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Breaking the Magic Spell

Radical Theories of Folk and Fairy Tales

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Breaking the Magic Spell

By: Jack Zipes
Narrated by: Stuart Appleton
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About this listen

This revised, expanded, and updated edition of the 1979 landmark Breaking the Magic Spell examines the enduring power of fairy tales and the ways they invade our subjective world. In seven provocative essays, Zipes discusses the importance of investigating oral folk tales in their socio-political context and traces their evolution into literary fairy tales, a metamorphosis that often diminished the ideology of the original narrative. Zipes also looks at how folk tales influence our popular beliefs and the ways they have been exploited by a corporate media network intent on regulating the mystical elements of the stories. He examines a range of authors, including the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Anderson, Ernst Bloch, Tolkien, Bettelheim, and J.K. Rowling to demonstrate the continuing symbiotic relationship between folklore and literature.

©1979 Jack Zipes (P)2016 Redwood Audiobooks Customs & Traditions Social Sciences Tradition Magic Fantasy Fiction Socialism Capitalism

Critic Reviews

"A stimulating contribution to the critical literature of folk and fairy tales." ( Children's Literature Association Quarterly)
"All libraries should acquire this new edition of one of the most influential texts in the field." ( Choice)
"Zipes has written a stimulating and important contribution to the sociology of popular literature." ( Sociological Review)
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