Greek Mythology and Fairy-Tale Retellings

Have you ever noticed which types of stories most often form the basis for many retellings? Well, I definitely have. Specifically, Greek mythology and fairy tales serve as two of the most prevalent bases for retellings.

In the original Greek myths, dark and oftentimes unhappy endings seem to be par for the course. From Zeus and Hera never getting along due to Zeus’ adulterous ways to Perephone being tricked into eating pomegranate seeds and having to stay with Hades (who kidnapped her) for half the year, these gods and goddesses are never satisfied.

This is also true for most of the original fairy tales, which oftentimes present grim circumstances and gruesome happily ever afters. Take Cinderella, for instance. Many people have never even heard of the earlier version that involves birds pecking out the stepsisters’ eyes. What happens in Sleeping Beauty is so horrible that I would rather not even mention it in this forum.

Yet even now retellings are being written based off of these dark pieces, and one must question why? Why are there thousands of books out there that attempt to retell such disturbing myths and tales?

Since both Greek myths and fairy tales usually feature extremely unsettling occurrences, authors might gravitate towards these stories because they are the ones that can usually be retold in a redeemable way. Conversely, if a story already has a happy ending, why would an author want to rewrite it to include a sad ending? What would be the point?

We also see more retellings that attempt to modernize the original story. For example, in most older versions of “Sleeping Beauty,” Aurora simply pricks her finger and falls asleep because of a curse. In more recent versions, however, the story has evolved so that the princess might fall asleep for a worthy cause. This is seen in K.M. Shea’s Sleeping Beauty, which (spoiler alert!) involves the heroine only choosing to succumb to her curse in order to save her country. This embodies how feminism – and female characters being active agents who choose their own destiny – has become so popular in modern times. 

Overall, I have found much enjoyment reading retellings based upon both Greek mythology and fairy tales. Many of these are told in such ingenious ways, and there are no limits as to how an author might choose to incorporate original aspects.

Fairy truly yours,

Grace W. Wong