Infairy tales, afairy godmother (French:fée marraine; (Spanish:Hada Madrina) is afairy withmagical powers who acts as amentor or surrogateparent to someone, in the role that an actualgodparent was expected to play in many societies. The fairy godmother is a special case of thedonor.
Rather than stemming from folklore, these figures come from the fairy tales ofprécieuses, and their presence there influenced many later tales and fantasy based on fairy tales.
Actual fairy godmothers are rare in fairy tales but became familiar figures because of the popularity of the literary fairy tales ofMadame d'Aulnoy and otherprécieuses, andCharles 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 ofthe Fates; this is especially clear in "Sleeping Beauty", where they decree her fate, and are associated with spinning.[2]
In the tales ofprécieuses 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 have their interests.[3]
Typically, the fairy godmother's protégé is aprince orprincess, who is the protagonist of the story, and the godparent uses her magic to help or otherwise support them. The best known example is probably the fairy godmother in Charles Perrault's "Cinderella". Eight fairy godmothers appear inSleeping Beauty in Charles Perrault's version and in theGrimm Brothers' version titledLittle Briar Rose, the thirteen godmothers are called Wise Women. 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.
While fairy godmothers are traditionally portrayed as kind, gentle, and loving, there are exceptions. In "Sleeping Beauty" and "Little Briar Rose", a fairy not invited to the royal christening curses the eponymous princess to die from pricking her finger on a spindle, only for one of the invited fairies to alter the spell into a century-long slumber. InGabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve's fairy tale "Beauty and the Beast", the Prince's evil fairy godmother had not only turned him into a Beast for rejecting her marriage proposal but had even attempted to seduce his uncle, a king whose daughter (Beauty) a good fairyswitched at birth with a merchant's dead baby because said godmother tried to have the princess killed.
In the works of theprécieuses, French literary fairy tales, fairy godmothers act much as actual godmothers did among their social circles, exerting their benefits for their godchildren, but expecting respect in return.
Madame d'Aulnoy created a fairy godmother for the evil stepsister in her fairy taleThe Blue Bird; in this position, the fairy godmother's attempts to bring about the marriage of her goddaughter and the hero are evil attempts to impede his marriage with the heroine. Likewise, inThe White Doe, the fairy godmother helps the evil princess get revenge on the heroine. InFinette Cendron, the fairy godmother is the heroine's, but after helping her in the early portion of the tale, she is offended when Finette Cendron does not take her advice, and Finette must work through the second part with little assistance from her. Conversely, inHenriette-Julie de Murat'sBearskin, the heroine has a fairy godmother, but she is offended that the heroine's marriage was arranged without consulting her, and refuses to assist for some time, though eventually relenting.
Illustration toCinderella byGustave Doré: the fairy godmother preparing an enchantment for her goddaughter Cinderella.
Fairy godmothers appear frequently infairytale fantasy, especially comic versions and retellings ofCinderella andSleeping Beauty.Mercedes Lackey presents a gently lampooned version of the concept in herTales of the Five Hundred Kingdoms series, in which Fairy Godmothers are magically gifted women who monitor magical forces across the kingdoms. Whenever events are right for a fairy tale to recur, the relevant Fairy Godmother steps in to make sure that the tale in question runs its course with as few fatalities as possible.
InWilliam Makepeace Thackeray'sThe Rose and the Ring, the fairy Blackstick concludes that her gifts have not done her godchildren good; in particular, she has given two of her goddaughters the title ring and the title rose, which have the power to make whoever owns them beautiful, which have ruined the character of those goddaughters; with the next prince and princess, she gives them "a little misfortune", which proves the best gift, as their difficulties form their characters.[5]
InC. S. Lewis'sThe Magician's Nephew, whenUncle Andrew explains how he made the magical rings from dust left to him by his godmother, he points out that she may have had fairy blood, and so he might have been the last man to have a fairy godmother.[6]
In the television animated Halloween specialWitch's Night Out, the witch is mistaken for a "fairy godmother" by the two children, Small and Tender. Their sitter, Bazooey corrects them by addressing the fairy godmother as a "wicked witch".
InShrek 2, theFairy Godmother (voiced byJennifer Saunders) who appears is a conniving, crooked businesswoman (with a personality rather like that of the Stepmother in Cinderella), who is quite willing to resort to blackmail and/or murder to further her interests. The pure reason for helping princesses gain a happily ever after withPrince Charming is the fact that Prince Charming is the Fairy Godmother's son, and through the marriage, he will gain the throne. She also said to Shrek that she strongly believes that ogres don't live happily ever after.
In theDiscworld novelWitches Abroad, fairy godmothers are a type ofwitch. The main antagonist is a plotting fairy godmother,Lady Lilith de Tempscire (Lily, the sister of witchGranny Weatherwax), who uses thepower of stories and mirror magic to control the city ofGenua.Magrat Garlick becomes fairy godmother to Ella Saturday (the rightful ruler of Genua) following the death of Desiderata Hollow but throws away themagic wand at the end (as she was unable to use it for any purpose other than turning objects into pumpkins).
InThe Dresden Files novels (primarilyGrave Peril andSummer Knight), the main character, a modern wizard namedHarry Dresden is revealed to have a faerie godmother by the name ofLeanansidhe who enjoys ensnaring Harry in one-sided deals.
Fairy Godmother plays a leading role in the web seriesWish It Inc. She is portrayed byPortal voice actressEllen McLain.
The firstKing's Quest game features a fairy godmother of the main character Graham who can grant him invincibility.
Theotome gameMy Candy Love features a fairy godmother who will appear randomly and give the player gifts. She is a bit of an odd case in that she is implied to be an eccentric aunt who merely dresses as a fairy godmother.
In the TV seriesTrue Blood, Season 4, Episode 1, the character Sookie learns of her fairy heritage, including that she has a godmother who is a blood relative on her fairy side.
In the filmMaleficent, Princess Aurora, the Sleeping Beauty, mistakenly assumes Maleficent to be this, as the latter had been watching out for her since she was little, though Princess Aurora doesn't know about her curse or the person who cast it.
In thefourth season of the superhero seriesLegends of Tomorrow, the team hunts magical creatures across time that have escaped from Mallus' realm. One of the creatures is Tabitha (portrayed byJane Carr), the fairy godmother of a girl in 1692 inSalem, Massachusetts. She is later revealed to be a lover ofNeron and later tricks Nora Darkh into becoming the new fairy godmother. Tabitha helps Neron in his plan to open a portal to hell and attacks the Legends with a dragon called Wickstable, which originally hatched in youngZari Tomaz's possession, at Heyworld. When young Zari regains control of Wickstable, the dragon eats Tabitha before regressing to a baby dragon.
^Briggs, Katharine (1976). "Fairy godmother".A Dictionary of Fairies: Hobgoblins, Brownies, Bogies, and Other Supernatural Creatures. Pantheon Books. p. 147.ISBN0-394-73467-X.
^Prickett, Stephen (22 November 1980).Victorian Fantasy. Indiana University Press. pp. 69–70.ISBN0-253-17461-9.
^Daurio, Janice (2005). "Is It Good to be Bad?".The Chronicles of Narnia and Philosophy: The Lion, the Witch, and the Worldview. Gregory Bassham ed.; Jerry L. Walls, ed. p. 123.ISBN0-8126-9588-7.
