Restoring Realism to the Fairytale, or, the Banal Optimism of Tahar Ben Jelloun’s Mes Contes de Perrault
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 20248388 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Ian Williams Curtis (0000-0002-7779-6356, Kenyon College, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 14 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 39 |
| Publication date | 2025-02-20 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Humanities (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2076-0787 • E-ISSN: 2076-0787 |
| Publisher | MDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT) |
| DOI | 10.3390/h14030039 |
| OpenAlex | W4407786042 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 6 |
This article examines Tahar Ben Jelloun’s Mes Contes de Perrault (2014) as a multilayered instance of literary appropriation. Ben Jelloun’s stories, which relocate Charles Perrault’s classic French fairytales to the Arab world, represent not only a subversive challenge to French cultural hegemony (as has been argued) but can also be read as a complex engagement with the history of French folktales and their literary adaptations. This study posits that Ben Jelloun’s project restores elements of realism to Perrault’s tales that were lost when the author adapted folk stories for the French court. By reintroducing themes of bodily suffering, desire, and quotidian struggles, Ben Jelloun reconnects these tales with their folk origins. Examining Ben Jelloun’s “appropriation”—his word—in the context of Perrault’s own adaptations, this study offers new insights into the circulation and transformation of folktales across cultures and literary traditions. It contributes to ongoing discussions about literary and cultural appropriation and the place of the fairytale genre in today’s world
Art · Humanities · Literature · Optimism · Realism · History · Multiculturalism, Politics, Migration, Gender · North African History and Literature · Philosophy · Political and Social Issues
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |