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In the present paper, reference will be made to the contribution of literature and fairy tales in the formation of the child's character and to the clarification of the differentiation of the role of the central characters in a fairy tale from the past to the present. Through the historical review, the study of the world of children and children's culture is presented, which was based on the assumption that children are special and different from adults from the 18th century onwards. Children's culture is constantly being formed and reconstructed and is linked to other social factors. This is followed by a clarification of the concept of literacy through the functional role (the way it works), the semantic role (constructing meanings), the dependent role (meanings are influenced by the socio-cultural context) and finally, the semiotic role (constructing meanings). The following chapters present and analyze the central male and female roles in two classic fairy tales (Cinderella and Snow White), their relationship with the other characters and their effect on children. The third chapter presents the differences that can be found in contemporary children's literature. The fourth chapter presents the villains and anti-heroes (as well as stereotypes) in fairy tales through the passage of time, while the final and fifth chapter analyses the benefits of fairy tales for children.