Gender Stereotypes In Little Red Cap And Ash Girl By Jacob And Wilhelm Grimm

1001 Words3 Pages

From the very beginning, fairy tales have been a tool in helping entertain young children. Despite its use for entertainment; fairy tales were commonly used as a strategy to inform and educate children about the real world. However, these messages, play a major role in reinforcing gender stereotypes as well as transmitting society’s expectations for children. These messages presented in literature forces children to view the world and themselves through rose- coloured glasses. I argue that the fairy tales, Little Red Cap and Ash Girl by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm reinforces the gender stereotypes which are detrimental to a child’s social development.
Fairy tales have always been a source of escape from the real world. As children use these fairy …show more content…

The brothers didn’t always stay close to the versions we know of today. As we see in their version of Ash Girl. In this version the brothers take a more gruesome approach. Little Red Cap and Ash Girl are two fairy tales that are completely different, but the stereotypical gender roles depicted in both help connect them.
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 …show more content…

However, that doesn’t mean boys are not affected by the many gendered norms placed on them. In literature, the male characters are often described as more active, aggressive, independent, fearless, competent, and dominant in behaviour. During the climax of the fairy tale Little Red Cap, the huntsman stumbles upon the sleeping wolf. He becomes suspicious of the snoring, and investigates. To his surprise, he sees that the wolf, whom he has been hunting, is asleep in Grandma’s bed. “He cuts open the wolf and frees Little Red and her Grandma” (Grimm 3), thus making the huntsman the hero. The huntsman in the fairy tale, Little Red Cap, was known for being aggressive and fearless in his heroic actions. Similarly, in Ash Girl the prince is the one who rescues Cinderella from the horrible treatment of her family. The Prince is associated with the male gender roles because of his social power. Although the stereotypes don’t seem horrible they do in fact have a huge impact on young boys. As from a young age, boys learn that they need to be strong and aggressive to get heard. This creates the false idea that if they do not possess those characteristics they will be considered

More about Gender Stereotypes In Little Red Cap And Ash Girl By Jacob And Wilhelm Grimm

Open Document