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Perrault's Fairy Tales

Questions About Perrault's Fairy Tales

by Charles Perrault

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Is this a straight translation, or is it bowdlerized?
Michael Du Pré These are the real thing, exactly as written by M. Perrault, and they even include the formally-state morals at the end of each story. The English tra…moreThese are the real thing, exactly as written by M. Perrault, and they even include the formally-state morals at the end of each story. The English translation is quite good, and done in a traditional style rather than "contemporized". Here is a sample of the language, from "The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood": "You would have thought her an angel, so fair was she to behold. The trance had not taken away the lovely color of her complexion. Her cheeks were delicately flushed, her lips like coral. Her eyes, indeed, were closed, but her gentle breathing could be heard, and it was therefore plain that she was not dead."

(disclaimer: I am basing this on the leather Easton binding of this book, whose text I understand to be the same as this edition.)(less)
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