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Once Upon an Ideology Exploring the Ideologies and Identities of Female Figures Through a Selection of Classic and Contemporary

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Once Upon an Ideology Exploring the Ideologies and Identities of Female Figures Through a Selection of Classic and Contemporary Once Upon an Ideology Exploring the ideologies and identities of female figures through a selection of classic and contemporary fairy tales Miriam Walsh 0665894 Ph.D. Thesis Mary Immaculate College University of Limerick Supervisor: Dr. Eugene O’Brien Submitted to Mary Immaculate College: ___________ Abstract This thesis examines the ideologies and identities of women in selected traditional and contemporary fairy tales. It does this by utilising existing folklore theory but also by drawing on various literary theory theoretical approaches to ensure a comprehensive and rigorous analysis. It draws on the schools of deconstruction, feminism and psychoanalysis to analyse the role of the female in fairy tales, and also, to examine how the ideologies governing them affect identity construction, and also the representations of female identity in contemporary culture. The texts analysed are divided into two sections. The first section uses the literary texts of Cinderella and its modern counterpart Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, and also explores the traditional tale of Bluebeard along with the contemporary envisioning The Bloody Chamber. The second section analyses modern interpretive filmic texts, which lend a voice to the previously silent figures of the traditional tales. The texts to be discussed are Frozen, Maleficent and Snow White and the Huntsman. This project engages with traditional and contemporary fairy tales, in both literary and filmic genres. It examines these texts as vehicles of gender ideology, and also as agents of change in that ideological position. This project suggests that contemporary tales, such as Frozen and Maleficent, offer a fresh ideological perspective, which complicates and humanises the previously one-dimensional evil female figure. It will look at how these modern representations struggle against the binary oppositions of good versus evil perpetuated by traditional tales. The analysis is not limited to the female figures in situ, as it also shows how the fears and issues of these representations are reflected in contemporary society. It interrogates the dynamic between the ii tales as constituted by prevailing ideologies and between the tales as instruments of ideological change. It examines the relationship between female identity and the beauty myth, and also looks at process of the commodification of beauty in these stories. iii Declaration of Originality Declaration: I hereby declare that this thesis is the result of my own original research and does not contain the work of any other individual. All sources that have been consulted have been identified and acknowledged in the appropriate way. Signature of Candidate: ___________________________________ Miriam Walsh iv Dedication I dedicate this work to my sisters, Jenny and Carla, for everything that you both have done for me, which words cannot express. Thank you the love, the support, the encouragement and the wine. v Acknowledgements I would like to thank my supervisor Dr Eugene O Brien, who once upon a time, encouraged me as an undergraduate and has supported me ever since. Thank you for your immeasurable support, patience and unrelenting good cheer over the years. I would like to acknowledge not only your help as my supervisor, but for showing me, what it means to be a great educator, who inspires and supports their students. I also wish to thank the English department as a whole, for providing financial support, an opportunity to teach, and for giving me a supportive and inclusive home. Thanks to Dr. John McDonagh, Dr. Maria Beville, Dr. Kathryn Laing and Dr. Marita Ryan for all your help over the years. Thank you to the wonderful postgrad community (and those who have graduated), who have been an incredible source of support, a sounding board and my comrade in arms. To Michelle, Donna and Daniela, thank you for making this journey so much easier. A special thanks to Anne, who made my final year in Mary I so special. To Mary Immaculate College, the support services, Fr. Wall, Dr. Emer Ring and the faculty, thank you. To my parents, a very special thank you for sharing your love of books and learning. I am so grateful for your patience and for all the opportunities you have afforded me. I cannot thank you enough for everything you both have done for me. To my sisters and brothers, thank you, for the most incredible memories, for always supporting me, for giving me the most wonderful, little mermaid/goonies/star wars/princess bride/raspberry beret childhood, any one could ask for. But most of all thank you for Ben, Molly, Sofia and Elena. To my other sister Carmel Óg and the Fahy family, for your unending encouragement, thank you vi Thank you to my wonderful friends for your constant support and encouragement. A special thanks to Donna, Marisa, Ailbhe, Kiwi, Laura, Jo, Connor, Norita (and the Leahys), the Croomies and all my friends. You all have been an amazing source of inspiration, support and encouragement, thank you. And to my Sookie Belle, who makes every day a good day. vii Portions of this thesis, and other relevant research, have been disseminated at the following conferences: ‘The Evil of Ageing: How the evil feminine found her voice in modern fairy tales’ at Women and Ageing, University of Limerick, Limerick, May 2015 ‘The Changeling Child: An examination of the loss of beauty as the privileging component of female identity in Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, at Literature of Loss, Mary Immaculate College, Limerick, February 2015 ‘Let it Go: An examination of the female representations in Frozen’ at Ms/representation: mass media & feminisms in historical context, University of Westminster, London, November 2014 ‘The Gothic Fairy Tale: An exploration of the demonisation of female curiosity in Charles Perrault’s Bluebeard’ at Locating the Gothic, LSAD, Limerick, October 2014 ‘A New Ever After: A deconstructive analysis of the female representations in Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister’ at 3rd Annual Limerick Postgraduate Research Conference, Limerick, May 2014 ‘Tale as Old as Time: The Importance of Beauty to the Construction of Female Identity in Traditional and Modern Fairy tales’ at Talking Bodies, University of Chester, Chester, March 2013 viii ‘The Fractured Female: An exploration of female identity in traditional and modern fairy tales’ at Lunch Time Presentations, Mary Immaculate College, Limerick, February 2013 Guest lecture ‘Philosophical Perspectives: The Importance of Fairy tales in Early Childhood Education’ for Final Year ECCE, Mary Immaculate College, Limerick, March 2014 Other Contribution to the Irish Examiner’s ‘The Real Focus of Fairy tales’ by Rita de Brun in Irish Examiner, September 2013 (The Real Focus of Fairytales by Rita de Brun (http://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/healthandlife/yourhealth/the-real-focus-of-fairytales- 244378.html) ix Contents Abstract ...................................................................................................................................... ii Declaration of Originality ......................................................................................................... iv Dedication .................................................................................................................................. v Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................... vi Contents ..................................................................................................................................... x Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 1 Fairy tale texts ...................................................................................................................... 10 The First Section – Literary Reflections .............................................................................. 11 The Second Section – The Other/The Mother/The Evil Princess ........................................ 14 Theoretical approaches ........................................................................................................ 17 Chapter Breakdown ............................................................................................................. 22 Chapter One: ‘Once Upon a Time’- Understanding the Representation of Women through Cinderella ................................................................................................................................ 31 Understanding Cinderella through the lens of Perrault and Disney .................................... 31 Cinderella – the idealisation ................................................................................................. 34 The structure of meaning ..................................................................................................... 35 Image and Text .................................................................................................................... 40 The division of women ........................................................................................................ 45 The meaning of beauty ......................................................................................................... 51 The meaning of aging .......................................................................................................... 54 Chapter Two: ‘What is the use of beauty?’ – The questioning of Cinderella through Gregory Maguire’s
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