Three Cynical Truths That Fairytales Taught Us When We Were Kids
John V.
Posted On September 1, 2020
We’ve all grown up reading fairytales.
Those stories have such an important impact on children, that it would almost be surprising to find kids who never read fairytales in their childhood, and the same goes for adults.
These stories expose us to the truths about the world and give us our first information about the moral values of the society we live in.
But sometimes, the values they talk about are so cynical, that we are amazed we didn’t notice them before.
While reading fairytales for children and we found some cynical truths hiding in them.
There’s no need to make sacrifices for love and hope people will appreciate it: The Little Mermaid
A mermaid saved the prince and fell in love with him. She wanted to become human, so she made a deal with a witch and got legs in return for her voice. She drank a potion and met the prince, who fell in love with her. But the prince married a different woman and the mermaid threw herself into the sea.
The message is simple: don’t sacrifice anything in the name of love and hope that the one you love will appreciate that.
Girls always grow up before boys: Peter Pan
Wendy, unlike Peter and her brothers, didn’t want to stay in Neverland forever — she accepted the fact that she was growing up. Some have seen this as a symbol of the inner conflict between growing up or clinging to childhood.
Also, as some people have noticed, Wendy obviously expected Peter to have a relationship with her. But Peter got stuck in childhood and didn’t give Wendy what she wanted.
There’s always someone stronger than you: The Gingerbread Man
The gingerbread man escaped several pursuers, but ended up being eaten by a fox. The idea is that no matter how strong and smart you are, there is always someone stronger and smarter.
Of course, if fairytale characters were all kind and happy, this wouldn’t be good for children: they wouldn’t be learning to be strong. But teachers and psychologists still don’t have a consensus on how much truth kids should know.
