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Jack Zipes Quotes

Fairy tales since the beginning of recorded time, and perhaps earlier, have been “a means to conquer the terrors of mankind through metaphor.

Fairy tales since the beginning of recorded time, and perhaps earlier, have been “a means to conquer the terrors of mankind through metaphor.

Jack Zipes
Mean, Fairy Tale, Conquer

Over the centuries we have transformed the ancient myths and folk tales and made them into the fabric of our lives. Consciously and unconsciously we weave the narratives of myth and folk tale into our daily existence.

Jack Zipes
Narrative, Fabric, Ancient
Jack Zipes (2013). “Fairy Tale as Myth/Myth as Fairy Tale”, p.4, University Press of Kentucky

The role of the storyteller is to awaken the storyteller in others.

Jack Zipes
Roles, Storyteller

Though Snow White might triumph in the tale, she will undoubtedly acquire a mirror after she marries, matures, and has children, and as the mirror reflects her aging and loss of beauty, she will be confronted by a young girl whose innocence and youth will spark her envy and hatred and perhaps drive her to eliminate her “competition.” It appears as though there is a vicious cycle that entraps women up through today. Everything is played out under the male gaze.

Jack Zipes
Girl, Children, Loss
Jack Zipes (2011). “The Enchanted Screen: The Unknown History of Fairy-Tale Films”, p.116, Routledge

If there is one ‘constant’ in the structure and theme of the wonder tale, it is transformation.

Jack Zipes
Transformation, Wonder, Structure

Fairy tales begin with conflict because we all begin our lives with conflict. We are all misfit for the world, and somehow we must fit in, fit in with other people, and thus we must invent or find the means through communication to satisfy as well as resolve conflicting desires and instincts.

Jack Zipes
Communication, Mean, People
Jack Zipes (2012). “The Irresistible Fairy Tale: The Cultural and Social History of a Genre”, p.2, Princeton University Press

The fairy tale emanates from specific struggles to humanize bestial and barbaric forces, which have terrorized our minds and communities in concrete ways, threatening to destroy free will and human compassion. The fairy tale sets out to conquer this concrete terror through metaphors.

Jack Zipes
Struggle, Compassion, Community
Jack Zipes (2013). “When Dreams Came True: Classical Fairy Tales and Their Tradition”, p.1, Routledge

Alas for those girls who've refused the truth: The sweetest tongue has the sharpest tooth.

Jack Zipes
Girl, Tongue, Teeth

Inevitably they find their way into the forest. It is there that they lose and find themselves. It is there that they gain a sense of what is to be done. The forest is always large, immense, great and mysterious. No one ever gains power over the forest, but the forest posses the power to change lives and alter destinies.

Jack Zipes
Life Changing, Destiny, Done
"The Brothers Grimm: From Enchanted Forests to the Modern World". Book by Jack Zipes, 1988.

It was not once upon a time, but a certain time in history, before anyone knew what was happening, that Walt Disney cast a spell on the fairy tale, and he has held it captive ever since.

Jack Zipes
Once Upon A Time, Fairy Tale, Certain

What is most disturbing today is that we use rational methods to cultivate the tastes and values of the young in all kinds of educational, religious, and cultural institutions that are predicated on corporate practices and goals. Everything we do to, with, and for our children is influenced by capitalist market conditions and the hegemonic interests of ruling corporate elites. In simple terms, we calculate what is best for our children by regarding them as investments and turning them into commodities.

Jack Zipes
Religious, Children, Educational

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