Place that Plot
Once upon a time, there was a Greek slave by the name of Rhodopis, and she worked in the household of an Egyptian master. The Egyptian master was a kind man; however, his other servant girls were not. While the master slept, Rhodopis would be at the mercy of the superior servants, for she was fair and foreign, and the servants despised her. On some days, the master would sometimes find Rhodopis alone dancing gracefully, and after a time he finally gave her a pair of rose-gilded slippers as a present. This drove the servant girls deeper into jealousy and they proceeded to treat Rhodopis more harshly.
One day, Pharaoh Ahmose I invited all of the Egyptians to a celebration. Many of the servant girls tried to prevent Rhodopis from attending with a long list of chores that had to be completed. While she was washing the clothes by the river, Rhodopis’ rose-guilded slippers became wet, and she put them out into the sun to dry. Unfortunately, a falcon swept down and snatched a slipper. Rhodopis stored her other slipper inside her clothing to prevent further theft. The thieving falcon flew far across the land until it reached the Pharaoh’s castle, where it dropped the slipper onto the Pharaoh’s lap. Thinking that this must be a sign from Horus, the Pharaoh proclaimed that whosoever fit the slipper would be his wife. His search finally took him to Rhodopis’ home, and the young servant girl was asked to try the slipper on. Of course, the slipper fit, and Rhodopis provided ample proof that she is indeed theslipper’s owner by revealing its twin. Rhodopis was made queen, and both Ahmose and Rhodopis lived happily ever after, or so it was told.
- “Rhodopis” (a summarized Egyptian/Greek fairy tale)
One day, Pharaoh Ahmose I invited all of the Egyptians to a celebration. Many of the servant girls tried to prevent Rhodopis from attending with a long list of chores that had to be completed. While she was washing the clothes by the river, Rhodopis’ rose-guilded slippers became wet, and she put them out into the sun to dry. Unfortunately, a falcon swept down and snatched a slipper. Rhodopis stored her other slipper inside her clothing to prevent further theft. The thieving falcon flew far across the land until it reached the Pharaoh’s castle, where it dropped the slipper onto the Pharaoh’s lap. Thinking that this must be a sign from Horus, the Pharaoh proclaimed that whosoever fit the slipper would be his wife. His search finally took him to Rhodopis’ home, and the young servant girl was asked to try the slipper on. Of course, the slipper fit, and Rhodopis provided ample proof that she is indeed theslipper’s owner by revealing its twin. Rhodopis was made queen, and both Ahmose and Rhodopis lived happily ever after, or so it was told.
- “Rhodopis” (a summarized Egyptian/Greek fairy tale)
Function of Stories
Ah, the ever familiar “Once upon a time...and they all lived happily ever after.” This age-old beginning and ending of most fairy tales have spanned centuries, most written records of the phrases have been found as early as the 1300s. But what is the basic structure underlying a fairy tale? Each tale, while straightforward, usually holds some sort of message within it. It can be as simple for children as some sort of moral. For example, in stories such as “Cinderella,” the kind, beautiful stepdaughter is glorified, while those cruel, haughty family members usually pay the price for their arrogance and greed.
In Charles Perrault’s “Toads and Diamonds,” the kind stepdaughter—persecuted by her mother and sister—is sent out to run an errand, only to return with diamonds and all sorts of riches, which would drop from her mouth as she spoke. Out of avarice, the step-family is not satisfied with just one daughter with the riches, and so the mother sends off the older daughter so the witch can cast the same spell on her. Things go wrong, however, because when the older daughter meets the witch, all sorts of rudeness occur. So while the kind stepdaughter receives the gift of diamonds, the rude older daughter canonly spit out toads and snakes. Clearly by the end of the tale, we understand why certain things have its effect.
Why does the stepdaughter gain favor in the witch’s eyes? It’s because the witch was treated well when she approached the kind girl. Why does the older daughter get shunned? It’s because she was snotty and too superior in thought to notice the test of decency that was being held right in front of her. It gives you the atmosphere that being nice does have its perks, doesn’t it?
Of course, if you’re curious, the kind girl also meets her Prince Charming, and they both live happily ever after. Clearly her luck knows no bounds.
For the most part, fairy tales almost always possess a straightforward moral-telling. After you read a great number of tales, you’ll find that certain patterns emerge, and the consistency within each tale starts to make sense.
I’ll just briefly discuss two elements of plot that you’ll usually find in fairy tales:
The poor, unfortunate soul. In both “Cinderella” and “Toads and Diamonds”–both a set of French works—we encounter the wretched creatures that are the protagonists. Somehow, the beautiful waifs are plagued by silly stepmothers and stepsisters who are cruel and proud. The kind and beautiful girl is usually the wronged one, but in the end she usually triumphs with her virtues. This is because fairy tales always need a juxtaposition of kind versus cruel, or of lazy versus productive. Beautiful people are good, ugly people are horrible (there are some exceptions, such as beings of power). Which is why we get such extreme evils in the villains and such Mary Sues in the protagonists.
The ultimate tests. Protagonists always face a test in some form or other. This can mean that the king from some faraway land has proclaimed that his daughter is open for marriage if the right man can fulfill certain conditions: perhaps it can be making a cursed princess laugh for the first time, or breaking a spell cast by an evil sorcerer. For women down on their luck, fairies or magical beings usually disguise themselves as beggars or needy beings. When the beautiful, kind girl satisfies the fairy, she bestows upon her a gift. While this gift usually makes a whole lot of evil people jealous and annoyed, the fairy does it anyway (fairies don’t usually think about consequences very often...).
Of course, there are hundreds more plot elements in fairy tales that you might be able to find without my help. The aforementioned two are merely very common aspects of certain fairy tales.
In Charles Perrault’s “Toads and Diamonds,” the kind stepdaughter—persecuted by her mother and sister—is sent out to run an errand, only to return with diamonds and all sorts of riches, which would drop from her mouth as she spoke. Out of avarice, the step-family is not satisfied with just one daughter with the riches, and so the mother sends off the older daughter so the witch can cast the same spell on her. Things go wrong, however, because when the older daughter meets the witch, all sorts of rudeness occur. So while the kind stepdaughter receives the gift of diamonds, the rude older daughter canonly spit out toads and snakes. Clearly by the end of the tale, we understand why certain things have its effect.
Why does the stepdaughter gain favor in the witch’s eyes? It’s because the witch was treated well when she approached the kind girl. Why does the older daughter get shunned? It’s because she was snotty and too superior in thought to notice the test of decency that was being held right in front of her. It gives you the atmosphere that being nice does have its perks, doesn’t it?
Of course, if you’re curious, the kind girl also meets her Prince Charming, and they both live happily ever after. Clearly her luck knows no bounds.
For the most part, fairy tales almost always possess a straightforward moral-telling. After you read a great number of tales, you’ll find that certain patterns emerge, and the consistency within each tale starts to make sense.
I’ll just briefly discuss two elements of plot that you’ll usually find in fairy tales:
The poor, unfortunate soul. In both “Cinderella” and “Toads and Diamonds”–both a set of French works—we encounter the wretched creatures that are the protagonists. Somehow, the beautiful waifs are plagued by silly stepmothers and stepsisters who are cruel and proud. The kind and beautiful girl is usually the wronged one, but in the end she usually triumphs with her virtues. This is because fairy tales always need a juxtaposition of kind versus cruel, or of lazy versus productive. Beautiful people are good, ugly people are horrible (there are some exceptions, such as beings of power). Which is why we get such extreme evils in the villains and such Mary Sues in the protagonists.
The ultimate tests. Protagonists always face a test in some form or other. This can mean that the king from some faraway land has proclaimed that his daughter is open for marriage if the right man can fulfill certain conditions: perhaps it can be making a cursed princess laugh for the first time, or breaking a spell cast by an evil sorcerer. For women down on their luck, fairies or magical beings usually disguise themselves as beggars or needy beings. When the beautiful, kind girl satisfies the fairy, she bestows upon her a gift. While this gift usually makes a whole lot of evil people jealous and annoyed, the fairy does it anyway (fairies don’t usually think about consequences very often...).
Of course, there are hundreds more plot elements in fairy tales that you might be able to find without my help. The aforementioned two are merely very common aspects of certain fairy tales.