Wolfgang Mieder
"Märchen haben kurze Beine": Moderne Märchenreminiszenzen in Literatur, Medien und Karikaturen.
Vienna: Praesens Verlag, 2009. Kulturelle Motivstudien, Band 10. First edition. 9783706905794  346 pages.
Hardcover volume, measuring approximately 6" x 8.75", is like new.
"This book deals with so-called "diminishing stages" of fairy tales, which are understood to mean fairy tale allusions or reminiscences in the form of aphorisms, sayings, graffiti, headlines, short prose texts and poems (635 examples), as well as caricatures, comic drawings, and advertisements (140 illustrations). Well-known fairy tales are thus reduced to a minimum, questioning their positive and optimistic worldview. Essentially, these are anti-fairy tales that de-romanticize magical fairy tales by contrasting them with the fragile state of the real world. Nevertheless, traditional fairy tales, with their belief in a better and fairer world, play a role in the discussion of these critical texts, and the confrontation between confident tradition and questionable innovation offers modern readers hope for a more humane existence. The introductory chapter on "The Meaning and Purpose of Fairy Tales" contains texts that explore the fascinating phenomenon of fairy tales in modern times. Most of the remaining chapters are reactions to well-known fairy tales from the Brothers Grimm's 'Children's and Household Tales', with "Cinderella", "The Bremen Town Musicians", "Sleeping Beauty", "The Frog Prince", "Hansel and Gretel", "Little Red Riding Hood", "Rumpelstiltskin" and "Snow White" being represented with particularly many examples. There are also chapters on the two fairy tales "The Emperor's New Clothes" and "The Princess and the Pea" by Hans Christian Andersen. From "One Thousand and One Nights" there is "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves", but there are also two chapters on the phrase "Open Sesame!" and the formulaic use of "One Thousand and One Nights". There is also a chapter on the "three wishes" that appear in so many fairy tales, and a further chapter contains numerous examples that combine names or motifs from various fairy tales into a "fairy tale myriad". Finally, everything is contained in two framing chapters with the introductory phrase “Once upon a time” and the closing phrase “And if they have not died, they are still alive today.”