Young Adult Themes in Fairytales

Although fairytale retellings exist for all ages, and adult retellings are certainly not hard to find, YA fiction has the most retellings. Of course, some of this popularity might simply stem from the fact that fantasy is an almost overwhelmingly important section of the YA market. Other reasons might go deeper, however, and it's one of these possible reasons that I'm interested in talking about this week.

To explain why I think fairytale retellings and YA are well suited for each other, we need to understand what I'm talking about when I say YA. Although YA as a genre is difficult to define, one of the most concise definitions is the term "coming-of-age story." Marc Aronson talks about how true YA books aren't just coming-of-age stories, but also contain "adolescent themes" (22). In his book Exploding the Myths: The Truth About Teenagers and Reading, Aronson says that genuine YA is the:

"Genre of books in which teenagers can easily recognize themselves" (24).

A fairytale about twelve princesses dancing in a secret underground castle every night might not seem like it is a story where teenagers can easily recognize themselves, and yet "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" is a popular subject for YA retellings. This popularity begins to makes sense if we look at the themes present in the story.

Art by Ruth Sanderson

This particular fairytale carries a strong family dynamic between the father's orders, the commanding oldest sister, and the worried youngest sister. This family dynamic is often explored in retellings of the story because it is so powerful, especially to teenagers who have siblings. One moment in the Grimm version will sound incredible familiar to anyone with siblings:

"At this, too, the youngest sister was terribly frightened, but the eldest always silenced her" (5).

Although the importance of family in YA novels shouldn't be underestimated, there's a bigger theme hiding in this fairytale that is quintessentially YA. These princesses must leave their familiar room behind in order to have new and exciting experiences. This new world can be exciting:

"They found themselves in a most delightful grove of trees; and the leaves were all of silver, and glittered and sparkled beautifully" (4).

However, this unknown can also be terrifying:

"The soldier broke a branch from each; and every time there was a loud noise, which made the youngest sister tremble with fear" (4).

The concept of leaving the known world to adventure in a larger, stranger, and potentially dangerous world is remarkably similar to the concept of a "coming-of-age" story. Many teens find they must make their way in the new and confusing adult world in the same way that the protagonists of fairytales find they must make their way in a new and confusing environment. Stories in other age ranges also have this basic plot, but this story arc is easy for teenagers to relate to their own movement between the worlds of children and adults. As Aronson pointed out, this ease of relation is one of the best definitions of YA literature.

Perhaps, then, so many fairytale retellings are YA because fairytales themselves contain young adult themes. The "Hero's Journey" archtype present in most fairytales is remarkably well-suited for telling a "coming-of-age story." Additional relevant themes like family relationships, romance, and morality depend more specifically on the fairytale. Authors who retell these fairytales get to choose which themes to emphasize for their audience. For YA audiences, retellings that focus on drawing big feelings out of the simple hero's journey plot can be strikingly relatable.

Works Cited:

Aronson, Marc. Exploding the Myths: The Truth about Teenagers and Reading. Scarecrow Press, 2001.

Grimm, The Brothers. "The Twelve Dancing Princesses." Short Stories, http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/TwelDanc.shtml