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Author
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Comment
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Richard Parks
Registered User
(6/7/05 1:38 pm)
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Chesterton Quote
I've come across a paraphrase of this quote attributed to G.K. Chesterton, and it certainly sounds like something he would have said. Can anyone steer me toward a definite source?
"Fairy Tales are blamed for teaching children that there are such things as monsters. Children already know that there are monsters. What Fairy Tales really teach is that monsters can be killed."
http://dm.net/~richard-parks |
Heidi Anne Heiner
ezOP
(6/7/05 2:26 pm)
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Re: Chesterton Quote
The following is on the Fairy Tale Quotations on SurLaLune. Perhaps yours came from the same source.
"If you happen to read fairy tales, you will observe that one idea runs from one end of them to the other--the idea that peace and happiness can only exist on some condition. This idea, which is the core of ethics, is the core of the nursery-tales."
~G. K. Chesterton~
All Things Considered
1908
Edit: Actually perhaps not. Don't see anything similar it in, but have just added Chesterton's Fairy Tale essay to SurLaLune here: G. K. CHESTERTON: FAIRY TALES
Heidi
Edited by: Heidi Anne Heiner at: 6/7/05 2:49 pm
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Heidi Anne Heiner
ezOP
(6/7/05 4:03 pm)
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Re: Chesterton Quote
Hmmm, might also try Chesterton's Orthodoxy. Especially Chapter 4.
He certainly wrote quite a bit about fairy tales.
Actually, looks like the real quote is: "The babe in the cradle knows about the dragon. He needs the stories to know about St. George." Where it came from, still don't know.
Heidi
Edited by: Heidi Anne Heiner at: 6/7/05 4:12 pm
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Richard Parks
Registered User
(6/7/05 8:35 pm)
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Re: Chesterton Quote
That's probably the right origin. Says the same thing and is much more concise.
http://dm.net/~richard-parks |
catja1
Registered User
(6/9/05 2:13 pm)
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Re: Chesterton Quote
The quote is: "Fairy tales are more than true -- not because they tell us dragons exist, but because they tell us dragons can be beaten." I can't find a source for it, so it may have been from private correspondance or conversation.
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midori snyder
Registered User
(6/10/05 8:04 am)
ezSupporter
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Re: Chesterton Quote
Well...here's another possiblity:
What fairy tales give the child is his first clear idea of the possible defeat of bogey. The baby has known the dragon intimately ever since he had an imagination. What the fairy tale provides for him is a St. George to kill the dragon.
Tremendous Trifles (1909)
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Erica Carlson
Registered User
(6/10/05 8:25 am)
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Re: Chesterton Quote
Neil Gaiman has this quote in the beginning of Smoke and Mirrors (page 2 in a friend's edition), but I'm fairly certain he's paraphrasing Chesterton--very likely the St. George quote that Heidi provided--not quoting him directly. It might be worth getting hold of the Gaiman so you can see what you think.
My hunch, based partially on how very often the quote turns up on Google with no source notes, is that people have just been running with the Gaiman paraphrase but citing Chesterton (which is easier than citing an author citing another author and a thing very likely to happen on the web). I'll see if I can get my hands on a concordance or a more reliable source, however, before shaking my head over Wikipedia, though.
Best,
Erica
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Richard Parks
Registered User
(6/10/05 9:11 am)
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Re: Chesterton Quote
Clearly Chesterton expressed the same concept in various ways at different times. My version had the gist of it but more than likely was not an exact quote or even very close to one.
http://dm.net/~richard-parks |
