Category: Fairy Tale

Fairy tales have been around for many generations, heavily involved in our modern culture and formation since we were kids. Many of these old fictional stories were originated in the old Germanic culture, like Cinderella, Rapunzel, and Snow White, and have been passed through many generations by means of storytelling. Many of these tales often resemble the common pattern of the misery of a beautiful woman against evil, and her salvation by marrying a prince and becoming a princess. Modern society has absorbed these stories deep into our cultural values, but since most fairy tales are really old and belong to a different culture, these are usually a source of stereotypes and even inaccurate role models inside our society. Consequently, western culture as well as many others around the world, have been influenced by the inaccurate models for beauty and personal values as well as several stereotypes and beliefs all contained in the charm of fairy tales.

For instance, in most of these fictional stories, young girls in our society are delighted with the common stereotypical model of what a princess looks like. The princess’ beauty, is the factor that makes them different and thus princesses, but what about their moral values? For example, we have the tale of Snow White, in which it is depicted the beauty of this young girl as being glamorous, and thus the main cause for her misery and salvation. Everything in the story of Snow White from the envy of her stepmother to the prince falling in love with her rotates around her beauty. However, the values directed to the character of a princess, like goodness, honesty, intelligence, and courage are replaced by innocence, passiveness, and beauty. It teaches the youngest in our society, especially young girls the wrong and shallow format that “only good looking people can find love and happiness while unattractive people are evil and deserve miserable lives” (U.) which is also seen with Cinderella and her stepsisters. This sometimes could even affect the “self-esteem of young girls while setting children up to be shallow and uninterested other people’s personalities” (U.). Therefore, the stereotype for beauty that has influenced many generations in the western culture which is depicted in most fairy tales, follows an outdated and shallow description of what beauty represents in a person since the personality and moral values can be deeper and more representative of the universal format for the beauty of a person.

Also, fairy tales very often depict the feminine model of a stepmother as being evil. For example, in the tales of Cinderella, Snow White, and Rapunzel it is not the male figure who stands as being the villain, but the stepmother, and in some other tales, again some female figure represents evil, like in the tale of the Sleeping Beauty. This has enrooted in western culture the belief of stepmother as being rude or cruel, this could be considered a stereotype since this is not always the case. For example, in our culture today it is noticeable the difference we feel even when we mention the word ‘stepmother’ versus ‘stepfather’. This difference may be perpetuated by the fact that since we were kids, we saw the representation of evil linked to the figure of the stepmother in almost every fairy tale we watched, read or heard. Regarding the fairy tale representation of a stepmother, “The pervasive image of the malefic stepmother has real-life consequences… A three-year study by Auckland University doctoral candidate Anna Miller found that a majority of stepmothers felt they were treated as if they played a negative role in their stepchild’s life” (Maddeaux). In fact, “Despite cultural depictions” of stepmothers “ruining their stepchildren’s lives through sinister plots… research by Athabasca University in Calgary shows they often serve as the glue that holds a family together after a divorce, providing essential support to children” (Maddeaux). Therefore, the representation of the evil stepmother or mother or anyone related to a child’s life constitutes in western culture a stereotype that makes it harder for modern stepmothers to cope with their role within a family.

Furthermore, the salvation of every beautiful woman in most fairy tales doesn’t come from the fact that they are capable, smart and brave, but from the fact that their beauty impressed some prince, and he came to save her from evil. Is this the right role model for especially girls in our culture, who grow inspired and parallel to the model of princesses that solely rely on her beauty to succeed? In tales like Rapunzel, Cinderella, Snow White, and others the common pattern of Prince Charming liberating them from evil always comes to play. For example, in the tale of Rapunzel, having she all the means to escape from that tower, she had to wait many years so that a prince could come and save her from her imprisonment. This leaves the audience with a helpless, vulnerable and dependent role model of a woman or princess, and this audience is full of young girls that grow inspired by the belief of a Prince Charming. For example, in the tale of Cinderella, ‘the messages being received about gender by children from this story are flawed… Children, mostly young girls, are probably led to believe that a handsome man will be the solution to all of their future problems, which is not a very good universal message for young children” (Kr44). Furthermore, the need of every fairy tale princess “to change in order to get a man to like them and the lack of empowered women” in most of these tales could cause “ young girls to think they should be dependent on men, and young boys to think they are more powerful than girls” (U.). The dependence of the woman character upon man, which is depicted in most fairy tales could be considered in modern western culture as being an inaccurate and nonprogressive representation of the modern woman, which is being tough to the youngest in our society.

In short, fairy tales follow a common pattern for the representation of influential characters like a princess, prince, and stepmother which generally don’t connect with the actual beliefs in western culture, since these tales’ beliefs are outdated. Today, the dependence of princesses like Cinderella, Snow White, Rapunzel, and others upon being saved by a prince is considered as an unprogressive representation of a woman’s role. Also, the representation of a princess possessing only physical beauty as part of their character teaches the youngest at home a mistaken universal representation of beauty, which is shallow as it badly depicts moral values. Furthermore, the stereotype of a ‘wicked stepmother’ which is present in most fairy tales creates real consequences in the modern role of stepmothers, making it even more difficult for women to cope with this role in blended families. Because of these negative influences of fairy tales in western culture, movie industries like Disney have created and tried to reshape different princess’ models for today’s fairy tales, like for example in ‘Mohana’ and ‘Tangled Ever After’. These princesses, unlike Cinderella or Snow White, are depicted as being more active, courageous and independent, providing a new generation of children, especially girls, with an empowered view of their capabilities reflected not just in the beauty, but in the moral values of modern princesses.

Fairy tales are quite a common occurrence in today’s society due to their popularity from children. They can be introduced in many different forms, including movies, books, and songs. As we get older, we begin to realize the deeper meanings from the stories’ history, and the impact these pieces of literature have on our culture. In order to truly understand, we must first interpret what a fairy tale is. With that being said, a fairy tale, fairytale, wonder tale, magic tale, or Märchen is an instance of a folklore genre that takes the form of a short story. Such stories typically feature entities such as Dwarfs, Dragons, Elves, Fairies, Giants, Gnomes, Goblins, Griffins, Mermaids, Trolls, Witches, and usually magic or enchantment. In most cultures, there is no clear line separating myth from folk or fairy tale; all these together form the literature of preliterate societies: Fairy tales may be distinguished from other folk narratives such as legends (which generally involve belief in the veracity of the events described) and explicitly moral tales, including beast fables. The term is mainly used for stories with origins in European tradition and, at least in recent centuries, mostly relates to children’s literature. Fairy tales occur both in oral and in literary form; the name ‘fairy tale’ (‘Conte de fées’ in French) was first ascribed to them by Madame d’Aulnoy in the late 17th century. Many of today’s fairy tales have evolved from centuries-old stories that have appeared, with variations, in multiple cultures around the world. The history of the term fairy tale is particularly difficult to trace because only the literary forms can survive.

There are many ways to describe these kinds of stories. One of the ways you can describe them, according to the American Heritage Dictionary (2016), is a “tale.” Some of the definitions for “tale” are “A malicious story, piece of gossip, or petty complaint”, “A deliberate lie; a falsehood”, or “A narrative of real or imaginary events; a story.” Another way to describe them according to Webster’s Dictionary (online) (year) defines “folk tale” as “a tale circulated by word of mouth among the common folk” from a story. Many characters go into these stories. One of the main characters that happen to appear in the story Beauty and the Beast is a fairy. Dictionary.com (online) defines a “fairy” as “one of a class of supernatural beings, generally conceived as having a diminutive human form and possessing magical powers with which they intervene in human affairs,” and a “fairy tale” as a type of “story, usually for children, about elves, hobgoblins, dragons, fairies, or other magical creatures.”

The term “fairy tale” dates back to the 17th century with Charles Perrault’s “Histoires ou Contes du Temps passé”, which translates to Tales of Mother Goose. These tales consisted of a few classics we know and love today, such as Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, and Puss in Boots. These stories, filled with fanciful fairies, magic, and monsters, were passed down over countless years and many generations, and have been both sources of instruction as well as words of caution. In fairy tales we often see a repeated theme — a character will experience pain, suffering or confusion then have a eureka moment in order to miraculously, and against all odds, come out on top.

Fairy tales we know today are not the same as their original version. The original versions of fairy tales are most often gruesome and inappropriate, implying they were intended for adults. However, in the 19th and 20th centuries, the stories were revised to be introduced as children’s literature. The first to begin the change were the Brothers Grimm in 1812. They didn’t create the tales they wrote but instead collected the stories from different people around Europe to merge all different stories into one single copy. The versions they made of the fairy tales were not intended for children until they rewrote the stories to be fit for kids.

A fairy tale or magic tale is a folklore genre that contains imaginative stories. It is often meant for kids, featuring wonderful characters like wizards, goblins, dwarfs, dragons, giants and sometimes fairies. The term “fairy” refers more to the fantastic settings of the stories influenced by the magical characters of the story. Being a literary genre, they take root in the oral tradition and were passed down from generation to generation before being recorded in books.

But why do fairy tales matter? Do they matter because they bring magic into a world that needs, ultimately, a lot of saving? Or, maybe because the world needs more superheroes so that little boys and girls grow up believing they can change the world? Since the beginning of time, humans have been telling stories. To stay safe and cozy at night, to chase the storm away. We like stories about a different world, a world larger than ourselves, about heroes and heroines. We like stories with characters that we can look up to. I believe that with every generation a new “superhero” is born, a new “power” that drives us through everyday life. The same goes for fairy tales, with every generation, a new version of a fairy tale is born, a version that fits the needs of a new society. Times change, and we change with them, what works for us now will not be functional in a few years. Fairy tales are a pure form of escapism, by reading them people seek for comfort. They can help us see parts of ourselves otherwise invisible or perhaps even unimaginable, parts that we are unaware of but want to release. Reading is a way of thinking about yourself. You become a better person because of it and it aids in maintaining your intellectual and moral integrity. To me, the most fascinating aspect of reading or watching fairy tales is the “snowballing” effect of it, no matter how many times you’ve read or watched a certain fairy tale you’ll always learn something new about it and about yourself through it. That’s why we should all revisit fairy tales from time to time. For the sake of the adventure and for making the impossible seem possible again.

The great C.S. Lewis said, “Someday you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.” I came across this quote a few days ago, and it really stuck with me. We look for answers in stories, not in textbooks. They are not only for children, they are for all of us. Fairy tales can teach us valuable lessons. They have great impact on the choices we make and present life from a different perspective. Because, sometimes, you need a happily ever after to remind you that happiness still exists in the world, and that goodness has an impact on an imperfect world.

Fairy tales are crucial in the development of a child’s imagination for it is through stories that they learn appropriate behaviors and morals accepted in our society. Fairy tales make up the foundation of most books in children’s literature, making it almost impossible for any child to grow up without reading at least one fairytale. But after re-analyzing these stories in this course, I’ve found that there is a distinct trend being fed to young, malleable minds: to silence women in order to make them passive. Rather than merely telling an innocent tale, these fairytales are effectively exercising power over women and reinforcing the idea that women are meant to be wives and mothers, submissive, and beautiful. If they decide to stray from this ideal, they are then deemed evil. It very much feels as if there are only two categories in which women can fall under (neither that great) which leads me to believe that fairy tales maintain gender inequality.

Women are predominant in the narrative of fairy tales. Characters such as Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Red Riding Hood as well as their evil counterparts are all women (except for Red Riding Hood). While these women are the stars of their tales, they represent two extremes with two completely different outcomes. The witches or evil stepmothers customarily end up if not dead with nothing, while the beautiful virtuous women are then saved by her handsome prince. It is through the descriptions of their physical appearance that children can deduce who is who: beauty and goodness vs. ugliness and evil. This exemplifies that attractiveness is one of the most important attributes a woman can possess leading to young girls to then grow up caring most about their physical appearance in favor of anything else. The best example of this ideal is in the fairy tale of Cinderella where she symbolizes all that is good and for that reason attracts the prince unlike her evil step sisters (citation). Another example is in Sleeping Beauty, where Rose is literally gifted with these attributes, “She will be the most beautiful person in the world…she will have the disposition of an angel… her every movement will be marked by gracefulness…” (Tatar 123). It is with these specific qualities that she then attracts the handsome prince and stands out amongst the rest. Overall it is goodness and beauty that is ultimately rewarded and seen as the ticket to a happily ever after.

While beauty plays a large role, I would say that in fairy tales, passivity is the most valued and honored attribute associated to women. For it is never a female who has the strength or smarts to save herself aka have agency; it is up to her knight in shining armor to save the day. In the tale of Sleeping Beauty she is awakened by a kiss from her one true love, Cinderella is whisked away from her miserable home life thanks to Prince Charming (citation). Neither of these women are able to accomplish anything on their own. Now you may be reading this and think that princes are a dated phenomenon but finding your “perfect” man is just a modern retelling of this. So the fact that young girls are understanding that a man equals a lifelong promise of happiness, leads to them believing marriage is the only acceptable answer. This may be the reason why for example STEM careers are lacking women, for if a girl is labeled as smart and possibly more intelligent than a man, she may be seen as less attractive. So in the years of middle school in which we are most critical of ourselves, why would young girls want to sabotage themselves when they are already so self conscious about their physical appearance? This may just me analyzing my own experience through fairy tales but I believe that it is one that parallels many other young girls.

Not only do fairy tales present the values in which girls must try to possess, but these tales are equally embedded with warnings of the possible perils that will infringe upon those who choose to stray from this path. For example in Red Riding Hood an innocent young girl becomes the victim of a wolf once she leaves her home (citation). She exudes confidence as she travels through the forest alone in order to get to grandmother’s. Fearlessly she confides in the wolf and in the end painfully learns from this mistake when she joins her grandmother in the depths of the wolf’s stomach. This tale teaches readers to avoid talking to strangers but underlyingly shows young girls that venturing alone is a dangerous, dark path to walk down. While this could refer to the dangers of sexual predators it still dissuades women from having agency (citation). Red Riding Hood is just another example of society’s push to silence and oppress women by making them passive because it does not support female independence.

When a female character chooses to be ambitious she is almost always portrayed as wicked, ugly, and scheming to bring mayhem over another woman. The tale of Cinderella with her evil stepmother is an example where the stepmother bears negative personality characteristics such as jealousy, pride, and cruelty (citation). While I don’t see Cinderella’s stepmother as a misunderstood character, is it so wrong that she simply wanted her daughters to marry the prince? She probably did not need to harass Cinderella but as a mother, don’t you want the best for your child?

Fairy tales have portrayed women as either attractive or atrocious never anything that could possibly fall in between. This constraint has been conveyed in countless fairytales as part of characters’ external and internal attributes. However, with fairy tales now being made into major Hollywood film productions it is crucial that we update these stories for the modern audience. It is important that young girls grow up with icons that will inspire them to choose from a variety of paths instead of a singular one. If film is meant to reflect what is currently happening in society so should our fairy tales.

Young girls and women in this decade see Disney princesses as role models and believe that prince charming is the man who is going to save the day, that princesses are these perfect and beautiful women that just stands by and that cannot make a decision for themselves, this is what most girls lookup to instead of realizing the true side of fairy tales. When society thinks of a princess, they think long blonde hair, skinny waist, white skin, and damsel in distress that needs saving from a handsome strong man. The idea of a perfect princess has wrongly influenced the society that a princess isn’t brave, has insecurities or any flaws at all. In most princesses’ stories, there’s a pattern of the same blonde pale skin girl that needs saving, for example, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Cinderella and the list goes on. There wasn’t a true intelligent princess that saved herself until “Brave” came out, and society did not really look up to this princess because she wasn’t the typical damsel in distress. These themes are flawed because princesses should show women that they don’t need a man to save their day, and that there’s a variety of women with different skin color, hair type, body type, and that not everything is about beauty but also intelligence, that princesses are not just there to look pretty but that they can also be the hero of the story.

The first fairy tale that started the idea of a damsel in distress was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, she also showed how for her to stay in the house of the dwarfs, she has to cook and clean the house for them, this is a stereotypical representation that women do the chores in the house while men work (Gupta 2017). Years ago women used to have the set of mind that their job is cleaning the house and cooking, snow-white gives the example of that, and as time went by women realized that they wanted to be more independent and that working should be seen as not something that the men aren’t the only one that does it in the house but also women. Snow White starts her story by singing and wishing about the day that a man comes and saves her from her miserable life (Disney evolution N.D), then at the end of the story, the prince ends up saving her by a true loves kiss, when she could have not been so naïve about a poison apple and saved herself, this story from the start till the end basically shows Snow White and her idea of prince charming coming to save her. Snow white is an example of the basic stereotypes of women and damsel in distress, she does not do anything in her story that can inspire society and young girls, she basically gave the message that women are meant to be saved by a handsome prince, and that woman should enjoy cleaning and cooking (Abbadessa and Jenkins 2019).

Other fairy tales that young girls see as role models are sleeping beauty and cinderella, they are both the examples that princesses are shown as beautiful blonde white pale women with no imperfections. In Cinderella’s story it shows how beauty plays a significant role by making her stepsisters with a dark hair, dark skin tones, and ugly features while Cinderella has fair skin, blonde hair, and is known as having beautiful features (Gupta 2017). Basically, Cinderella story gives the message that if you are pretty enough a rich prince will come and save you. In sleeping beauty, princess Aurora is also an example of the standards of beauty in a princess, by a prince that completely doesn’t know her but just because she is beautiful, he decides to kiss her and wake her from her spell (Abbadessa and Jenkins 2019). Society is used to accepting that all the action is left with the prince while in this case in sleeping beauty, Aurora just sits and waits for him (Zahra 2017). Aurora just like Snow white also has a very similar story of a damsel in distress and that the only way to save herself was by a charming prince once again, and giving the message to the society that women are just meant to sit there and look pretty when they can be the hero of the story.

Girls and most of society have the belief and idea that a princess should be beautiful but dumb, and when this belief changes, society seems to not really look at it because they are so used to this type of perfect princess. An example is in the movie brave which includes a princess call Merida who is completely different from all the other Disney princesses, she is more independent, saves herself, and has more of a tomboy look than girly look, she breaks all the other princess stereotypes (Hains 2012). It seems as the movie did not really catch people’s attention because society has grown up with the fact that a princess cannot be independent and be the hero of the story. In the movie brave, princess Merida does not fall in love as every typical princess does, and she ends up saving her mom from the mistake she learned (Munkittrick 2012). This gives a great message to young girls that princesses are more than just a pretty face and a nice voice, that they can also be the hero of the story. In brave it shows more of a mother-daughter relationship while most Disney princesses usually don’t have a mother or really care about family as a big deal, they are more worried about finding their true love (Flynn 2015). Merida has completely given a twist from Disney princesses.

Fairy tales for a long time have given the wrong message to young girls and most of society, the damsel in distress theme features in most of the Disney princess movies and most princesses are usually white, thin, and blonde (Abbadessa and Jenkins N.D.). Princesses as Aurora and Cinderella were more like accessories through their movies because the movie made the prince the hero of the story by saving them instead of the princesses being naïve and not able to save themselves, this shows how men in these movies are shown as the dominant gender while women are more dependent (Gupta 2017), however, all of this is something society is so used to look at a princess. When people see this idea of perfect princess change, people do not really pay attention to it, just like in the movie brave. Society is so influenced by a dependent, beautiful, maidens’ type of princess that singing is their only talent, ignoring all the main factors that a princess shouldn’t be perfect (Peters 2018). Beauty, marriage, and true love isn’t everything but princesses portray this as the main ideas in life, which young girls and women look up to this and a perfect ending with a perfect prince charming that’s going to save the day, and is not right because women do not need a man, women can be independent and save their own day, be the hero and still be a princess of their own story no matter the flaws or imperfections.

Abstract

Most people grow up listening to fairy tales which have always been an inspiration to people. They are always important types of narrations for societies and are transferred from generation to generation. They are not told only for entertainment, but they also shape society in a way. Despite the fact that fairy tales are written in a short and simple language, they have deep meanings and hidden messages. One of these hidden messages is gender stereotyping. Females and males are presented stereotypically. The females are presented as beautiful, naive, weak, passive and dependent on men. The males are presented as charming, strong, rescuer, brave. The purpose of this study is to examine gender stereotypes in fairy tales such as Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty.

Introduction

The fairy tale is one of the most popular types of folk narratives. A fairy tale is a tool and source of the rules, codes, cultural values and dominant thoughts of the society in which it exists as a legacy to the next generation. Indeed, children are major targets for fairy tales and their main goals are to prepare children for adulthood with the messages they give. Children start to learn the world through them.

It cannot be questioned that fairy tales are the best way to bring up children through heroic actions of their favorite characters. Moreover, kids easily absorb whatever they are told from the fairy tale, and they imitate characters. They never differentiate between good and bad, useful and worthless. Such huge proportion of info and images affect their life perception and shapes their nature and mindset. (‘Gender Roles in Fairy Tales: Discover The Stereotypes Children are Taught Since Childhood’)

Even though fairy tales, which seem innocent in the eyes of society, have the potential to manage perception. The roles of men and women are shaped by social norms that are presented in most of the fairy tales.

According to Kasner(2004), in fairy tales, boys are typically adventurous; rescuers; fighters and capable; symbolize ingenuity and perseverance. On the other hand, female characters are represented as victims; seldom triumph if not beautiful; passive; submissive and dependent to male figures.” (qtd. in Cekiso 202)

Snow white is quickly tricked by the evil witch and can only be brought back to life by a prince. Sleeping Beauty does nothing, she just sleeps for a long time, she cannot wake up on her own, she needs a male to wake up. Cinderella loses her shoe, and the Prince takes it and starts to find the girl who falls in love. Cinderella is presented as a passive girl who is dependent on a man and she waits to be saved by a man. Almost all children are raised by reading or listening to fairy tales such as Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Snow White. Children can imitate many of the characters of fairy tales in daily life, they take them as role models. For instance, while girls want to be as beautiful as Snow White and Cinderella, boys want to be as handsome and brave as a prince. Therefore, children think that those all are normal, and what needs to be done.

Beauty

Gender stereotypes are common in every society and most of the people are exposed to these stereotypes without even realizing it. For instance; beauty standards that are set by society and efforts to fit into those standards exist today. These are exposed to us via fairy tales. In fairy tales, beauty is one of the most common aspects of both men and female figures. Beauty standards are tried to impose on us through the beautifulness and attractiveness of the male and female fairy tales’ characters. Typically, the main female character is beautiful, the main male character is handsome. Almost all prince /hero/king want to single out the most beautiful girl. If you are a beautiful girl, you get a chance to get marry a handsome prince/hero/king.

When Cinderella entered the palace, everybody was struck by her beauty. Nobody, not even Cinderella’s stepmother or stepsisters, knew who she really was in her pretty clothes and shoes. The handsome prince also saw her and fell in love with Cinderella. (365 Fairy Tales 22 23)

In Cinderella, the handsome prince is supposed to choose a girl to get married, all young girls in the town want to get married to him because he is the most handsome boy. The prince chooses Cinderella because she fits into beauty standards.

A form of beauty that is only ‘white’ and ‘fair’. Similarly, Cinderella, with the help of her fairy godmother, attends the ball in a very beautiful gown and a pair of glass slippers. Her charm shocks the guests in the ball, and even her stepsisters or stepmother cannot recognize her. In fact, Cinderella’s beauty is not just confined to her face; it is also symbolized by her small feet. It’s her unique beauty that entices the prince and sweeps him off his feet. Since the glass slippers are very small, only a person with extraordinary small feet can fit into them. (“Fairytales and ‘The Beauty Ideal’”)

Cinderella’s evil stepmother and stepsisters have short black hair, and their skins are darker than Cinderella. Her step sister’s feet are too large to fit into tiny glass slippers. These are not suited for beauty standards so in the tale they are not presented as beautiful.

Then were the two sisters glad, for they had pretty feet. The eldest went with the shoe into her room and wanted to try it on, and her mother stood by. But she could not get her big toe into it, and the shoe was too small for her. Then her mother gave her a knife and said: “Cut the toe off; when thou art Queen thou wilt have no more need to go on foot. (Grimm 84)

It is not enough to have pretty feet. Their feet are too big to get into tiny glass slippers. However, Cinderella is the only one who fits into beauty standards. Every woman wants to be as beautiful as Cinderella and tries to duplicate her beauty to have her physical appearance because fairy tales tell us that Cinderella is physically perfect, she is completely as admirable girl as every man desire.

Another stereotype in fairy tales is that the woman who is beautiful is also kind-hearted. Evil and ugly women in fairy tales are always jealous of the beautiful and good-hearted one and try to harm her somehow. However, mostly the beautiful and good-hearted ones are rescued by a handsome prince. Being rescued from the evil ones by a handsome prince and getting married to him is presented as the beautiful girls’ reward.

At the same time, very interestingly each beautiful girl has good-heart at the same time, she is submissive, passive, weak, innocent, and easily deceived. She complains about nothing, she does not attempt to escape or save from difficulties or miseries. A hero will save her at the end and they will marry. The woman who is beautiful and good is rewarded by happiness. However, if you are ugly, you are married to an ugly man, even though you marry a king/padishah accidentally or incidentally you will be punished because of your ugliness and evil behaviors at the end of the tale. (Sahin 6)

Despite the fact that Snow White helps evil witch because she thinks that the witch is old and sick, the witch easily deceives her with a poisonous apple in Snow White. In Sleeping Beauty, Sleeping Beauty believes in the old woman and the woman causes her eternal sleep. Therefore, bad characters abuse beautiful girls because of their kind-heartedness.

In Cinderella, goodness is still overwhelming the tale although Cinderella suffers being servant and victim. She represents the real and symbolic of victimization of a girl who lost her mother and lives the injustice of her stepmother and stepsisters. (Al- Barazenji 49)

Cinderella is naive and always kind to her stepmother and stepsister, she never complains about doing housework even though they dress up and make fun of her and treat her like a servant. She tries to make everything fun; she dances and sings when she sweeps the house. In this fairy tale, the message is given to us is that if you are a kind-hearted and beautiful girl, first you are punished by jealous women, and you are rewarded with marrying a handsome prince.

As in the tale of Cinderella, beauty is presented stereotypically in Snow White. Snow White ‘s mother wished her daughter’ s skin be as white as snow, her hair black and lips as red as blood. It is easily understood that stereotyped beauty perception is imposed upon us through Snow White’s physical appearance. Her mother’s wishes come true, and thanks to her mother’s wish, Snow White is born as a beautiful girl. Even when she goes to the house of the seven dwarfs, the seven dwarfs are attracted to her beauty, so they take their home and help her. In Snow White, beauty is also a symbol of the desire to be seen.

‘She looks so beautiful,” said Sneezy, “we will not bury her. We will place her in a glass coffin and carry it to the forest, so that anyone who passes can see her and admire her beautiful face.’ (Grimm 32 33).

When she dies because of the apple, the Seven Dwarfs do not bury her under the ground because they think that she is still so beautiful even she is dead.

The Image of Male Character

Even though the female figures are portrayed as passive, in need of help, dependent on a man, weak, defenseless, emotional and they are always associated with housework and birth and nurturing.; the men figures are portrayed as active, brave, adventurous, self-sufficient. They are associated with embarking on an adventure, saving helpless girls, riding a horse,

Women in fairy tales are always busy giving birth to beautiful princesses, doing household chores, plotting against each other and concerned with their beauty. On the contrary, men are busy ruling the kingdom, participating in wars, going on adventures, saving princesses, and performing other masculine activities. (Sharif 30).

While men always perform challenging tasks that require courage, women are always preoccupied with housework and children. “Male characters were most often portrayed in adventurous pursuits and outdoor activities requiring independence and strength, while female characters are seen in indoor activities and portrayed as passive and dependent.” (Mudhovozi 89). For instance; in Snow White, Snow White does house works such as cleaning Seven Dwarfs’ clothes, cooking, sweeping the house, Seven Dwarfs go mining. Going through a dangerous jungle and mining is considered a challenging task.

The dwarfs said, ‘If you will take care of our house, cook, make the beds, wash, sew, and knit, and if you will keep everything neat and clean, you can stay with us and you shall want for nothing.’ ‘Yes,’ said Snow-white, ‘with all my heart,’ and she stayed with them. She kept the house in order for them; in the mornings they went to the mountains and looked for copper and gold, in the evenings they came back, and then their supper had to be ready. (Jacob Wilhelm 252)

In these lines of the fairy tale, the dwarfs go to hard work, the Snow White serves them and needs them to stay at home. They say that she can only stay at their homes, provided that she does their daily chores. Another stereotype in fairy tales is that the female figure often suffers and the reason is mostly a woman such as stepmother, witch, step-sisters. However, the female figure gets rid of the suffering with the help of a man. The male figure is always a rescuer. In Sleeping Beauty, Sleeping Beauty needs a man to wake up and continue her life, if the Prince comes and kisses her, she can wake up. The Prince is the only one who can restore her life. Another message that is intended to be given is that man is a superior being, when the male figure in fairy tales is compared with the female figure, the male figure is always superior to the female figure. Females cannot solve their problems or even survive without males in fairy tales.

The Prince presented as not only superior but also brave. The Prince is portrayed as one who takes the bull by the horns. The Prince goes on his way to find and save the beautiful girl without being afraid of monsters, dragons, scary giants.

The Prince in The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood, however, is more active than the Prince in Cinderella. He merely hears about a tale of hidden castle with a princess sleeping inside and he immediately feels that he is all set for the adventure, for a Prince ought to be “young and gallant” in Perreault’s words. He bravely cuts through great trees, bushes and brambles to reach the hidden castle. (qtd. in R 6).

As stated above, on the way to the princess, the Prince goes on an adventure willingly to save Sleeping Beauty. He faces several difficulties but he overcomes fearlessly. Overcoming difficulties and finally reaching the princess is an example of how brave the Prince is.

Conclusion

Fairy tales are not only oral narratives mostly for children but also historical resources. They give a lot of information about the social and cultural values of societies. Therefore, they are viewed as a vehicle for introducing gender roles, and they play a huge role to shape the outlook of people especially children. However, in fairy tales, for the most part, both genders are portrayed stereotypically. The ideal men are portrayed as savior, attractive, courageous. On the other hand, the ideal women are portrayed as pretty and in need of saving. According to the tales, the beautiful girl is always deceived by evil ones because of her kind-heartedness, then she rescued by the handsome prince. The handsome prince goes on an adventure to save the beautiful girl’s life. It is clear that men are more dominant and independent, and women are helpless. To sum everything up, women are often stereotyped as inferior to men whereas men are stereotyped as superior to women in fairy tales.

References

1. “Gender Roles in Fairy Tales: Discover The Stereotypes Children Are Taught Since Childhood.” Women’s. 17 Nov. 2017, https://women-s.net/gender-roles-in-fairy-tales/. Accessed 25 October 2019. 365 Fairy Tales. Om Books International, 2018.
2. Adak, Ankita. “Fairytales and ‘The Beauty Ideal.’” Indianfolk, 27 Feb. 2018, https://www.indianfolk.com/fairytales-beauty-ideal-edited/. Accessed 25 October 2019.
3. Al-Barazenji, Luma Ibrahim. “Womens Voice and Images in Folk Tales and Fairy Tales.” IJASOS- International E-Journal of Advances in Social Sciences, vol. 1, no. 1, 2015, pp. 47–53.
4. Bacchilega, Cristina. Postmodern fairy tales: Gender and narrative strategies. University of Pennsylvania Press, 2010.
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7. Da Silva, Francisco Vaz. ‘Red as Blood, White as Snow, Black as Crow: Chromatic Symbolism of Womanhood in Fairy Tales.’ Marvels & Tales, vol. 21, no. 2, 2007, pp. 240-252.
8. Goldenberg, Naomi R. ‘A Feminist Critique of Jung.’ Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, vol. 2, no. 2, 1976, pp. 443-449.
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13. Mudhovozi, Pilot. “Sex-Role Stereotyping in the Infant Learners’ Picture Book.” Journal of Social Sciences, vol. 44, no. 1, 2015, pp. 87–90.
14. R, Shamna. “The Making of Masculinity: Readings on the Male Stereotypes in Cindirella and The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood.” Epitome: International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, vol. 3, 2017, http://www.epitomejournals.com/VolumeArticles/FullTextPDF/299_Research_Paper.pdf. Accessed 25 October 2019.
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16. Sahin, Elmas. “Stereotypical Gender Roles in English and Turkish Fairy Tales.” Indian Journal of Research, vol. 4, no. 4, 2015, pp. 4–10.
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18. Taylor, Frank. ‘Content analysis and gender stereotypes in children’s books.’ Teaching sociology, vol. 31, no. 3, 2003, pp. 300-311.
19. Zipes, Jack. Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales, Children, and the Culture Industry. Routledge, 2013.

Fairy tales have been passed down from generation to generation, each person in one way or another altering the tale to reflect a piece of their life at work . The Brothers Grimm wrote hundreds of fairy tales in their life time and in these works they used their childhood experiences as reference. Because of the hardships they faced growing up their tales take on a more gruesome approach to fairy tales. Because their mother was their only caregiver growing up, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm reflect their fondness towards her through the strong-willed, independent female characters in their fairy tales. Female heroines are rarely seen in modern-day fairy tales, but as a result of their childhood the Brothers Grimm utilized them frequently in their works to illustrate the love and devotion they hold towards their own mother. This Predominance of heroic female characters in the works of The Brothers Grimm is a result of being raised without a strong male figure.

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm experienced numerous tragedies in their adolescence that left them emotionally impressionable. Jacob was born on January 4, 1785 and Wilhelm was born on February 24, 1786, in Hanau, Germany. Misfortune first struck with the death of their father, soon followed by their grandfather’s death, which left the family in shambles. Their father, Phillip Wilhelm, passed away when Jacob and Wilhelm were merely children and very easily influenced. (Brothers, 9) Two years after the death of Phillip Wilhelm, the brother’s grandfather also died, leaving the family to struggle in reduced circumstances. (Brothers, 9) Their lives changed drastically as they adapted to their new situation being raised by only their mother. After the death of their father, the family had to move into a cramped urban residence to make ends meet. (Brothers, 9) Their mother had to raise all six children who had survived infancy all by her lone self. A true hero in the eyes of Jacob and Wilhelm, their mother single-handedly overcame opposition in their family, just as their sister did growing up with five brothers. (Grimm, 11) The sentiment of being abandoned as children unlocked a new territory of potential as their creative juices began to surge. ‘Child abandonment is a many-faceted concept within myth, folktale, and literature,’ and the Brothers Grimm explored this concept in great detail (Garry, 3). As they began to express themselves through literature, male figures, such as fathers, were often dismissed as the females stole the spotlight in their fairy tales. “Some modern psychologists have argued that [their] harsh family background influenced the ways the Brothers Grimm interpret and present their tales” (Grimm, 15). Without a prominent male figure growing up, they only had their mother to look up to and to idealize as the strong-willed individual who never gave up despite all the privation send her way. The Brothers Grimm incorporate their own perspectives to generally recognized fairy tales, often adding a twist and a more callous feel to them. They first started their collection of fairy tales in 1806 by writing down those that they had previously heard from the females in their neighborhood while growing up. This serves as another female sway on their fairy tales that influences their stance on men vs. women in regards to heroes and villains. In the first edition of the Grimm’s fairy tales, there are a total of two hundred and ten stories. Out of those two hundred and ten, about forty have female protagonists. (Ragan, 2) These feminine protagonists are directly associated with their strong-willed mother who worked hard her entire life to raise her family without the support of a male figure.

The Grimm’s tales, like most folklore, reflects on their childhood as they consistently downplay the roles of fathers and idealize the mothers and young women. Folklore is documented in assorted traditions, the oldest and most indispensable being that the Brothers Grimm simply recall what they experienced as children. Folklore is compromised mainly through an individual’s character and behavior. (Georges, 4) The stories that came to be re-written in their collection of tales came from family members, friends, neighbors, peers, colleagues, and acquaintances, just like in the majority of folklore. The Brothers Grimm were in the progression of alluring children who were in quest of retribution against those who tormented them or abandoned them. This category of tales has, “obvious charm for children who feel that they too have been disciplined unfairly,” just as Jacob and Wilhelm feel after being abandoned by their father and grandfather in their early childhood (Garry, 3). Generally, close to ninety percent of characters in folklore are male figures, and those who happen to be female are painted in a negative light. (Ragan, 2) The Brothers Grimm do not depict all women as heroic in their tales, but vast majorities are illustrated in an optimistic approach. Like any parent, their mother had her good and bad sides and qualities, so Jacob and Wilhelm created the characters of the ‘evil stepmother’ to portray the appalling qualities and a heroic maiden to symbolize the mother that raised their family. The vicious “fairy tale step mothers” are frequently tortured to death; where as their male counterparts are simply put aside. (MaCallum, 7) “Typically a stepmother’s abuse is motivated by her attempts to promote the welfare of her own offspring,” and in doing so the Brothers Grimm place all the focus on the young heroine who is in direct conflict with the stepmother, as the father stands absentmindedly by. (Thum, 6)

In contrast to the evil stepmother, the Brothers Grimm illustrate the heroic qualities in their own mother by painting the female heroines as survivors in their fairy tales. In the fairy tales by Jacob and Wilhelm, a dynamic heroine sets out alone and depends on her intelligence, determination, and bravery to make her own way in life, just as their own mother did. These heroines are, “women who, while limited by their clearly defines the roles of the time are very positive figured. They are depicted as intelligent, prepared to take initiative and capable of change.” (Thum, 6) These are roles typically assigned to their male counterparts in fairy tales. The woman in the times of the tales contest the previously set notions held by woman in the time that they must stay at home and take care of the family and be passive characters. These women go against their ‘clearly defined roles’ in society as they try to survive against great odds. This reflects on how their own mother handled the situation of being left a single mother after their father and grandfather died. (Georges, 4) Through their mother’s deep inner strength and her ability to declare herself despite the discouragement of her gender, she was able to overcome numerous adversities just as the female heroines do in the fairy tales. (Ashliman, 1) In the standard fairy tale, it is always the male character who is the protagonist who holds all the power, yet the Brothers Grimm place the men in submissive roles, shedding light on the female survivors. In the standard fairy tale, “the passive heroine is portrayed as waiting for deliverance by a prince, king, or another male figure of authority” (Thum, 6). In contrast, the Brothers Grimm utilize, “courageous mothers, clever young girls, and warrior woman,” to reveal that these women are survivors, and against all odds they will rise up to the occasion and overcome any adversity they face in their journey to happiness. (Thum, 6) This affection that Jacob and Wilhelm harbor for their mother is clearly observed in their works as female heroines progressively overcome adversity in the time periods where men ruled and happiness and wealth would only come from a good marriage.

The main issue in Jacob and Wilhelm’s fairy tale, Cinderella (Aschenputtel in German), is male power vs. female integrity as the protagonist learns to conquer her fears and become an independent self-governed woman. The tale of Cinderella signifies a nature of conflict between two principle female characters. The mother, who is dead, is of importance, where as the evil stepmother that is male-centered. The evil stepmother is made a fool of as Cinderella becomes a strong independent young woman, no longer taking orders to do various chores and housework for the step sisters. Before Cinderella could stand up for herself she was forced, “from morning until evening…to perform difficult work, rising early, carrying water, making the fire, cooking and washing,” with no rest or time for herself. (Grimm, 11) Cinderella is treated like a slave in her own home, and the Brothers Grimm use the strict nature of their mother while growing up to depict this in their own fairy tale. Cinderella must complete these demeaning feminine acts given to her by her stepmother because her own father is dismissive and has no control. This directly correlates with the childhood of Jacob and Wilhelm, because their father also held no control in their uprising due to his early death. Cinderella eventually becomes a courageous young woman and defies the tyrannical administration imposed by her step-family. (MaCallum, 7) She discovers that she can only depend on herself and that a male figure is not obligated to be present in order to find happiness. Jacob and Wilhelm’s mother discovered the same thing as she went against many odds by living alone without the help of a male to raise the family and make ends meet. Instead of having a deadline looming above her head during the Ball, the Grimm’s Cinderella, “seeks pleasure, not in a husband, and there is no threat of public humiliation to force her to leave.” (Grimm, 11) In their version of the fairy tale, Cinderella is independently strong as she takes her fate into her own hands and does as she pleases. “She dances until evening, and then wanted to go home,” instead of being forced to leave due to fear of her evil stepmother. Cinderella leaves the ball willingly and voluntarily three times, running away each time trying to hide from the Prince who is seeking her hand in marriage. Each time she runs away, Cinderella is defying the rules of the time period by not relying on a male figure for happiness and wealth. Even Cinderella’s father aids the Prince in his search for her, but is unsuccessful in the end. (Clark, 5) This aspect of the Grimm’s Cinderella illustrates how she is a self-governing young lady who is not afraid to create her own happy ending in life instead of having a man created it for her.

The Brothers Grimm reflect their childhood in their fairy tales constantly in the form of powerful females, helpless men, and abandoned children. The Knight’s Tale from The Canterbury Tales is a paragon tale for when a man must rely on a woman in order to survive the curse. The Knight is facing a penalty of death unless he can answer the paradoxical question, “What do women most desire?” (Garry, 3) In order to find the answer he must surrender to the wishes of Old Hag and marry her, choosing life over beauty in order to live. Beauty and the Beast is yet another example of an emotionally strong young woman, Belle, as she chooses to take fate into her own hands to save her weak father. Her father is imprisoned by the beast, rendering him helpless, just as the Brothers viewed their own father; helpless. (Garry, 3) The Beast must rely on Belle to love him unconditionally and that is the only way he can turn back into a young prince once again. In order for this to happen he must prove his devotion to Belle, therefore giving her all the power in the situation to do as she pleases. The new and improved fearless Little Red Riding Hood is yet another masterful re-creation of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. Little Red Riding Hood willingly walks through the woods alone to visit her grandmother. She is not scared at all of what lies ahead in the dark even though she is alone. She, “Walks through the woods a second time, meets another big bad wolf, and vanquishes the wolf herself,” proving that she can take care of herself. (Grimm, 15) The Grimm’s mother walked blindly through the later part of her life after her husband died, hoping for the best outcome, dealing with any problems head on just as Little Red Riding Hood does in the version by Jacob and Wilhelm. In the Grimm’s account of Sleeping Beauty, it is not only the princess that is enchanted, all the animals and people of the court also who are subjected to fall asleep for a hundred years under the curse (Garry, 3). This tale, “portrays the evil maleficent as a powerful, determined woman who can irresistibly draw the princess towards her preordained enchantment.” (Garry, 3) Instead of having a male protagonist who controls the land and people, it is a powerful woman, yet she possesses the power to put the entire court under the curse in the Grimm’s version. Abandonment is explored in Jacob and Wilhelm’s fairy tale commonly known as Hansel and Gretel, as the brothers rationalize abuse and abandonment through the adventures of the children on their own. (Garry, 3) The famous tale of Snow White re-written by the Brothers Grimm involves a young woman who is abandoned and seems as if she is not capable of surviving on her own, but stays alive against great odds. (Grimm, 12) In both of these tales of abandonment, all the characters survive despite the hardships they face, just as Jacob and Wilhelm did after being abandoned by every male figure in their life growing up.

Childhood is a time to grow mentally and physically and it shapes an individual’s life in multiple ways. Jacob and Wilhelm survived being abandoned by the prominent male figures in their lives and this led to them being raised in a single-parent household in tight conditions with their siblings. This experience left such an impact on their lives that they constantly incorporate strong female characters in their fairy tales to illustrate the positive impact their mother had on their life growing up as she gave up everything to make sure they survived. Through their life time and their hundreds of fairy tales that the brothers published, they are well known for their twists in widely known pieces. These twists add a flare to their writing as they take a different approach to ones upbringing. Because their mother played a predominant role in their lives, mothers and young women play dominant roles in their fairy tales as well.

Works Cited

1. Ashliman, D.L. Folk and Fairy Tales; A hand book. Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2004. BHS Library.
2. Ragan, Kathleen. Fearless Girls, Wise Women & Beloved Sisters; Heroines in Folktales from Around the World. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1998. BHS Library.
3. Garry, Jane and El-Shamy, Hasan. Archetypes and Motifs in Folklore and Literature. New York: M.E. Sharpe. INC., 2005. BHS Library.
4. Georges, Robert A. & Jones, Michael Owens. Folklore; an Introduction. Indianapolis: Indiana University Press. 1999. BHS Library.
5. CLARKE, MICAEL M. ‘Brontes Jane Eyre and the Grimms’ Cinderella.’ Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900 40.4 (2000): 695. Literature Resource Center. Web. 30 Mar. 2011
6. Thum, Maureen. ‘Feminist or Anti-Feminist? Gender-Coded Role Models in the Tales Contributed by Dorothea Viehmann to the Grimm Brothers Kinder- und Hausmärchen.’ The Germanic Review 68.1 (Winter 1993): 11-21. Rpt. in Short Story Criticism. Ed. Rachelle Mucha and Thomas J. Schoenberg. Vol. 88. Detroit: Gale, 2006. Literature Resource Center. Web. 30 Mar. 2011.
7. McCallum, Robyn, and John Stephens. ‘Utopia, dystopia, and cultural controversy in ever after and The Grimm Brothers’ Snow White. (Articles).’ Marvels & Tales 16.2 (2002): 201+. Literature Resource Center. Web. 30 Mar. 2011.
8. Cahill, Susan. ‘Through the looking glass: fairy-tale cinema and the spectacle of femininity in Stardust and The Brothers Grimm.’ Marvels & Tales 24.1 (2010): 57+. Literature Resource Center. Web. 30 Mar. 2011.
9. ‘Brothers Grimm.’ Multilingual Archive. WorldLingo. Web. 2 Mar. 2011.
10. Bonner, Sarah. ‘‘Snow White: Repetition and Resistance in the Visual Arts’ –.’ Centre for Practice as Research in the Arts. Web. 02 Mar. 2011. .
11. Grimm, Brothers. Cinderella; The Complete Grimm’s Fairy Tales .(21) Needland Media. Nook Book. BHS Library.
12. Grimm, Brothers. Snow White. The Complete Grimm’s Fairy Tales .(53) Needland Media. Nook Book. BHS Library.
13. Grimm, Brothers. Hansel and Gretel; The Complete Grimm’s Fairy Tales .(15) Needland Media. Nook Book. BHS Library.
14. Grimm, Brothers. The Knight’s Tale; The Complete Grimm’s Fairy Tales .(64) Needland Media. Nook Book. BHS Library.
15. Grimm, Brothers. Little Red Riding Hood; The Complete Grimm’s Fairy Tales. (44) Needland Media. Nook Book. BHS Library.

A fairy tale is a folklore genre that takes the form of a short story. A typical definition of a fairy tale would be ‘a children’s story about magical and imaginary beings and lands or in short a fairy story’. But this is where we should probably stop and look at them in a different perspective, through the eyes of a philosopher, an artist and an aesthete. Fairy tales are depicted as ‘unnatural’ or ‘unrealistic’, but here unnatural means visionary fantasies and artistic expressions of anything, from the imagery or the visual symbolism to the emotions and life lessons. If you look into them deeply there is a lot of symbolism and mytholism in the stories. Wicked witches, enchanted forests, magic beans and speaking animals:- fairytales are rich in symbols and archetypes. Insight into the meanings of these symbols, allows the reader to understood the tales on a deeper leve. They give us a sense of creativity and appreciation if we look at them in the right way. They stimulate a child’s imagination and arouse their curiosity. They are an escape from reality and a source of entertainment, for our mind creates dreams, day dreams, fantasies and rhapsodies of beautiful music. They strengthen our dreams and enchant us on a spiritual level. We get allured by their romanticism as drive us into a mystic trance.

Everything that deceives may be said to enchant. But remember that everything that is said to enchant may not be deceiving. Yes, they increase expectations and might give us the wrong kind of consolation that it’s always a happy ending, but yet again isn’t everyone living with that subconsious thought in their head? Bruno Bettelheim rightly said that it is a characterstic of fairy tales to state an existential dilemma briefly and pointedly. This permits the child to come to grips with the problem in its most essential form, where a more complex plot would confuse matters for him.

Fairy tales are made in such a way that a child’s mind could understand and interpret it in their own way. They give full recognition to his difficulties and develop his personality and bluntly teach him about life and how to deal with problems without thinking too much. They delicately yet strongly give full credence to his seriousness and never belittle it.

For example in the story ‘The Little Red riding hood’, the little girl might represent an innocent ego-consious soul and the sickly grandmother represents ancient wisdom. Little red riding hood is the human soul that seeks wisdom and enlightenment. The wolf swallows her up (in not sane version or the original version of the story) just like we lose ourselves in the attractions of the senses and physical existence. She gets saved and then she discovers something new, a lesson that she’ll never forget.

Another example is from Cinderella. The word ‘Cinderella’ means living among ashes. This tale signifies personal growth and transformation. As Cinderella learns to differentiate between good and bad, her new dress reflects that change, since inner change correlates with outside alteration as well.

When the father asks his daughters what presents he should bring back, the stepdaughters ask for clothes and jewels. This symbolises consumerism. The fairy grandmother may symbolise spiritual riches or wisdom. In the original story they show that the stepdaughters actually cut their feet so they can fit the shoe. This can symbolse greed and lust.

In earlier versions of Hansel and Gretel, Gretel turns herself into a rose. Snow White pricks herself on a rose and Beauty, in Beauty and the Beast asks her father for a rose. It is a symbol that occurs frequently. A rose is a symbol of the sacred path. A red rose was said to spring from the blood Christ shed on the cross. In other words from his sacrifice came the opportunity through the path he showed, to overcome our karma and find our way to our divine home.

Therefore, we can conclude by saying that fairy tales are not just about fantasising in ‘far away lands’ or ‘happily ever afters’, but they are also about ‘once upon a time’s and ‘there lived a girl’s.

Originally the word ‘Fiction’ came from the Latin word ‘Fictus.’ Fiction, along with non-fiction, is one of two specific branches of literature. It’s a story that is trying to be bigger than the story itself. To do this, literary fiction must comment on something that is deemed important, such as social or political issues or the human condition. The primary difference between genre fiction and literary fiction is their emphasis on plot. Although genre fiction is plot-driven, literary fiction is less about its plot and more about its commentary interest. A great way to look at the difference is to remember that genre fiction is trying to help you escape from reality. Whereas literary fiction attempts to open you up to your reality. Fiction consists of stories, novels, and dramas made up of fictional characters and events, yet events in fiction may be similar to real events. Fiction is any form of a narrative invented by an author’s fictional situation. Fiction should not be based on facts or history. Examples of types of fiction (Mysteries, Science fiction, Romance, Crime thrillers, and Fantasy ), and examples of popular fiction as (A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, Pride, and Prejudice by Jane Austen, To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee).

Prose fiction: is any creative, imaginary writing written in sentences and paragraphs.

Elements of prose fiction

1. Character: A character is an imagined person in a story, whom we know from the words. The plot shows character, character causes plot.
2. Irony: is a contrast between expectations for a situation and what is reality.
3. Plot: The sequence of incidents or events an author builds a story through. It is not merely the action itself but how the author arranges the action for a specific purpose.
4. Point of view: Is the perspective of events that tells us the thoughts or emotions of the people in a situation
5. Setting: is the time and place in which the story takes place.
6. Theme: Is defined as the main idea or the underlying sense of a literary work that can be explicitly or indirectly specified.
7. Symbolism: Is the use of symbols to represent ideas and values, by giving symbolic meanings which vary from their literal meaning.
8. Tone: The tone of a literary work expresses the attitude of the writer towards the subject matter and audience or his feelings about it.

Fairy tales: A fairy tale is a children’s story featuring fictional beings in an enchanted world that involves fairies, dwarfs, goblins, angels, trolls, and speaking animals. The term ‘fairy’ tale appears to refer more to a story ‘s fantastic and magical setting or magical influences than to the presence of a fairy character within that story.

Fairy tales are perfect opportunities to educate children about the development of myths, dispute solving, the creation of personalities, heroes, and villains and overall expand their creativity. It lets them differentiate fiction from non-fiction stories. In this semester we studied four fairy tales which are ( The Beauty & the Beast, The Light Princess by George Macdonald, The Appointment of Samarra, Aesop), as a result, a study is required, by reading these four fairy tales we should be able to detect elements of prose fiction and be able to identify each of them well. And detect the basics of a useful concept that will help us make decisions and face danger alone. These fairy tales will also help us growing up mentally and teaches us morals to be able to deal with life.

Novels were the most popular types of prose literature in the eighteenth century specifically, they are among the oldest texts in literary history example: Lliad and the Odysset (c.131-19BC), Virgil’s (70-19BC), then comes the more developed epics as Dante Alighieri’s (1265-1321) , then comes the early modern epics as Edmund Spense’s (c. 1552-99), Farie Queene (1590;1596), Most traditional epics are centered around a hero who has to perform several nationally important tasks in a multiplicity of episodes. In particular, classical epics reflect a self-contained worldview of their specific periods and nationalities through their roots in myth, history, and religion. With the erasure of a unified Weltanschauung in the early modern times, the epic ‘s position weakened, and it was eventually replaced by the novel, the mouthpiece of relativism that emerged in all aspects of cultural discourse. Although the scope of the traditional epic is usually wide, the romance condenses the action and orients the plot towards a specific goal. The individualisation of the protagonist, the deliberate perspective and, above all, the linear plot structure, oriented towards a specific climax that no longer focuses on national or cosmic issues, Among the crucial characteristics which distinguish between romance and epic poetry. But at the same time Cervantes is initiating a new and modified epic tradition.

The newly established novel is often characterized by the terms realism and individualism, thus summing up some of this new medium ‘s basic innovations. While a cosmic and allegorical dimension exhibited by the traditional epic, the modern novel distinguishes itself by grounding the plot in a distinct historical and geographical reality. The allegorical and typical epic hero, with individual and realistic character traits, metamorphoses into the novel’s protagonist. These features of the novel, which reflect basic eighteenth-century socio-historical tendencies in their attention to individualism and realism, soon turned the novel into a dominant literary genre. The novel thus mirrors the contemporary disregard for the Middle Age collective spirit that relied heavily on allegory and symbolism. The rise of an educated middle class, the spread of the printing press, and a modified economic basis that enabled authors to pursue writing as an independent profession underpin these major shifts in literary production in the 18th century.

The fairy tale “Little Red Riding Hood” has been around for years, and throughout these years has been twisted into various interpretations. We of course have the “Red Riding Hood” we all have familiarization with, by Charles Perrault, which tells the tale of a young girl sent on a journey to her grandmother’s house to deliver a basket but meets a sinister wolf on the way. Perrault’s version takes on a more traditional approach compared to Nalo Hopkinson’s more modern and twisted version.

Perrault’s version keeps young ladies from men’s inclination. In Hopkinson’s interpretation, the objective remains the same: through the grandma’s portrayal, the author explains a moderately returned to plot without changing the significance: little girls should beware of men; particularly when they seem virtuous. “Riding The Red” like Perrault’s version, takes focus on a grandma, a mother and a granddaughter, which in a way sets the perspective for both interpretations. In Hopkinson’s version the grandma is the narrator. Other than the original setting, the absence of other pieces of information, for example, the time or the place of the story, offers extent to her story and her final theme: instructing and, simultaneously, shielding her grandchild from dangers spoken to by men here symbolized by a wolf.

In Hopkinson’s interpretation experience is the main point, as it prompts potential difficulties the grandma attempts to stay away from for her granddaughter by revealing to her, her own story. The mother contradicts her mom’s desires for safety and discloses to her it isn’t important to alarm her little girl in light of the fact that “girlie’s too young yet, there’s plenty of time”.

Charles Perrault’s original fairytale, although takes on the same theme of steering clear of male predation, the actions and roles the main characters take on is different from Hopkinsons modern approach. In both versions the granddaughter is initially the victim but we do not see Little Red succumb to “the wolf’s” deviation in Hopkinsons version. Unlike Perrault’s version, little red is warned of the dangers of the wolf but we initially don’t know if she falls “prey” in the end.

In the classic version the mother doesn’t show awareness of the risks Little Red Riding Hood will face on her adventure, because of this she doesn’t give advice to Little Red Riding Hood on the proficient way to deal with specific circumstances. The Mother essentially expects Little Red Riding Hood to complete her expedition without anyone else’s input, under such weight, Little Red Riding Hood was naive to the situation. This is extremely similar to Hopkinsons version except in “Riding The Red” the mother is in fact aware of the danger her daughter will face, but instead she doesn’t want to inform her about these dangers because in her mind she is too young.

The original story of Little Red Riding Hood ends with a little girl being eaten up but she isn’t eaten unintentionally. Looking into Little Red Riding Hood’s character, we can see that she can’t make sense of who is attempting to put her at risk, hence making her totally vulnerable to the devious character which is the wolf. Hopkinson’s modern version of Little Red Riding Hood puts a spin on that dilemma. In turn, the little girl is warned of who will put her at risk and that is “wolfie”. She is not told specifically who “wolfie” is but instead told of the traits “wolfie” will come with so he can be recognized.

Perrault leaves us with an ending telling us what exactly happened, and Hopkinson’s ending is left open to interpretation. The wolf embodying demise is a key reality that has stayed steady over the progression of time. In both short stories this is evident. There have been various changes to the manner in which the wolf is displayed yet the overall imagery has not adjusted. A portion of the narratives show the wolf as an insightful predator systematically arranging out the downfall of Little Red Riding Hood. Others depict the wolf as a villain that is simply planning to eat the little girl for supper. In Hopkinsons version the plans of the “wolf” are laid out by the grandmother. This approach of displaying the theme doesn’t showcase the granddaughter so much as the victim. It is more so intended that she can fall victim to these dangers if she doesn’t listen to her elder, but she is not made victim clearly like Perrault’s original version.

Even though Hopkinson includes various aspects of Perrault’s work, “Riding the Red” aims to adapt Perrault’s central themes and ideas to create a version of Little Red Riding Hood where she portrays the thematic meaning in a different light. Both Hopkinson’s and Perrault’s wolf shares human characteristics which makes him considerably increasingly risky for young ladies. In Hopkinson’s version this is the place grandma’s story expedites all its significance, to be sure her story contains a lesson which will be significant for her granddaughter, and everyone that reads the story. Young ladies, particularly when youthful and inexperienced, should be cautious when meeting pleasant and enchanting men because of its danger to end in a totally unwanted circumstance.