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Fairy godmothers are not common in fairy tales, but are often present in retellings such as Disney’s Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella. They are not always “absolutely good” and can make mistakes. In some stories, there are two fairy godmothers. Examples in literature include Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty.
A fairy godmother is commonly thought of as a kind of magical prop for a fairy tale character. In times of need, she steps in to play the role of parent or trusted friend and will lend her powers to the cause, ensuring that the protagonist succeeds and fulfills her true destiny. In most cases, this fate is overshadowed by the fact that the protagonist is orphaned by one or both of her parents and works under unjust circumstances. Other times, she falls victim to another curse, the cure for which is known only to the fairy godmother.
Contrary to popular perception, however, the presence of a fairy godmother is actually quite unusual in fairy tales. Perhaps part of the reason these figures have become so ubiquitous in our imaginations is because the stories containing them are overrepresented in contemporary retellings, as evidenced by the Disney films Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella, among others. Yet even these tales do not originally bear the myth of the figure. The older variants of Cinderella, for example, make no mention of a fairy godmother. Instead, the poor girl is helped by the spirit of her dead mother.
Another interesting detail is that in some stories with a fairy godmother, she is not always “absolutely good”. Indeed, in most cases, fairy godmothers are just as prone to mistakes as people and often try to help their protégés at the expense of others. Godmothers become very real godmothers in this context, very similar to godmothers in old social circles: they will try to exert their influence on behalf of their godchildren. In return, of course, they expected respect and gratitude. Interestingly, there have also been a few fairy tales with two fairy godmothers, one for the heroine and one for the evil stepsister.
Examples of fairy godmothers in popular literature include various versions of Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty, William Thackeray’s The Rose and the Ring, and CS Lewis’s The Wizard’s Nephew.
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