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There are hundreds of German tales that denote active collaboration. This defines the culture as tight-knit and collaborative in all their efforts. There is, “The Bremen Town Musicians”, “The Seven Ravens”, the “Six Who Made Their Way”, “The Three Little Gnomes in the Forest” and the famous seven dwarfs from “Snow White”. There are tons of examples on how the culture is one of collaboration, where the community helps each other out in the worse of all conditions, and where participation is almost a given. We have forgotten one small fact here, though. The collaboration often happens among men.
There are rarely depictions of women also participating in the acts of bravery, humanity or even secular efforts. Women are left as the supportive alliance that bond the men together in their efforts to triumph. Nevertheless, their actions are not symbolic. While there is the occasional depiction of a wise woman, evil woman, servant woman, and of course, the runaway; there is little expression of womanhood as a heroine, a brave soul, a leader in the battle against evil and so on. The heroine of the Grimm’s is fully on her own, Snow White is on her own, almost all tales where there is a manly participation, the woman is left to the side on her own to handle her business and accommodate the business of men in her schedule. This is what makes her the heroine in the story, not her actions.
The basis for national identity in Europe has always been one of ethnicity and not gender. There are, of course, exceptions to this rule in some tales common to the world. That would include Snow White as she is depicted in terms of her gender and her ethnicity in the film. The folk tale, based on a German woman who cares for dwarfed men, is depicted in ...
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...sehold role that is even attached to film and literature.
Works Cited
Bettelheim, Bruno. The uses of enchantment: The meaning and importance of fairy tales. Random House LLC, 2010.
Charles, Nickie, and Helen Hintjens. "Gender, ethnicity and cultural identity: women’s ‘places’." Gender, ethnicity and political ideologies (1998): 1-27.
Dekker, Grudrun Anne. Schneewittchen: Blonde Tochter Einer Adligen Aus Ostfriesland. BoD–Books on Demand, 2013.
Girardot, Norman J. "Initiation and Meaning in the Tale of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." Journal of American Folklore (1977): 274-300.
Powell, Martin. Snow White. Capstone Classroom, 2009.
Tautz, Birgit. "A Fairy Tale Reality?: Elfriede Jelinek's Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and the Mythologization of Contemporary Society." Women in German Yearbook: Feminist Studies in German Literature & Culture 24.1 (2008): 165-184.
Similar to the above conversation, one must take these tales with a grain of salt, and keep in mind the time period in which they were written. For the purpose of this paper, the focus will only be on what the tale is striving to teach those who read it. Similar to Lurie’s opinion on “The Light Princess,” readers of “Sleeping Beauty” may come away from the story thinking the best was to grow up or be helped is to fall in love; let the man (prince) solve the problem (Lurie 360). This thought is further echoed by Martin Hallett and Barbara Karasek, the authors of “Folk and Fairy Tales,” as they describe the story “as a metaphor for growing up: the heroine falls asleep as a naïve girl and awakens as a mature young woman on the threshold of marriage”
If children or adults think of the great classical fairy tales today, be it Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, or Cinderella, they will think Walt Disney. Their first and perhaps lasting impression of these tales and others will have emanated from Disney film, book, or artefacts (Zipes 72)
The simplicity of fairy tales and non-specific details renders them ideal for manipulation allowing writers to add their own comments often reflecting social convention and ideology. Theref...
Though the evils of the world may discourage us from reaching our full potential, fairytales such as Little Snow-White by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm teach us that good will always triumph over evil. As many tales of its kind, Little Snow-White uses a number of literary devices to attract a younger audience and communicate to them a lesson or moral that will remain with them throughout their lives. Since children have such an abstract stream of thought, it is vital to use language and devices that will appeal to them as to keep them interested in the story.
In Feminism and Fairy Tales, Karen E. Rowe asserts that “popular folktales” have “shaped our romantic expectations” and “illuminate psychic ambiguities which often confound contemporary women.” She believes that “portrayals of adolescent waiting and dreaming, patterns of double enchantment, and romanticizations of marriage contribute to the potency of fairy tales” makes “many readers discount obvious fantasy elements and fall prey to more subtle paradigms through identification with the heroine.” As a result, Karen Rowe contends “subconsciously women may transfer from fairy tales into real life cultural norms which exalt passivity, dependency, and self-sacrifice as a female’s cardinal virtues suggest that culture’s very survival depends upon a woman’s acceptance of roles which relegate her to motherhood and domesticity.” It is undeniable that numerous folk tales implant male chauvinism into women’s minds and thus convey an idea that woman should obey and depend on men. However, Rowe neglects the aspect that many other folk tales, on the contrary, disclose the evil and vulnerable sides of man and marriage and thus encourage women to rely on their own intelligence and courage other than subordinating to man. The Fairy tales “Beauty and Beast” and “Fowler’s Fowl” challenge Rowe’s thesis to some extent and exemplify that some fairy tales motivate women to be intelligent and courageous and to challenge patriarchy.
The first portrayal of “Snow White” in 1930s showed the woman to be a product of the environment around her. The influence of the environment was depicted as having a great impact in influencing the character of women due to their naïve and weak nature (Cheu 135).
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.
There are many fairy tales that have been discussed in this class. The most interesting stories to me are Snow White by Brother Grimm and Ever After: A Cinderella Story directed by Andy Tennant based on Cinderella by Charles Perrault. There are many different versions of Snow White and Cinderella from numerous cultures. In every version, both stories are known as children bedtime stories. In addition, the purpose of both stories is to give a life lesson to the children about overcoming evil to attain happiness. At first, every fairy tale has to deal with evil that threatens the protagonist, but in the end, good must always win. In the same way, both of the fairy tales have a similar scenario of a character
Bettelheim, Bruno. The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales. New York: Vintage, 2010. Print.
Few people can grow up within today's society without knowing the tale of Snow White. From the Grimm Brothers to Disney, it has been told and retold to children throughout the ages. However, what is often overlooked are the true meanings within the story. Fairytales typically have underlying messages that can be found written between the lines, generally in terms of the key themes. Snow White discusses the themes of envy and beauty, and shows how humans' obsessions can lead to their own downfall as well as the harm of others. When focusing on the relationship between Snow White and her step-mother the Queen, it is evident that the combination of these two themes results in a power struggle in which beauty is seen as a commodity and is the basis for the step-mother?s envy towards Snow White.
Grimm, Jacob and Wilhelm. “Rapunzel.” Folk and Fairy Tales. Ed. Martin Hallett and Barbara Karasek. Peterborough: Broadview Press, 2002. 67-70.
Throughout time the way we visualize things has changed. When the Brothers Grimm’s created “Little Snow White” in 1812 they did not have any way to visually show their ideas to the public. They could not just make a movie or hire an illustrator to bring life to their words. So instead they relied on their readers to use their own imagination to create the characters and scenarios throughout the s...
Bettelheim, Bruno. The Uses of Enchantment: the Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales. London: Thames and Hudson, 1976. Print.
..., Maria. “An Introduction to Fairy Tales.” Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum. Ed. Laurence Behrens, Leonard J. Rosen. Toronto: Longman, 2013. 230-235. Print.
Fairy Tale Text & Motif. Prod. Distribution Access. Distribution Access, 2001.Discovery Education. Web. 1 December 2001. .