How to Update A Fairy Tale : Part Two

Love at first sight? No thanks. 

In almost every fairy tale you care to name, as soon as the prince and princess (or equivalent) meet, it’s love at first sight. They don’t even have to talk (in Sleeping Beauty and Snow White’s case, only one of them has to be awake) and they’re both quite happy to marry, have babies and live happily ever after. How often do characters in modern romances fall in love at first sight? In ‘When Harry Met Sally’, twenty years elapse before the pair even realise they have feelings for each other. In ‘You’ve Got Mail’, they talk for months but can’t stand the sight of each other in real life. No modern reader will accept the two main characters falling in love at first sight. Use whatever romantic plot device you fancy, but they’re going to have to really connect before we can believe in, and care about, their love story.

Less is more

A lot of modern fairy tales take the original story and just ‘convert’ the main features into a modern form. How many modern versions of Cinderella replace the lost shoe with a mobile, or a purse, or some other modern girl accessory? The prince’s ball is replaced with a high school dance, or a work do, or something equally banal. This makes the story oddly jarring sometimes; some elements of fairy tales just don’t fit with modern life. Why is Cinderella never helped by social services? Why doesn’t Red Riding Hood just get a taxi over to her granny’s house? How did the 3 Little Pigs all get planning permission at the same time? It’s also incredibly predictable.

A far more subtle and effective way of retelling fairytales is to take the original elements as an influence, but not let them dictate your story. Cinderella can grow up and move out of her stepmother’s house before she meets her Prince Charming; it doesn’t take away from the magic of the story. Another way of dealing with the difficulties of translating these classic stories to the modern age is to take the original elements as symbolic; for example, Snow White’s stepmother, in the original, demands her heart on a platter. Maybe in a modern retelling, she breaks Snow White’s heart in some way, or takes a heart shaped necklace from her. Don’t make the reference so subtle that a casual reader will miss the allusion, but there’s no need to overstate it either.

How To Update A Fairy Tale

How To Update A Fairy Tale; 

Fairy tales are as relevant today as they were when they were first told. They are constantly being retold, both on screen and in writing. Modern, or updated, versions appear all the time. Angela Carter’s ‘The Bloody Chamber, and other stories’ is a perfect example of the different types of retold fairy tales that appear. Some stories simply allude to the original fairy tale (in the first story, there is a statue of ‘The Little Mermaid’, some are direct retellings, such as ‘The Company of Wolves’, and some are more modern versions, such as ‘The Courtship of Mr Lyon’. Often, writers attempt to translate the original fairy tale directly into the present, but the change in social conventions and the development of new technology necessitates some work to make sure the new version isn’t laughable. I’ve come up with some key things that need to be changed for a modern fairy tale to work.

Modern Story, Modern Heroine

The role of women in society has changed an awful lot since the times of Han Christian Anderson and the Grimm brothers. Snow White may be lovely both in looks and character, but she is utterly helpless. She is content to just sit and wait to be rescued, first by the dwarves and then by a handsome prince (who she has no qualms about marrying after only meeting him once). Will this appeal to a modern reader? Not a chance. A modern heroine is independent and thinks for herself, and while she might need rescuing she’ll certainly make an attempt on her own account. There’s really no need for her to be the most beautiful women in the world, either; a modern women might appreciate a heroine she can empathise with. 

Next post:

Love at first sight? No thanks.

Less is More.