A character does not survive in a fairy tale because he or she hopes to survive: The character survives by perfectly navigating a story’s precise and mysterious hurdles. (This could mean sitting in a world beneath this world for years with an ogre, but that isn’t passive: It is a means to survival when there is no other escape.) The harmonious world of a fairy tale is often misunderstood as static.

Kate Bernheimer in The Literarian article found here that includes a conversation between writers about fairy tales and how they’ve influenced their work. (via danielledavisreadsandwrites)