MORALS IN FAIRY TALES

Evening Star, Issue 22578, 20 February 1937, Page 2

MORALS IN FAIRY TALES

One of the pantomime critics speaks of the “ highly reprehensible moral of ‘ Mother Goose ’; “ the gold standard is the foundation of its creed, and even Fairy Heartsease subscribes to it.” But it is a dangerous business to look for morals in fairy tales. Mr Chesterton one© tried; it—and all but persuaded us: - • There is the chivalrous lesson Jack the Giant-killer,’ that giants should be killed because they are gigantic. It is a manly mutiny against pride as such. There is the lesson of * Cinderella, • which is the same as that of the Magnificat—* * esaltavit bundles. ” There is the great lesson of * Beauty and the Beast ”; that a thing must be loved before it is loveable. . . On the other hand, there is the case of * Mother Hubbard,’ a piece of pure realism with no moral whatever, unless it- be that wise dogs should choose rich masters. ‘Red Riding Hoodno doubt suggests that youth and innocence are under the direct protection of Providence, but it seems to be equally plain that old age is not. Dick Whittington ’ is a pure glorification of commercial success: it is the underling, the Cat, that does all the work, and if there is any moral it is that kindness to animals sometimes pays. All Baba ’ emphasises the importance of eavesdropping; and if there is any lesson to be drawn from the story of ‘Aladdin’ it is that the lamp can b« put to more profitable purposes than study.— * Observer.’