Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
The Best Translation In The World, 20 Dec 2004
When I first saw this book in a certain book store I was not sure if it was what I was looking for. I was trying to find an accurate English translation of Beauty And The Beast. When I picked this book up and looked through it, I realized that this was exactly what I wanted. This book contains the best traditional stories I have ever read. Jack Zipes' introduction to the book is brilliant. I learned so many things about the traditional French Stories that I didn't already know. Many people believe that the French Stories were told and writen by men. Actually, the majority of the stories were told and writen by French aristocratic women. What Zipes says about these women is very important. "Many Critics and educators have often complained that the Grimms' tales are too harsh and cruel to be read to children, and some have even gone so far as to maintain that German fairy-tale writers indulged themselves in violence. But in fact, the salon tales of the refined French ladies make the Grimms' tales look prudish". Zipes also says that the women were better at telling their stories than the French men were because they were the ones who included all of the horrific and gory detailes. The french ladies used a great deal of imagery to make their stories seem vivid and real. "In particular, Mme. d'Aulnoy was a genius in conceiving ways to torture her heroines and heroes". In fact three of her stories end tragically. Unlike what people see in the Disney films and in modified versions, not all of the stories have a "happy ending". Even the ones that do have a happy ending are much more serious. The traditional stories all have a wide range of endings. Even Beauty And The Beast is more serious than how it is portrayed in the Disney film. There were three kinds of French Stories; the Salon Fairy Tale, The Oriental Tale, and The Comic and Conventional Tale. All three of these are included in this book. One of the many things that I have noticed about the traditional stories is that breaking a spell is never easy. The kiss on the lips or saying "I love you" does not work. Magic spells are broken through an act of violence or through self-sacrifice. The Green Serpent is a long story in which both the heroine and hero have to go through a great deal of pain and suffering before they can be restored to their former state. Also, the majority of the traditional stories were not dirrected towards children. The connection between children and the fairy-tale is a false sentiment. Beauty And The Beast was one of the first stories to be writen for children. Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont dirrected her narrative of Beauty And The Beast towards young women. Zipes says that "Her emphasis was on the proper upbringing of young girls like Beauty, and she continually stressed industriousness, self-sacrifice, modesty, and diligence in all her tales as the qualities young ladies must possess to attain happiness". I thourghouly enjoy reading this book. The stories are accuratly and beautifully translated with a brief biography on each of the writers. Zipes is a brilliant translator whose knowledge and understanding of the traditional stories is unrivaled. I would reccomend this book for anyone who wants to learn more about the traditional stories, or wants to add to their collection. I also reccomend reading J.R.R. Tolkien's lecture/essay "On Fairy Stories".
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(1 customer review)
