Women In Fairy Tales

971 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Gender Roles in Fairy Tales

The Grimm brothers wrote fairytales in a time period where women weren't looked up upon as much as men. They weren't held up to high expectations. Fairytale society was similar to real society.Fairytales had female and male characters that reflected society.Fairytales taught us lessons about growing up and and what was expected but you may not have noticed. Fairytales started making female characters helpless and make characters strong and heroic, which was an exact mirror of societal beliefs of this time period. In real society woman were expected to be ignorant ,innocent ,and put off the impression of innocence. Many Females wore shades of blue and pink for a symbol of virginal purity. Men had high expectations of women. …show more content…

A female heroine is perfect in every way. She is beautiful ,kind ,helpful ,and compassionate. She is certainly not smart ,clever , or ambitious. The female heroine does not find her way out of situations but waits for others to save her. She is also helpless and malicious. The female characters that show signs of intelligence are evil. She has desire and motive to hurt other characters. Men in fairytales remained economic and political. Men in fairytales are called heroes. They are at best ,rich ,and powerful but lack personality. They tend to be royalty ,handsome ,and ideal in every way. They have very simple needs and emotions. They fall in love at first site and are devastated if the lady they love appears or is dead. The prince of a fairytale is always right and always wins in the the end. A prince gets his bride and a happy ending no matter what. Even if the princes actions are construed as controversial, they are never ever …show more content…

Long ago a man was found in the woods covers head to toe in hair. The king locked him up thinking he was dangerous but he never showed any sign of violence. The king called him the Wildman. He was different looking so everyone was scared of him. The king wanted to start an experiment to see if he could turn the wildman into a real human. He educated the man and was growing on the social ladder. His real name was Petro Bensalvis. Since the king had taken him in he was required to marry because he was considered royalty. His wife was scared of him and thought he was monster much like the version that was written by the Brothers. His condition is actually a disease called. Hypertrichosis is abnormal hair growth over the body. In the world to this present day there is about fifty people in the world with Hypertrichosis. A young man named Lary along with a few of his cousins have Hypertrichosis. They were bullied throughout school because of what they looked like. (The Real Beauty and the Beast By Julian

Show More
Related

  • Women in Ywain by Chrétien de Troyes

    747 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Chrétien de Troyes' Ywain, women represent the moral virtue and arch of all mid-evil civilization. Women of this time had to be an object of love, which meant they had to have beauty, goodness, and be truthful. They had to be a representative of all chivalrous ideals. They also act as civilizing influences throughout the story. Women are put in the story to give men a reason for acting brave and noble. Men become knights in order to demonstrate to women that they are strong and capable of defending themselves against danger. This, they hope, will win the women's heart.

    Read More

  • How Did Elvis Presley Influence The Fashion Of The 50's

    502 Words  | 2 Pages

    Clothing also began to change dramatically; people began to rebel against societies ideas on what is appropriate making a revelation in variety of clothing men could choose from. Patterns such as checks, stripes and argyle also became widely used by fashion designers. Along with new patterns, colours also began to make an appearance with pastel colours also being used. Around the same time, a ‘pink rage’ took effect. This involved men wearing pink in their outfit through the form of tops and ties to help break gender stereotypes, which was a big issue at the time. Boys were expected to be strong, silent and assertive opposed to women who were portrayed as weak and emotional. They also expected women to be the least intelligent of the couple to help make the male feel smarter and more

    Read More

  • Comparing the Role of Women in Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

    533 Words  | 2 Pages

    Men exemplify heroic qualities in both Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, however, women are depicted differently in the two stories. In Beowulf, women are not necessary to the epic, where as in Green Knight, women not only play a vital role in the plot, but they also directly control the situations that arise. Men are acknowledged for their heroic achievement in both stories, while the women's importance in each story differ. However, women are being equally degraded in both Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

    Read More

  • Classic Fairy Tales: Annotated Bibliography

    1399 Words  | 3 Pages

    In his evaluation of Little Red Riding Hood, Bill Delaney states, “In analyzing a story . . . it is often the most incongruous element that can be the most revealing.” To Delaney, the most revealing element in Little Red Riding Hood is the protagonist’s scarlet cloak. Delaney wonders how a peasant girl could own such a luxurious item. First, he speculates that a “Lady Bountiful” gave her the cloak, which had belonged to her daughter. Later, however, Delaney suggests that the cloak is merely symbolic, perhaps representing a fantasy world in which she lives.

    Read More

  • Gender Roles In Andrea Dworkin's 'Onceuponatime'?

    1268 Words  | 3 Pages

    Fairy tales not only impacts women negatively but ultimately impact men negatively as well. Dworkin notes that the prince that must save the princess is given astronomically superb qualities that regular men, that everyday men are unable to posses. Surely men can possess some of the qualities that a prince has but no man can have all these qualities. Men attempt to do so but in end, they “use airplanes”. Airplanes would a be much faster and convenient substitute to a white horse that must be trained and groomed to be ridden on. Dworkin would eventually state:

    Read More

  • Gender Stereotypes in Fairytales

    996 Words  | 2 Pages

    Shrek, an enormous, disgusting green ogre falling in love with a beautiful princess (later turning into a nasty ogre) is a perfect example of a stereotypical fairytale, right? Well in the movie Shrek, the voice over in the trailer talks about a “hero” attempting to rescue a “fair princess” with the help of “his trusty companion." Besides the fact that the hero is a voluptuous green ogre and the companion is a donkey, everything fits in normally to the definition of a traditional fairytale (Diaz). Also according to Mary Kunimitsu, in fantasy films “There may be characters with magical or supernatural abilities such as witches, wizards, superheroes, mythical creatures, talking animals, and ghosts” (Kunimitsu). In Shrek, there are many of these different characters. Therefore, by explanation, a traditional fairytale with the beautiful princess getting saved by the prince and falling in love is exactly what happens in the movie Shrek, just with a twist. The voice over in the trailer for Shrek states it perfectly as he says “Shrek is a highly irreverent take on the classic fairytale” (Adamson). As an untraditional fairytale, and a parody, the movie Shrek poses the breaking of stereotypes of gender and film fairytales all the while keeping the criteria of a fairytale.

    Read More

  • Beauty and The Beast

    661 Words  | 2 Pages

    Through the three revisions of Beauty and The Beast, the fairy tales retold share many similarities as well as many differences according to their time period. In all three versions femininity and masculinity are presented in many ways. Femininity is shown through all three main female characters, Belle from the famous Disney film “The Beauty and The Beast”, the narrator in “Tiger’s Bride”, and Psyche in “Cupid and Psyche”. In all three versions, the female characters breaks society’s expectations of a typical woman. In CP Psyche stands up to Cupid’s mother Venus and accomplishes these activities usually performed by males. She shows society that women can overcome male activities and have strength to complete the same tasks. She breaks tradition of the male character fighting for her because in this version she takes on the hero role and fights for Cupid. This was not something ordinarily done by woman characters during this time. In TB the narrator breaks the tradition of the innocent stereotypical woman figure. The narrator exposes and does things most woman would never have the nerve to do. She shows society that women can fault their beauty in other ways. Even if society does not make it acceptable to have sex before marriage, she shows that women can expose their body and beauty in many ways. In DB version Belle is a great example that women should not be looked at as dolls and let males have control over them. She shows society that woman can be independent and educated. She does not get married to the most handsome male in town however she goes after someone who deeply cares about her. She displays a great example of how woman have their own mind and can think for themselves. Woman are allowed to make decisions and have ...

    Read More

  • Grimm's Cinderella Story

    1894 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Grimm’s stories have strict criteria for good and evil. Good women are not the hero, they do not plan, nor do they get themselves out of bad situations; they are obtuse and wait until a Prince saves them. These qualities doom the female protagonists (and readers) to pursue the only destiny women have, and that is to be a wife and mother (Rowe, 1978). Cinderella is the heroine and the ideal good girl. She is unambiguously beautiful, kind, and compassionate. She does not complain or get angry. This is foreseen early in the Grimm’s Cinderella story:

    Read More

  • Women In Tales From The Thousand And One Nights

    1156 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout history, women were not always well regarded by men. Because of this, most societies treated their women as second class citizens. The stories from, Tales from the Thousand and One Nights, illustrate how the portrayal of women affected Muslim society in the Ninth century. Sometimes women were seen as mischievous, unfaithful temptresses. Other times they were depicted as obedient, simple minded slaves looking to please their master.  With the use of charm, sex and trickery, they used the labels that they were put in, to their advantage; demonstrating that women during this century were clever, smart, and sly.

    Read More

  • Gender Stereotypes in Fairy Tales

    1317 Words  | 3 Pages

    Fairy Tales have been around for generations and generations. Our parents have told us these stories and we will eventually pass them down to ours. In this time of age the most common fairytales are Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and The Beast and many more. Children idolize their favorite character and pretend to be them by mimicking everything they do in the stories. The character’s behavior is what is viewed as appropriate in society. These fairy tales show a girl and a boy fall in love and live “happily ever after”. The tales in many people’s eyes resemble a dream life that they would want to have of their own. However, have you ever really looked at what makes up a fairy tale? Many things are unrealistic but the most unflattering aspect of these tales is how women are depicted in them. Fairy tales give an unrealistic view to how women should look and behave in real life.

    Read More

  • Feminism and Fairy Tales

    1259 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Things Walt Disney Never Told Us By Kay Stone

    606 Words  | 2 Pages

    In “Things Walt Disney Never Told Us” by Kay Stone, the author began her article by contrasting the infamous Grimm fairy tales and the passive Disney fairy tales with the characters from the Märchen, which is all types of fairy tale in general including stories with active heroes or heroines. She also talks about the Grimm brother and Disney's negligence to include active characters and the black and white stereotypes of the beautiful and kind protagonists and the ruthless and ugly antagonists. Although some of the heroines from the Grimm and Disney stories do show signs of bravery, but they are overpowered by the men in the end: “In "The Clever Peasant Lass" the girl is threatened with abandonment by her boorish husband, and the proud daughter in "King Thrushbeard" is humbled by both her father and her unwanted husband.” The main characters from both the Grimm and Disney are viewed to be “uninspiring” as Stone puts it: “The popularized heroines of the Grimms and Disney are not only passive and pretty, but

    Read More

  • Essay On Objectification Of Women In The Bloody Chamber

    876 Words  | 2 Pages

    Fairytales have been around as long as man can remember. Fairytales are told not just for entertainment but try to instill morals and build character. The cultural norms represented in fairytales play a large part in the socialization processes of the child who reads them. Contained within these cultural norms are the beliefs about gender roles that are held by society. The characters in the stories help children to determine what behaviors, traits, or roles are acceptable for children of certain genders. In Angela Carter’s book, The Bloody Chambers, one sees major themes being used to influence people. One of these themes is objectification of women. In every one of Carter’s stories women are objectified. These stories portray women as weak, submissive, dependent, and self-sacrificing while men are powerful, active and dominant. As long as women are primarily bought and sold and are willing to be bought and sold, women will always be looked at as only objects. When looking at the stories, The Bloody chambers, The Courtship of Mr.Lyon, and The Tigers Bride, women are seen being objectified by men. Carter doesn’t give men all the blame, she also shows man as being objectifies in Lady in the house of Love.

    Read More

  • Feminine Beauty In Fairy Tales

    741 Words  | 2 Pages

    The article discusses the importance of feminine beauty throughout fairy tales, specifically the Brothers Grimm’s fairy tales. Women, especially those who are younger, are often described as “pretty,” “fair,” or beautiful in these fairy tales and that beauty is associated with usually white privileged women with high moral standards. These fairy tales, especially in prominent stories, send messages that not only tell you what beauty should look like, but also how it is rewarded. The example the article uses is from “Mother Holle” in which there is a beautiful girl and an ugly girl. The beautiful girl is portrayed as industrious

    Read More

  • The Story Of Sleeping Beauty

    720 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...oited by the royalty, those concepts did not exist yet. By the time Disney got around to it the tide of morals meant that girls must be presented as lady’s none of the sexual desire stuff of the more ancient versions. The story had to revolve around the selfless prince rescuing his bride to be all good Christian values. However even with those changes the story maintained things that survived the course of history. The damsel who needs to be saved and the role of Man saving the women.

    Read More

More about Women In Fairy Tales

Open Document