Feminism as defined by Tyson is “the ways in which literature (and other cultural productions) reinforce or undermine the economic, political, social, and psychological oppression of women" NEED TO DO INTRODUCITON PROPERLY
As stated in the critical anthology, many feminist critics “re think the canon, aiming at the rediscovery of texts written by women”. An understanding of feminism encourages the reader to discover alternative interpretations of the poems in The World’s Wife. It not only allows the reader to gain a wider understanding of the representations of women, but it highlights revisionism of the original story. Feminists such as CA and Angela Carter have exposed the patriarchal structure that is in fairy tales by rewriting the original stories. This is particularly evident in “The Little Red Cap”.
Little Red Cap is the Brothers Grimm’s version of Charles Perrault’s original fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood. The original is written as a moralistic story, in which ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ is eaten by the wolf, the moral being that children, particularly female, should not approach strangers. Feminist critics could argue that the original story is warning against curiosity and freedom. This is because in the original version Little Red Cap is told “not to run off the path” which implies she shouldn’t go beyond the social expectation of women. However, Duffy subverts the classic and as stated in her 2005 interview she “finds a truth which hadn’t been amplified previously”.
Carol Ann Duffy’s version intensifies the role of the girl. She subverts the typical stereotype of a woman who is often seen as a weak victim or the “dangerous seductress” and is frequently used to form the plot of a story. CAD states that “Little Red...
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...y male figures. They may also question what the driving force behind Salome’s actions is. From a feminine perspective, it can be interpreted that Salome is a figure which has been hurt by the patriarchal society.
However, even though a feminist view helps to encourage certain views in the text, it can be restrictive. This is because it does not allow the reader to discover other potential meanings such as a Marxist or a Psychoanalytical perceptive. For instance, in Salome a Marxist critic may be interested in the sexual power that the woman misuses. In addition, a psychoanalytic perspective allows us to see that it is the unconscious mind that is driving Salome to do such acts. This idea is reinforced through the Lois Tysons idea that “we unconsciously behave in ways that allow us to “play out”…our conflicted feelings about the painful experiences we repress”.
Modern-day feminists state that there are many repressed attitudes and fears which keep women in a kind of half-light, forcing them to subconsciously retreat from the full use of their minds and creativity (Dowling, 595). The archetypal Cinderella is often criticized by feminist critics for waiting for something external to transform her life (Abel, 192). Contrary to this assumption, passivity is not prevalent in the original Brothers’ Grimm tale. However, actions performed by women in the tale are often associated with darkness. It is this overpowering association with the color black and its implications that truly keep women in a “half-light” in the tale.
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.
In “The Company of Wolves” Carter employs conventions of gender construction and didacticism, which help establish a fairy tale space (Koske 323). Carter presents a world in which fairy tale notions of gender are upheld. In her paper, “In Olden Times, When Wishing was Having: Classic and Contemporary Fairy Tales”, Joyce Carol Oates explains that the girls and women in fairy tales “are the uncontested property of men”. Carter alludes to this male dominated reality in her tale (99). When the girl, Carter’s Red Riding Hood, insists on venturing into the woods, the narrator says that “[h]er father might forbid her, if he were home, but he is away in the forest, gathering wood, and her mother cannot deny her” (1224). There is perhaps no gendered element to a parent preventing his child from wandering into the wilderness, b...
Little Red Riding Hood, by Paul Galdone is a children's book generally for early elementary reading level. It focuses on a young girl,Little Red Riding Hood, who was instructed by her mother to deliver cake and wine to her ill grandmother. Her mother strictly told her not to speak to anyone but the Little Red Riding Hood did anyway. She spoke to a wolf , who questioned her about where she was going. Not knowing any better Little Red Ridding Hood
The transformation that takes place in the way in which the girl thinks about gender roles is not described directly as an issue of what is appropriate for men and women. Instead, the description is much more subtle, and almost a natural change that occurs in every person (Rasporich 130). It is this subtleness in the language causes the readers to not only feel sorry for the young girl, but to also think about their own views of gender
Young girls and women are expected to be innocent and pure, following the male lead and unable to really think for themselves. In Carter’s story, however, not only are the curiosities and desires of the narrator mentioned, they are written with such dramatic and illustrious vocabulary, as the narrator states that she “flung down the lid in a little fury of disappointment” (Carter 22) wondering what she should do now after her husband said he’d rather wait a bit longer before sleeping with her (Carter 22). Moreover, the narrator continues to ask herself “how shall [she] pass the long, sea-lit hours until [her] husband beds [her]” (Carter 23) in order to explicitly emphasize the humanly side of women; a side that exists but is constantly suppressed in order to meet societal, and thus, readers’ expectations. This in itself is the dark side of fairy tales – an unmentioned part, as if to keep it hidden in the dark, so to speak. Carter plays against the trope of innocence and purity of girls by allowing readers to know exactly what the female lead is thinking with the use of a narrator being the female lead herself. This is an important aspect because Carter assumes that readers’ prior knowledge is that females, especially young girls, are innocent and don’t have any sexual desires whatsoever. With Carter’s vivid descriptions, readers come to know that this is not the case and that readers are constantly kept in the dark when reading other fairy
As a child, I was told fairytales such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs every night before I went to sleep. Fairytales are an adventurous way to expand a child’s imagination and open their eyes to experience a new perspective. Modernizations of fairytales typically relate to a specific audience, such as adolescence, and put a contemporary spin on the old-aged tale. Instead of using whimsical themes heavily centered in nature, the contemporary poems connect with the reader in a more realistic everyday scenario. Also, many modernizations are written in poetic form to help reconstruct a flow in the piece and to develop or sometimes completely change the meaning from that of the original fairytale. Comparing Grimm’s Fairytale Snow White and the Seven Dwarves to the contemporary poem by Denise Duhamel, Snow White’s Acne, differences such as main character modifications, altered archetypes, and dissimilar intended morals can be interpreted and analyzed. These disparities renovate the tale, and bring forth current sociological issues such as an over-emphasis on beauty in adolescence and the results of heavy expectations in mother-daughter relationships.
The stereotypical gender roles depicted in literature has contributed to the destruction of a child’s social development, but more specifically that of young girls. Today, literature is one of the main factors that influence women 's reputation in society. However, the many socially constructed gender roles found in literature inaccurately describes the attributes of females. The fairy tales Little Red Cap and Ash girl are excellent examples of how literature can effect a young girl’s social development. One major theme depicted in both stories is the idea that young girls need to be obedient. Both stories tend to follow this concept as the protagonist obey the orders given to them without any questions. Little Red Cap, is a tale of a little girl who, on her mother orders, is traveling through the woods to her grandmother’s house. Already, the readers are confronted with the gender stereotype that young girls must
The feminist perspective of looking at a work of literature includes examining how both sexes are portrayed
One definition of gender is the membership of a word or grammatical form, or an inflectional form showing membership, in such a class. Gender critics take masculinity and feminism, as well as male and female, and use those theories to analyze writings. In books, or other writings, masculinity and feminism are used in order to describe how a character is seen by other characters. Feminism is the doctrine advocating social, political, and all other rights of women equal to those of men. It is also a feminine character. After the women’s rights movement, women began to write works and put in their own views and beliefs. This era became known as the feminist writing era. Women felt that by writing their feelings and then getting their works published, that people would see why women should be equal to men.
The ending is the major difference between the two stories. Perrault mentions immediately that Little Red is the ?prettiest creature who was ever seen? (Schlib, 2003, 667). She is naïve and does not realize that the wolf is trying to trick her so that he can eat her. She is easily distracted by the flowers, nuts, and butterflies that she finds along the path he sends her on. When she gets to her grandmother?s house, although she feels that something is wrong, she enters anyway. Little Red strips off her clothes and gets into the bed with the wolf, still disguised as her grandmother. The wolf pro...
In present day society, where political correctness and equality are at the top of the priority list, by reading essays such as the one by Karol Kelley we find that this might not have been the case in earlier days. Fairy tales such as Cinderella have been found guilty of possessing subliminal socialization traits. Classifying genders as inferior and molding young girls into the female that society expects them to be. In Charles Perrault’s version, which is considered the most common, Cinderella is seen as passive, limited, dependent and inferior. As critics argue, these traits can hinder a child’s self esteem. Karol Kelley states that the “expectations and the promises
Some fairy tales are so iconic that they withstand the passing of time. One of those fairy tales is that of Cinderella. The rags to riches story that gives even the lowliest of paupers, hope that they may one day climb the social ladder. While the core message of the story has transcended time, over the years it has been adapted to address a variety of audiences. One of those renditions is Perrault’s Cinderella where the traditional idea of gender is conveyed and therefore associated with good/evil. This idea is challenged by a fellow 1600’s French author, L’heriter de Villandon’s, who’s version of Cinderella brings about a female protagonist who is also the heroine.
Feminist theory helps to analyze gender inequality and its themes which are discrimination, sexual objectification, oppression, stereotyping and so on.
“Don’t ever take candy from a stranger or get into his car” this line has been drilled into our young little brains from teachers to parents. We have grown up being told never to trust a stranger because “stranger danger” one of my favorite lines as a child. Not only was this directed to us with our parents and teachers, but the classic folktale, “Little Red Riding Hood” has been taught to young children for many years. The stories moral is not to trust strangers and do not associate with them for any reason. While reading Perrault’s version of the classic folk tale, his moral is that children, especially young girl’s, can be eaten by wolves by just talking and trusting a stranger. He points out that women are more