The Literary Life Podcast Episode 57: On Fairy Stories by J. R. R. Tolkien
Fairy Stories Are Otherworld Journeys
- Tolkien defines a fairy story as entry into an enchanted "perilous realm," not simply tales about fairies.
- He rejects dictionary and surface labels and insists genre requires an internally consistent other world.
Fairies Aren't Cute By Default
- Tolkien argues "fairies" should not be diminutive cuteness from Victorian fancy.
- He prefers older terms like "elf" and stresses historical gravity and danger in older lore.
Tolkien's Snow White Outrage
- Tolkien and C.S. Lewis famously denounced Disney's Snow White for trivializing dwarves.
- Angelina and Thomas recount Tolkien's outrage at dwarves reduced to comic relief.
Today on The Literary Life podcast, we will be discussing J. R. R. Tolkien's essay "On Fairy Stories". Tune in again over the next two weeks as we continue the conversation with Tolkien's short story "Leaf by Niggle". Cindy, Angelina and Thomas are also excited to announce the second annual Back to School Online Conference, happening August 3-8, 2020. Register today at CindyRollins.net for access both live and later.
Angelina sets the stage for this discussion by orienting us to the context for the essay by Tolkien as a critique of what is considered a fairy story. She points out the difference between cautionary tales like those by Charles Perrault and the German folk and fairy tales collected by the Grimm Brothers. Our hosts highlight Tolkien's definition of true fairy stories, ones that take place in the "perilous realm" and involve a journey element. He critiques Andrew Lang as including many stories as fairy tale that are not truly fairy stories. They also discuss topics from the essay including sub-creation, magic and spells, suspension of disbelief, and children's responses to fairy stories.
Commonplace Quotes:One should forgive one's enemies, but only after they are hanged.
Heinrich HeineThe German folk soul can again express itself. These flames do not only illuminate the final end of the old era. They also light up the new. Never before have the young men had so good a right to clean up the debris of the past. If the old men do not understand what is going on, let them grasp that we young men have gone and done it. The old goes up in flames. The new shall be fashioned from the flame of our hearts.
Joseph GoebblesHuman beings are not human doings.
Nigel Goodwin Into My Heart an Air That Killsby A. E. Houseman
Into my heart an air that kills From yon far country blows; What are those far remembered hills, What spires, what towns are those?
That is the land of lost content, I see it shining plain, The happy highways where I went And cannot go again.
Book List:(Amazon affiliate links)
When Books Went to War by Molly Guptill Manning
Culture Care by Makoto Fujimura
Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
The Faerie Queene by Edmund Spenser
Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare
Bandersnatch by Diana Pavlac Glyer
The Company They Keep by Diana Pavlac Glyer
Surprised by Joy by C. S. Lewis
Til We Have Faces by C. S. Lewis
Phantastes by George MacDonald
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Connect with Us:You can find Angelina and Thomas at HouseofHumaneLetters.com, on Instagram @angelinastanford, and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ANGStanford/
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