古典及現代灰姑娘故事中的女性角色 Looking Into the Female Characters in Cinderella Fairy Tales Then and Now by HU

古典及現代灰姑娘故事中的女性角色 Looking into the Female Characters in Cinderella Fairy Tales Then and Now by HUI-CHIH CHAN 詹惠芝 THESIS Presented to the Faculty of the Department of Foreign Languages and Literature of Tunghai University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS in British and American Literature TUNGHAI UNIVERSITY June 2019 中華民國一０八年六月古典及現代灰姑娘故事中的女性角色 Looking into the Female Characters in Cinderella Fairy Tales Then and Now by HUI-CHIH CHAN 詹惠芝 THESIS Presented to the Faculty of the Department of Foreign Languages and Literature of Tunghai University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS in British and American Literature TUNGHAI UNIVERSITY June 2019 中華民國一０八年六月 Acknowledgements Years ago, I was very lucky to have the opportunity to study English literature at the Foreign Languages and Literature (FLL) Department of Tunghai University as a middle-aged student, coming back to college after a long break from school. As I look back on this long journey, I am so grateful to each and every administrator, staff, and particularly faculty members at this department who have helped me with my undergraduate and graduate studies. I am especially thankful to Dr. Mieke Desmet, who has taught me to appreciate children’s literature and has always been willing to take time out of her busy schedule to supervise me on my thesis. I simply cannot thank her enough for her patience to guide me to the end of my graduate program. I would also like to thank my English tutor, Mr. John Raileanu, who has been teaching me English speaking and writing for more than a decade; my friend, Miss Pi- Chu Wu, who knows how to clear my thoughts and give me constructive suggestions all the time. I would like to thank my brother Wen-Hsuan and sister Ching-Lih, who, whatever happens, are always there to support and encourage me to move on so that I could complete this thesis. Finally, this thesis is dedicated to my mother and my late father. Their love has and will always provide me strength to follow my dreams. Abstract The earlier versions of the Cinderella fairy tale have been rewritten and retold through numerous modern narratives such as Just Ella (1999) by the American writer Margaret Peterson Haddix, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister (1999) by the American novelist Gregory Maguire, Bound (2004) by the American writer and linguist Donna Jo Napoli, and All the Ever Afters (2018) by the Canadian writer Danielle Teller, among others. An adaptation of a fairy tale gives its earlier version a twist by making changes in the characters or by adding a current concept to make the story more appealing, relatable, or acceptable to modern readers. When comparing earlier and modern versions of the Cinderella fairy tale, what the reader could easily observe is that there are aspects of patriarchal ideology in the earlier versions and more women-centered narratives in the modern ones. Looking into the modern versions of Cinderella fairy tales, the main female character in these rewritten versions has gotten rid of her frail image and has been interpreted from different angles to be aligned with the modern concept of a woman who has the power to master her own life. Furthermore, the other female characters such as the stepmother and stepsisters also have their voices heard. Many women-centered perspectives are rather obvious in these rewritten stories and will be explored in this thesis. In addition, considering the intertwined and complex relationships among the female characters that shape different angles of the story, this thesis will also explore the roles of, and relationships among these female characters in earlier versions and compare and contrast them to the modern versions of “Cinderella.” Key words: Fairy tales, Women-centered narratives, Cinderella i 摘要《灰姑娘》這個你我均耳熟能詳的童話故事，隨著時代的進步及異性結構之變化從而已經發展出許多不同的故事情節。例如美國作家海迪克斯創作的《灰姑娘逃婚記》(Just Ella)、美國小說家格萊葛利．馬奎爾所著的《醜陋繼姐的告白》 (Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister)、唐娜．喬．拿坡里創作的《驚世狂花》(Bound) 以及加拿大作家丹妮爾．泰勒的小說《從此以後：灰姑娘繼母的秘史》(All the Ever Afters)等等，美少女“灰姑娘”已不再是早期中國的《葉限》、法國作家夏爾．佩羅的《灰姑娘》和德國格林兄弟《仙杜麗拉》筆下等待著和英俊王子過著幸福快樂日子的美麗公主，而是勇敢追求真愛及自己的人生目標，充滿自信、獨立自主的新女性。此外，早期《灰姑娘》故事的焦點均落在女主角灰姑娘身上。她麻雀變鳳凰的際遇，使讀者們莫不為其長期受到繼母及繼姊姊們痛苦虐待的種種而抱屈，也為她最後蛻變為美麗公主的際遇喝采。然而，現代版本的灰姑娘故事開始出現了其他女性角色的聲音。繼母不再是冷酷無情的後母，繼姊姊們也不再是醜陋善妒、恃寵而驕的壞姊妹。因此，本文除了比較早期父權制社會之下與近代女性角色演變之後《灰姑娘》故事之間的不同，也由不同的女性角色，例如繼母及繼姊的角度來探究灰姑娘故事中女性之間相處的變化及發展。關鍵詞：灰姑娘、古典童話、改編童話故事、父權制社會、女性角色 ii Tables of Contents Chapter 1 Introduction ········································································· 1 Chapter 2 A Brief Review of Fairy Tales Studies ·········································· 7 2.1 Fascination of Fairy Tales ································································· 8 2.2 Women-centered Narratives ···························································· 22 Chapter 3 Female Characters in Versions of Cinderella across Time: ······················ 28 Cinderella, Mothers (Birthmother and Stepmother), and Stepsisters 3.1 Cinderella Complex ······································································ 43 3.2 Outer and Inner Beauty ·································································· 60 3.3 Societal Expectations, Education, Financial Independence, Happiness ·········· 69 3.4 The Relationship among Female Characters ········································· 81 3.4.1 Mother-Daughter Relationships ··················································· 82 3.4.2 Sibling Relationships ······························································· 92 Chapter 4 Conclusion ········································································ 97 Works Cited ······················································································101 iii Chan 1 CHAPTER 1 Introduction This thesis will compare, contrast, and analyze the differences among the female characters in earlier and modern versions of the fairy tale “Cinderella” based on the perspective used in women-centered narratives. What opens the door for children to enter the world of reading is most likely fairy tales. Fairy tales such as “Snow White,” “Beauty and the Beast,” and “Cinderella,” among others, have long been popular among children all over the world. The image of a beautiful princess in all of these stories is so imprinted on young girls’ minds that the majority of them probably would dream of being just like the princesses in the fairy tales when they grow up. However, the stereotype of gender roles in these traditional fairy tales, in which patriarchal culture dominates the values of society and shows little respect for women, could also affect a child’s identity development because tales have an immense influence on children’s understanding of not only culture but also gender roles. Children imitate and learn how to behave through the characters in their readings. For instance, boys learn to be leaders, action-takers, protectors, and to take charge in every situation while girls get a very different message from fairy tales. They are expected to be beautiful, kind, generous, self-sacrificing, patient, and hardworking, just to name a few traits. Basically, they are told to be passive and gentle. Mary L. Trepanier-Street and Chan 2 Jane A. Romatowski adopted the idea of gender schema theory from Bem S.L.1 and Martin, C.L. & Halverson, C.F.2 as follows: […] children, during the early childhood years, are developing their thinking and attitudes about the differences between males and females. At this age, children are constructing their gender schema […]. A potential resource for influencing young children’s thinking regarding gender roles is the classroom use of children’s literature. (155) As gender stereotypes are portrayed in fairy tales regularly, it means that children who read these tales might begin to perceive the concept of male and female roles played in a traditional society which stresses more on the power of men. Stereotypical images indeed influence how children perceive the way men and women should behave and how they identify themselves within their society. However, with the rapid advancement of technology and strong impact of media, the relationship between men and women has also changed accordingly. While some girls are still dreaming of finding their destiny with Mr. Charming and live happily ever after, more and more women wish to have their own individual self and have a voice as “I.” With 1 Bem, S. L. “Gender Schema Theory and Its Implications for Child Development: Raising Gender-Aschematic Children in a Gender-Schematic Society.” Signs 8 (1983): 598-616. 2 Martin, C. L. & Halverson, C. F. “A Schematic Processing Model of Sex Typing and Stereotyping in Children.” Child Development 52 (1981): 1119-34. Chan 3 the changes of female roles in society, women have gradually become more independent and demanded to be their own masters and live their lives according to their own minds and wishes: men should not be in control of what women should or should not do, and women should not be men’s submissive possessions any more. The intention of retelling fairy tales is not to raise the tension between men and women, but rather to take a traditional fairy tale and change views on gender roles in it to make it more in line with the changes in modern society. Therefore, it is important to give young readers an accurate message of what a modern woman is like in the present society. Silima Nanda argues in “The Portrayal of Women in the Fairy Tales” that: At a time when men and women are viewed as

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