Actual fairy godmothers are rare in fairy tales, but became familiar figures because of the popularity of the literary fairy tales of Madame d'Aulnoy and other précieuses, and Charles Perrault. Many other supernatural patrons feature in fairy tales; these include various kinds of animals and the spirit of a dead mother.[1] The fairy godmother has her roots in the figures of the Fates; this is especially clear in Sleeping Beauty, where they decree her fate, and are associated with spinning.[2]
In the tales of précieuses and later successors, the fairy godmother acts in a manner atypical of fairies in actual folklore belief; they are preoccupied with the character and fortunes of their human protegees, whereas fairies in folklore had their own interests.[3]
"It was her fairy godmother!" Illustration to Cinderella
"It was her fairy godmother!" Illustration to Cinderella
Typically, the fairy godmother's protégé is a prince or princess and the hero of the story, and the godparent uses her magic to help or otherwise support them. The most well-known example is probably the fairy godmother in Charles Perrault's Cinderella. Multiple fairy godmothers appear in Sleeping Beauty, in both Charles Perrault's and the Grimm Brothers's variants, including one evil, offended one. The popularity of these versions of these tales led to this being widely regarded as a common fairy-tale motif, although they are less common in other tales.
Indeed, the fairy godmothers were added to Sleeping Beauty by Perrault; no such figures appeared in his source, "Sole, Luna, e Talia" by Giambattista Basile.[4] In the Grimm Brothers' variant of Cinderella, Aschenputtel is aided not by her fairy godmother but by her dead mother.[5] A great variety of other figures may also take this place.
