Charles Perrault
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| [[Image:La_fable_des_trois_souhaits_by_Wiertz.jpg|thumb|200px|right|''[[La Fable des trois souhaits — Insatiabilité humaine]]'' by Antoine Wiertz]] | [[Image:La_fable_des_trois_souhaits_by_Wiertz.jpg|thumb|200px|right|''[[La Fable des trois souhaits — Insatiabilité humaine]]'' by Antoine Wiertz]] | ||
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| - | '''Charles Perrault''' ([[January 12]], [[1628]] – [[May 16]], [[1703]]) was a [[France|French]] author who laid foundations for a new literary [[genre]], the [[fairy tale]]. | ||
| - | His best-known tales include ''Le Petit Chaperon rouge'' (''[[Little Red Riding Hood]]''), ''La Belle au bois dormant'' (''[[Sleeping Beauty]]''), ''Le Chat botté'' (''[[Puss in Boots (fairy tale)|Puss in Boots]]''), ''Cendrillon'' (''[[Cinderella]]''), ''Barbe Bleue'' (''[[Bluebeard]]''), ''Le Petit Poucet'' (''[[Hop o' My Thumb]]''), ''Les Fées'' (''[[Diamonds and Toads]]''), ''la patience de Grisélidis'' (''[[Patient Griselda]]''),''Les Souhaits'' (''[[The Ridiculous Wishes]]''), ''Peau d'Âne'' (''[[Donkeyskin]]'') and ''Ricquet à la houppe'' (''[[Ricky of the Tuft]]''). Perrault's most famous stories are still in print today and have been made into operas, ballets ( e.g., [[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky|Tchaikovsky]]'s ''[[The Sleeping Beauty (ballet)|Sleeping Beauty]]''), plays, musicals, and films, including the highly-successful animated features ''[[Cinderella (1950 film)|Cinderella]]'' and ''[[Sleeping Beauty (1959 film)|Sleeping Beauty]]'' by [[The Walt Disney Company]]. | + | '''Charles Perrault''' (1628 – 1703) was a [[French writer]] known for his [[fairy tale]]s. He laid the foundations for a new literary genre, the [[fairy tale]], with his works derived from earlier [[Folklore|folk tale]]s, published in his 1697 book ''[[Histoires ou contes du temps passé]]'' (''Stories or Tales from Past Times''). The best known of his tales include ''Le Petit Chaperon Rouge'' ("[[Little Red Riding Hood]]"), ''Cendrillon'' ("[[Cinderella]]"), ''Le Maître chat ou le Chat botté'' ("[[Puss in Boots]]"), ''La Belle au bois dormant'' ("[[Sleeping Beauty]]"), and ''Barbe Bleue'' ("[[Bluebeard]]"). |
| - | Perrault's tales were famously illustrated by [[Gustave Doré]]. | + | Some of Perrault's versions of old stories influenced the German versions published by the [[Brothers Grimm]] more than 100 years later. The stories continue to be printed and have been adapted to most entertainment formats. Perrault was an influential figure in the 17th-century French literary scene, and was the leader of the Modern faction during the [[Quarrel of the Ancients and the Moderns]]. |
| - | == Biography == | + | ==See also== |
| - | Perrault was born in [[Paris]] to a wealthy [[bourgeois]] family, the seventh child of Pierre Perrault and Paquette Le Clerc. Charles attended the best schools and studied law before embarking on a career in government service, following in the footsteps of his father and older brother Jean. He took part in the creation of the Academy of Sciences as well as the restoration of the Academy of Painting. In 1654, he moved in with his brother Pierre, who had purchased a post as the principal tax collector of the city of Paris. When the [[Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres|Academy of Inscriptions and Belles-Lettres]] was founded in 1663, Perrault was appointed its secretary and served under [[Jean Baptiste Colbert]], finance minister to [[King Louis XIV]]. [[Jean Chapelain]], [[Amable de Bourzeys]], and [[Jacques Cassagne]] (the King's librarian) were also appointed. Due to his position as Colbert's administrative aide, he was able to get his his brother, [[Claude Perrault]], rendition of the severe east range of the [[Louvre]], built between 1665 and 1680, to be seen by Colbert. It was chosen over designs by [[Gian Lorenzo Bernini]] and [[François Mansart]]. One of the factors leading to this choice included the fear of high costs, for which other architects were infamous, and second was the personal antagonism between Louis XIV and Bernini. | + | |
| - | He wrote ''La Peinture'' (''Painting'', 1668) to honor the king's first painter, [[Charles Le Brun]]. He also wrote ''Courses de testes et de bague'' (''Head and Ring Races'', 1670), written to commemorate the 1662 celebrations staged by Louis for his mistress, [[Louise de La Vallière|Louise-Françoise de La Baume le Blanc, duchesse de La Vallière]]. | + | * [[Antoine Galland]] |
| - | + | * [[Alexander Afanasyev]] | |
| - | He married Marie Guichon, age 19, in 1672, who died in 1678 after giving birth to a daughter. The couple also had three sons, Charles-Samuel (1675-?), Charles (1676-?), and Pierre (1678-?). Marie died in October of 1678, only months after Pierre's baptism. | + | * [[Brothers Grimm]] |
| - | + | * [[Charles Deulin]] | |
| - | [[Philippe Quinault]], who was a longtime family friend of the Perraults, was gaining a quick reputation as the librettist for the new musical genre known as [[opera]], collaborating with composer [[Jean-Baptiste Lully]]. After ''[[Alceste (Lully)|Alceste]]'' (1674) was denounced by traditionalists who rejected it for deviating from classical theater. In response, Perrault wrote ''Critique de l'Opéra'' (1674) and in it he praised the merits of ''Alceste'' over the [[Alcestis (play)|tragedy of the same name]] by [[Euripides]]. His [[treatise]] was one of the first documents of the literary debate that was later to become known as the [[Quarrel of the Ancients and the Moderns]]. | + | * [[Giambattista Basile]] |
| - | + | * [[Giovanni Francesco Straparola]], widely regarded as the first person to compile a collection of fairy tales | |
| - | He was a major participant in the French [[Quarrel of the Ancients and the Moderns]] (''Querelle des Anciens et des Modernes''), which pitted supporters of the literature of [[Classical antiquity|Antiquity]] (the "Ancients") against supporters of the literature from the century of [[Louis XIV of France|Louis XIV]] (the "Moderns"). He was on the side of the Moderns and wrote ''[[Le Siècle de Louis le Grand]]'' (''The Century of Louis the Great'', 1687) and ''[[Parallèle des Anciens et des Modernes]]'' (''Parallel between Ancients and Moderns'', 1688–1692) where he attempted to prove the superiority of the literature of his century. ''Le Siècle de Louis le Grand '' was written in celebration of Louis XIV's recovery from a life-threatening operation. Perrault argued that because of Louis's enlightened rule, the present age was superior in every respect to ancient times. He also claimed that even modern French literature was superior to the works of antiquity, and that, after all, even [[Homer]] nods. <!-- would be nice to have info on how these related to the debate, rather than just their titles... --> | + | * [[Gustave Doré]], created the illustration of a wolf and young girl |
| - | + | * [[Hans Christian Andersen]], who continued the fairy tale genre in the 19th century | |
| - | In 1682, Colbert gave his son, Jules-Armand, marquis d'Ormoy, the same tasks as Perrault and forced him into retirement at the age of fifty-six. Colbert would die the next year, and he stopped receiving the pension given to him as a writer. Colbert's successor, [[François Michel Le Tellier|François-Michel Le Tellier, marquis de Louvoi]], who was jealous of Colbert, quickly removed from the Little Academy. | + | * [[Madame d'Aulnoy]] |
| - | + | ||
| - | After this, in 1686, he decided to write [[epic poetry]] and show his genuine devotion to [[Christianity]], and wrote ''Saint Paulin, évêque de Nôle'' (''St. Paulinus, Bishop of Nola'', about [[Paulinus of Nola]]). Just like [[Jean Chapelain]]'s ''[[La Pucelle, ou la France délivrée]]'', an epic poem about Joan of Arc, Perrault became a target of mockery from [[Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux]]. | + | |
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| - | In 1695, when he was 67, he lost his post as secretary. He decided to dedicate himself to his children and published ''Tales and Stories of the Past with Morals'' (''[[Histoires ou Contes du Temps passé]]'') (1697), with the subtitle: ''Tales of [[Mother Goose]]'' (''Les Contes de ma Mère l'Oie''). Its publication made him suddenly widely-known beyond his own circles and marked the beginnings of a new literary genre, the [[fairy tale]]. He had actually published it under the name of his last son (born in 1678), Pierre (Perrault) Darmancourt ("Armancourt" being the name of a property he bought for him), probably fearful of criticism from the "Ancients". In the tales, he used images from around him, such as the [[Chateau Ussé]] for ''Sleeping Beauty'' and in ''Puss-in-Boots'', the Marquis of the [[Château d'Oiron]], and contrasted his folktale subject matter, with details and asides and subtext drawn from the world of fashion. He died in Paris in 1703 at age 75. | + | |
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| - | ==See also== | + | |
| - | *[[Madame d'Aulnoy]] | + | |
| - | *The [[Brothers Grimm]] retold their own versions of some of Perrault's fairy tales. | + | |
| - | * [[Hans Christian Andersen]] who continued the fairytale genre in the 19th century | + | |
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Charles Perrault (1628 – 1703) was a French writer known for his fairy tales. He laid the foundations for a new literary genre, the fairy tale, with his works derived from earlier folk tales, published in his 1697 book Histoires ou contes du temps passé (Stories or Tales from Past Times). The best known of his tales include Le Petit Chaperon Rouge ("Little Red Riding Hood"), Cendrillon ("Cinderella"), Le Maître chat ou le Chat botté ("Puss in Boots"), La Belle au bois dormant ("Sleeping Beauty"), and Barbe Bleue ("Bluebeard").
Some of Perrault's versions of old stories influenced the German versions published by the Brothers Grimm more than 100 years later. The stories continue to be printed and have been adapted to most entertainment formats. Perrault was an influential figure in the 17th-century French literary scene, and was the leader of the Modern faction during the Quarrel of the Ancients and the Moderns.
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See also
- Antoine Galland
- Alexander Afanasyev
- Brothers Grimm
- Charles Deulin
- Giambattista Basile
- Giovanni Francesco Straparola, widely regarded as the first person to compile a collection of fairy tales
- Gustave Doré, created the illustration of a wolf and young girl
- Hans Christian Andersen, who continued the fairy tale genre in the 19th century
- Madame d'Aulnoy
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