MASARYK UNIVERSITY Little Red Riding Hood Goes Feminist
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MASARYK UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF EDUCATION Department of English Language and Literature Little Red Riding Hood Goes Feminist Bachelor Thesis Brno 2018 Supervisor Author Mgr. Pavla Buchtová Veronika Jirků Declaration I hereby declare that I worked on the following thesis on my own and that I used only the sources listed in the bibliography. Prohlášení Prohlašuji, že jsem závěrečnou bakalářskou práci vypracovala samostatně, s využitím pouze citovaných literárních zdrojů, dalších informací a zdrojů v souladu s Disciplinárním řádem pro studenty Pedagogické fakulty Masarykovy university a se zákonem č. 121/2000 Sb. o právu autorském, o právech souvisejících s právem autorským a o změně některých zákonů (autorský zákon), ve znění pozdějších předpisů. V Brně dne 28. 3. 2018 ………………………… Veronika Jirků Acknowledgment I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisor Mgr. Pavla Buchtová for the useful comments, remarks and guidance that she provided through the writing process of this thesis. Annotation This thesis analyzes feminist features in the four versions of a tale best known as “Little Red Riding Hood”. The sample of chosen versions includes a well-known version by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm “The Little Red Cap” that serves best for the comparison with the remaining three versions of the tale the choice of which was determined by the time period in which the second-wave feminism has emerged. The contemporary versions of the tale include the poem “Little Red-Cap” by Carol Ann Duffy, the short story “The Company of Wolves” by Angela Carter and the poem “Little Red Riding Hood” by Olga Broumas. The analyses of the contemporary versions are conducted with special regard to the issues brought to attention in the second half of the twentieth century by the second- wave feminism. Key words Little Red Riding Hood, feminism, second-wave feminism, sexism, sexuality, fairy-tale, fairy-tales Anotace Tato práce se zabývá analýzou feministických prvků ve čtyřech verzích příběhu nejlépe známého jako „O Červené Karkulce“. Vzorek vybraných verzí zahrnuje známou verzi od bratří Grimů „O Červené Karkulce“, která slouží nejlépe pro následné porovnání s dalšími třemi verzemi příběhu, jejichž volba byla provedena na základě toho, že byly napsány v druhé polovině dvacátého století; období druhé vlny feminismu. Tyto verze zahrnují básně od Carol Ann Duffy a Olgy Broumas a povídku od Angely Carter. V analýzách těchto pozdějších verzí příběhu je věnována zvláštní pozornost zejména problematice zdůrazňované feminismem druhé vlny ve druhé polovině dvacátého století. Klíčová slova O Červené Karkulce, feminismus, druhá vlna feminismu, sexismus, sexualita, pohádka, pohádky Content Introduction ............................................................................................................................7 1 On the history and purpose of fairy tales ............................................................................8 2 The second-wave feminism ................................................................................................ 12 2.1 Embracing sexuality ...................................................................................................... 14 2.2 Gaining independence ................................................................................................... 15 2.3 The power of sisterhood ................................................................................................ 16 2.4 Self-esteem ................................................................................................................... 17 3 Analysis of “The Little Red Cap” by Brothers Grimm ..................................................... 19 3.1 Main symbols ................................................................................................................ 20 3.2 Sexual symbols ............................................................................................................. 21 3.3 Feminist features ........................................................................................................... 23 4 Analysis of “Little Red-Cap” by Carol Ann Duffy ........................................................... 26 4.1 Embracing sexuality ...................................................................................................... 26 4.2 Independence ................................................................................................................ 27 4.3 Sisterhood ..................................................................................................................... 29 4.4 Self-esteem ................................................................................................................... 30 4.5 Symbolism .................................................................................................................... 32 5 The analysis of “The Company of Wolves” by Angela Carter ......................................... 34 5.1 Embracing sexuality ...................................................................................................... 34 5.2 Independence ................................................................................................................ 37 5.3 Sisterhood ..................................................................................................................... 39 5.4 Self-esteem ................................................................................................................... 40 5.5 Symbolism .................................................................................................................... 41 6 Analysis of “Little Red Riding Hood” by Olga Broumas .................................................. 44 6.1 Embracing sexuality ...................................................................................................... 44 6.2 Independence ................................................................................................................ 45 6.3 Sisterhood ..................................................................................................................... 46 6.4 Self-esteem ................................................................................................................... 47 6.5 Symbolism .................................................................................................................... 48 7 The versions compared ...................................................................................................... 51 7.1 The refusal to be a victim .............................................................................................. 52 7.2 Rebirth .......................................................................................................................... 53 7.3 The wolf as a love interest ............................................................................................. 55 5 7.4 The absence of savior archetype .................................................................................... 56 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 58 Bibliography .......................................................................................................................... 60 6 Introduction Fairy tales are no longer mere stories for children. Thorough centuries, they have become a source of inspiration for many authors and were remodeled into many forms. Fairy tales keep growing and as a consequence their genre is immortal. These short narratives are usually the first ones that a child comes to contact with. For this reason, we should be cautious about the messages that they convey. Even though fairy tales survive and many of them can be learned from, they possess many features that are no longer relevant. Some fairy tales do not set a good example as they reflect old-fashioned values. Many fairy tales have emerged during the times the patriarchy was at power. As a consequence, a number of fairy tales reflect sexist patriarchal values into the modern society. Many feminist writers in the second half of the twentieth century were able to see how unjustly fairy tales treat female characters and decided to transform them. This thesis explores the transformation of one of the most famous tales best-known as the tale of “Little Red Riding Hood” and attempts to finds common feminist features in three contemporary versions of the tale. Furthermore, it explains why the well-known version of the tale is not a feminist one and answers what makes the female protagonists of the contemporary versions feminist. It was the fascination with fairy tales combined with interest in feminist literature that sparkled the idea to combine the two and to write a thesis that would uncover the flawed side of the well-known tale. It was my priority to find an intriguing topic that would nourish both my passion for children literature and my interest in feminist literary criticism. 7 1 On the history and purpose of fairy tales Millions of parents around the world read fairy tales as bed time stories to their children, knowing little about their origin or the impact they can have on their offspring’s development and perception of self. Fairy tales are ever present, references to them are to be found in art, poetry, movies, songs and even commercials. These short narratives are often subjects of allusions in both old and contemporary pieces of literature. Establishing the purpose of fairy tales