Once Upon a Time

When it comes to folklore, Jack Zipes '59 knows the sociohistorical code. A renowned scholar of literary fairy tales, Zipes has written and edited numerous critical books and ,collections of tales; including the definitive complete works of the Grimm brothers. "Fairy tales are not: just universal artifacts handed down from generation to generation,'' says Zipes. They are morally instructive stories that are "stamped, by gifted artists and keep changing according to:our culture and our politics; "To get at the cultural references in the tales,Zipes tries" togoto the orig- inal manuscripts and do his own translations from French, German, and Italian.

Last time he was at Dartmouth, Zipes delivered a lecture, "Of Cats and Men: The Origins of The LiteraryFairyTale and The Civilizing Process," in which he related different versions of "Pussin Boots" to show how fairy tales: are adapted to illustrate codes of behavior for adults and children that are appropriate to the times. Puss, for instance, was originally a female cat. "At that time women were recognized as facilitators of male power," Zipes explains. But in later times the catwas rewrit- ten as a male.

Zipes's recent book Creative Storytelling documents his storytelling workshops with elementary-school children. Zipes is chairman of the University of Minnesota's Department of German, Scandinavian, and Dutch, but he loves the creative energy and responsiveness of the children. He claims, "If I had it to do all over, I'd teach third grade." Nonetheless, his latest book, The Fairy Tales of Hennan Hesse, is definitely not recommended for third-graders.

Zipes says Puss in Boots underwent a sex change.