English 101

In what ways do the fairy tales that we read this week reflect the cultures that produced them (Germany versus Japan)? In what ways do they reflect cross-cultural human themes? Give specific examples from the texts to support your argument.
250+ words (not including direct quotations)

ANSWER

Reflections of Cultures in Fairly Tales

German and Japan Fairly Tales

The tradition of passing down stories in oral form is an integral part of the culture. It serves to preserve the old generation’s practices and help teach the new generations regarding its culture. The traditions were passed down to posterity through the use of fairy tales. In the 19th century, the Romantic period was crucial in shaping national identity for the Germanic people through literary devices. The process was expedited by philologists Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, who published a collection of folktales. The brothers were scholars of ancient German and Nordic texts and gathered the folktales through field research between 1800-1810 and published them in German in 1812 in the book, Hausmarchen.

Grimm’s fairy tales include Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, Snow White, and the Frog King. The fairytales reflect romanticism, which was a critical element of German nationalism. The folklore was used to shape Germanic people’s common perception and portray an excellent German’s qualities. The concept of obedience to parents is emphasized repeatedly in the fairytales and is closely related to authoritarianism manifested in attitudes towards the family, society, and state. Defiance of authority is regarded as a social wrong. In a home setup, the family was a cohesive unit headed by an able father who was respected and served as supreme leader.

The fairy tales glorified German traditions such as subservience to authority, fear, and respect for order and leaders. The fairy tales included villains who crept into the orderly world, distorting the people, hence instigating outsiders’ fear. Husmarchen expressed a class-based system where the upper and lower classes are depicted favorably, and the middle class is considered villains condemned for their greed. Good deeds are rewarded while sin is punished. Courage is empathized, indicating the importance of military spirit in times of war.

The themes of Japan fairly tales include; politeness, respect to authority, minimalism, and strict gender roles. The stories are based on the cultural norms of Japanese society. In the Mirror of Matsuyama, the gender roles are illustrated where women take care of the household, and the men provide for the family. The husband gets the wife a mirror as it is considered important for a woman to possess. The Japanese folklore indicates the minimalism concept through the lack of obsession in beauty compared to Grimm collections and lack of wealth in Japan’s outer villages. The queen in Snow White is completely obsessed with being the most attractive woman in the kingdom and cannot fathom snow-white being fairer than her. The story of Princess Hase specifies politeness and minimalism. Minimalism is represented through the princess living with a servant in a small house. Japanese fairy tales are also influenced by religious beliefs such as Shinto and Buddhism. Kindness, magic, and greed also reflect on the Japanese culture in stories such as the Mirror of Matsuyama.

Cross-Cultural Human Themes

While the stories reflect the cultures that produced them, they also exhibit cross-cultural human themes. Themes such as vanity, jealousy, authority, and selfishness occur throughout the literature. Many of the underlying themes are derived from the family set up, especially the stepmothers. These traits are exhibited by literature devices such as the Japanese story, The Mirror of Matsuyama, the stepmother and mother in the Japanese folklore, The Story of Princess Hase, and the story of Snow White.

The women mentioned in the fairy tales attempt to kill their daughters and granddaughters within the context of their roles. However, the themes are considered harmful and shunned in society but are considered part of human society in all cultures. The theme of patriarchy is recognized in stories such as the young Slave about the girl and the uncle. Love is also a dominant theme in the fairy tales indicated in Snow White through the prince and dwarfs. The Mirror of Matsuyama also reflects the theme of love between the father and mother.