"Science and Education" Scientific Journal / ISSN 2181-0842 May 2022 / Volume 3 Issue 5

The use of superstitions in English fairy tales

Maftuna Habibullayevna Ibodullayeva

maftunaibodullayeva@gmail.com
Samarkand State Institute of Foreign Languages

Abstract: This article deals with the use of superstitions in fairy tales, the
reason, the topicality of their use in folklore. The present article is devoted to an
actual theme of linguaculturology - the use of superstitions and their influence on
people. More attention is paid to the comparative pragmatic analysis of superstitions
in two literary works.
Keywords: fairy tales, superstitions use in fairy tales, supernatural power,
omens, mystery, narratives, natural or social phenomena, evil spirits,

The lives of people are full of unwritten rules, beliefs in supernatural forces
control them and they mostly even do not notice it. One of the widest notions among
them is superstition that has no single definition. In some countries people live with
these individual beliefs and these superstitions have become part and parcel of their
life.
The term superstition means a belief or notion, not based on reason or
knowledge, in or of the ominous significance of a particular thing, circumstance,
occurrence, proceeding, or the like a system or collection of such beliefs, belief that is
not based on human reason or scientific knowledge, but is connected with old ideas
about magic a custom or act based on such a belief, irrational fear of what is
unknown or mysterious, especially in connection with religion or any blindly
accepted belief or notion.
Fairy Tales have been both loved and feared throughout the ages. With
supernatural powers, they are described in folklore and fairy tales as being able to
both gift and curse, or at least cause mischief to humans. Items going missing, a spate
of breakages of household items, sickness in animals, and periods of bad luck were
suspected to follow an instance of upsetting the fairies. As a result, various
superstitions and customs developed on establishing healthy relationships with the
Good Folk to avoid displeasing them.
England has been the birthplace of many of the most well-known children’s
stories including Jack and the Beanstalk and Tom Thumb- the little boy no bigger
than his father’s thumb. Similar to other European countries, the English fairy tale
tradition emerged from those folklore stories that are believed to have originated in
the British Isles. This folklore developed over centuries through the storytelling
tradition and is unique given the distinct culture and identity of the land’s various
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"Science and Education" Scientific Journal / ISSN 2181-0842 May 2022 / Volume 3 Issue 5

regions. As such, England’s fairy tale and folklore tradition has strong connections to
Celtic, Germanic and Christian sources.
The Use of superstitions in English Short Stories with examples:
Some popular examples of Fairy Tales are – Cindrella by Brothers Grimm, Jack
and the Beanstalk by Joseph Jacobs, Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp by Thousand
and One Nights, Beauty and the Beast by Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve, The
Forest Bride: The Story of a Little Mouse Who Was a Princess by Parker Fillmore,
The Boy Who Became a Stone by Mabel Cook Cole, The Dragon-Princess by The
Chinese Fairy Book
The reason of their use with explanation:
A superstition in fairy tales or myth is a traditional narrative, usually involving
supernatural or fancied persons, and embodying popular ideas on natural or social
phenomena. Malinowski (1963) saw myths as being in the nature of charters; that is,
stories of the first doing of an act that are still repeated in ritual or that validate some
claim in social relationships. They explain why what is done today is the right thing
to do. Sacredness and ritual are characteristics of myth and may be combined with
elements of legends or fairy-tales. Legends recount supposed history whereas fairy-
tales deal with miraculous happenings which no-one supposes to be true and which
are pure entertainment. It may be that myths also serve to explain and impose order
on the incomprehensible universe ( Freidl and Pfeiffer, 1977). The authors want to
narrate more attractive and acceptable to readers and they will feel what they read
just like in real and it supposed to be real once upon a time
The fairy tale itself is its own best explanation; that is, its meaning is contained
in the totality of its motifs connected by the thread of the story. Every fairy tale is a
relatively closed system compounding one essential psychological meaning which is
expressed in a series of symbolical pictures and events and is discoverable in these. I
have come to the conclusion that all fairy tales endeavor to describe one and the same
psychic fact, but a fact so complex and far-reaching and so difficult for us to realize
in all its different aspects that hundreds of tales and thousands of repetitions with a
musician's variation are needed until this unknown fact is delivered into
consciousness; and even then the theme is not exhausted. This unknown fact is what
Jung calls the Self, which is the psychic reality of the collective unconscious
According to Psychoanalysts such as Bruno Bettelheim, who regarded the
cruelty of older fairy tales as indicative of psychological conflicts, strongly criticized
this expurgation, because it weakened their usefulness to both children and adults as
ways of symbolically resolving issues. Fairy tales do teach children how to deal with
difficult times. To quote Rebecca Walters (2017, p. 56), Fairytales are part of the
cultural conserve that can be used to address children’s fears and give them some role
training in an approach that honors the children’s window of tolerance. These fairy

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"Science and Education" Scientific Journal / ISSN 2181-0842 May 2022 / Volume 3 Issue 5

tales teach children how to deal with certain social situations and helps them to find
their place in society. Fairy tales teach children other important lessons too. For
example, Tsitsani et al. carried out a study on children to determine the benefits of
fairy tales. Parents of the children who took part in the study found that fairy tales,
especially the color in them, triggered their child's imagination as they read them.
Jungian Analyst and fairy tale scholar, Marie Louise Von Franz interprets fairy tales
based on Jung's view of fairy tales as a spontaneous and naive product of soul, which
can only express what soul is. That means, she looks at fairy tales as images of
different phases of experiencing the reality of the soul.
Conclusion
The fairy tales has its own dialect, with each region’s tale offering something
new for the reader. The characters within the stories include mythical creatures or
spirits such as brownies, elves, boggarts, ogres, giants and trolls. You’ll also
encounter heroes, cunning folk (wizards), and plenty of royalty in the English folk
tales. Many of the tales are rich in superstition, sharing rules about various folk
beliefs. for I clarify about motherhood, fairy tales act as Many fairy tales features an
absentee mother, as an example Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Little Red
Riding Hood and Donkey skin, where the mother is deceased or absent and unable to
help the heroines. Mothers are depicted as absent or wicked in the most popular
contemporary versions of tales like Rapunzel, Snow White, Cinderella and Hansel
and Gretel, however, some lesser-known tales or variants such as those found in
volumes edited by Angela Carter and Jane Yolen depict mothers in a more positive
light.
The adventurous of the fairy tales titles such as ‘Cinderella’ and ‘Beauty and the
Beast’, found curious short stories which questioned the boundaries between fantasy
and realism
Fairy tales are not only useful to help your children sleep, even if they have been
making miracles for mothers for generations. Unknowingly, writers also taught
children to follow the rules, to be careful and to face adversity with courage. Why are
fairy tales so important? Why are they better than just telling the truth?
➢ Use magic to fight fear
For several children and for some adults, naming painful or taboo subjects
makes shyness and fear even worse. It is no coincidence if children prefer to talk
about “private parts” instead of naming taboo body parts. The same goes for
experiences and situations that they are uncomfortable to discuss or about which they
cannot find words to express how they feel.
Subtly and without focusing on fears and difficulties, fairy tales tell the stories
of strangers and animals that have no resemblance with the real world. Still, parts of
the story and the feelings described give them the vocabulary needed to describe their

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"Science and Education" Scientific Journal / ISSN 2181-0842 May 2022 / Volume 3 Issue 5

situation and explore the unknown. The stories allow them to compare the fairy lands
with their own life and to find solutions in the real world. As they read about it and
think about it over and over, the problems they face seem more common and less
impressive.
➢ Better safe than sorry
The big bad wolf, representing danger is a recurrent theme in fairy tales. For the
three little pigs, the wolf is embodying bad weather and reminds children to always
be ready for the worse and to work well before playing.
For Little red riding hood who represents puberty and menstrual periods for
many psychologists, the big bad wolf is a predator, a bad man, while the hunter
represents everything that is good in a man: protection and kindness. Like many old
tales the story of Red riding hood has become much lighter through the years but in
the original version, the wolf won and the tale was ending with this conclusion: pretty
young girls should never listen to strangers. This tale teaches safety and vulnerability.
Most fairy tales end with a conclusion that teaches children the basics of a useful
concept that will help them make decisions and face danger alone. These conclusions,
without being worrisome, make them think about various subjects and reach their
own conclusions.
➢ Tales’ therapy
Several essays have been written about the use of fairy tales in psychotherapy. It
is known that fairy tales sow ideas in the minds of children and these ideas can root
immediately, root when they are old enough to process the information or remain
dormant forever. To allow specific ideas to grow, some psychotherapists write and
use fairy tales in therapy. Fairy tales are mostly used for their capacity to enhance
self-confidence and to focus on a person’s strengths.
➢ Closeness
Another great thing about fairy tales is the presence of the parent who reads
them. Mothers who change her voice and make funny faces right next to their little
children help them ridicule fearsome objects. They also contribute to their
development as they fight wolves and witches together. For a child, this is the
moment when magic becomes reality.

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"Science and Education" Scientific Journal / ISSN 2181-0842 May 2022 / Volume 3 Issue 5

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