What is the importance of the fairy tale motif in the book, Fairy Tale: A Novel?

King incorporates references to a variety of fairy tales in his novel to help the reader think of the story as a fairy tale rather than just a horror or fantasy novel. Rumpelstiltskin frequently appears in the novel to keep him in the front of Charlie’s mind so he will remember how to destroy Gogmagog when he encounters that novel. King is able to adapt his writing to the style of a fairy tale because so many fairy tales are horror stories when read in their original forms.

Without the references to fairy tales, King’s readers might interpret this novel as just another of King’s horror stories. Unrealistic situations — like other worlds, horrible creatures, and curses — are often staples of King’s writing. King includes references and comparisons to other fairy tales to help the reader think of his novel specifically as a fairy tale. For instance, Charlie indicates at one point: “Elden was this world’s Cthulhu, as surely as Dora was the old woman who lived in a shoe and Leah was the goose girl” (522). In these comparisons, Charlie points out the way his story is like a fairy tale. Charlie, however, argues with the idea that he is a fairy tale prince. This argument suggests that King is intent on breaking some of the stereotypes of the fairy tale, like evil is always evil and good is always good. He explores the possibility that people, even those in fairy tales, are capable of change.

Rumpelstiltskin is a frequent character in the story so that Charlie will remember how to overcome Gogmagog when he encounters him near the dark well. There are various references to Rumpelstiltskin. For instance, Charlie’s mother dies on the bridge over the Little Rumple River. In one of the original versions of Rumpelstiltskin, the villain was known as Rumple. Charlie compares both Polley and Peterkin with Rumpelstiltskin. "Rumpelstiltskin" is one of the fairy tales Charlie reads when he checks out a book that contains the original forms of these stories. He remembers his mother reading the story to him when he was a child. As Charlie is standing at the well, thinking about how to put Gogmagog back to sleep, he thinks: “Always "Rumpelstiltskin." From the very beginning. The Original Fairy Tale, you might say. And how did the queen’s daughter get rid of that troublesome elf?” (556). Just like Rumpelstiltskin was put back in his place when the queen’s daughter guessed his name, Gogmagog retreats into his well when Charlie calls his name.

Charlie is surprised to learn how violent many fairy tales are in their original form. As Charlie thinks more and more about fairy tales, he begins to research these tales. He takes away from one book: “So far as I could make out, the author of that particular chapter was saying there were actually two beanstalk stories: the bloodthirsty original and the sanitized version kids got in Mom-approved Little Golden Books … ” (183). For instance, in the original Jack and the Beanstalk, the giant had eaten Jack’s father. In Goldilocks, there was no little girl, but instead, a cruel old woman who broke into the bears’ house and destroyed their belongings. In the original "Rumpelstiltskin," Rumpelstiltskin was so angry when the queen’s daughter guessed his name that he tore himself in two.