Subjects:
that children listen to growing up. For those that heard these tales, few can deny that
their visions of the future and reality were not, at least in part, influenced by fairy tales.
Young boys dream of when they will slay their first dragon or monster, while young girls
envision the prince charming that will one day ride in and whisk them away. Although
much of this influence is quite innocent, there are some stereotypes imbedded in fairy
tales that have been passed through the generations. Specifically, there has been a
tradition of portraying women in a negative fashion. The Grimm Brothers' version of
Hansel and Gretel exemplifies some of these portrayals including the stereotypical role
of the evil stepmother, the role of the wicked witch, how children are easily victimized,
and the role of passive female heroines. Rare amongst fairy tales, Hansel and Gretel,
also demonstrates the active role of female heroines, but only under restricted
conditions. These stereotypes are seen throughout the story.
. . .
and Gretel portrayal of the stepmother clearly coincides with the stereotype, but why is
this attitude so universally accepted?
According to Marina Warner in "The Absent Mother, or Women Against Women in the
'Old Wives' Tales," there is a need for seeing stepmothers as wicked.
Wicked Witch
Evil is not isolated to associations with stepmothers, fairy tales often portray old women
as wicked witches and, conversely, witches as old women. They are initially leery of her, though her maternal gestures appease
them. In this story it is true that "she was really a wicked witch on the lookout for children"
(Tatar 196), but why must she be old to be considered a witch? It is easier to classify the
elderly as suspicious because they often live in isolated conditions and have little contact . This lacking manifests itself as jealousy of the children in relation to their
father as well as their absent mother. The children are willingly sacrificed to ensure her personal
survival. This serves as the emotional barricade that they feel they need
to preserve themselves and their relations to their true mother ( 30-31). She feels that
children fear losing their special ties to their biological mother. Children fear that if their mother can be replaced,
they are equally dispensable. The dominating personality of
the stepmother is clearly observable. " When there is not enough food or money for the whole
family to survive, the stepmother in this story orders their father to take them to the depths
of the forest and leave them. They internalize the
image of an "all-good mother [even] when the real mother is not all-good, which permits
anger at the stepmother" (31).
Essay's Topics
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