October’s issue of Realms of Fantasy magazine has an article by Terri Windling called “Lost and Found: The Orphaned Hero in Myth, Folklore, and Fantasy.” In it, Windling traces the archetype through mythology, fairy tales, fiction, and history.¹ She also offers some explanations for the continued interest in these tales, such as the secret desire to escape the confines of family life or the hope to discover a secret destiny or hidden power. I suspect these tales also resonate with our larger sense of being “orphaned” in this universe, or as Heinlein might say, strangers in a strange land.

The most recent example of the orhpan archetype in popular literature is, of course, Harry Potter. Given the success of the series, and its climax this summer, now seems like a perfect time to hook into students’ interest as a way to connect them to a larger consideration of the archetype, either by studying fairy tales directly or by examining the archetypes’ appearances in literature.²

A few reasons we should take the time to study this archetype and fairy tales in general:

• The orphan archetype connects to many students’ experiences–either de jure or de facto–and all students’ secret longings for independence and a larger sense of purpose
• Examining how the archetype carries through other works of literature can provide deeper insight into the individual works and a greater appreciation for the connections among various works
• Fairy tales allow us to re-connect with our childhood and re-examine it from new perspectives
• Listening to fairy tales can open a way for students to start telling their own stories, either in nonfiction or, if some distance is needed between the tale and the reality of the experience, through fiction

Two quick ideas based on the study of fairy tales:

• Trace an Archetype: Allow students to select an archetype that appeals to them and trace that archetype in foklore and literature (or extend it to film and television). What insights about the archetype did they gain? How did the different ways in which the archetype was employed add to that insight? What aspects of that archetype can they recognize in their own experiences?
• Tell Your Story: Ask students to tell the story of their childhood as a fairy tale. This allows them to abstract their experiences, re-imagine those experiences in mythic terms, and face those experiences at a safer distance and through a more abstract medium.³ You might refer to Donald Davis’ book Telling Your Own Stories.

Other justifications for the study of fairy tales or ideas related to that study are welcome in the comments.

For more information, check the suggestions at the end of Windling’s article, the Endicott Studio Reading Room, and some of the texts I’ve tagged “folklore” or “mythology” in my LibraryThing catalog. I would particularly recommend:

• The Classic Fairy Tales
• The Interpretation of Fairy Tales
• Little Red Riding Hood Uncloaked
• The Uses of Enchantment

1. She even mentions some historical cases of children “raised in the wild.” [back]
2. In my tenth-grade humanities course, we would start the year with an introduction to folklore, looking specifically at the similarities and differences among mythology, fairy tales, and legends. This served as a foundation for our study of world literature the rest of the year. [back]
3. With any writing assignment that asks students to write honestly about their own experiences, care and discretion on the teacher’s part is essential. [back]

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