An Analysis of Rapunzel by the Grimm Brothers (original) (raw)

Letting Rapunzel Down: feminism's effects on fairy tales.

2015

The importance of stories written for young readers is undisputed, and in particular the central place of the fairy story in popular culture is clearly recognized. Whilst most of these stories are centuries old, they have been adapted by the cultures of the tellers to be more compatible with the ideological views of the audience. This article will explore how feminism has influenced two versions of the same story, published by the same publisher for comparable age groups through an exploration of the Ladybird versions of Rapunzel as published in 1968 and 1993. It will show how there are subtle changes in the text which do not affect the overall narrative structure but can offer an insight into the ways in which society has ideologically positioned men and women. Fairclough’s critical discourse analysis (CDA) will be used to show how a close linguistic analysis of the text can reveal the impact of feminism on the adaptation of children’s books.

From fairy tales to disney movies: gender roles and stereotypes then and now

2016

This thesis studies classic fairy tales of the seventeenth, eighteenth and the nineteenth centuries by Charles Perrault, the Grimm Brothers and Hans Christian Andersen to observe how gender stereotypes and gender roles are portrayed. These tales not only indoctrinate gender roles for men and women, but also reflect the value system of contemporary patriarchal society. The paper will also explore different Disney films to understand how much the modern representations of classic fairy tales changed gender stereotypes and role models with the passage of time. This paper has six chapter. The first chapter is the introductory part. The second gives a brief history of fairy tales. Then the third, fourth and fifth chapters analyse different fairy tales and character. Finally there is chapter six which is the conclusion.

Cinderella Wants to Decide: A Feminist Study of Several Versions of This Fairy Tale Over the Years

2014

The literary fairy tale, present along history since the Middle Ages, is a device that portrays the ideology, politics, values, and morals of a society. However, they have also worked as an acculturation device for many centuries now. The language used in these tales is a key element, for it is selected by the tale collector or the tale writer with a purpose. A clear example is the fairy tale "Cinderella". People with power, men in the majority of cases, have articulated some specific discourse in order to reproduce or, rather, create, a reality in which men are strong while women are weak, men are active while women are passive, men are the leaders while women are the followers, just to mention a few dichotomies. Male collectors of fairy tales such as Basile, the brothers Grimm, and Charles Perrault have used their power as storytellers to reproduce a hierarchical structure of society, namely, patriarchy. These biased ideas on women, which the literary fairy tale has help...

Gender Representation in Classic Fairy Tales: A Comparative Study of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast

World Journal of English Language

Grimm’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella, and De Beaumont’s Beauty and the Beast are three examples of classic fairy tales that have been commonly told to children. The writers focused the study on the portrayal of gender representation reflected in these fairy tales. The writers used the descriptive qualitative method and feminist theory to analyze how these fairy tales portray gender representation. This study was expected that it could contribute to gender role discussion in children's literature and introduce children to equal gender roles to make them able to treat different gender equally. Unlike previous studies, this research focuses on traditional fairy tales and employs a qualitative methodology that involves close reading and content analysis. The writers found out that Grimms’ Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Cinderella portray traditional gender stereotypes. Snow White and Cinderella support the domination of masculinity and submissive femininity, whil...

Fairy Tales and Their Contribution to the Process of Constructing Gender Roles

Yaratıcı Drama Dergisi, 2016

As it is widely known that fairy tale refl ects the basic characteristics of a culture. Beside their functions such as preparing children for sleeping, to improve their imaginary, and guiding for the appropriate attitudes and behaviors; they have a critical role in the process of transferring basic rules and norms of the society to the next generations. In this paper, I would like to propose a study examining how fairy tales contribute to the process of constructing and transferring gender roles. More specifi cally, this proposed question aims to investigate the decisiveness of narrators of the fairy tales in the process of transferring gender roles. This question is worth studying and needs scientifi c attention since the survival of the fairy tale depends on social acceptance. In other words fairy tales are needed to be reproduced according to the needs of the society in that specifi c period. Additionally, examining reproduction process is critical to understand how gender roles are constructed and transferred. The hypotheses of this study examine decisiveness of women as the narrators of the fairy tales in the process of transferring gender roles.

ABSTRACT Gender Roles in German Fairy Tales

Grimm first captivated the world with their collection of tales in Kinder-und Hausmärchen These stories have served as the basis for many of the stories we call fairy tales They are told to countless children around the world and have been transformed into the feature length films we know and love Fairy tales also act as a form of didactic literature that has been used in classrooms since the nineteenth century In this thesis, I attempt to define this unique genre of literature, while also examining the different roles played by male and female characters and the ways that fairy tales have been utilized since the Grimm brothers

Framing Femininity in Fairy Tales: Female Stereotypes in Cinderella and The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood

Epitome International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research , 2018

Fairy tales, being a form of folk literature, continues to change and evolve according to the interpreters who gave them a written form. After years of being recognized as a source of entertainment, storytelling is now being viewed as a powerful tool for change and the overall development of an individual‟s personality, as well as an effective method to address social issues. As the characters depicted in children‟s fiction act as powerful cultural agents,fairy tales like Cinderella and The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood play a major role in the socialization process of the children who read them. However, a positive movement has been noted in the genre of fairy tales in the form of “feminist” versions of fairy tales. Perrault's classical fairy tales have thus been rewritten by feminists in recent times. Unfortunately, a close reading of many fairytales reveals that they set anoversimplified and un-questioned gender role stereotypes. As far as female stereotypes are concerned, the aim here is to explore how female characters in these fairy tales are represented as typical beautiful, submissive, enduring womenwhose happiness rests upon the men in their life. The fairy tales thus become a mere tool that men use or exploit to uphold and perpetuate the patriarchal conventions of society.

Gender Issues in Children's Literature: An Analysis of Fairytales

Gender Issues in Children's Literature: An Analysis of Fairytales, 2018

This paper intends to explore the reasons of gender discrimination in different segments of Pakistani society at grass root level. This study is based on qualitative content analysis of children's literature from which the most popular corpse of ten English fairytales purposively. Activities of different characters along with their social were selected and economic status, behavioral traits, gendered messages and thematic roles were analyzed by using coding frame for manifest and stimulus clues for latent information. This content analysis research indicates that gender difference is an integral part of the fairy tales which shows female gender inferior to male. A detailed qualitative analysis of these selected fairytales cited that gender issues start from titles and prevail throughout the fairytales. Males had proper names but girls were known with their attributive names in the titles. The study suggests a need for drastic change behaviorally, psychologically and materially (in our children's literature and particularly in fairytales) to keep pace with the 21 st century, which demands us to be more creative, active and innovative with scientific approach instead of becoming an escapist.

The Construction of the Feminist Fairy Tale: Female Agency over Role Reversal

A child's first exposure to literature is often a fairy tale, frequently a derivative of one of the classics by the Brothers Grimm or Charles Perrault. While lack of mythology instruction in the early elementary curriculum and lack of mythology recall knowledge in adolescents is cause for concern, high school students do know basic Aesop fables and such well-known fairy tales as Cinderella. 1 Many states mandate the study of folktales, fairy tales, and fables in their curricula (for example, the statewide curricula of North Carolina, California, and Rhode Island emphasize this for third grade), preschools often include fairytales in their curricula, and public libraries use fairytales and folktales in preschool programs aimed at developing early literacy habits. These tales, many hundreds of years old and found in countless incarnations all over the world, are a basic part of the intricate layering of stories and influences that perpetuate and inform the cultural norms surrounding the world the child lives in. 2

Challenging gender stereotypes through a transformation of a fairy tale

European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 2020

The aim of this study is to explore ECEC-teachers’ attitudes toward gender through a transformation of the classic fairy tale ‘The Princesses and The Pea’. The stereotypes presented in fairy tales can be limiting for children today because they can reinforce traditional ideals of femininity and masculinity. The Norwegian ensemble Dybwikdans challenge gender stereotypes in ‘The Princess and The Pea’. In the performance, the princess acts strong and brave, the king feminine and vain. Findings that are based on interviews indicate that the teachers are not concerned with gender stereotypes in fairy tales; they have a set of stereotyped expectations about how females and males are portrayed, but a transformation of an old story provides an opportunity to explore and challenge traditional gender roles.