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3rd out of 45 books
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30 voters
From the Beast to the Blonde: On Fairy Tales and Their Tellers
In this landmark study of the history and meaning of fairy tales, the celebrated cultural critic Marina Warner looks at storytelling in art and legend-from the prophesying enchantress who lures men to a false paradise, to jolly Mother Goose with her masqueraders in the real world. Why are storytellers so often women, and how does that affect the status of fairy tales? Are...more
Paperback, 492 pages
Published
September 30th 1996
by Farrar, Straus and Giroux
(first published 1994)
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Stepmothers were framed! Yes. The wicked stepmother in fairy tales is a modern stitch-up, and stepmums should be asking for a retrial. I made some amazing discoveries in this fabulous book about fairy tales, but the notion that stepmothers were framed is probably the one which will stick with me. Apparently, the evil maternal figure in lots of old folklore – the queen who sends the hunter to kill Snow White because she is jealous of her beauty, and the greedy (or starving) woman who leaves Hanse...more
A fascinating look into the evolution of fairy tales from a women's history perspective--I learned a lot, and I'm inspired to learn more.
Marina Warner begins with the original female character of the storyteller, including the three precursors to Mother Goose: the Sibylline Prophesies, Saint Anne, and the Queen of Sheba. She explores the spread of fairy stories through "old wives' tales" to the grand salons of France and explains how stories change based on who tells them and when in history th...more
Marina Warner begins with the original female character of the storyteller, including the three precursors to Mother Goose: the Sibylline Prophesies, Saint Anne, and the Queen of Sheba. She explores the spread of fairy stories through "old wives' tales" to the grand salons of France and explains how stories change based on who tells them and when in history th...more
Absolutely invaluable resource for anyone who has ever wondered about what's really going on in fairy tales. Insightful, entertainingly written, and well organized. Marina Warner is one of my favorite sources when I do my own feminist readings of fairy tales, fairy tale inspired modern fiction, or "retold" fairy tales (like that of McKinley or Donna Jo Napoli or Shannon Hale). Warner strips away the "cutesy" veneer we've all been exposed to, especially with Disney, and shows us all the gory deta...more
I have a fondness for the huge, synthesising variety of history that either takes lots of seemingly disparate things and draws interesting connections between them or starts with something small and moves outward to take in a huge swath of information that I wouldn't have thought to connect until someone brilliant does so for me. This is a literary/cultural history of the latter sort, and you couldn't ask for a more articulate, erudite, and interesting guide than Marina Warner. Sybilline prophec...more
I love the interpretation of fairy tales. Marina Warner is superb.
Groundbreaking, in-depth, absolutely essential work of faerie tale criticism, and a hell of a read. This scholarly tome encompasses everything from the history of literary tales and the oral tradition, to the role of feminism and female authors and storytellers, and the motifs behind the tales that make them so compelling and retain their grip on the imagination of contemporary audiences. Brilliant, wonderful, highly recommended.
An exhaustive review of the many strands of storytelling which led to the stories we know today. At times, I wanted more interpretation and less data, but when Warner did offer a conclusion, I was convinced!
I particularly enjoyed the second half of the book, on the themes she sees in the stories themselves and on women's role in telling the stories and in being told about.
I particularly enjoyed the second half of the book, on the themes she sees in the stories themselves and on women's role in telling the stories and in being told about.
Definitely a book for the bedside, perhaps when your current read is dragging a bit. You can open it anywhere and instantly get caught up in it. Loads of illustrations. It’s not really a feminist interpretation of fairytales, but an investigation of the role of women in them and what that suggests about various gender issues.
This is an excellent cultural history of fairy tales and the people who tell them. Many studies of fairy tales focus on the archetypes and the psychological symbolism of the tales, but as Warner points out, this kind of broad interpretation ignores the changing cultural context of the stories. For example, the terms "stepmother" and "mother-in-law" used to be interchangeable, which adds another layer to all those stories of wicked stepmothers... The first few chapters of this study are kind of h...more
I read this for my thesis on adaptations of Perrault's fairy tales, and though I didn't need every chapter for my research (I probably skipped 3 or 4 chapters), I thought Warner's research and analysis of fairy tale history to be fascinating and helpful for my own project.
This was interesting. The book was about the origin of fairy tales and how they spoke of the times and tragedies by putting them into fairy tales, sort of like reality spun into fairy tales to make it more palatable or easier to come to terms with
Jul 27, 2011
Jason Vanhee
added it
I tried. I really did. But after a few days of muddling deeper and deeper into the book, I couldn't actually get into it. Which is too bad because I rather liked the beginning, but couldn't make it further into the book at all.
Super chewy non-fiction book about the origins of the modern fairytale. I enjoyed much of the research presented, but if you don;t speak much or any French or German, this book will drive you round the bend.
I forgot how much I enjoy Marina Warner's work. I didn't have to read this cover-to-cover to get what I needed from it, but I did, because the book was fascinating and her voice is so engaging. I love snark in my lit crit.
I think this book really needed more structure and a more proactive editor. There's lots of information here, but it's mostly just fact soup.
An interesting scholarly analysis of fairytales and their tellers, focusing on women and their voices, both within the stories and without.
Feb 25, 2009
Mary Overton
added it
highly significant to my symbolic explorations -- don't know when I first read the book -- Warner has become one of my favorite authors
'From the Beast to the Blonde' is fascinating reading for anyone interested in myths, folklore and fairy tales. Marina Warner's interpretations and arguments regarding reaccuring fairy tales are both intriguing and insightful. I highly recommend this book.
I thought the ideas in this book were really interesting and I learned a lot. However, the material was presented in a very disjointed way, making it hard to follow, which was unfortunate.
Interesting and incisive disassembling of fairy tales and how they've been changed, and used, in the transition from oral to literary stories.
Nearly two decades old, but still viable in terms of significance.
Nearly two decades old, but still viable in terms of significance.
Interesting analysis of fairy tales, but if you're not studying it in-depth there's a lot that may become tedious.
i read this on the back of the bloody chamber, by angela carter. one day, i will be this erudite.
I LOVED this book. A very interesting look at the origins of fairy tales.
Interesting look into common themes in traditional tales.
Another reviewer called this book "fact soup", and I'm going to adopt her phrase. Marina Warner has created a very dense history of stories that, so far, is western focused. I can't read it, as I'm not academic in the arts. I can skim it. It's not a book for the average fairy tale lover to read cover-to-cover. But it's more of an occassional reference, skim, or short story for one interested in the role of women in folk lore. The structure is difficult because it is much too fluid. Fact soup jus...more
A readable history of fairy tales and how they have evolved over the centuries.
Whew! An exhaustive history of the origins of fairy tales or at least of a certain vein of fairy tales. This one has been on my book shelf for a long time and I'm glad to have finally read it though it was a bit exhausting.
I most enjoyed the chapter "GO! BE A BEAST" and the pages 314-318
Feb 27, 2013
Sara
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
myths-tales-and-folklore,
2013-books
Incredible. Devoured this book in a matter of days. One day I'll write a 'proper' review, but for now you'll just have to trust me when I say this book is so enjoyable to read. Marina, you babe.
I learned a grillion things from the great feminist scholar Marina Warner's amazing, rich history of fairy tales. Like about Saint Uncumber, also known as Liberata, who grew a beard to escape being forced into marriage. Fucking awesome.
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Marina Sarah Warner is a British novelist, short story writer, historian and mythographer. She is known for her many non-fiction books relating to feminism and myth.
More about Marina Warner...
She is a professor in the Department of Literature, Film and Theatre at the University of Essex, and gave the Reith Lectures on the BBC in 1994 on the theme of 'Managing Monsters: Six Myths of Our Time.'
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“The store of fairy tales, that blue chamber where stories lie waiting to be rediscovered, holds out the promise of just those creative enchantments, not only for its own characters caught in its own plotlines; it offers magical metamorphoses to the one who opens the door, who passes on what was found there, and to those who hear what the storyteller brings. The faculty of wonder, like curiosity can make things happen; it is time for wishful thinking to have its due.”
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3 people liked it
“The more one knows fairy tales the less fantastical they appear; they can be vehicles of the grimmest realism, expressing hope against all the odds with gritted teeth.”
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1 person liked it
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