The Importance of Fairytales

Enjoy this guest post by author JL Jusaitis!

Jeanne Jusaitis (JL Jusaitis) has an MA in Education with a focus on
Curriculum. She lives in northern California, and is the author of
three books for young readers: Lilah Dill and the Magic Kit, Journey
to Anderswelt, and Journey to Autremonde. Her poems and stories are
published in ten anthologies. Jeanne draws from her memories of
growing up in northern California, and many years of teaching and
traveling. See her books on Amazon.

The Importance of Fairytales

            Did you look at this title and say, “That’s an oxymoron”? I’m not surprised.

            Most people think of fairytales as make-believe stories told to children . . . not so important. Bruno Bettelheim, the famous child psychologist and author of Uses of Enchantment, would argue that “fairytales are important tools in helping children to find meaning and purpose in their lives. The fairytale confronts the child with basic human predicaments. Characters are typical rather than unique, and plots are clear and simple. By listening to or reading fairytales, children can begin to work through their own problems in a subconscious, symbolic way.”

            The definition of fairytale that I am using here is synonymous with folktale. Every culture has its stories that have been passed down from generation to generation, either orally or eventually in written form. When I speak of fairytales, I’m referring to the Western European tradition made popular by the Grimm Brothers, Hans Christian Anderson, and the stories of the French court. These stories have common themes and archetypes that can be found in tales all across the globe. You’ll see many of the same stories repeated in different cultures, with just a few tweaks that make them different. Many times the characters are animals that have been personified. For example, did you know that Goldilocks was once a silver fox?

            As a middle-grade teacher, I found that my students had a love of CS Lewis, Tolkien, Disney, and Star Wars, yet very few of them had been exposed to the original archetypes and themes that had come right out of the fairytale tradition. I planned an integrated unit that was cross-cultural, where they compared and contrasted the fairytales that they read, noting archetypes, magical objects, and themes. Out of this unit came some wonderful original student-generated writing and art employing the themes and archetypes of the stories they’d been reading.

            Now, as an author,  I have found myself going back to those tools to write two fantasy novels for middle grade and young adult kids: Journey to Anderswelt and Journey to Autremonde. The heroine is on a quest, the wise or kind helper shows up, and the witches and wizards are sometimes a threat to the realm, but might surprise the reader. Of course, what’s a fairytale without magical objects and talking animals?

            I feel so lucky to have had storytelling grandparents and parents. Fairytales and folktales were read or told to me at bedtime or shared by the fireplace with family. From those stories I’ve learned perseverance, kindness, and optimism and have nurtured a rich imagination.

            FYI . . . it’s never too late to start reading fairytales. They’re not just for kids. Try it; you’ll like it.