Charles Perrault

Charles Perrault Biography

Charles Perrault

So just how many versions of the classic fairy tale 'Cinderella' have you heard? Probably several. It is a very old story, and thanks to Charles Perrault, the master collaborator of folk tales, 'Cinderella' lives on and on.

Charles Perrault was born in France in 1628. As a member of a wealthy family, young Charles enjoyed the privilege of good schools where he was always at the top of his class. He trained to be a lawyer and then worked with his brother collecting taxes in Paris. He may have been a little outspoken and when some noblemen wanted to exclude the public from being able to visit the beautiful Tuileries Gardens in Paris, Perrault objected.

Perrault also defended modern literature of the time and believed that it was as worthy as the literature of antiquity. Despite his tendencies to say what was on his mind, the King liked Perrault and provided him with special appointments, one of which was writing poetry. Literature suited Perrault but it was not until he was nearly 70 that he went to work compiling familiar folk tales. Perrault died in 1703 at the age of 75.

Books by Charles Perrault

Although he wrote many volumes of poetry, Charles Perrault's greatest contribution to literature is the preservation of classic folk tales. These folk tales were often horrifying, graphic and morbid stories not unlike some contemporary urban legends today. Did you hear the one about the albino alligators living in the New York City sewers? Or the baby sitter who baked the baby in the oven? Like some of these modern stories, medieval folk tales were popular, often gruesome, and were easily shared.

Charles Perrault's most well-known book is 'Tales of Mother Goose,' which included eight fairy tales: 'Sleeping Beauty', 'Little Red Riding Hood', 'Bluebeard', 'Puss in Boots', 'The Fairies', 'Cinderella', 'Ricky with the Tuft' and 'Little Tom Thumb'. Most of these stories are still quite well known.

Charles Perrault, Master Storyteller

Perrault told all the stories from an observational but objective third person narrator's point of view. The result is a collection of fairy tales that seem to be told by the same person. A century later, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm did much the same thing. Perrault also used dialogue to create characterization and provided interesting details about the settings and characters. At the end, he added lengthy morals to each story.

Perrault's moral for Little Red Riding Hood is a warning to girls and young women to beware of dangerous men. In the words of Perrault himself, 'Children, especially attractive, well-bred young ladies, should never talk to strangers, for if they should do so, they may well provide dinner for a wolf. I say 'wolf,' but there are various kinds of wolves. There are also those who are charming, quiet, polite, unassuming, complacent, and sweet, who pursue young women at home and in the streets. And unfortunately, it is these gentle wolves who are the most dangerous ones of all.'

Who was Charles Perrault? Why the fairy tales you know may not be as they seem

French author Charles Perrault was born 388 years ago on January 12, and has become immortalised as the father of the fairy tale as we know it

Charles Perrault: fairy tale visionary 

By Rhiannon Williams

Charles Perrault, author of Little Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella was born 388 years ago, and has been commemorated with a Google Doodle.
Perrault was born in Paris in 1628, and was a lawyer before turning his hand to the written word.
Charles Perrault (1628-1703)
While the Brothers Grimm are widely credited with creating the fairy tale as we know it, Perrault actually wrote stories called Le Petit Chaperon Rouge, La Belle au bois dormant and Cendrillon a full 200 years before.
In 1695, aged 67, he wrote Tales and Stories of the Past with Morals, a series of moral tales designed to prompt the reader to reflect on the dilemmas presented to the protagonist, which were well-known from folklore even then.
The volume contained the story now known as Mother Goose, alongside perennially recognised titles such as Puss in Boots, Blue Beard and Cinderella, and less famous stories Ricky of the Tuft and Little Thumb.

The book was enormously successful, and was eventually translated into English in 1729 by Robert Samber.
However, readers may be shocked to discover that Perrault's original tales have lost much of their grisly detail today.
His version of Little Red Riding Hood, for example, made it more explicitly obvious that the 'wolf' is a man intent on preying on young girls who wander alone in woods.
"From this story one learns that children, especially young lasses, pretty, courteous and well-bred, do very wrong to listen to strangers and it is not an unheard thing if the Wolf is thereby provided with his dinner," he wrote.
"I say Wolf, for all wolves are not of the same sort; there is one kind with an amenable disposition – neither noisy, nor hateful, nor angry, but tame, obliging and gentle, following the young maids in the streets, even into their homes. Alas! Who does not know that these gentle wolves are of all such creatures the most dangerous!"

Stories or Tales from Times Past

1. La belle au bois dormant (The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood)
2. Le petit chaperon rouge (Little Red Riding Hood)
3. La Barbe bleüe (Blue Beard)
4. Le Maistre Chat, ou le Chat Botté (The Master Cat; or, Puss in Boots)
5. Les Fées (The Fairies)
6. Cendrillon, ou la petite pantoufle de verre (Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper)
7. Riquet à la Houppe (Ricky of the Tuft)
8. Le petit Pouçet (Little Thumb)

Sleeping Beauty

The version of Sleeping Beauty we know now is a combination of a tale by Perrault (which in turn was based on older stories dating back to the 14th century) and the Grimm Brothers’ Briar Rose, which was an oral version of Perrault's.
Confusing? It can be. Disney's 1959 film sweeps away the darker elements of the Sleeping Beauty stories – and they can be very dark – in favour of Princess Aurora, her three fairy godmothers, and the vengeful fairy Maleficent, who uses an enchanted spindle to put the princess into a deep sleep.
With affection,
Ruben