludes
  that familiarity breeds contempt .
• In The Sick Lion, the lion is once again
  represented as the king of animals. But this
  time, he is sick and about to die.

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Part I. The lion

• When the lion becomes weak and old, all the
  animals seek revenge on him, even the ass. Aesop
  concludes that only cowards insult dying
  majesty.
• La Fontaine (1621-1695), in The Animals Stricken
  with the Plague, criticizes Louis XIV and his
  court.
• The plague has been sent by God to punish crimes
  committed in the country the lion king invites
  all the animals to make a public confession.
• The lion is forgiven for his crimes by a
  complaisant court, while the ass sees his minor
  tort become a criminal offense. La Fontaine
  concludes that depending on your social height,
  the law will see your crime as black-or else as
  white.

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The Animals Stricken with the Plague, La Fontaine
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Part II. The cat

• In Puss in Boots
• The French fairy tale called Le Chat botté was
  published at the end of the 17th century by
  Charles Perrault (1628-1703).
• It is a strange story a cat, in order to help
  his master, cheats, lies, kills other animals,
  threatens people, kills the owner of a castle,
  and finally steals his property.
• The two only justifications for his terrible
  behavior are that he serves his master and kills
  an ugly and stupid ogre.

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Part II. The cat

• In Pinocchio
• The cat is one of the most interesting and the
  most dangerous animals met by Pinocchio (Carlo
  Collodi, 1883).
• The cat is a liar, a cheater, and a violent
  creature. With his friend the fox, he tries to
  steal Pinocchios money.
• Disguised as the assassins, they beat him and
  hang him to the branch of a big oak.
• He is also funny as he represents a certain type
  of character in the Italian Commedia dell'Arte.

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Puss in Boots (illustration by Gustave Doré)
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Part III. The wolf

• In The Wolf and the Lamb
• Aesop depicts the wolf as vicious. He tries to
  convince the lamb that it is his fault if the
  wolf has to punish him and eat him.
• When the wolf cant find a good excuse to eat the
  lamb, he just does saying I won't remain supper
  less, even though you refute every one of my
  imputations.
• Aesop considers in this story that the wolf
  symbolizes ruthless and cruel tyrants who always
  find a pretext to obtain what they want.

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Part III. The wolf

• In Little Red
• In the French story written by Perrault, the wolf
  wins and the little girl and her grand-mother die
• In the version written by the Grimm brothers,
  Little Red Cap, they are saved and the wolf dies
• The wolf is depicted as smart. He plays tricks
  like the fox but looks much more frightening
• The wolf represents all the vicious instincts of
  men he is a womanizer, attractive and dangerous
• He seduces young and innocent girls and brings to
  them and to their family shame and dishonor

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Little Red Riding Hood (illustration by Gustave
Doré)
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Part IV. The fox

• In Pinocchio
• The fox is smart, but he is a liar and a thief.
  He will do anything to steal Pinocchios money.
• At one point, Pinocchio is beaten and hung.
• His look and his behavior make him funny he
  speaks like a gentleman, but looks like a tramp.
• He convinces the puppet to bury his pieces of
  gold in the ground, at the Field of Wonders.
• He makes Pinocchio believe that after a while, he
  will find a tree loaded with gold pieces.

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Part IV. The fox

• In the Little Prince
• Saint-Exupéry (1900-1944) published the story in
  1943. The Little Prince is now one of the most
  famous books for children ever written.
• The fox is represented as cute, smart and wise.
  He appears in chapter 21 where he explains to the
  little boy the meaning of love and friendship.
• The fox tells the prince his secret It is only
  with the heart that one can see rightly what is
  essential is invisible to the eye.

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The cat and the fox, La Fontaine
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Conclusion

• Anthropomorphized animals are used to portray
  stereotypical human characters
• The lion has always been associated with majesty
  and nobility people love this symbol of power
  and grandeur, even if lions sleep around 20 hours
  a day
• During the Middle Ages, the cat was associated
  with witches and with the devil. Even if the cat
  in Puss in Boots is trying to help his master, he
  spreads lies and threatens people. He is clearly
  a ruthless killer.

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Conclusion

• The big bad wolf is famous from fairy tales like
  Little Red and from fables written by Aesop and
  La Fontaine. The wolf is evil, vicious,
  rapacious, and cruel. He is a bloodthirsty
  killer. No wonder why he has been persecuted for
  centuries.
• The fox too was considered as a demonic creature,
  cunning and vicious. Before the publication of
  the Little Prince, the fox was a liar and a
  cheater, always ready to fool naïve people and to
  flatter the powerful.

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References

• Books
• Les Contes de Perrault, dessins par Gustave Dore.
  Paris J. Hetzel, 1867
• Joseph Jacobs, the Fables of Aesop (New York
  Schocken Books, 1966)
• Saint-Exupéry Antoine de, Le Petit Prince,
  Gallimard, Paris, 1998, 123 pages

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References

• Online
• http//www.surlalunefairytales.com
• http//www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/dore
• http//www.lafontaine.net
• http//www.worldwideschool.org/library/books/youth
  /classic/TheAdventuresofPinocchio/toc.html
• http//www.msmagazine.com/summer2004/danceswithwol
  ves.asp

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Thank you