The PCization of Fairy Tales
While reading to my son the other night, I was surprised by the ending of our new copy of Little Red Riding Hood. The wolf - rather than being killed - was sent off the forest with a stern warning to never come back and Grandma was let out of the closet. Huh? The wolf in The Three Little Pigs fared almost as well, climbing back up the chimney rather than being boiled in the pot. Peter’s Wolf also went back to the forest with a promise not to come back; the duck survived as well.
Why do we want to pretend that wolves don’t exist? Or that they can be reasoned with? Evil is in the world, and all too often its after children. In 2000, in the US alone, 879,000 children were victims of child maltreatment; 10% of them were sexually abused. Some estimate that as many as 1 in 5 girls and 1 in 10 boys are sexually exploited before they reach adulthood.
Children will encounter evil and cruelty. How much better to encounter evil first on their parents’ lap? Fairy tales like Peter and the Wolf show us that brave, good and clever children can conquer evil. And let’s not forget that Peter’s bravery is disminished when the evil he conquers is disminished.
In the documentary, Paper Clips a Holocaust survivor cautions against shielding our children from the hatred and intolerance, evil and cruelty in the world. Instead, she recommends, we must teach our children that it can be overcome with strength, courage and love.