Afterword

Abstract

For millennia the gods and demons in brief narratives wielded magic mainly in their own interest. Changing that paradigm required a changed vision of the human condition vis-à-vis the world of demons and divinities. It also required a new belief in the importance, desirability, and legitimacy of earthly well-being, rather than postponing well-being until a heavenly afterlife. These changes occurred at a time when the technology of print could confirm and spread them, resulting in the phenomenon of fairy tale magic as it has come down to us.