Fairy tales are not generally considered to be shining examples of modern-day feminism. They tend to reduce their female characters to simple objects of physical attractiveness, and usually center their conversations and actions around other male characters, because everyone knows that women exist solely to look pretty and talk about men. In the classic fairy tale “Snow White,” made popular by the Disney film adaptation, this stereotype holds true, although this particular woman actually has value, since she can cook and clean. Both Snow White and her evil stepmother are controlled by societal pressures to be beautiful, the primary way women of the time could grasp onto any semblance of power in a world that only saw their exteriors.
In the
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As written in the Brothers Grimm version, “When [Snow White] was seven years old, she was as beautiful as the bright day and more beautiful than the queen herself” (Grimm 96). This, in contrast to how the evil queen is described, tells us that being beautiful was a favorable trait for women to have, but them knowing that they were beautiful wasn’t. This is clearly shown in the Grimm version, “[The queen] was a beautiful lady, but proud and arrogant and could not bear being second to anyone in beauty” (Grimm 95). Evidently, a smart, cunning woman who knew her own worth and had ambition was not welcome in a society that valued pretty, silent, doll-like women, whose only dreams were to marry a hunk. Snow White eagerly embodied all of these traits. She is even compared to a doll in Anne Sexton’s adaptation of the tale, “...rolling her china-blue doll eyes open and shut” (Sexton 102). These same ideas are still prevalent in our society today, where it is often considered rude for women to accept compliments given to them, or to suggest that they consider themselves attractive. Women are taught that humility and bashfulness are more desirable than confidence and self-assurance, traits that happen to be demanded of men. Maybe the name of the Evil Queen should be changed to be the Confident …show more content…
However, in the Brothers Grimm version, not once does the queen ever doubt or question herself; she solely relies on the wisdom of the magic mirror. When it tells her, “...Snow White is a thousand times more fair than you!” she panics, “When the Queen heard these words, she trembled and turned green with envy” but she only considers her beauty to have been surpassed by Snow White, not diminished in its own right (Grimm 96). In Sexton’s version, however, the realization that Snow White is more beautiful triggers a sort of self-deprecation scene in hindsight of the reveal, “...now the queen saw brown spots on her hand and four whiskers over her lip” (Sexton 103). This difference in reaction could be due to the different ages of Snow White in the two retellings. In the Brothers Grimm version, she is still a child, only seven years old, whereas in Sexton’s she is thirteen, a young adult and arguably more sexually mature. This key difference explains the varying degrees of the queen’s defensiveness. A girl of seven is not as much of a threat to an adult woman’s perceived sexual attractiveness as a young woman of thirteen is. Therefore, the queen in the Grimm version is merely unsettled by the possibility of Snow White’s future adult sexual beauty, and therefore views the situation as less dire and less of a direct attack than the queen in
The woman society wants and idolizes cannot exist because it is impossible to remain true to oneself and one's personal goals completely, while still maintaining a relationship and the responsibilities of royalty. Society is not merely receiving this paradox, but perpetuating and encouraging it by turning a blind eye to something they do not want to see. This unrealistic, unattainable fantasy has become the goal of this modern feminist generation, and Poniewozik highlighted how this new tale has distracted from the true telling and story. Cinderella was simply a woman who just wanted to go to ball, and now she has become someone who is independent and driven, but still falls in love and learns to accept the fact that she is a princess. A woman who doesn't change who she is, but then changes titles and falls in love doesn’t exist, she is a
Jessica was suspicious of the queen, and rightfully so. When the queen entered the black room, the ghastly sight caused Jessica to faint in disgust. Suspicious, black, ghastly. These are just a few of the words an author can use to imply evil in a character. The connotation of dark as evil is prevalent in many stories throughout the history of western civilization. Fairy tales “emanate from specific struggles to humanize [forces initially perceived to be evil], which have terrorized our minds and communities in concrete ways” (Zipes), and their usually-heroic endings make us forget on a conscious level the lessons they’ve taught us. However, their impact remains on our subconscious views of the world. Because of this, fairly tales often address issues far more serious than one would think to teach to a young reader. The Brothers’ Grimm tale “Ashputtle”, the basis of our modern-day Cinderella archetype, takes advantage of this to address the issue of the continued oppression of women.
When analyzing a classic fairytale such as, Snow White, by the Brothers Grimm through a feminist lens, it is clear that it is a phallocentric fairytale that includes stereotypes, gender roles, the male gaze, and paternalism.
Every fairytale seems to have the usual prince saving the poor girl from harm or servitude or whatever horrid situation she may be in, and then companies like Disney add their movie magic and make it into a franchise. Others may add a twist or two, such as the film Ever After, directed by Andy Tennant. Yet no matter how the story goes, there is the same feminine ideas imposed upon the female lead. She has to compete with others for the attention of her “prince,” gender roles are a must, and morals are taught in some way or another through some kind of stereotype. These tend to cause some feminist outrage and even maybe a small outrage among parents who must deal with the children that watch these movies and read the stories because of the behavioral
The differences between Grimm’s version of “Snow White” and Anne Sexton’s poem, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” reflects how society sees women. To start, in Anne Sexton’s version the step-mother is the “fairest of us all” until Snow White turns 13. Then, in stanza 2 line 19 Snow White is “fairer than you [the step-mother],” whereas before Snow White is “no more important than a dust mouse under the bed” (stanza 4 line 6). In Grimm’s version of “Snow White,” Snow White’s mother declares her beauty while she is young; Snow White is “as white as snow, as red as blood, and as black as the wood of the window-frame” (pg. 124). The difference in stories shows the significance of women becoming valuable around the time they hit puberty, which supports
This characterization of the woman shows how she overpowers her husband, as opposed to the first wife (Snow White’s mother) who is characterized as being obedient and “sitting and sewing by a window with a black ebony frame” (Grimm 249). This characterization contrasts starkly with the dominant woman who plays the archetype of the evil stepmother. The original mother’s wishes came true as she wished for “a child as white as snow, as red as blood, and as black as the wood of the window frame” (Grimm 249). In this imagery, we are given a color palette that represents a beautiful woman (pale white skin, red rosy cheeks and black ebony hair). Anne Sexton never offers a description of Snow White’s real mother, perhaps showing the reader how it is less important whether the mother is evil or good, but rather how the stepmother and daughter relationship became muddled by the fear the stepmother had to have beauty surpass her own. As Snow White finds herself in the home of the seven dwarfs, she falls asleep and wakes up surrounded by the dwarfs who are interrogating her about her life. Snow White is very obedient, speaking only when spoken to and agreeing to do household chores in return for their protection of her. The dwarfs specifically tell her not to let anyone in the house while they are
This passage from the story insinuates that men need women to see it they way they do, and men don’t appreciate it when women are free-thinking. Women in fiction, not just in books but in movies and television as well, are often represented in certain molds or ideas. The story of Cinderella and the story by Hurston both reinforce the idea that fictional portrayals of women are
In fact, Cinderella itself is a prime example on how women should not be suppressed of their own potential. The Cinderella story most known is the “Disney version.” This version is criticized greatly by feminists due to Cinderella’s lack of taking action. Peggy Orenstein wrote an article in the New York Times in 2006 commenting on princesses in today’s society. She speaks of how every little girl these days are expected to be enthralled with princesses. She notes how they cannot grow up wanting to be heroes or anything of that sort. This is similar to “The Yellow Wallpaper” because due to princess stories such as Cinderella, little girls are pushed so often to desire being princesses just like in the short story, wives must succumb to their husband’s authority and ‘superior’
Instead, she takes her burdens as they come. Clare R. Ferrer noted in her article, “heroines are not allowed any defects, nor are they required to develop, since they are already perfect.” At the beginning of the story, Cinderella is described as “remaining pious and good” in-spite of the loss she endured. Cinderella is such a good person, that she takes the abuse from her step-sisters with grace and never asks for anything, nor does she reveal to her father or the Prince the type of life she has succumbed to living. Beauty goes hand-in-hand with being a good woman. According to Parsons, “a high premium is placed on feminine beauty…Women are positioned as the object of men’s gaze, and beauty determines a woman’s ...
Aurora, Ariel, Cinderella and Snow White are all white, slender, skinny princesses, lacking diversity in physical appearance. They are overtly thin as their waists are freakishly tiny, as are their wrists, in contrast to their eyes which are huge. Disney did not create an animated women of colour lead until Aladdin’s Jasmine in 1992, so it is clear that the norm was white princesses back then. None the less, the stereotypical way the women are physically presented shows a clear distinction of what is considered to be beautiful - which is an unattainable idea. Cinderella’s step-sisters are drawn to be much larger than her, along with bigger noses and butts. The same is done in Sleeping Beauty as the three fairies are more plump, emphasising that they are not beautiful, but rather dimwitted. Good traits are often associated with skinny people whereas negative ones correlate with those who do not fit the standards. These values from as early as 1937 have not changed as in today’s society - photoshop culture is still prevalent, and the idea of needing to be skinny and airbrushed perfect is still maintained. Though the images from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella, The Little Mermaid and Sleeping Beauty reflect the standards of their time, it does not mean that we have overcome these obstacles. These films point out that beauty is only limited to Europeans and that it is very eurocentric - an idea that is still present in today's society, as white-washing is extremely common. It teaches young girls - especially girls of colour, and overweight girls - that there is only one way of being beautiful, and if you do not fit these requirements, you are no longer pretty. It can tremendously harm the self-esteem of these impressionable girls because of the lack of representation in media, especially since these films are marketed for young
...present powerful characters, while females represent unimportant characters. Unaware of the influence of society’s perception of the importance of sexes, literature and culture go unchanged. Although fairytales such as Sleeping Beauty produce charming entertainment for children, their remains a didactic message that lays hidden beneath the surface; teaching future generations to be submissive to the inequalities of their gender. Feminist critic the works of former literature, highlighting sexual discriminations, and broadcasting their own versions of former works, that paints a composite image of women’s oppression (Feminist Theory and Criticism). Women of the twenty-first century serge forward investigating, and highlighting the inequalities of their race in effort to organize a better social life for women of the future (Feminist Theory and Criticism).
In a society unbridled with double standards and set views about women, one may wonder the origins of such beliefs. It might come as a surprise that these ideals and standards are embedded and have been for centuries in the beloved fairy tales we enjoyed reading as kids. In her analytical essay, “To Spin a Yarn: The Female Voice in Folklore and Fairy Tales”, Karen Rowe argues that fairy tales present “cultural norms which exalt passivity, dependency, and self-sacrifice as a female’s cardinal virtues.” Rowe presents an excellent point, which can be supported by versions of the cult classics, “Cinderella” and “Snow White”. Charles Perrault’s “ The Little Glass Slipper” and the Brothers Grimm’s “ Snow White” exemplify the beliefs that females are supposed to be docile, dependent on the male persona and willing to sacrifice themselves. In many cases, when strong female characters are presented they are always contradicting in these characteristics, thus labeled as villainous. Such is the case of the Cinderella’s stepsisters in Perrault’s “Cinderella” and the stepmother in the Brothers Grimm’s “Snow White.” These female characters face judgment and disapproval when they commit the same acts as male characters. With such messages rooted in our beloved fairy tales it is no wonder that society is rampant with these ideals about women and disapprove of women when they try to break free of this mold.
Women are crucial to society. They are our voices, and they revolutionize our people. More importantly, mothers are a big part of our society. J.M Barrie’s Peter Pan is a magic-filled story about a mischievous young boy named Peter, and his tribe, the Lost Boys, who explore and go from raising themselves to attaining a mother. This story can be studied under the lens of the Feminist Critical Theory, which focuses on women empowerment and their outstanding role in society. Literature allows society to explore this role, which J.M Barrie displays impeccably in his book. Barrie’s book definitively presents Wendy’s journey from childhood to motherhood, her role in the development of Peter and the Lost Boys, and the idealization of women. Peter
Snow White is a representation of fake beauty because she is just another young princess with red lips, black hair, white skin, skinny body, and a beautiful face. This is a great example that exhibits how a women should typically be, but that is not reality. Even the mirror describes her as the girl with “lips red as the rose, hair black as ebony, skin white as snow” (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, 1937). Disney always uses the same type of characters. The same scenario repeats itself constantly: a young lady who is or becomes a princess waiting for her dream man to rescue her and marry her. According to “Poer To The Princess” (Bridget Whelan, 1998) “Disney’s first animated feature, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), set a high standard for full-length animation and established a pattern for later Disney heroines to follow.” All of the princesses in the Disney animation films look innocent and show femininity because of their gentleness. Disney girls are incomplete without a man. They constantly need to be rescued by the man of their dreams and enter their prince’s life instead of creating their own. The idea of females being incapable to live without having a man in their lives might affect young girls because it emphasizes the idea that women are weak and that they should get married to find true happiness. Most importantly every single princess in Disney ends up marrying the love of her dreams. This is not reality because it is not always applicable to everyone. Everyone has their own way of living and not all of them will have a fairytale ending because not all women end up getting married. Snow White always longs for her man to find her and this is emphasized when she sings “I’m wishing for the one I love to find me”(Snow White and the Seven Dwarfes,
Disney and old fairytales threaten gender politics and ideal women roles by giving certain stereotypes for domestic and personality traits. Fairytales that have turned into Disney productions have sculpted domestic roles for women that consist of cooking, cleaning and caring for the children. Disney has also created these princesses with personalities that are shy, passive, and vulnerable. The cause of these stereotypes are making individuals obliterate their own identities and becoming clones from the mold that was prepared for