This morning at the Real Page-Turner Stage, author Julie Wright presented Reinventing Fairytales for Today’s YA Readers. I was instantly hooked by her pronouncement that “Fairytale retellings are the oldest form of fanfiction.”
Wright explained that she grew up a fairytale lover; she devoured them whenever she could. Because of this love for fairytales, she naturally grew to write her own reimaginings of her favorite characters, such as Little Red Riding Hood and The Little Mermaid. She pointed out that the underlying emotions in these fairytales remain the same, no matter when they are told, which is what makes them so relatable to readers in any time period.
“Every generation has monsters,” Wright continued. She shared that even though modern-day monsters might be different than those faced in the past, they are still scary. The same archetypes and themes can also be used to represent these monsters in the present. For example, in the original Little Red Riding Hood, the wolf might represent a clear and present danger in the woods. Families wanted to warn their young children not to venture too far into the woods, because they could get lost or hurt. However, in modern times, the wolf might represent something different, such as a predator who appears to be safe. It could also be a person who is seeking to gain trust too early.
The same analysis could be applied to the Wicked Queen archetype. In modern times, she is the inner critic telling you, “You are not enough.” She could also be social comparison, perfectionism, the need for validation, or jealousy. These themes carry across spaces and times to be relatable for all readers. As Wright stated, “The magic mirror didn’t disappear, it just got wifi.”
Featured image courtesy of author.
Annaliese Melvin (she/they) is a children’s librarian at a neighborhood library in Washington, D.C. Originally from Pennsylvania, she moved to the DC-area in 2020 to become a special education teacher after graduating with her bachelor’s from Arcadia University. In 2023, she graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi with a master’s degree in Library and Information Science and transitioned into the library field. Annaliese currently works to bring more inclusive programming to DC Public Libraries for children of all ages. She is passionate about equity, inclusion, reading, and Philadelphia sports.