• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

THEORISING RETELLING: A STUDY OF SELECTED RETOLD FAIRY TALES A THESIS SUBMITTED TO TILAK MAHARASHTRA VIDYAPEETH, PUNE FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (Ph.D.) IN ENGLISH BY ZEENAT KHAN UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF LATE DR. VIVEKANAND D PHADKE AND DR. CHITRA SREEDHARAN FACULTY OF ARTS AND FINE ARTS TILAK MAHARASHTRA VIDYAPEETH, PUNE [ MARCH 2016 ] ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Unusual as it may sound but still I would like to begin on a note of apology to my M Phil guide, former Head of the Pune University Department of English, my dear teacher and above all a gentle, true well wisher, Dr P K Sinha. It was his heartfelt wish that I pursue further research shortly after my M Phil in 1997. However my priorities in life then were different and later I wanted to shift my focus to the study of English language. But as time would have it, life took such a turn that twenty years later I had to research the same area with one of Dr Sinha’s best students. Journey to and through my Ph D has been full of hurdles and hardships. And in each distressing moment I missed Dr Sinha and wished I had listened to his advice then. Hence this apology to him for disobeying him and regrets for not being able to work with him. I fondly remember my guide for Ph D, a very dear friend late Dr Vivekanand Phadke who was mainly and prominently instrumental in getting me registered for Ph D. His unconditional, timely support and encouragement alone could see me through this project. It was his helping hand and an understanding consent that cleared my way to availing the Teacher Research Fellowship. His calm and ever cooperative nature was my solace and would make me positively hold on to my work in the most stressful phases. I know not how I may thank Dr Phadke, but will carry deep within me a sense of gratitude till I breathe my last. He indeed left me indebted for life. Dr Phadke’s unfortunate, untimely departure was a severe blow. Without his guidance and warm support I was like a drifting ship and was certain about the uncertainty of completing the project. Just when the thought and possibility of giving up started gripping me I was assigned Dr Chitra Sreedharan as my new guide. It was a very hopeful turn in this journey. I had known Dr Chitra as my senior in the Pune University Department of English. I was happy to meet her in a different role. For as a Ph D guide in her I could see a sincere and disciplined academician who insisted on quality and paid attention to timely assessment of the work despite her hectic schedule at college. Above everything else I found in her an ever helping, understanding, gentle human soul that mentored me whenever I needed emotional and mental support. She may not be aware of this but I truly feel that with her patience, cool attitude and warm guidance she actually led me by the finger to the completion of this project. But for her I would never have been able to submit my thesis. This project brought us closer as friends. Deep from the bottom of my heart I express sincere gratitude to her for being my friend, philosopher and Guide. Thank you very much Chitra! In a very special way I would like to thank my friends Kamalakar Bhat, Vandana Bhagwat and Aarti Vani for their heartfelt support and willingness to help me by providing books, articles and critical comments. Their sustained encouragement and advice certainly contributed to the research. I must thank the Principal of my college and members of the Management for generously allowing me to avail myself of the Teacher Research Fellowship for three years. I appreciate and acknowledge the immense value of the provision of this Fellowship under FIP granted by the UGC. I am obliged to the UGC, Joint Secretaries Dr Shrinivas, Dr Manoj Kumar and Dr Kawade as well as the staff that looks into the matters under FIP for their assistance and timely actions in granting as well as extending my Fellowship. I also acknowledge with gratitude the sustained cooperation and encouragement extended to me during the course of my research by Dr Shripad Bhat, Head of the Dept of Sanskrit and Indological Studies, Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth. Special thanks to my friend Dr Manjiri Bhalerao for her assistance and friendly advice. I am obliged to the libraries I visited and the online book delivery services particularly Infibeam and Amazon through whom I bought the books required for the work. E- sources, JSTOR and Library Genesis Project have been immensely resourceful. Thanks are due to Mr. Rajendra Pawatekar and Ashwini Graphics for technical support. I owe a lot to my family particularly my husband and children for their patient encouragement and my father for his watchful interest in the progress of my work. Indirect contribution of my sisters and well wishes from my brothers and friends too need due acknowledgement. I thank them all deep from my heart. Without all these this thesis would not have come to fruition. Zeenat Khan ABSTRACT The thesis ‘Theorising Retelling: A Study of Selected Retold Fairy Tales’ attempts to explore a relatively less probed area of retold fairy tales. Considering the attraction children and adults alike have for fairy tales and the impact these tales have and the adults wish them to have on children and their upbringing it becomes imperative to explore what values are really transmitted to children through the literature supposedly composed for them. The probe into and analysis of classic fairy tales brings one to an awareness that the apparently fascinating fantastic world of fairy tales actually bulges with class, race and gender stereotypes and a well rooted patriarchal value system. It also gives a realisation of manipulation of this world of entertainment and enlightenment by the adult world. The fact that children are exposed to fairy tales at an early age indeed is important since it is the formative period in life and as such implicit messages of the manipulated tales condition the process of socialisation and acculturation. It is in this realisation about the possible hidden adult agenda particularly of retaining and generating the patriarchal undemocratic worldview and status quo that re- viewing, re-visioning and re-telling of fairy tales takes its origin. The retellings present “a different view of the world … in a voice that has been customarily silenced.” (Zipes, Don’t Bet…i) While attempting to break the illusions of the classic tales these retellings invite their readers to confront the tales and relate them to their own social contexts. The purpose of the retellings is to liberate – liberate the fairy tale itself and its readers – from a conditioned mode of reception. For the purpose the retellers acknowledge and manipulate the liberating, emancipatory potential of the genre itself. They seem to manipulate this potential towards a more democratic and egalitarian cause and make it meaningful by voicing suppression and authoritarianism of all kind. The present thesis argues in favour of such manipulation by the fairy tale retellings, of the liberating potential of the fairy tale genre in order to replace the discriminating, stereotypical worldview in it with an egalitarian one wherein human beings are viewed and assessed sans the labels of gender, class, race and so on. For this purpose i it aims and attempts to study selected retold fairy tales and justify the rationale with which retellings are attempted. This aim is achieved in the conclusion derived at the end that underlines the need to retell classical fairy tales to suit the standards and contexts of the contemporary times and the democratic, humanitarian values of all times. With this aim the thesis introduces the present research topic and a review of the literary material available on the concerned field in its Chapter I. This chapter presents the development of fairy tale scholarship and sets the tone for the argument made later in the thesis. Chapter II ‘Exploring Childhood and Children’s Literature,’ probes into the concepts in its title. Considering fairy tales in the context of these concepts and vice-versa and the fact that fairy tales are manipulated by adults as a tool of socialisation and for transmitting “accepted” social behavioural patterns, Chapter III ‘Fairy Tales: Generators of Values and Stereotypes’ seeks to present the stereotypical representation of gender, class, race etc in fairy tales in relation to children’s social development. It ends with the justification of the rationale behind retelling the classical tales in a new light. Chapter IV attempts a thorough analysis of some retellings of the well-known ‘Sleeping Beauty,’ ‘Cinderella,’ ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ and ‘Snow White.’ For want of space and time required for the completion of the present project, the analysis is restricted to an overall 25 retellings of the above mentioned tales. Admitting the limited scope at the outset the Chapter justifies the selection of the particular tales that are analysed. In the course of the textual analysis of the retellings however the Chapter does present a critique of the traditional tales strengthening the argument made in the earlier chapters regarding the rationale behind fairy tale retelling and preparing ground for the final argument regarding the need for continuous attempts at retelling fairy tales. Chapter V “Towards an Understanding and a Better Acceptance of the Theory and Attempts of Retelling Fairy Tales” undertakes to see and understand the critical and creative interactions in fairy tale studies and logically leads to the conclusion that retelling the old tales to suit contemporary and universal human experience and values is the need of all times.

Load more

  303

Copy Link