Fairy godmother

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For other uses, see Fairy godmother (disambiguation)
"It was her fairy godmother!" Illustration to Cinderella
"It was her fairy godmother!" Illustration to Cinderella

In fairy tales, a fairy godmother is a fairy or person with magical powers who acts as a mentor or parent to someone.

Actual fairy godmothers are rare in fairy tales, but became familiar figures because of the popularity of the literary fairy tales of Madame d'Aulnoy and Charles Perrault. Many other supernatural patrons feature in fairy tales; these include various kinds of animals and the spirit of a dead mother.[1] The fairy godmother has her roots in the figures of the Fates; this is especially clear in Sleeping Beauty, where they decree her fate, and are associated with spinning.[2]

Contents

[edit] In Fairytale and Legend

Baba Yaga, though often the villain, acts as a donor in some fairy tales, as in The Death of Koschei the Deathless
Baba Yaga, though often the villain, acts as a donor in some fairy tales, as in The Death of Koschei the Deathless

Vladimir Propp identified this role as the donor and listed it as one of the eight roles found in fairy tales. Before giving the hero magical support or advice, the donor may also test the hero, by questioning them, setting them tasks, or making requests of them.[3] Then, the donor may directly give them a magical agent, advise them on how to find one, or offer to act on their behalf.[4] If the character itself acts on behalf of the hero, it also takes on the role of helper in Propp's analysis.[5] Indeed, because a donor is defined by acts, other characters may fill the role, even the villain; a boy escaping a witch may steal her magical handkerchief, making the witch an involuntary donor.[6] Conversely, the donor of Rumpelstiltskin converts himself into the villain by demanding the heroine's baby as the price of his work.[7]

In Grimm's Fairy Tales, the hero often meets the vital helper in the woods, in liminal areas between other realms. [8]

Typically, the fairy godmother's protégé is a prince or princess and the hero of the story, and the godparent uses her magic to help or otherwise support them. The most well-known example is probably the fairy godmother in Charles Perrault's Cinderella. Multiple fairy godmothers appear in Sleeping Beauty, in both Charles Perrault's and the Grimm Brothers's variants, including one evil, offended one. The popularity of these versions of these tales led to this being widely regarded as a common fairy-tale motif, although they are less common in other tales.

Indeed, the fairy godmothers were added to Sleeping Beauty by Perrault; no such figures appeared in his source, "Sole, Luna, e Talia" by Giambattista Basile.[9] In the Grimm Brothers' variant of Cinderella, Aschenputtel is aided not by her fairy godmother but by her dead mother,[10] as is the heroine of the Finnish variant, The Wonderful Birch. A great variety of other figures may also take this place. In Vasilissa the Beautiful, the heroine is aided by a wooden doll that her dying mother had given her; in Rushen Coatie, by a red calf sent to her by her dead mother, a calf that can continue to aid her after its death; in Katie Woodencloak by a mysterious dun bull; in Tattercoats, by a gooseherd who is her friend for a long time before his mysterious powers are revealed. In East of the Sun and West of the Moon, the heroine is given vital gifts by three old women she mets on the way.[11]

A talking wolf helps Prince Ivan in Tsarevitch Ivan, the Fire Bird and the Gray Wolf
A talking wolf helps Prince Ivan in Tsarevitch Ivan, the Fire Bird and the Gray Wolf

Heroes seldom have actual fairy godmothers, but similar figures are common: in The Golden Bird, the hero is aided by a fox whose advice he takes; in The Red Ettin, by a fairy not his godmother; in Puddocky, by an enchanted frog that takes pity on him; in Prince Ring, by an enchanted dog; in The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship, by men who each have a fantastic ability; in Fair Brow and The Bird 'Grip', by a dead man whom he had aided; in The Horse Gullfaxi and the Sword Gunnfoder, in an unusual reversal, by his stepmother.[12]

This magical helper is often long faithful to the hero; the hero may fail many times after the initial test, often by not respecting the helper's advice. Indeed, in The Golden Bird, the fox declares that the hero does not deserve his help after his disobedience, but still aids him.[13]

Madame d'Aulnoy created a fairy godmother for the evil stepsister in her fairy tale The Blue Bird; in this position, the fairy godmother's attempts to bring about the marriage of her goddaughter and the hero are evil attempts to impede his marriage with the heroine. Likewise, in her The White Doe, the fairy godmother helps the evil princess get revenge on the heroine.

[edit] In Fiction

Fairy godmothers appear frequently in fairytale fantasy, especially comic versions and retellings of Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty.

In C. S. Lewis's The Magician's Nephew, when Uncle Andrew explains how he made the magical rings from dust left to him by his godmother, he points out that she may have had fairy blood, and so he might have been the last man to have a fairy godmother.

The Fairly OddParents is a humorous cartoon where the fairies Cosmo and Wanda are (rather incompetent) godparents.

In Shrek 2, the fairy godmother turns out to be a conniving, crooked businesswoman (with a personality rather like that of the Stepmother in Cinderella), who is quite willing to resort to blackmail and/or murder to further her own interests.

The Discworld novel Witches Abroad also features a plotting fairy godmother, Lady Lilith de Tempscire, who uses the power of stories to control the city of Genua. During the book Magrat Garlick also takes on the role, but throws away the magic wand at the end.

In "The Dresden Files" novels (primarily "Grave Peril" and "Summer Knight"), the main character, a modern wizard named Harry Dresden is revealed to have a faerie godmother by the name of Leanansidhe who enjoys ensnaring Harry in one-sided deals.

The first King's Quest game features a fairy godmother of the main character Graham who can grant him invincibility.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Katharine Briggs, An Encyclopedia of Fairies, Hobgoblins, Brownies, Boogies, and Other Supernatural Creatures, "Fairy godmother", p147. ISBN 0-394-73467-X
  2. ^ John Grant and John Clute, The Encyclopedia of Fantasy, "Fairy godmother" p 330 ISBN 0-312-19869-8
  3. ^ Vladimir Propp, Morphology of the Folk Tale, p 39-43, ISBN 0-292-78376-0
  4. ^ Vladimir Propp, Morphology of the Folk Tale, p 44-45, ISBN 0-292-78376-0
  5. ^ Vladimir Propp, Morphology of the Folk Tale, p 80-81, ISBN 0-292-78376-0
  6. ^ Vladimir Propp, Morphology of the Folk Tale, p 81, ISBN 0-292-78376-0
  7. ^ Maria Tatar, The Annotated Brothers Grimm, p 259 W. W. Norton & company, London, New York, 2004 ISBN 0-393-05848-4
  8. ^ Jack Zipes, The Brothers Grimm: From Enchanted Forests to the Modern World, p 115, ISBN 0-312-29380-1
  9. ^ Jane Yolen, p 23, Touch Magic ISBN 0-87483-591-7
  10. ^ Max Lüthi, Once Upon A Time: On the Nature of Fairy Tales, p 60, Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., New York, 1970
  11. ^ Maria Tatar, p 193, The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales, ISBN 0-393-05163-3
  12. ^ Northrop Frye, Anatomy of Criticism, p 191, ISBN 0-691-01298-9
  13. ^ Maria Tatar, p 264, The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales, ISBN 0-393-05163-3
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