History Creator / AsbjornsenAndMoe

* BeautyEqualsGoodness: Both played straight and defied/subverted as AnAesop.

* AnAesop: Most of the stories have a clear moral to them -- though a fair few (especially the more comedic ones) don't.

%%* FairyGodmother: Virgin Mary takes this role in one story.

* {{Bowdlerise}}: To make the stories more likable for the higher classes, the tales were amended somewhat. The name "Ashlad" stands out, as the rural name for the lad is "ash fart" (Askefisen), more to the point on blowing/"farting" on the embers. But the upper classes would never accept it, hence the Ashlad. In the very first edition, his name was "Askepot", a name more commonly associated with Literature/{{Cinderella}}.

* ThePromise: Many heroes and heroines have to make some kind of promise to one of their helpers. Whether or not it's kept depends on the nature of the promise: If the promise is meant to keep the hero(ine) safe from harm then it'll always be broken and lead to complications or danger, but if the promise is meant to aid or reward the ''helper'' it's usually kept.

Creator/JRRTolkien singled this one out for discussion in "Literature/OnFairyStories" when discussing WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids: though the translator did not bowlderize, he did forbid children to read the last two stories, under the assumption that they were the natural audience.

* PersonOfMassDestruction: The last of the sevcn helpers in the "Good Helpers" tale has "seven summers and fifteen winters in his body". Thus, he constantly keeps his hand over his mouth, because, as he says: "If I let them all out, they would end the world in an instant..."

* BalefulPolymorph: Happens to a lot of the [[DamselInDistress Damsels in Distress]] and {{Distressed Dude}}s in the story. The lucky ones are transformed into animals and are often still capable of speaking and aiding the hero -- the unlucky ones are turned into stone or inanimate objects.

* {{Curse}}: They flourish in these tales, most of them involving some form of BalefulPolymorph.

* DamselInDistress: Plenty. The number of fair maidens and princesses who are kidnapped by trolls, under weird curses or similar is high -- though interestingly enough they're seldom portrayed as ''completely'' helpless; they usually aid in their own rescue by giving the hero good advice or present him with some kind of magical aid to make the task easier.

->''"The Norwegian folk tales are the best there is . . . They surpass almost any other."''

* TheDividual: The Ashlad's older brothers, usually named Peter and Paul, are only important as contrasts to him -- being the older, more favored brothers who think themselves better than him but end up falling flat on their faces. Usually they don't even get individual spoken lines but share all dialogue.
** Several adaptations have tried to individualize them to a bigger degree; in these the most common one seems to be to make Peter, the oldest, the bragging SmallNameBigEgo while Paul, the middle child, is a dull-witted YesMan who just follows Peter's lead but is often portrayed as more sympathetic. When Peter W. Cappelen adapted many of the fairy tales for stage, he gave the two brothers distinct characterizations; one was a food-obsessed glutton while the other was a penny-pinching and money-obsessed miser... though it varied from play to play which was which.

* FairyGodmother: Virgin Mary takes this role in one story.
* FairyTale: Duh.

* TheLostWoods: A fairly common setting, and there's always at least one big, dangerous troll present. Special mention must go to the three metal forests in ''Katie Woodencloak''; the first is made entirely out of copper, the second of silver and the third of gold, each one is thick and dense and almost impossible to pass through without harming one or more of the metal trees -- and when you involuntarily do, the troll who owns the forest shows up to kill you for your impudence.

* "Literature/GullibleMenAndMeanWives" (''Dumme menn og troll til kjerringer).

* ForbiddenFruit: In some stories the protagonist is explicitly told that there is ''one'' thing (s)he absolutely must not do -- anything from opening a certain door, to look at their lover's true face before a certain amount of time has passed, or to sit on the edge of a well. Normally the protagonist means it when promising to refrain from that one thing, but then the temptation gets too great, or the promise is forgotten in a careless moment, and you can guess the rest.
%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

* MovingTheGoalposts: Kings are prone to this.

* EarnYourHappyEnding: Oh yes, especially in the longer fairytales. The protagonists have to go through quite a lot and face many harshships before they can live HappilyEverAfter.

** The Norwegian version states a classical {{social criticism}} when the CountryMouse leaves for the hills. The Cat is associated with the tax collector, a person who were thoroughly disliked by the farmers. CountryMouse says that she'd rather be at home, than be pestered by "such a hawk".

* CinderellaCircumstances: Shows up in a number of stories, most notably ''Katie Woodencloak,'' which has been called "the Norwegian Cinderella."

* ''Literature/GullibleMenAndMeanWives'' (''Dumme menn og troll til kjerringer).

* TakeThat: The officials, like the tax collectors, sheriffs, well to do farmers (big shots), and quarrelsome husbands and wives. Sometimes the priests also get it. The stories were told by farmers to other farmers, and the officials were their natural enemies.