beauty and the beast and other fairy tales charles perrault

Having established a specific author and date of creation for the tale, I should clarify that Villeneuve’s story grew from definite folkloric roots, derived from mythology and countless fictions that preceded it. It has a discernable birth and history, beginning in 1740 with Madame Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve, a French writer influenced by the fairy tales written by authors, such as Marie-Catherine d’Aulnoy and Charles Perrault, in the French salons during the earlier part of the century. Many scholars posit that those tales began as folklore, passed from generation to generation, from storyteller to storyteller, until enterprising authors published them on rare occasions, capturing them on paper for us to read and enjoy centuries later.īeauty and the Beast, on the other hand, did not start out strictly as folklore, although it incorporates folkloric elements. The earliest versions of Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel, Frog Prince and many others are lost in the pre-Gutenberg era with just a few recorded versions hinting at elusive histories. The history of the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale is quite different from the other stories in the popular fairy tale canon.

It is also the most visited area on the SurLaLune site after Cinderella, far surpassing all other fairy tales on the site with readers. Like Cinderella, the tale of Beauty and the Beast is one of the best known stories in the world.

Beauty and the beast and other fairy tales charles perrault