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
Feminism in today’s society holds true that women are strong individuals who are capable of achieving their dreams. A significant problem with the Disney Princesses is that even surrounded by the notion that females have the same inherent dignity as men, they continue to be portrayed as passive women with limited aspirations. For example, in Snow White, the character of Snow White is glorified by her ability to sing beautifully and cook for the seven dwarves (Hynes). In Beauty and the Beast, Belle is ignored when she tries to make conversation about a book she is reading, which suggests that a well-read woman is not worthy of attention (Hynes). And, in The Little Mermaid, Ariel sings about all of the wonderful treasures that she possesses, which encourages the valuing of material goods (Hynes). These films give rise to the belief that a woman’s worth is dependent on her ability to maintain a household,...
When the King's wife dies it becomes imperative that he was to marry again. However, he would not settle on any woman unless she was as beautiful as his late wife was. Ironically, the only woman in the kingdom that possesses the beauty of his wife is his daughter, with whom he becomes obsessed. In the tale it is said that, "…In every respect she was like his dead wife…" suggesting the projection of an anima ideal. This leaves no room for the princess to be different from her mother (Jewett, 20). She is the bloodline of the wife and is just as beautiful. The King plans on having an incestuous relationship with her. This is not the sign of a good parent. This type of relationship is symbolic of the faults of parents in 19th century Germany. Not all parents knew how to act the right way and Brothers Grimm account of monstrous parents brought a social light to this.
Throughout many fairytales, Cinderella more evidently, there is the stigma of male roles and female roles. The man is the prince, the knight in shining armor, the strong protector and able provider, and the woman is the princess. Dainty and innocent, weak and capable only of looking pretty, fostering children and maintaining appearances of house and home. These roles of placement have been around long before fairy tales, and they’ll be around long after fairy tales, but the inclusion of these roles through characters in fairy tales does nothing but enforce the idea that this is the way things are meant to be, and women who do not assume these roles are wrong and unworthy. In her article, Orenstein refers to Cinderella as “the patriarchal oppression of all women”, and she is exactly right (Orenstein “What’s wrong with Cinderella?”). The impression left of these gender stereotypes travels off the pages of the fairy tale and into the real world when studies show that there is a “23% decline in girls’ participation in sports and other rigorous activity … has been linked to their sense that athletics is unfeminine” (Orenstein “What’s wrong with Cinderella?”). The blatant disregard for equality in these stories can be summed up with a term Orenstein coined, “relentless resegregation of childhood”, which ultimately defines what it means to be a boy or a girl in the terms of set behaviors and life duties (Orenstein “What’s wrong with Cinderella?”). Whether it be Cinderella or any other princess, the fairy tale business makes it a point to create a place for women with their stories, and unfortunately that “place” is demeaning and still practiced
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 ...
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).
...cardinal virtues.” This cannon is exemplified in multiple fairy tales, especially Charles Perrault’s “ The Little Glass Slipper” and the Brothers Grimm’s “ Snow White”. Throughout these two fairy tales the main characters are perfect embodiments of these ideal female virtues. Cinderella is passive and forgiving even though she is mistreated. Snow White is passive and her life is completely dependent on the males present in the tale. In both instances the opposing women in the narratives are characterized as villains because they are strong and dominant. In the case of “Snow White” only the queen is looked down upon when she tries to kill Snow White, while the huntsman is proclaimed a hero even though he was intent on killing her. These cannons and ideals, demonstrate why our society is full of double standards and set ideals that women are suppose to live up to.
Women in these fairy tales are young and beautiful. In all reality not every girl in this world is truly considered beautiful by our society’s terms. In today’s society the term beautiful is often used to describe a women who is a size 0, tall, flawless skin, and dressed nicely. Haven’t you ever seen princesses that are in all these fairy tales, our society’s description of beautiful describes every single one of these princesses?
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.
As in many fairy tales we have grown up with, the characters are always beautiful or handsome, with an evil mother that wants to destroy that. Baker-Sperry and Grauerholz state that, “The feminine beauty ideal-the socially constructed notion that physical attractiveness is one of women's most important assets, and something all women should strive to achieve and maintain…[is] viewed largely as an oppressive, patriarchal practice that objectifies, devalues, and subordinates women”(711). Women grow up with the impression that they must be perfect and beautiful in order to get a man. They will see the beautiful girl get a handsome guy and everything they want. The characters in Tangled prove the fact that every fairy tale follows the same guide lines; Rapunzel, Flynn, and even mother Gothel are beautiful. Their features are all the same with them being thin, having straight teeth, and being good looking. If a person was described as being perfect looking, than a fairy tale character is what they would be compared to. A little girl will see Rapunzel and want to be like her because she’s pretty and a princess and they will l...
From the very beginning of the tale it is obvious that the Queen is obsessed with beauty, ?the King took another wife, a beautiful woman, but proud and overbearing, and she could not bear to be surpassed in beauty by anyone??(Grimm and Grimm 166). Further evidence of her narcissism is her daily ritual in which she consults her magic mirror on who is the most beautiful person in the kingdom. As she repeatedly expects the answer to be in her favor, she is outraged when it appears that Snow White has surpassed her. This information drives the Queen to hate Snow White and soon she orders her death. By looking at beauty as a commodity through which power can be gained, this action can be interpreted as a means for the Queen to preserve her power through beauty. The fact that Snow White was beautiful may not have been reason enough alone to kill her, but the fear that Snow White could use her beauty in orde...
Since 1937, when Snow White was created, Disney princesses have been falsely portraying women. While their personalities have changed to keep up with society’s standards, their unrealistic body
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
Snow White by the Brothers Grimm explores the theme of insecurity which can be defined as one’s subjective evaluation of his or her own self. The fairytale is a story about a Queen who seeks to be the prettiest by constantly asking her mirror “Mirror, Mirror, on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?.” Initially it was always her; however, as the story progresses and as her stepdaughter Snow White matures, the mirror states that Snow White is the fairest. This causes the step-mother to try to kill Snow White through a huntsman, using a comb, a corset, and finally an apple. This mirror phrase seems to raise more and more anger the more it is asked. One could assume that the mirror is the judging factor in the phrase, but after a closer look on a psychological level, the
Spiritually, Snow White will complete her task through her journey with Christ. Her journey with Christ is the most prominent subconscious task that she will complete. When she enters the Dwarfs’ house, she sees “seven little beds…covered with spotless sheets” (Hallett, Martin, and Barbara Karasek 149). The repetition of the number seven is related to the seven deadly sins that she, as an innocent girl, has not had to deal with, and that’s why the sheets are spotless. As she matures and grows into a spiritual woman, she will have to overcome the temptation associated with the seven deadly sins. The first sins, Gluttony and Sloth, are shown when Snow White eats the dwarfs’ food and sleeps in their beds. The dwarfs are imaginative figures in her mind that represent the Holy Spirit within people of Christian faith. The dwarfs lead her away from the first sins that she comes into contact with because they tell her that she has to do the housework and cook if she wants to stay with them. This helps her move into maturity both spiritually and figuratively because if she continues to do the housework she won’t submit into laziness, and if she does the chores then it can help her to prepare for her duties as a wife or mother in the second stage of her life.
The narrator says this to further the idea that the character of Cinderella evolves during the entire tale. She begins being this beautiful girl to this bottom-feeder only bossed around by her own family. This is significant when the stepmother takes “her beautiful clothes away” and dresses Cinderella “in an old gray smock” with “wooden shoes” (Grimm 1). This change makes the character more vulnerable in which it can make the other characters push her around more. The taking away of beauty can also show the true colors of the other characters because it shows that they are insecure. They are scared of Cinderella and by changing a simple look, it can give them the confidence to rule over her. Another personality trait that Cinderella has is the “damsel in distress” princess. This was very common in older princesses like The Little Mermaid, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Rapunzel. All of these characters engulf this idea that princesses are passive, naive, innocent, easy targets, and always wanting to be rescued. For example, Cinderella never speaks up to her stepmother. Many older princesses were commonly known for doing nothing and letting stuff happen around them. As a result, the quote illustrates certain personality traits that are common in