University of Windsor Scholarship at UWindsor Electronic Theses and Dissertations Theses, Dissertations, and Major Papers 2008 A narrative blind eye: Visual disability representation within the Brothers Grimm folk tales Leah Laxdal University of Windsor Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/etd Recommended Citation Laxdal, Leah, "A narrative blind eye: Visual disability representation within the Brothers Grimm folk tales" (2008). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 7999. https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/etd/7999 This online database contains the full-text of PhD dissertations and Masters’ theses of University of Windsor students from 1954 forward. These documents are made available for personal study and research purposes only, in accordance with the Canadian Copyright Act and the Creative Commons license—CC BY-NC-ND (Attribution, Non-Commercial, No Derivative Works). 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A NARRATIVE BLIND EVE: VISUAL DISABILITY REPRESENTATION WITHIN THE BROTHERS GRIMM FOLK TALES by Leah Laxdal A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies through English Language, Literature and Creative Writing in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts at the University of Windsor Windsor, Ontario, Canada 2008 © Leah Sigrun Laxdal 2008 Library and Archives Bibliotheque et 1*1 Canada Archives Canada Published Hentage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington OttawaONK1A0N4 OttawaONK1A0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN 978-0-494-82087-2 Our file Notre r6f6rence ISBN 978-0-494-82087-2 NOTICE: AVIS The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduce, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lnternet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distnbuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distribute and sell theses monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non­ support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propnete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral nghts in this et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. Ni thesis Neither the thesis nor la these ni des extraits substantiels de celle-ci substantial extracts from it may be ne doivent etre impnmes ou autrement printed or otherwise reproduced reproduits sans son autonsation without the authors permission In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la loi canadienne sur la Pnvacy Act some supporting forms protection de la vie pnvee, quelques may have been removed from this formulaires secondaires ont ete enleves de thesis. cette these While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n'y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant of content from the thesis ••I Canada Ill AITHOR'S DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY I hereby certifx that I am the sole author of this thesis and that no part of this thesis has been published or submitted for publication I certify that, to the best of mv knowledge, m\ thesis does not infringe upon anyone's copynght nor violate any proprietary rights and that any ideas techniques, quotations, or any other matenal from the work of other people included in my thesis, published or otherw lse, are fully acknowledged in accordance with the standard referencing practices Furthermore, to the extent that I have included copynghted matenal that surpasses the bounds of fair dealing within the meaning of the Canada Copynght Act, I certify that I ha\ e obtained a w ritten permission from the copynght owner(s) to include such matenal(s) in my thesis and have included copies of such copynght clearances to my appendix I declare that this is a true copy of my thesis, including any final revisions, as approved by my thesis committee and the Graduate Studies office, and that this thesis has not been submitted for a higher degree to any other Uni\ ersity or Institution 1\ ABSTRACT "A Narrative Blind E\e. \ lsual Disability Representation within the Brothers Grimm Folk Tales" explores the disability representations within Jacob and Wilhelm Gnmm's nineteenth-century Children s and Household Tales The Grimm tales contain numerous characters (dwarfs, giants, one-eyed daughters, etc.) Often the disabled Grimm characters are \ lllains or disabled on account of the tale's \ lllain. connecting blindness metaphorically to e\il or punishment. The Grimms feature disability as a narratn e de\ ice. suggesting that disability embodies deviance and/or non-ideal Otherness. Specifically turning to, and building upon, the arguments w ithin Xai rative Prosthesis b\ David Mitchell and Sharon Snyder. Enforcing \oimalc\ b\ Lennard J. Davis. Roland Barthes's structural and semiological analysis of narratives and Jack Zipes scholarship of the Grimm tales, I examine how disability operates w ithin literature at a metaphoncal level My thesis advocates the literary dissection and understanding of narratn e structuralism and devices within folk tales in order to challenge existing \ lsual disability ideologies. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation to my advisor. Dr. Nicole Markotic, for her guidance, critical and creative scholarship, and patience. Dr. Markotic's strong knowledge of disability theory helped shape my argument at crucial junctures and opened up new avenues of inquiry for me. Her enthusiasm and encouragement provided a wonderful atmosphere in which to begin and complete this project. She has been a steady mentor and dear friend to me through the years. I would also like to thank Dr. Karl Jirgens for supporting my endeavours and research. Dr. Jirgens was instrumental in providing intellectual direction and guidance with edits and comments regarding my thesis proposal. As well, thank you to all the University of Calgary and University of Windsor English professors who have instructed me and supported my work through my undergraduate and graduate degrees. I must also acknowledge my family. I would like to thank all my family and extended family for their willingness to engage in several discussions regarding my thesis that constantly reminded me of their love and support. I would like to thank my parents, Tom and Martha Laxdal, for their many years of unending guidance and encouragement. I would like to thank my siblings, Erin and Joseph Tysowski and Marni Laxdal, for their faith in my talents. I am most grateful to my loving and supportive husband, Bryan Auge, who accommodated my schedule with flexibility and patience and alw ays kept me smiling. \1 TABLE OF CONTENTS Author's Declaration of Originality iii Abstract i\ Acknowledgements \ Introduction: A Narrative Blind Eye: Visual Disability Representation within the Brothers Grimm Folk Tales 1 Defining Disability: The Giant Between the Lines 9 The Grimms' Prosthesis 10 Chapter One: The Other Abnormal/Disabled Grimm Bodies 24 Idealized Folktale Resolutions and the Disabled "Outside" Forces 30 Understanding the Ideal, Non-ideal, Normal and Abnormal Grimm Body 34 The Ideal Expert Huntsman and Superhero Simpleton 39 Permanent Disability = Permanent Antagonism 47 Straddling Normativity and Abnormality 49 Chapter Two: An Other Grimm World for the Other Dwarfs, Giants and Witches 54 The Present Disability Problem 64 Chapter Three: Eye Spy Disability: The True Grimm Colours 68 The Adapted Eye: Disney's Eye for the Evil Snow White Queen 69 The One-Eyed Myth 80 Hansel and Gretel's Witch: Nowhere in Sight 88 An Eye for a Cane, It is Just the Same 90 The Ignorant Visually Disabled Witch 95 Chapter Four: Odd-Eyed Out! No Golden Apples or Handsome Princes for the Visually Disabled.... 97 The Foolish Eye for Otherness 100 Questioning the One-Eye, Two-Eyes and Three-Eyes Disabled Characters 105 The Apple of the Two-Eyed 108 Conclusion: Against Blind Erasure Ill Works Cited 113 Vita Auctoris 119 1 INTRODUCTION: A Narrative Blind Eye: Visual Disability Representation within the Brothers Grimm Folk Tales My thesis examines the representations of visual disability within Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm's nineteenth-century Kinder- und Hausmarchen (Children 's and Household Tales); specifically, my thesis examines Grimms' seventh edition (1857) of the folk tales.2 By focusing on the narrative and textual visual disability content and context in which the folk tales' motifs, themes, and events are set, and by correlating and analyzing those unexplored affinities, my thesis discerns visual disability patterns and theorizes the Grimm folk tale premise of the "Othered" visually disabled body. Namely, that visual disability (whether blindness or var>ing degrees of visual impairment) signifies imperfect, deviant character and punishment for that character flaw/problem body.3 For the purpose of my thesis, I define the term disability as a physical and or cognitive bodily condition that causes a social and political minority experience and status. Within the Brothers Grimm tales, the disabled characters share the same social status of the Other; the Grimms name the disabled characters with their bodily conditions (dwarfs, giants, one-eyed daughter, and so on) and position these characters as antagonists—characters who occupy the social status of the Other villain next to the able-bodied hero. 2 Throughout my thesis I do not refer to the Brother Grimms' literary work as fairy tales, as the term was not used by the Brothers Grimm.