Charles Perrault's Profile

      Have you ever wondered about the origin of popular fairy tales? Who were the creative master minds behind them? Well, look no further. Charles Perrault wrote many of the most well-known fairy tales which have been translated into books, and now movies. Perrault's involvement in the Quarrel of the Ancients and the Moderns is what led him to become the renowned writer that he is today. 

      Perrault lived a rather eventful life full of many opportunities dealing with the arts. He was the seventh child born into a well to-do French family. Perrault went to school to become a lawyer but did not find that to be his calling in life; however, he was fortunate enough to have many connections to the royalty of France in the mid 1600's. This large network make it extremely easy for him to land himself yet another desirable job. For example, Perrault played a major role of the Quarrel of the Ancients and the Moderns (Zarucchi 293). This was a highly regarded position at his time and he had the ability to make an impact on people through his ability to write.  

      The Quarrel of the Ancients and the Moderns is where Perrault was able to express his modern thoughts. The quarrel began in the late 1600's and it was a "two front battle". According to Erin Daly the fronts were, "First was an argument over philosophical knowledge and the natural sciences: did the ancients know more than the moderns? The second debate involved literature and the arts: had the ancients perfected these areas?" (Daly). Obviously, Perrault was more concerned with the literature and the arts half of the quarrel and that is where he was able to make his first stance as a writer to the public. He had many people ridicule his view on how antiquity will not lead to enlightenment, but that did not stop him from preaching his word.

      The Quarrel of the Ancients and the Moderns allowed Perrault to get his foot into the door of a whole new genre of writing. With the completion of the quarrel, Perrault was already a well-known name, so he began his adventure with fairy tales. Within just a few years Perrault wrote eight fairy tales, some of them including: Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Puss in Boots, and Little Red Riding Hood. These fairy tales are what he is most noted for, but if it had not been for the quarrel and the opportunity for him to spread his thoughts prior to the release of the fairy tales there is a chance Perrault would have never became the influential writer he is known as today. 

1.Daly, Erin Moore. "The Quarrel Between the Ancients and the Moderns." Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies. University of  Northern Texas, n.d. Web. 3 Mar2011.<http://www.phil.unt.edu/resources/syllabi/fall05/ErinDaly.pdf>.

2 Zarucchi, Jeanne Morgan. "Charles Perrault."Dictionary of Literary Biography. 268. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Web. <https://blackboard.unh.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsptab_tab_group_id=noActiveTabGroup& url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackb

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