Nadine Gourdimer, South African author of Jump and Other Stories (1989), constantly challenges the status-quo with her controversially affecting content. Once Upon a Time is a short story in which the narrator recounts a bedtime story of a poor family that suffers from tragedy due to their fear of outside threats. Gordimer adheres to fairy-tale conventions throughout the story by using simple words and stereotypical phrases. However, Gordimer also breaks from the conventions of fairy-tale writing by beginning with a parallel narrative outside of the fairytale and also using a reverse chronological order of formulaic incidents. These conventions, when combined, enhance the reader’s perception and increase the story’s literary worth exponentially.
Gordimer does not use more dramatic writing in her “bedtime stories” to preserve the simplicity of the fairy-tale style. Gordimer’s bedtime story begins with the words “in a home, in a suburb, or in a city, there were a husband and wife who loved very much.” (25). Gordimer’s opening line describes the simplicity of the setting via her parallelistic syntaxes and deliberately childish diction. Her repetitive writing style creates an easygoing mood for the reader but also sets a more serious tone for her. Another example is the multiple neighborhood warning signs that are posted in the neighborhood. Setting up conflict in the story is a simple way to remind the characters to protect themselves from invaders. The reminder continues throughout the story and changes the mood of the characters, making them feel more serious. Gordimer follows a fairy-tale convention in her simplistic approach to bedtime stories. The husband’s mother is often referred to as the “wise old Witch” by characters (28). By naming the grandmother “witch” in that manner, readers are reminded of fairy-tale lingo. Gordimer refers to the “Prince that braves thicket…and loves the Sleeping Beauty…” (30) and describes the boy as he goes on adventures, reenacting the story he is reading. The allusion is to Sleeping Beauty. Here, the Dragon-Teeth Barbed Wire fencing symbolises the thorny thicket the Prince has to traverse. Gordimer’s use of fairy-tale clichés, which typically lowers a story’s literary value and significance, gives her story a deeper level and raises its value tenfold.
Gordimer has included an autobiographical frame story in her text that contrasts with the story’s similarities with other fairy-tales. The frame story’s protagonist is asked to create a short story for children’s anthology books. She replies that she doesn’t write children’s stories (23) in the beginning. Paradoxically though, her honest statement matches the fact that she later misunderstands that she was writing a story for a children’s anthology book. One night, while pondering the ordeal, the narrator hears a creaking sound in her home. Despite her initial explanation of the sound, she admits that she has no burglar bars. However, she does have the same fears as people who take precautions (23-24). Thematically, this frame story is a continuation of the fairy-tale. While burglar bars are one of her characters’ precautions against outside dangers, it does not protect all homeowners from their paranoia. In each case, the autobiographical and bedtime stories complement one another in a way that enhances the whole narrative.
Gordimer also breaks from conventions by inverting the order of fairy-tale stories. Gordimer’s bedtime story begins with her family living happily ever after (25). This story contradicts the “Disneyfied”, modern-day formula, and it is still a reference to it. Gordimer ends the story by executing her “bleeding mass” reverse order. Gordimer’s brutal ending is reminiscent of the Grimm Brothers fairy-tales and could be read as conformity. However, it is still considered a deviation from modern literature and perspective. Gordimer’s dark themes have a unique component thanks to the fact that it is inverted order.
Gordimer’s overall style is a complex mix of conventions and her own unique style. While the story is specific to South Africans and the apartheid period, the message could be applicable to any society or culture anywhere in history. Gordimer illustrates different conventions that are conformist and dissimilar to the usual fairy-tale style and effortlessly conveys her cultural significance to her readers as well the artistic value of her tale to literary critics.
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