Classic and Modern Fairy Tales
Literature Review
Fairy tales refer to fictional stories that often feature characters of folkloric nature (such as goblins, fairies, elves, witches, trolls, talking animals, and giants) as well as enchantments normally set in a far-fetched event sequence. Fairy tales also describe the fictional story through an unusual happiness such as fairy tale romance or happy conclusion although not all fairy tales have happy conclusions. Ultimately, fairy tales are different from other kinds of stories in a variety of ways. One of these differences rests with elements that make up the setting of the story. Not every fairy tale is set up with these elements, but each requires having a few to be referred to as a fairy tale (Hoisington, 12). Among these includes the element of “happily ever after”. However, further research reveals that fairy tales with these kinds of endings pose more harm than good to the intended audience.
Liz Baker and Lori Sperry are both professionals in sociology and teamed together to study the happily ever after element in fairy tales and whether stories with this element are likely to be more popular compared to other stories (Wein and Zipes, 34). Baker maintains that it is prudent to make parents aware of the implications associated with exposing their children to some of these fairy tales. In this case, some of these stories pass the message that unattractive people in the society are more likely t have evil motives as well as enforcing traditional gender roles to the children. Fairy tales seemingly assert that being pretty pays and leads one having a happy life. On the other hand, being unattractive is taken to imply imminent rejection from other people (Purdue News, 1). It is necessary as well as important to grasp the messages on traditional gender roles passed to children, especially at a time when the female society is being encouraged to become independent and rely on their brainpower rather than looks.
Despite their increased independence, the current woman still tends to prioritize her beauty value and appearance. This premise fosters the notion that attractive men and women are more likely to be rewarded socially than their less attractive companions are. From early childhood, girls have been read fairy tales that talk about attractive princess who attain vast riches and a happy life because of their attractive appearance. This message should not be taken lightly because it is capable of inhibiting women who feel they have not met society’s level of attractive (Purdue News, 1). In this case, they develop low self-esteem and fail to reach high levels they were very much capable.
In this regard, Baker and Sperry endeavored to investigate 170 fairy tales from the Brothers Grimm production. These fairy tale stories were written in the 1800s by Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm (Barker, 1). They were used to teach girls and boys on their roles in central Europe, as well as the implications of being good and bad in the European society. Forty three percent of these stories were reproduced in children movies or stories. Baker and Sperry found five tales to have been reproduced more than a hundred times. These include “Little Red Cap”, “Briar Rose”, “Hansel and Gretel”, “Snow White”, and “Cinderella”. From their research, Baker and Sperry were able to establish that most of these fairy tales from the twentieth century were told in a setting revolving around young and beautiful princess (Barker, 1). In this regard, Baker and Sperry stated that this notion portrayed to children the message that physical attractiveness should be a priority in women and that this is what they should strive to gain and maintain.
However, the ‘happy ever after” element due to beauty in fairy tales have a positive side to its message. Ultimately, these stories provide fundamental, historical data on how society used to behave at a certain period in the past. Nevertheless, they fail miserably in their negative images portrayed on unattractive people, heterosexual, middle-class or non-white. In this case, people who fell in this category are portrayed to lead ordinary or even miserable lives than the much-coveted happy life. It is prudent to understand that Baker and Sperry are not discouraging reading fairy tales to children (Barker, 1). However, they are against the misleading stereotypes and the lack of including the minorities in them. Therefore, parents are strongly recommended to intervene and evaluate the kinds of fairy tale stories their children are exposed. A recent fairy tale film named “Shrek” offers a contrary view to what Baker and Sperry established. This film speaks of a beautiful princess who goes on to achieve the “happily ever after life” once she was transformed into an ogre. These kinds of stories are limited but should be commended for breaking the traditional format, and Baker and Sperry maintain that these kinds of attempts should be rewarded.
In addition to the female beauty messages in fairy tales, Baker and Sperry were concerned over how the messages label an individual as good or bad become harmful to children. For example, 17 percent of the reviewed Brothers Grimm production stories associated ugly appearance with evil motives. In many tales, unattractive people faced rejection and punishment from the society (Krause, 65). The analysis also revealed that 90 percent of the stories acknowledged an individual’s physical appearance. One story in particular revealed 121 physical references to beautiful women. On the other hand, beauty references made concerning men did not exceed 30 in the story. The striking issue in the premise above comes through the way the beauty of women is mentioned. Baker states that the maiden of “In the Pink Flower” is described as having rich beauty that no painter is capable of making her look more attractive. The story of “The Goose Girl at the Spring” has a woman character whose beauty is compared to a miracle.
Stories that describe happy women in society compel many girls and women in our society to seek beauty and eventually overlook other pursuits such as education and careers. Reading or hearing messages of this nature (developed by an aged patriarchal society) will more often than not lead women, girls in particular, to withdraw from hard labor, careers, and competitive sports because it is not regarded as feminine. In conclusion, the continued emphasis of beauty associated with the “happy ever after life” should be taken as society’s way of controlling girls and women. Consequently, the affected girls and women have a tendency of developing behaviors that reinforce and reflect their relative powerlessness (Wein and Zipes, 63). This eventually leads to limited women personal control, power, and freedom. Ultimately, the impact of fairy tales and especially the aspect of “happily ever after” cannot be overlooked.
Annotated Bibliography
Barker, Bonnie. “WIU Professor Tackles Issues with Fairy Tales.” University Relations. December 10, 2003. Web. October 12, 2012. Through this web resource, Bonnie Barker explores the research conducted by Liz Baker and Lori Sperry. This research was conducted to establish the influence of fairy tale elements, “happily ever after” in particular, on the character of girls and women in the current society.
Hoisington, Sona. “Fairy-tale Elements.” Slavic and East European Journal. 25.2 (2006): 44-55. Print. In this article, Hoisington endeavors to provide a highlight on the vast array of elements used in writing fairy tails. He does an excellent job in exhausting the various elements as giving examples of fairy tales where they have been used. This article is furthermore descriptive on what to expect from a fairy tale once an element has been associated with it.
Krause, Bernd. “And They All Lived Happily Ever After.” Ballett International/tanz Aktuell. [english Ed.]. (2004): 51. Print. This article endeavors to investigate the aspect behind the “happily ever after” concept and especially how it is associated with beautifully described characters in various fairy tale settings. However, the article is plagued by a limited resource of evidence supporting its findings.
Purdue News. “Experts say fairy tales not so happy ever after.” Literature Review. November 11, 2003. Web. October 12, 2012. This web resource gives a detailed analysis of the aspect behind the “happily ever after” notion derived from common fairy tale stories. Women, in particular, fall in the limelight of this resource and the implications associated with prioritizing beauty in the society.
Wein, Elizabeth, and Jack Zipes. “Review of Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales, Children, and the Culture Industry.” Journal of American Folklore. 113.448 (2004): 226-227. Print. Wein and Zipes team up to formulate an article that gives an overview of the impact of fairy tales on children and culture in the society. This impact ranges from effects on how children portray themselves to the consequences associated with these portrayals.
Zipes, Jack. “The Rationalization of Abandonment and Abuse in Fairy Tales: The Case of “hansel and Gretel”.” Happily Ever After. (2007): 39-60. Print. This article serves to give a detailed overview regarding the element of “happily ever after” and its relation with the “hansel and Gretel” fairy tale. Zipes endeavors to provide a detailed analysis over the “happily ever after” concept and how it is implemented in fairy tale settings.
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