Charles Perrault
Charles Perrault was a seventeenth-century French author who established the literary fairy tale as a genre.
His 1697 collection included enduring stories like "Cinderella," "Sleeping Beauty," "Little Red Riding Hood," and "Puss in Boots." These tales, drawn from oral tradition and polished for aristocratic readers, became foundational texts of Western children's literature.
Rags-to-riches heroine
- Sleeping BeautyCurse-bound dormant royal
- Puss in BootsCunning cat from folklore
- BluebeardFolk tale wife-killer
- Tom ThumbTiny folk tale hero
Little Red Riding Hood · Mother Goose · glass slipper · fairy godmother · once upon a time · happily ever after · moral · enchanted
Culture passed by speech
- folktalesTraditional oral narratives
- fablesDidactic animal stories
- moralsPrinciples of right conduct
- cultural heritageInherited collective traditions
archetypes · storytelling · adaptation · nursery tales · cautionary tales · tradition · European folklore
Creator of texts
- storytellerOne who recounts tales
- poetWriter of verse
- literaryOf written works
- narrativeAccount of events
prose · morality tales · children's literature · fabulist · verse · dedication · preface · publication
- VersaillesFrench royal palace complex
- salonGrooming establishment or gathering
- classicismAdherence to ancient artistic principles
- BourbonFrench ruling family
ancien régime · château · nobility · gallantry · Baroque · enlightenment · Paris · court
Cinderella
Rags-to-riches heroine
- Sleeping BeautyCurse-bound dormant royal
- Puss in BootsCunning cat from folklore
- BluebeardFolk tale wife-killer
Little Red Riding Hood · Tom Thumb · Mother Goose · glass slipper · fairy godmother · once upon a time · happily ever after · moral · enchanted · princess
oral tradition
Culture passed by speech
cultural heritage · archetypes · storytelling · adaptation · nursery tales · cautionary tales · tradition · European folklore
writer
Creator of texts
- storytellerOne who recounts tales
- poetWriter of verse
- literaryOf written works
narrative · prose · morality tales · children's literature · fabulist · verse · dedication · preface · publication · collection
Louis XIV
- VersaillesFrench royal palace complex
- salonGrooming establishment or gathering
- classicismAdherence to ancient artistic principles
Bourbon · ancien régime · château · nobility · gallantry · Baroque · enlightenment · Paris · court · Colbert
- fantasywizard, witch, magic, dragon, elf
- fairy tale studiesoral tradition, Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen, morality tales, cautionary tales
- French folkloreGargantua, Bluebeard, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, La Fontaine
- folkloristsBrothers Grimm, folklorist
- children's booksfairy tales, nursery rhymes, picture books, bedtime stories, Harry Potter
- Cinderellaglass slipper, fairy godmother, Prince Charming, pumpkin, midnight
Charles PerraultHans Christian Andersen