Charles Perrault: Man of Many Words
Charles Perrault, one the many folk tale collectors of the 17th century, was born in Paris, France on January 12, 1628 to a large family. He was raised wealthy and his wealth gave him the privilege to attend the Collège de Beauvais in his 20s to pursue a career in law. After countless months of vigorous schoolwork, Perrault received his law degree and practiced for several years. His career as a lawyer became his main focus, but after he developed a passion for literature, he put aside law to start a new chapter of his life as an amateur writer.
During France’s transition to the new monarch, King Louis XIV, Perrault created love poems and verses and gained many supporters - one of which being Jean-Baptiste Colbert, the king’s finance minister. After hearing of Perrault’s successes, Colbert contacted him and hired him as an advisor to oversee his documents. Perrault worked as a high official in the French government under Colbert for over 20 years and exercised his creativity throughout his work hours by assisting others in their writings.
His peak of popularity, however, began in the late 1690’s after causing a literary debate that would later be known as Querelle des Anciens et des Modernes (translated as the Quarrel of the Ancients and the Moderns). This disagreement was between the Moderns, who believed the 1600s “was a century whose productions in the arts and sciences were equal if not superior of the Greek and Latin antiquity” (Barchilon 28), and the Ancients who believed the inventions and artistry of that time period would never surpass the accomplishments prior.
The quarrel, a time of questioning and chaos, introduced France to a modern, unorthodox type of literature and art that put Perrault’s career on a fast track. He published some of his greatest works throughout these years and in 1679, ten years after the start of the Quarrel of the Ancients and the Moderns, Perrault published what would be known as his most popular piece of literature. The Cotntes de Ma Mère l’Oye, otherwise known as the Tales of Mother Goose, was a collection of eight fairy tales that first introduced oral folk tales of the lower class to the wealthy. Writers who published these stories, such as Perrault, were called “collectors” and the oral folktale literary adaptation became a genre of its own.
The popular tales incorporated in the Tales of Mother Goose, such as “La Belle au bois dormant” (Sleeping Beauty) and “Cendrillon ou la etite pantouffle de verre” (Cinderella), were actually first seen as “vulgar” and were only told amongst adults before they became pieces of literature (McKinley 31). Perrault, unlike the other collectors, removed the vulgarity and harsh language from the adult stories and formed them into tales for bourgeois children. He implemented morals and lessons to his publications, and by the early 18th century, his stories became known as “fairy tales”. Perrault’s interesting approach set him apart from the other collectors, and his mass popularity in French literature eventually made him the “Father of French Children’s Literature” (Zarucchi 926).
Not only were the stories made for entertainment, but they also became “vehicles for conveying morality, social norms, and proper manners” in French society (McKinley 32). His contributions are now well known, even today, with help from the revised versions of the Grimm Brothers and the Disney film adaptations.
Charles Perrault, one the many folk tale collectors of the 17th century, was born in Paris, France on January 12, 1628 to a large family. He was raised wealthy and his wealth gave him the privilege to attend the Collège de Beauvais in his 20s to pursue a career in law. After countless months of vigorous schoolwork, Perrault received his law degree and practiced for several years. His career as a lawyer became his main focus, but after he developed a passion for literature, he put aside law to start a new chapter of his life as an amateur writer.
During France’s transition to the new monarch, King Louis XIV, Perrault created love poems and verses and gained many supporters - one of which being Jean-Baptiste Colbert, the king’s finance minister. After hearing of Perrault’s successes, Colbert contacted him and hired him as an advisor to oversee his documents. Perrault worked as a high official in the French government under Colbert for over 20 years and exercised his creativity throughout his work hours by assisting others in their writings.
His peak of popularity, however, began in the late 1690’s after causing a literary debate that would later be known as Querelle des Anciens et des Modernes (translated as the Quarrel of the Ancients and the Moderns). This disagreement was between the Moderns, who believed the 1600s “was a century whose productions in the arts and sciences were equal if not superior of the Greek and Latin antiquity” (Barchilon 28), and the Ancients who believed the inventions and artistry of that time period would never surpass the accomplishments prior.
The quarrel, a time of questioning and chaos, introduced France to a modern, unorthodox type of literature and art that put Perrault’s career on a fast track. He published some of his greatest works throughout these years and in 1679, ten years after the start of the Quarrel of the Ancients and the Moderns, Perrault published what would be known as his most popular piece of literature. The Cotntes de Ma Mère l’Oye, otherwise known as the Tales of Mother Goose, was a collection of eight fairy tales that first introduced oral folk tales of the lower class to the wealthy. Writers who published these stories, such as Perrault, were called “collectors” and the oral folktale literary adaptation became a genre of its own.
The popular tales incorporated in the Tales of Mother Goose, such as “La Belle au bois dormant” (Sleeping Beauty) and “Cendrillon ou la etite pantouffle de verre” (Cinderella), were actually first seen as “vulgar” and were only told amongst adults before they became pieces of literature (McKinley 31). Perrault, unlike the other collectors, removed the vulgarity and harsh language from the adult stories and formed them into tales for bourgeois children. He implemented morals and lessons to his publications, and by the early 18th century, his stories became known as “fairy tales”. Perrault’s interesting approach set him apart from the other collectors, and his mass popularity in French literature eventually made him the “Father of French Children’s Literature” (Zarucchi 926).
Not only were the stories made for entertainment, but they also became “vehicles for conveying morality, social norms, and proper manners” in French society (McKinley 32). His contributions are now well known, even today, with help from the revised versions of the Grimm Brothers and the Disney film adaptations.
References
Barchilon, Jacques and Peter Flinders. Charles Perrault. Boston: Twayne, 1981. Print.
McKinley, Robin. “Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast.” Literature and Its Times: Profiles of 300 Notable Literary Works and the Historical Events That Influenced Them. Vol. I. 1997. Print.
Zarucchi, Jeanne Morgan. “PERRAULT, Charles.” Reference Guide to WORLD LITERATURE. Vol. 2. Year. 1995. Print.
Barchilon, Jacques and Peter Flinders. Charles Perrault. Boston: Twayne, 1981. Print.
McKinley, Robin. “Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast.” Literature and Its Times: Profiles of 300 Notable Literary Works and the Historical Events That Influenced Them. Vol. I. 1997. Print.
Zarucchi, Jeanne Morgan. “PERRAULT, Charles.” Reference Guide to WORLD LITERATURE. Vol. 2. Year. 1995. Print.