Once Upon A Time...

(The back of my desk, a reminder every time I walk into my office)

So begins some of the most well-known tales in literature.  Note that I said literature – not children’s literature.  The earliest written version of the classic fairy tales and folklore from around the world were never truly intended entirely for a younger audience.  But for these purposes let’s agree to set that entire debate aside as well as the argument surrounding the origins of this type of literature. I’m going to let the much smarter literary critics debate the poly-genesis vs. mono-genesis controversy and I’m also going to keep our focus to the earliest written versions of these stories.  There is no arguing the fact that they existed in many different forms well before Grimm, Andersen, Perrault and a myriad of others put them on paper, but another blog, another day… 

To that same end, as Dr. Gillian Lathey an expert in the field of translated texts for children, notes in her recent text Translating Children’s Literature, as a whole, children’s literature is often adapted, retold and abridged due to its “popular” nature.  This is especially true with fairy tales.  As she states “The free translation and alteration of popular children’s stories has led to a proliferation of versions.  Characters belonging to a children’s canon that is familiar across the world such as Cinderella, Pincocchio, Alice, the Moomins, Winnie-the-Pooh and the Little Prince, encourage the common perception that children’s literature is an international literature.” (113)In other words, the very nature of these stories lead them to be told, shared, adapted, re-told and then changed again.

Additionally, I did mention the other day how important it is to remember that the majority of these tales were passed orally long before they were ever actually written down.  Further, once they were written down, they went through many different variations even by the same author.  The Grimm brothers were notorious for this as can be seen in this side by side comparison of the 1812 and 1857 versions of Hansel and Gretel.  While I could spend a great deal of time postulating the “why” behind this, it’s probably safer to concede this to another blog, another day as well.  And that’s to say nothing about the changes that have been made to the stories since then - you can find many different translations of a single tale that vary greatly.  Take the Grimm’s Aschenputtel (Cinderella) for example – some translations completely remove the step-sisters mutilation of their feet or the doves pecking out their eyes on grounds that it is too gruesome for young readers.  This means that not only are many readers not even aware they are reading a translation in the first place, but, as Lathey points out “nor are most readers aware of the degree to which translators, let alone retellers and adapters, have altered the German source texts of the Brothers Grimm, merged different versions of the same tale, or drawn on exiting translations.” (115)  So those “simple little fairy tales” we know and love, perhaps not so simple.

(Kristi’s full disclosure: I love fairy tales and folklore.  I planned an entire semester at school and home around the ability to take a class on the topic.  I did a major project on Raisel’s Riddle as a Jewish adaptation of Perrault’s Cinderella.  My favorite author, Adam Gidwitz, penned the this year’s Newberry Honor winner The Inquisitor’s Tale (which swaps spots with Charlotte’s Web as my favorite book) but it was his Grimm trilogy that knocked my socks off.  My nine year old son and I still giggle every time we think about how Gidwitz translates Aschenputtel.  Fairy tales rule.)

Fairy tales, folklore and myths seem like an obvious place to begin to look at translated tales for a few major reasons.  First and foremost, it’s important to remember that nearly all the favorite classic tales are in and of themselves translations to our English-speaking selves.  In fact, Andersen and the Grimms both find themselves among the top 10 authors translated into English.  Oddly enough though, these are not the versions most Americans are familiar with thanks in large part to Disney’s adaptations of the classics.  If your “once upon a time” ends in “happily ever after” it’s fairly safe to assume that you’re not reading the earliest recorded versions of many of these tales.  No, those tales are much more likely to be filled with murder, cannibalism, anti-Semitism and child abuse – perfect bedtime stories, right?

Even so, nearly every culture has their own variations of the most well-known of these stories.  If one of the main “purposes” of translation is to expose the reader to other cultures and perspectives, what better way to do so than through a fairy tale or folklore that shares common elements with a story they are probably already familiar with?  Granted, this is a very simplistic interpretation and is by no means the only (or in my opinion most important) reason for translation.  But for publishers worried about the “strange and unfamiliar” aspects of foreign literature scaring away potential readers, fairy tales seem like a much safer road given that familiarity.  This is probably the reason that a large chunk of the literature translated for children often tends to fall in this category.

When I first started to organize my categories, the following was what I came up with for what we’ll be discussing over the next few posts:

Folklore, myths, fairy tales – they are the building blocks of cultures, language and literature worldwide.  And without diving too deeply into the debate of whether they evolved under polygenesis or monogenesis, there is no denying that similar stories (for example a creation story) are part of nearly every culture that ever existed.  Further, those stories very often share similar characteristics that allow for a basis of comparison.  The similarities allow the connection to be seen and the differences allow us to learn about the culture they come from.  These types of stories are a rich source of material when it comes to translated texts because there is a desire to learn about other cultures through the stories that are woven into the fabric of who they are – they connect us.  We come across these stories all the time without every even realizing we’re being exposed to a translated tale (thank you Disney!).  For this category I strayed from those most common tales into picture books that combine pictorial elements of their culture with the story.

A few things to keep in mind with the material from this category; just like there is debate over where these types of stories started, there is much debate surrounding the original (written) authors of some of the literary versions.  I have tried to give credit where credit is due in comparing some texts, but in some cases have used the most well-known version as a base for comparison.  Secondly, I know there are HUNDREDS of tales that could potentially fall into this category.  I have tried to pick ones that are important for both the story and the art given the fact that I am focusing on picture books.  If you know of other versions, please comment!   As I said, if you’re looking to begin to dabble in translated literature, this is an easy starting point.  If fact, you may have already been doing so without even realizing it.  Hopefully my suggestions as well as others may spark an interest to go beyond those most widely known versions.  Thirdly, I love Disney as much as the next child born in the eighties who can sing every word to The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King (and now Frozen thanks to the next generation that lives under my roof) but these are NOT the original tales and should not be considered as such.   Yes, most are based on some of the early written stories, but they have been greatly changed and “sweetened” up to make them “more palatable” for children. 

A late edition to this post, but consider it a sneak peak at some of the wonders to come.  I was at the Kerrytown Book Fest this Sunday and snagged a couple beautiful books for my collection.  Even though I already have my books set for this category, I found one that I knew I had to share.

Tigers, Frogs and Rice Cakes: A Book of Korean Proverbs

Selected and Translated by: Daniel D. Holt

Illustrated by Soma Han Stickler

I haven't had a lot of time with it, but I knew I couldn't pass up the opportunity to share it even in a limited capacity.  There is a wonderful explaination from the translator about the usage of proverbs in Korean society and he notes "by comparing proverbs across cultures, we can identify some of the similarties and differences that help us appreciate the diversity that characterizes the world."

 Note the text is bi-lingual, appearing in English and Korean

Also, the back of the book lists all of the proverbs and an explanation as to their meaning.  There is an additional note from the publisher that credits Song Que Hahn for assistance as to the translation and meaning.  The illustrator was also born and lived in Korea until she moved to California in the mid 70's.  It's important to note how all of these items together add authenticity and accuracy to the work.

In the next couple of posts I’ll be taking a closer look at adaptations of some of the most well-known fairy tales, a closer look at the importance of art that is associated with the place or culture the book originated in and some fairy tale and folklore characters from around the world that we may not be familiar with but fill roles (such as the hero or the trickster) that is a commonality in many of this tale type.  Again, I look forward to other suggestions and comments others may chime in with!

 

And fairy tales still rule!