Humbling Heroines: a Ficto-Critical Investigation of Fairy Tale Motifs
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University of Calgary PRISM: University of Calgary's Digital Repository Graduate Studies Legacy Theses 1997 Humbling heroines: a ficto-critical investigation of fairy tale motifs Suvan, Kim M. Suvan, K. M. (1997). Humbling heroines: a ficto-critical investigation of fairy tale motifs (Unpublished master's thesis). University of Calgary, Calgary, AB. doi:10.11575/PRISM/20542 http://hdl.handle.net/1880/26875 master thesis University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission. Downloaded from PRISM: https://prism.ucalgary.ca UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY Humbling Heroines: A Fido-Critical Investigation of Fairy Tale Motifs by Kim M. Suvan A THESIS SUBMïï'ïED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE S'I'UDIES IN PARTIAL F'ULFItMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR TEE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS CALGARY, ALBERTA DECEMBER, 1997 Naaonai Library Bibliothèque nationale du Canada Acquisiins and Acquisiins et Bibliographk SeMces services bibliographiques 395 Weîhgîon Street 395, rue Welüngton OüawaON K1AW ûmwa ON KtA ôN4 Canada Canada The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive licence allowing the exclusive permettant à la National Library of Canada to Bibliothèque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distribute or sell reproduire, prêter' distn'buer ou copies of this thesis m microform, vendre des copies de cette thèse sous paper or electronic formats. la forme de microfiche/ntm, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format électronique. The author retains ownership of the L'auteur conserve la propriété du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protège cette thèse. thesis nor substantid extracts fiom it Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels may be prmted or otherwise de celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son ~ennîssion. ABSTRACT This thesis explores faj, tale motifs through art employment of interventive discourses ranging from critical commentary to fiction to a combination of both. Structurexi as a discussion between disparate voices, Hmbiing Hemines addresw, and speaks back to, various fajr tale conventions that participate in the süencing, erasure or destruction of women's potentialihes. Ushg interruptions and asides, the irreverent-and 0ccasionaLly humorous-tone Mes an audience/teUer dynamic of early foik tale tradition. Motifs addressed include oid women's bodies, the symboiisrn of hair, mirrors, domestic labour, bestiality, ugliness, giuttony, desire and the gaze. Materials adâressed are drawn primarily from Europe, the U.S.A. and Mca, and extend across centuries to deal with texts as disparate as Giambattista Basile's Zl Pentanzerone (1634-36) and Angela Carter's The Bloody Chrunber (1979). 1codd not have written this thesis without the research and insights of many folk and fairy tale writers and scholars. Primary acknowledgement goes to the brilliant and thought- provoking work of Angela Carter, a writer whose imverent prose inspires by pushing litaary and ideological boundaries. Marina Wamer, one of Carter's staunchest supporters, also pvided ideas and background essentiai to rny analyses through her asaire, thorough, and engaging scholarship on women and fairy taies. Other critics whom I relied upon heavily include Jack Zipes, Maria Tatar and Ruth Bonigheimer. On a persona1 level, 1 would like to thank my mother, Rosalie, and my brother, Wade, for their unflinching support of my academic goals. My good fi-iends have also been tremendously helpful by never losing faith in me or my abilities. These include Karen Walters. Cheryl Cameron, Evelyn Johnson, the laîe Tary Horsburgh, and especiaily Sherrill Johnson. My thanks also goes to Ken Hare for his generosity and expertise in cornputer support and printing . Last, but not least, I wodd like to acknowledge the University of Calgary's Graduate Programme in English. My years in Calgary have been empowering, productive and the most professionallylacademidy satisfying of my life. Part of the reason for this is my good fmin working with Arîtha van Herk-an excellent Supervisor, wondemil writer, and exceptional person. Page AppmvalPage ................................................... ii Absmt ...................................................... iii Acknowledgements ............................................... iv Table of Contents ................................................ v List of Tables ................................................... vi .. ~~stofFigures................................................... vii Introduction .................................................... 1 TheToothFairy ................................................. 26 HaUI ........................................................... 40 PiecesofTale ................................................... 59 LaokingGlasses ................................................. 80 Dirt ........................................................... 100 Enchantment .................................................... 119 Bestiality and Ugiy People ......................................... 145 Be Fruiüùi and Multiply ........................................... 167 Paaimony ...................................................... 180 A Ficto-Critical Conclusion ......................................... 195 Bibliography .................................................... 206 LIST OF TABLES Page 1. Speech Frequency in Three Editions of "Cin&reUa9' (Grimm) . 14 LIST OF FIGURlWILLUSTRATIONS Page Dorothea Viehmann .......................................... 11 GammerGrethel ............................................. 12 Cutting off a Woman's Rage ................................... 29 IWillMakeYouGood ........................................ 31 The Mill for Old Wives ....................................... 34 Rapunzel ............................................ 41 Rapml .................................................. 45 Elsa and the Evil Wizard ...................................... 53 SnowWhite ................................................ 84 The Old Procuress at the Toilet Table ............................. 86 SleepingBeauty ............................................. 97 Amelia .................................................... 117 Hidessa Meets The Great Green Worm ............................ 149 Bearskin ................................................... 157 TheWhiteSealMaid ......................................... 162 TheGluttonousQueen ........................................ 169 SnowWhite ................................................171 vii INTRODUCTION Fajr tales simply wili not go away. Their images and motifs ubiquitously popdate television, film, music, magazines, literature, newspapers and every other conceivable form of media The overwhelming reaction to Rincess Diana's death is a measure of their popularity. Diana's children received more than 250,000 letters of condolence; the charity fund established in her name swelled to hundreds of millions of dollars within weeks. Whüc the mania of Diana's celebnty is muitifaceted, one woman explained the phenornenon through the oxymoron, "Diana was a real fajr tale Princess." Diana herself, in a much-publicized interview severai years ago, said her marriage was the "ffairy taie that everyone wanted to work." One of the pmbierns with Diana's fairy taie characterization, however, is that the audience's expectations of a heroine's role leave no rwm for the complexity of a woman's Me. Despite Diana's need for other narratives (as evidenced by her buümia, depression, addtery and divorce), Diana's image remained hzen in a picture of youth, innocence and naïveté-even befon her early death. Narratives within fairy tales discourage their heroines fhm stepping outside of their constrained characterizations through a numkr of strategies. ûne is the absence of viable desto grow into, for it is umally the humble Rincess, not the experienced Queen, who takes center stage. Occasionally, a mother does materiaiize, but she often dies (quiddy) as a symboi of seIflemess and familal devotion. Older women, when they appeat for any length of the, tend to be cast as hags, witches, evii stepmothers and mothers-in-law. These mature characters possess power, pride, opinions and desire- traits incongrnous with the submissiveness expected hmyouthful heroines. As a result, the older women's fates, which range from humiliation to tomire to death, almost always involve punishment and, ultimately, complete erasure. In case the examples made of ol&r women fail to drill home standards for proper female cornportment, younger women receive their share of castigation as weU. Any girl who transgresses, or is capable of committing one (or more) of the seven dedy sins-- pnde, covetousness, lust, anger, gluttony, envy. sloth-becomes a candidate for punishrnent. Girls also receive the brunt of their mothers' transgressions. For instance, a beautihil girl at risk of becoming proud and wUfdshores herself against potential sinhilness by performing back-breakllig labour in the kitchen. A young woman who obstinately refuses to marry a suitor metamorphoses into a cat The vain wish of a dying woman incites her husband's incestuous pursuit of their daughter. A gluttonous woman loses her daughter to the fairies. 1discuss