UNIT 1: Introduction
I never equated fairy tales to recipes. However, after understanding the correlation, I can’t imagine a more appropriate analogy. As Maria Tatar explains in her introduction, fairy tales, just like recipes, all have similar thematic compositions with idiosyncratic deviations influenced by origin. Most all tales seem to have simultaneously existed in different societies throughout the world. This directly disfavors a chronological perspective when approaching these fables and boldly belies the assumption that one story was born from one person/region and immigrated to other regions. In other words, fairy tales are an ubiquitously essential part of society. But of course, like most ignorant Americans, I too am guilty of allowing this mentality exercised by commercial monopolies like Disney to implicitly persuade me to believe that one person alone could be cunning enough to create and spread a single canon of fairy tales. Sorry for not being sorry, Disney. There are no literary missionaries regarding fairy tales. I applaud Tatar for adding yet another strong link in the chain that keeps these age-old, allegorical treasures relevant even in an ever-evolving, modern world. Through preaching the sermon of tale types and explaining their complex dynamics, its possible for my fellow, oblivious denizens of the 21st century to also understand the history behind these jewels from the past and how to incorporate them in the present.