How has the Depiction of the Folkloric Figure of the Fairy Evolved?

Abstract

This thesis examines the evolution of the folkloric figure of the fairy, tracing how various societies imagined, depicted, and represented fairies across time and space. Unlike previous academic works, this thesis argues that five key “evolution causations” contributed to collective understandings of the fairy’s characteristics, attributes, and capabilities. Paying special attention to early fairy depictions in Ireland, Scotland, and England; Victorian era depictions in Britain and America; and contemporary Pop Culture depictions in America, I will analyze this evolution in connection with how the folkloric figure has been presented in various forms during its evolution in the locations of Ireland, Scotland, Britain, and America. Some of these cited evolution causations have been major factors in the evolution of the depiction of the fairy figure, while others have been minor but have still had some effects on the evolution of the depiction of the folkloric figure. By examining these causations, several paths of evolution are identified as well as several depictions of the folkloric figure of the fairy. This approach is important because by looking at the folkloric figure of the fairy in this new way, this approach allows us to understand how the figure has been used by several cultures for identity purposes, as a tool to record cultural history, and for its ability to create cultural cohesiveness. We also are able to see how the figure was used in cross-cultural exchanges and how the figure was used by different cultures for their own purposes.