Fairytales: The Moral of the Story

At the beginning of a fairytale; “Once upon a time” implies a timeless impression that imitates truth. Fairytales began as oral tales for all listeners, passed down by word of mouth from one generation to the next. The telling or reading or enacting of these stories make us face the unvarnished truth about ourselves and compel us to consider what kind of people we want to be. Fairytales are a crucial, often inevitable part of childhood, but adults shouldn’t disregard them. They invite us to use our imagination, creative thinking, to think harder and smarter. We learn conflict resolution from the "good" characters, "hero or heroine", as well as the "evil" characters portrayed as "monsters and villians". The characters and places offer endless possibilities. The places are of another world. The time is anytime, no time, or long ago. The images and metaphors stay with us, even after the story has ended.

What lasts, is the moral truths of these stories remain in the hearts and minds of children and adults. The moral of fairytale stories is often about being responsive and responsible. The messages are empowering and allow us to explore the furthest reaches of our imaginations. They give us warnings about the humans we encounter on a daily basis and to be aware of the dangers in the world that we live in. It’s the shifty characters portrayed as sinister or twisted and the places described as dark and mysterious that teach us how to face our own fears. They offer us the reassurance that monstrosity can fester even in the most sacred of places, and not all endings are "Happily Ever After." Fairytales are way darker than we may have realized!