According to Mircea Eliade, fairy tales and mythological stories are “models of human behavior [which], thereby give meaning. and the value of life (Bettelheim 35). This suggests that fairy tales and myths, from the beginning, have been used as examples for people to follow and learn from. Stories ranging from ancient Greek tragedies such as Libation Bearers, to classic fairy tales like Little Red Riding Hood, to modern versions of fairy tales like Into The Woods, all have a message to tell, a fable to teach. This article will explore the messages conveyed by various fairy tales and myths and explain how these messages change depending on time and place, as well as how they are part of an agenda, using character characterization, quotes and outcome . no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”? Get an original essay Myths and fairy tales “[embody] the cumulative experience of a society as men wished to remember the past wisdom and pass it on to future generations. » (Bettelheim 26). Over time, this cumulative experience and past wisdom has been perverted or used to perpetuate ideas or send messages that the storyteller wanted to convey. The first message that is transmitted is that of the libation bearers of Aeschylus. Agamemnon's two children, Orestes and Electra, take revenge for their mother's murder of their father, in a way that demonstrates the Greek idea of ​​justice, that is, in the simplest terms, help his friends and harm his enemies. In this case, their mother, Clytemnestra, who has wronged their family in many ways, deserves justice for her actions, including the murder of Agamemnon. Although the main theme of the play and others in its trilogy is justice and its implementation, there is a political and social context that must be addressed to fully understand the meaning of the play. The play was written in Athens, a democratic city-state. The main antagonist of the play, Clytemnestra, reigns tyrannically over Argos. This already shows that the Athenian playwright Aeschylus, as well as his predominantly male audience, view tyrants as enemies. However, it goes further. Socially, the Greeks "bound tyrants to women", due to the fact that tyrants are surrounded by protections and walls, and therefore lose their freedom of movement and movement, as well as the fact that a tyrant, due to his power , is apt to indulge in excesses in pleasures and fashion (Foley xviii). These characteristics relate to women because, in Athens, leaving the home as a woman was considered a social faux pas, and women stereotypically valued fashion and excessive indulgence, and were considered undisciplined, another stereotypical characteristic of women and barbarians only. By making the main antagonist a female tyrant, “Aeschylus exploits these parallel cultural assumptions about women and tyranny” (Foley xix). With this basic information in mind, it is possible to see some messages that the piece conveys. For example, Electra, believed to be Agamemnon's only surviving child in Argos at the beginning of the play, begins the play by making offerings at her father's grave and praying to the gods for vengeance to be exacted on her mother. Immediately after her offering and prayer, she finds evidence of Orestes' presence and reacts with extreme joy when he reveals himself, saying: "[you] are nearest and dearest to your father's House . How I criedfor you, seed of hope, of salvation! (Lib. 235-6). Electra's extreme excitement at seeing Orestes, coupled with her extreme grief over the loss of her father and her hatred towards her mother, portrays her as a dutiful daughter. She makes offerings at her father's grave, without struggling or leaving her home, and when the time comes, Orestes begins to direct the plan to avenge their father. In doing so, Orestes, in the role of hero, pushes Electra aside and makes her follow him while he deals with the situation. Bettelheim states that “the hero is presented to the listener as a figure whom he must imitate in his own life, as much as possible” (Bettelheim 26). With all this information, the "model" presented here is that Electra, in fulfilling her social obligations to pay homage to her father and be submissive to Orestes, is a fair and respectful daughter, while Orestes presents a chauvinistic message that men must lead, especially in situations that require strength or present difficulties. Clytemnestra is also depicted as unjust, although he killed Agamemnon due to the unjust things he had also done, such as killing their daughter to end a war, and for having a concubine although Clytemnestra was a devoted wife until 'at the moment she kills him. The whole plot effectively conveys the idea that women should be submissive and not rule, and that men should take action, all under the guise of justice. This message is consistent with social beliefs that were common at the time in Athens, reinforcing the patriarchal hold on Athens. This can lead one to believe that mythological plays, such as the tales of Odysseus and Agamemnon or any other relevant mythological hero, contain a message intended to dissuade someone from acting in a certain way. Into The Woods also features many messages about marriage, growing up, and working together. An important distinction to note between myths and fairy tales is that the ending "[of] myths is always tragic, while it is always happy in fairy tales" (Bettelheim 37). Since the film consists of various adaptations of fairy tales and stories brought together into one film, the amount of lessons learned by the characters and, by extension, the amount of lessons presented to the audience is substantial. Throughout the film, various characters are drawn into the woods for different reasons and emerge stronger, wiser, or better prepared for the real world in one way or another. For example, The Baker and his wife realize that they must work together to fulfill the terms of their contract with the witch, thereby improving their marriage. This contrasts with the beginning where they had a "divide and conquer" approach to getting the items the witch needed. However, once the time came when they actually had a baby, they began to fall back into their old habits and the woman, after being separated again by her husband, cheated on him and subsequently died. This is a fairy tale example of how marriages can end up in a non-fantastic situation. They started working together and developed a stronger relationship for this, they were excited about the idea of ​​having a child but once the child arrived they noticed they had no room in their home and seemed completely unprepared for this, and the difficulties caused by the child, coupled with stress from outside forces (in this case, the giant), caused her to run away from her husband and child and have an affair with a handsome prince to get away from everything. This act of infidelity leads to her death, implying that she was punished for her actions, as befits fairy tales, reinforcing the ideathat “virtue is rewarded everywhere and vice is always punished”. The Baker represents the virtuous hero in this story. After the death of his wife, the Baker learns to face his problems head on after the appearance of his father's ghost, who tells him of the immense regret he felt for having fled his troubles, and with the help of other characters, faced his challenge, instead of abandoning them for a different life where he would have regretted his past decision. This awareness echoes the original purpose of these tales, as stated earlier in the article, namely to embody experience and wisdom and pass them on to future generations. The father, who had made mistakes and learned from them, helped the Baker realize from beyond the grave that he could not do the same, because he would spend the rest of his life miserable and filled with regret. When he returns, he is filled with determination, determination, and is ultimately stronger than before. As Bettelheim says, “[t]he fairy tale is oriented toward the future and guides the [audience]” (Bettelheim 11). The Baker in this story, and by extension, the hero of other stories, acts as someone to emulate. By experiencing the problems firsthand, The Baker has changed as a person, and the audience now has a role model, an example to follow, without having to experience it themselves. By seeing someone else experience this and seeing the outcome, the audience learns, even subconsciously, to imitate or learn from this situation. The story of the witch and Rapunzel also teaches a lesson about the bond between a mother and her daughter. The witch has kept Rapunzel, now an adult woman, trapped in her tower her entire life. The witch keeps her in the tower for the sole purpose of keeping her safe, as she believes that the world is dangerous and dark, but that in the tower she can be removed from the harsh realities of the outside world. This seems to be a reflection of the original reasoning behind many fairy tales, as the witch is exactly the kind of person who probably told scary fairy tales to keep Rapunzel at home, not wanting to escape until She realizes there is more to do. the outside world as the danger described by The Witch. Into The Woods shows its agenda through the outcomes of its various characters. The Baker's story, which focuses mainly on marriage, family cohesion and raising children, conveys the message that one must be willing to work with one's family, which in this case also turns out to be diverse other fairy tale characters. like his real family, and that he must face his problems head on and without fear, and that the children in the story, after facing the challenges of the woods, become more capable and courageous. Rapunzel sets out and finds someone she loves in the woods, although she finds herself in an incredibly dangerous situation. This can be seen as an inversion of the normal depiction of these fairy tales, particularly the classic version of Little Red Riding Hood, where the story is used to frighten children into behaving in such a way that they don't find themselves in a dangerous situation, like finding themselves in a dangerous situation. lost in the woods or attacked by wildlife. Little Red Riding Hood is an example of a fairy tale that has been reused over and over again in an attempt to discourage certain types of behavior. Charles Perrault's version, in particular, emphasizes the moral very harshly, saying: "Children...should never talk to strangers, for if they did, they might very well give a wolf dinner." . I say “wolf,” but there are different kinds of wolves. There are also those who are charming, calm, polite, without.