Fairy tale? Folk tale? Which one?!

As a child, my mother would tell me the stories that most people would know- Hansel and Gretel, Cinderella, Snow White, the likes. It’s completely natural though that at such a young age, I never questioned if they were true. But when you take a moment to think-what is a fairy tale? What requirements does a story have to have in order to be considered a fairy tale?

First things first, stories such as the ones mentioned above are not only fairy tales. All fairy tales are also actually folk tales- but not all folk tales are fairy tales. Confusing, right?

Gif from tenor.com

Folk tales (or Volksmärchen in German) were spread orally, and because of that, no one person owns the stories. After all, you can’t sue someone for stealing your story idea when everyone can use it too. Plus, where did the story come from in the first place? Did it originate in one specific location, and was spread through trade, migration and the likes? (Monogenesis) Or did these stories originate because we, as human beings, go through the same life experiences such as falling in love, losing loved ones, and chasing our happily ever after? (Polygenesis). These stories always have the core theme and plot points that you associate with a story. For example, a Cinderella story is such because of the fact she is tortured in her household by her stepmother and stepsister, Cinderella wishes to go to the ball, falls in love with the prince, leaves behind an important item- that sort of gist. It’s all very 2D and simplistic. 

Fairy tales (Kunstmärchen) meanwhile, are literary works of folklore. These plots are always much more complicated, with 3D characters that you know on a deep level. 

Trust me, when I learned that all the stories I thought were fairy tales were actually folk tales, my mind was blown. 

Gif from giphy.com

But it really is an important distinction. The two very much remind me of yin and yang- one cannot exist without the other. Separate, but together. Different, but also the same in some ways.