This has me thinking! Yes, I wonder if our society has become too timid to stake a claim to moral truth or right and wrong for the sake of holding up each individual’s definition of moral values. I had to laugh when you described the offense at a character or person described as having an inner “nobility” but then realized this mirrors the degradation of articulating values which explain our better nature in favor of words which uphold moral relativism. With the loss of story and language, we lose these deep, beautiful words that can touch the soul of a reader— words that allow us to tap into the nature of humanity. I’m a teacher and am inspired to order 15 copies of Grimm’s for my middle school students and dive in. Thank you for defending the nobility of fairy tales and myth.
Oh that’s a wonderful idea, I absolutely hope you order Grimm’s for your students!! Those stories are simultaneously wholesome and nuanced and spooky, and I’m sure middle schoolers especially would love them ❤️
Very important take. Good fairy tales ought to be more than instruction but they shouldn't be less. They are the earliest and most accessible means of cultivating a moral imagination.
Also worth reading are old tellings of myths (not Percy Jackson, sorry to my gen Z brethren). They have an ancient pagan's sense of morality (duh), and you have to live with that. Still, they have a lot of life to them because there are actual judgements made. You think you're better than the gods, just because you're a good weaver? Guess what little bitch, you're a spider now, so go weave for eternity in hell!
This is so interesting. I’ve noticed an increase in characters being marketed as “relatable”. It seems that relatability has become taken priority in character development and storytelling. It’s interesting to me that your friend said she couldn’t be “noble” because she was “relatable”. It is sort of an empty statement that is so dependant on the experience of the reader rather and takes importance off the intent of the author and paying attention the greater moral themes or archetypes that a character plays into.
There really isn't anything quite like reading folklore and fairy-tales as you said, I love it and find it more inspiring than almost any other read. Really loved this essay!
I could not agree more. We have lost in our change of language, our sense of the inner truth of the world, that pervades everything. Fairytale are a great way to resurrection this lost understanding. Bravo.
Rudolf Steiner, Goethe and the pet Novalis all talked of the fairy tale being the most essential element of childhood education... The foundation of a moral future. Incidentally, Steiner described morality as objective, which was a lovely eye opener for me thanks for your post.
You are speaking my language! I just wrote an article about the importance of reclaiming archetypes from classic fairy tales and made a similar point. It's a classic language that we have sadly lost.
Another interesting aspect of the word nobility and same with aristocracy, is that it implies virtue, so if you were a noble in the court of King Arthur, you were presumed to have been born with a higher morality than the peasants that you lorded over.
I think the true virtue of nobility incorporated humility. One knew that one’s skills were not created by oneself but were lent by God. So therefore the knight or noble did not ‘lord’ it over the lesser level person as they recognised their humanity. Look at the servant characters in Shakespeare’s plays as an example. Part of the concept of nobility was also service- so therefore the knight was willing to sacrifice himself to defend and was facing death frequently. There was little of the opportunity that we have today for the self delusion that we completely control our lives. When the king of Poland led the Hussars and a huge cavalry charge against the Moslems at the Battle of Vienna, at the victory of the battle and the defeat of the much larger army, he knelt and prayed in thanks to God. That is nobility.
Thank you so much for this! C S Lewis was concerned about this very issue in the first half of the 20th Century. As was the philosopher Josef Pieper, who wrote an incisive little book called "Abuse of Language, Abuse of Power". But what a joy and an encouragement it is to see an article like this, with all its comments--many people still care about words and how they convey truth and meaning! Thank you!
This has me thinking! Yes, I wonder if our society has become too timid to stake a claim to moral truth or right and wrong for the sake of holding up each individual’s definition of moral values. I had to laugh when you described the offense at a character or person described as having an inner “nobility” but then realized this mirrors the degradation of articulating values which explain our better nature in favor of words which uphold moral relativism. With the loss of story and language, we lose these deep, beautiful words that can touch the soul of a reader— words that allow us to tap into the nature of humanity. I’m a teacher and am inspired to order 15 copies of Grimm’s for my middle school students and dive in. Thank you for defending the nobility of fairy tales and myth.
Oh that’s a wonderful idea, I absolutely hope you order Grimm’s for your students!! Those stories are simultaneously wholesome and nuanced and spooky, and I’m sure middle schoolers especially would love them ❤️
Very important take. Good fairy tales ought to be more than instruction but they shouldn't be less. They are the earliest and most accessible means of cultivating a moral imagination.
You might enjoy the book “Tending the Heart of Virtue: How Classic Stories Awaken a Child’s Moral Imagination” by Vigen Guroian
Also worth reading are old tellings of myths (not Percy Jackson, sorry to my gen Z brethren). They have an ancient pagan's sense of morality (duh), and you have to live with that. Still, they have a lot of life to them because there are actual judgements made. You think you're better than the gods, just because you're a good weaver? Guess what little bitch, you're a spider now, so go weave for eternity in hell!
This is so interesting. I’ve noticed an increase in characters being marketed as “relatable”. It seems that relatability has become taken priority in character development and storytelling. It’s interesting to me that your friend said she couldn’t be “noble” because she was “relatable”. It is sort of an empty statement that is so dependant on the experience of the reader rather and takes importance off the intent of the author and paying attention the greater moral themes or archetypes that a character plays into.
There really isn't anything quite like reading folklore and fairy-tales as you said, I love it and find it more inspiring than almost any other read. Really loved this essay!
I could not agree more. We have lost in our change of language, our sense of the inner truth of the world, that pervades everything. Fairytale are a great way to resurrection this lost understanding. Bravo.
Wonderful reflections! Thank you for sharing.
Rudolf Steiner, Goethe and the pet Novalis all talked of the fairy tale being the most essential element of childhood education... The foundation of a moral future. Incidentally, Steiner described morality as objective, which was a lovely eye opener for me thanks for your post.
Yeah, my son is only four but even now I try to read him fairy tales and old folk tales, the wide vocabulary is good for his development
That was a great article! Thank you very much!
You are speaking my language! I just wrote an article about the importance of reclaiming archetypes from classic fairy tales and made a similar point. It's a classic language that we have sadly lost.
Another interesting aspect of the word nobility and same with aristocracy, is that it implies virtue, so if you were a noble in the court of King Arthur, you were presumed to have been born with a higher morality than the peasants that you lorded over.
I think the true virtue of nobility incorporated humility. One knew that one’s skills were not created by oneself but were lent by God. So therefore the knight or noble did not ‘lord’ it over the lesser level person as they recognised their humanity. Look at the servant characters in Shakespeare’s plays as an example. Part of the concept of nobility was also service- so therefore the knight was willing to sacrifice himself to defend and was facing death frequently. There was little of the opportunity that we have today for the self delusion that we completely control our lives. When the king of Poland led the Hussars and a huge cavalry charge against the Moslems at the Battle of Vienna, at the victory of the battle and the defeat of the much larger army, he knelt and prayed in thanks to God. That is nobility.
100% agree
For sure, I completely agree. I was just adding something to the conversation, but that’s a good clarification
I am so in awe of that level of dignity and nobility - maybe we could strive to emulate it in our modern context?…
Definitely, how do you reckon we can achieve that?
Now i need to buy myself some fairytales haha!
This is a beautiful, important reflection. Thank you!
You know what's crazy? I just had this *same* conversation with someone about the word nobility!
We’re on the same brainwaves! :)
Thank you so much for this! C S Lewis was concerned about this very issue in the first half of the 20th Century. As was the philosopher Josef Pieper, who wrote an incisive little book called "Abuse of Language, Abuse of Power". But what a joy and an encouragement it is to see an article like this, with all its comments--many people still care about words and how they convey truth and meaning! Thank you!