5 ms·

Im curious why such a sad book caught on as a "children's classic". Does anyone know the story behind how?

honestoHeminway 7y ago
Makes unruly children appreciate how much better they have it.
yvdriess 7y ago
My personal theory is that much of asia did (or does) not have the disney-style cultural directive that children stories have to end happily. Old european children stories pre-Grimm definitely did not have that either. A well done sad moment probably has a lot more emotional impact than a saccharine ending. I certainly remember Bambi's mother death scene or Alfred's parents death, while the happy endings are lost to the fog of childhood memories.
- MisterTea 7y ago
  > A well done sad moment probably has a lot more emotional impact than a saccharine ending. I certainly remember Bambi's mother death scene or Alfred's parents death, while the happy endings are lost to the fog of childhood memories. Of all the things I remember from childhood the weird or scary stuff sticks in my mind like a knife. I believe thats is critical to inspiring creative people later in life with vivid memories of the scary or strange. A lot of those weird and scary memories have shaped the way I think and look at life. The sanitizing of stories leaves little to remember and likely to be forgotten after the next sugary schlockfest has been consumed.
  - yvdriess 7y ago
    Before I forget: Henson's Labyrinth and The dark crystal are good examples. Especially with the latter inspiring a new generating to produce a modern version for TV.
newnewpdro 7y ago
Not all cultures are obsessed with sheltering their children from the full gamut of life and emotion. The story is about a young person faced with adversity, it's age appropriate and prepares a child reader for what lies ahead.
tropdrop 7y ago
As mentioned elsewhere here, it seems (to me) a uniquely Western phenomenon (and a modern one, at that) to only present happy endings in fairy tales. Most of the Disney canon's origin tales were much more gruesome. Take, for instance, what happens to Cinderella's stepsisters - in order to try to fool the prince that their feet fit the small slippers, they cut off several of their toes and commence to dance for him while in excruciating pain. I grew up in Russia, so I have a very different baseline for what is a "standard" fairy tale. The tales I grew up with tended to have a solid moral lesson - for instance, I remember "7-year-old Daughter," a tale with two brothers, one rich and stupid and the other poor but with a smart daughter. The poor brother's horse gave birth to a foal, but the foal crawled into the rich brother's wagon, and so the brothers began arguing about who owns the newly born animal. To settle the argument, they go to a tsar, who gives them some lofty riddles to solve to determine ownership. The rich brother thinks the riddles are easy and doesn't think too deeply about them. The poor brother, distraught, seeks his daughter's help. I remember one riddle involved bringing to the tsar the "softest item ever," and the daughter recommended to tell the tsar that this item was a fist - since when one lays to sleep, no matter the pillow, does one not always place their fist to support their head? In the end, the clever triumph over the stupid rich, the poor brother gets his foal, and the daughter eventually marries the tsar (who's impressed with her cleverness). Or another tale spoke of a fisherman who discovered a magic genie fish in his net, who granted him endless wishes if he only asked - but with each wish, his wife became more greedy, until she wished to be a fish goddess herself. So the fish left the family with naught but the poverty they started with. Now imagine my bewilderment when I watched The Little Mermaid and then followed it up with reading the book. What is the advice of the first? Abandon your family for a "true love" you only met once? And the book - it seems to say that doing so will only end in your misfortune and death? The first is foolishly romantic, but the second hopelessly tragic. I would love to hear the perspective of a scholar in Western fairy tales - specifically, what such tales can tell us about the moral fiber of England, France, Belgium, US, etc.

Makes unruly children appreciate how much better they have it.

My personal theory is that much of asia did (or does) not have the disney-style cultural directive that children stories have to end happily. Old european children stories pre-Grimm definitely did not have that either. A well done sad moment probably has a lot more emotional impact than a saccharine ending. I certainly remember Bambi's mother death scene or Alfred's parents death, while the happy endings are lost to the fog of childhood memories.

MisterTea 7y ago
> A well done sad moment probably has a lot more emotional impact than a saccharine ending. I certainly remember Bambi's mother death scene or Alfred's parents death, while the happy endings are lost to the fog of childhood memories. Of all the things I remember from childhood the weird or scary stuff sticks in my mind like a knife. I believe thats is critical to inspiring creative people later in life with vivid memories of the scary or strange. A lot of those weird and scary memories have shaped the way I think and look at life. The sanitizing of stories leaves little to remember and likely to be forgotten after the next sugary schlockfest has been consumed.
- yvdriess 7y ago
  Before I forget: Henson's Labyrinth and The dark crystal are good examples. Especially with the latter inspiring a new generating to produce a modern version for TV.

newnewpdro 7y ago

Not all cultures are obsessed with sheltering their children from the full gamut of life and emotion. The story is about a young person faced with adversity, it's age appropriate and prepares a child reader for what lies ahead.

tropdrop 7y ago

As mentioned elsewhere here, it seems (to me) a uniquely Western phenomenon (and a modern one, at that) to only present happy endings in fairy tales. Most of the Disney canon's origin tales were much more gruesome. Take, for instance, what happens to Cinderella's stepsisters - in order to try to fool the prince that their feet fit the small slippers, they cut off several of their toes and commence to dance for him while in excruciating pain. I grew up in Russia, so I have a very different baseline for what is a "standard" fairy tale. The tales I grew up with tended to have a solid moral lesson - for instance, I remember "7-year-old Daughter," a tale with two brothers, one rich and stupid and the other poor but with a smart daughter. The poor brother's horse gave birth to a foal, but the foal crawled into the rich brother's wagon, and so the brothers began arguing about who owns the newly born animal. To settle the argument, they go to a tsar, who gives them some lofty riddles to solve to determine ownership. The rich brother thinks the riddles are easy and doesn't think too deeply about them. The poor brother, distraught, seeks his daughter's help. I remember one riddle involved bringing to the tsar the "softest item ever," and the daughter recommended to tell the tsar that this item was a fist - since when one lays to sleep, no matter the pillow, does one not always place their fist to support their head? In the end, the clever triumph over the stupid rich, the poor brother gets his foal, and the daughter eventually marries the tsar (who's impressed with her cleverness). Or another tale spoke of a fisherman who discovered a magic genie fish in his net, who granted him endless wishes if he only asked - but with each wish, his wife became more greedy, until she wished to be a fish goddess herself. So the fish left the family with naught but the poverty they started with. Now imagine my bewilderment when I watched The Little Mermaid and then followed it up with reading the book. What is the advice of the first? Abandon your family for a "true love" you only met once? And the book - it seems to say that doing so will only end in your misfortune and death? The first is foolishly romantic, but the second hopelessly tragic. I would love to hear the perspective of a scholar in Western fairy tales - specifically, what such tales can tell us about the moral fiber of England, France, Belgium, US, etc.