Man, have I been ignoring Beowulf

But I have started Bettelheim's The Uses of Enchantment, which has some interesting ideas about what's going on with fairy tales and how they relate to myths.

He argues that myths are inherently pessimistic because they, among other things, discuss the greatness that only a given person can achieve - in this case it would be Beowulf.

Whereas one may be able to emulate Hrothgar and live a life like his (honest and fair, fierce in battle and loved by his comrades), they'll never have a chance to be Beowulf. That is, Hrothgar is a normal guy who sticks to his guns, but Beowulf is a superhero - he's got a good pedigree and some stuff that us normal mortals don't, and never will, have.

Another point Bettleheim makes (or at least one I'm extrapolating, but we can argue my take on it rather than his actual idea) is that fairy tales are inherently optimistic because they promise living "happily ever after" while myths have definite endings that are either pessimistic (think of the Greeks getting chained to a rock, being stuck in Hades, etc.) or ridiculous enough that no one would believe them on a subconcious level (going to heaven as it were).

Fairy tales discuss things in broad terms whereby it's easy for one to imagine themselves in the role (there's a prince, a stepdaughter, etc.) while myths are about specific people. Nonetheless, while myths present a manner of living that the authors* feel we should be living up to, they either make the payoff unbelievable or unattainable.

Of course, the idea of fate played a very strong role in Norse mythology and even though it was every man's lot to fight and die and one day the world would likewise perish, the honor was in the act, not necessarily the reward, so they soldiered on.

OK, not sure where I was going with that, but it seemed relevant at the time.

* Authors is of course plural because of the myriad tellings and retellings of the story. Presumably the story was altered with each telling depending on the interests of the audience.