fandomhigh | Traditional Fairy Tales, Class Two

Monday, January 15, Period 2

The table in the center of the room was filled with breakfast pastries and hot drinks, there were stacks of books close at hand for the students to borrow for their readings assignments, and Aziraphale looked quite cheerful as he sat in his armchair and waited for the class to arrived.

"Good morning, everyone! I hope you all enjoyed your first week of classes. Today we'll begin our discussion of the basic character archetypes found in fairy tales. Your assigned reading was Jack the Giant Killer and Molly Whuppie. Following the lecture, we'll discuss the central characters in these two stories, and how they fit into the roles of hero and villain."

LECTURE: "With a few exceptions, every fairy tale contains two central figures: the hero or heroine, and the villain. These characters can take many forms, from innocent child to clever thief, from evil stepmother to hungry wolf, but the central conflict of a fairy tale often evolves around the idea of the hero outwitting the villain. The hero may have a quest to fulfill, a puzzle to solve, or a difficult situation to escape. They may act out of self-defense, altruism, love, or necessity -- sometimes even out of greed or fear. Heros display a common set of characteristics -- in general, they are quick-witted, creative, and bold. Villains are not always evil, but are in general selfish and greedy, and usually act out of a desire to fulfill personal needs or an often baseless dislike of the hero."

DISCUSSION: "Take a look at the two stories from your assigned reading. Identify the hero and villain in each one, and then explain what motivates their actions. In your opinion, why is the villain villainous, and why does the hero act heroically?

"I would also like you to take a little time at the end of class to meet with the members of your project groups. I'll be expecting proposals for your final project in a few weeks, and I'll try to give you time during each class to meet with one another."

ASSIGNMENT: "For next week, read Mr Fox and John the True."

[ooc: For those who are new to Aziraphale's classes, there is always a spread of breakfast pastries and hot drinks, which you are free to mod. Also, the room is always arranged with comfortable chairs and couches for seating, rather than desks. ~~Please wait for the~~ OCD threads are now up, and class is in session.]

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"You're doing just fine, Miss Carnahan," Aziraphale assured her. "It is a good point you raise, that we need to keep in mind that we're not the intended audience for these tales. So things that would seem unacceptable to us -- such as the indiscriminate killing you mention -- might not have been seen in the same light. Also, do you think that it makes a difference to the moral ambiguity of the tales that the villains are giants rather than humans?"

"Oh, most definitely. One isn't supposed to question that they're wrong or dangerous, if they're designated as the giant, is one? Even though the giant in Molly Whuppie has three daughters, he's about to kill someone else's daughters. We aren't supposed to care that he's a family man. So it's supposed to be justice that he kills his own children. Which, well, I think it is, rather, but why couldn't Molly just wake up her sisters and leave? I mean, it's more *certain* the way she did it, but... And the giants in the Jack story are braggarts, and they're terrorizing the countryside, and are definitely enemies of the commonwealth, but one doesn't have to think about that, either-- they're giants, therefore they're monsters. But Jack brags about killing giants too, with his armor, and swaggering around. And Molly keeps going back for another treasure for her sisters' dowries instead of just saying 'oh, I'd rather have a shop in Chelsea'." Evie took another huge breath. "The crown is the ultimate authority, and one isn't supposed to question it in these tales. It's a goal and a dream, of becoming part of it, by marriage or skill at arms."

Aziraphale smiled at Evie's enthusiasm. "Very good, my dear. I think you raise an excellent point about the moral issues in what the heros in these tales do. Their actions, if directed toward another member of their own society, would be seen as reprehensible -- in many ways, they're exactly the same actions as the villains are taking. But because the villains are supposed to be symbols -- of oppressive authority, poverty, perhaps even political enemies -- they don't receive the same sympathy as the ordinary humans of the tales. I'd like you to tell us, if you had been reading the story purely for your own purposes, and not with an eye to studying the characters and symbolism for class, how do you think you would have responded to the people and events?"

Evie frowned a bit, chewing on her pencil, then said, "I still rather would have liked Molly, but would have thought she was taking foolish risks later in the story for gain that wasn't absolutely necessary. And I didn't like that Jack very much." She shot a glance over to Jack Harkness, and smiled. "That Jack was looking for trouble, and really, giants that are twenty feet tall aren't what I'd think of as giants! The pyramids are much taller! So are most buildings today! A group of people would have been much safer capturing the giant an trying to get it to see reason! Honestly. Single heroes. People get hurt like that!"

[ooc: apologies, this didn't hit my Inbox]

Aziraphale smiled. "Can you think of a reason why listeners or readers might want a tale that depicts a lone hero, rather than a cooperative group?"

[ooc: No worries, email notifications have been crazy. And now in the right place!]

"Ummm...." Evie frowned. "To identify with? Or perhaps, again, to build up a particular living hero to attach a legend to them? To believe that individuals can make a difference?"

"Those are all excellent answers, Miss Carnahan, and probably all equally possible, depending on the circumstances under which the stories are told." Aziraphale nodded, and gave Evie a pleased smile.

Evie gave a little bounce in her chair, and smiled brightly at Mr. Phale. Really, this class was going to be fun!

Traditional Fairy Tales, Class Two

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