PERENNIAL NARRATIVES: RELEVANCE OF CLASSICAL EUROPEAN FAIRY TALES IN MODERN SOCIETY

Abstract

literature, which witnessed a giant leap in the collection of its oral narratives or tales being penned down to prevent them from disappearing in antiquity. The tales, though existent since centuries in some form or the other, have surprisingly failed to lose their importance even after having continuously existed throughout the ages. They are relevant even in today’s age of technological advancements because they have their roots in peoples’ quests for social, spiritual, moral and cultural progress, akin to aims of technology. They possess the inherent ability to explain the truths of life in a plain and lucid manner, and even provide the inspiration for hope even in the most desperate times. The creativity in the literary rendition of the different humanoids of varied psyche portrayed in the fairy tales is what enables them to maintain their perennial narrative flow without getting lost or ruptured through the sea of time, and to remain relevant even in the modern socio-cultural scenarios. This paper intends to study the spatial and temporal transcendence of fairy tales and discuss some of the reasons for the relevance of classical fairy tales even in modern culture and society.