Masaryk University Gender Stereotypes in Fairy Tales
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Masaryk University Faculty of Education Department of English Language and Literature Gender Stereotypes in Fairy Tales Diploma Thesis Brno 2014 Supervisor: Mgr. Pavla Buchtová Author: Bc. Alena Veselá ~ 1 ~ I hereby declare that I have worked on this thesis on my own, and that I used only the sources listed in the bibliography. I agree that this thesis can be filed in the Library of the Faculty of Education at Masaryk University in Brno and made available for academic purposes. ................................................. Švábenice 20.4.2014 Bc. Alena Veselá ~ 2 ~ Acknowledgment I would like to heartily thank my supervisor Mgr. Pavla Buchtová for her kind help, time, willingness and for her valuable comments. Furthermore, I would also like to express my gratitude to my family and friends for their support during the process of writing this thesis. ~ 3 ~ Abstract This diploma thesis deals with gender stereotypes in fairy tales, i.e. typical stereotyped and biased portrayals of the main male and female characters in fairy stories. The theoretical part concerns with the history and development of fairy tales and provides with the explanations of the terms gender, gender identity, gender role, gender stereotype and sexism. The practical part is based on the analysis of the two most well-known fairy tales, i.e. Cinderella and Snow White and their five variations by different authors, namely brothers Grimm, Joseph Jacobs and Roald Dahl, the animated films by Walt Disney and the film adaptations from the 21st century. The aim of the thesis is to analyse typical stereotyped portrayals of the male and female characters in the fairy tales and it focuses on the negative aspects of gender stereotypes in connection with children´s perception of the reality. The goal of the thesis is also to find out whether some alterations connected with the depiction of the main characters in these versions have been made. Key words Fairy tales, gender, gender identity, gender role, gender stereotypes, stereotype, sexism, Cinderella, Snow White, brothers Grimm, Joseph Jacobs, Roald Dahl, Walt Disney, A Cinderella Story, Mirror Mirror, children, perception of reality Veselá, Alena. Gender Stereotypes in Fairy Tales. Diploma thesis. Masaryk University, 2014. Print. ~ 4 ~ Anotace Tato diplomová práce se zabývá genderovými stereotypy v pohádkách, což znamená stereotypními a zaujatými vyobrazeními hlavních mužských a ženských postav. Teoretická část se věnuje historii a vývojem pohádek a vysvětluje pojmy jako gender, genderová identita, genderová role, genderový stereotyp a sexismus. Praktická část je založena na analýze dvou nejznámějších pohádek, Popelky a Sněhurky, a jejich pěti verzí od různých autorů. Konkrétně se jedná o verze bratří Grimmů, Josepha Jacobse a Roalda Dahla, dále o animované filmy Walta Disneyho a filmové adaptace z 21. století. Záměrem této práce je analyzovat typická stereotypní vyobrazení mužských a ženských postav v pohádkách, přičemž analýza se zaměřuje na negativní aspekty genderových stereotypů ve spojení s dětským vnímáním světa. Cílem této práce je také zjistit, zda se v těchto verzích objevují nějaké změny týkající se vyobrazení hlavních postav. Klíčová slova Pohádky, gender, genderová identita, genderová role, genderové stereotypy, stereotyp, sexismus, Popelka, Sněhurka, bratři Grimmové, Joseph Jacobs, Roald Dahl, Walt Disney, Moderní Popelka, děti, vnímání světa VESELÁ, Alena. Gender stereotypes in fairy tales. Brno, 2014. Diplomová práce. Masarykova univerzita. Vedoucí práce Mgr. Pavla Buchtová. ~ 5 ~ Table of Contents 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................ 7 2. Fairy Tales ................................................................................................................. 10 2.1. Brief History of Fairy Tales ................................................................................ 11 3. Gender Stereotypes .................................................................................................. 17 4. Gender Stereotypes in Fairy Tales .......................................................................... 22 4.1. Cinderella ............................................................................................................ 24 4.1.1. Portrayal of Cinderella ............................................................................... 27 4.1.2. Portrayal of Cinderella´s Stepmother and Stepsisters ................................ 31 4.1.3. Presence of Cinderella´s Father and Mother .............................................. 35 4.1.4. Presence of Magic Objects ........................................................................ 36 4.1.5. Portrayal of the Prince ............................................................................... 38 4.1.6. Prince´s Affections towards Cinderella ..................................................... 39 4.1.7. Wedding and Marriage .............................................................................. 41 4.2. Snow White ......................................................................................................... 42 4.2.1. Portrayal of Snow White ............................................................................ 44 4.2.2. Portrayal of Snow White´s Stepmother ..................................................... 47 4.2.3. Presence of Snow White´s Father and Mother .......................................... 48 4.2.4. Role of the Dwarfs ..................................................................................... 49 4.2.5. Portrayal of the Prince ............................................................................... 50 4.2.6. Prince´s Affections towards Snow White .................................................. 51 4.2.7. Wedding and Marriage .............................................................................. 52 5. Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 54 Résumé ........................................................................................................................... 57 Works Cited ................................................................................................................... 58 ~ 6 ~ 1. Introduction Fairy tales have always been the very first kind of literature with which children meet. They listen to their parents´ telling or reading the stories or they simply watch some fairy tales on television. The children come into contact with them very frequently that we cannot be surprised that they are also formed by them, especially by the way the stories depict the behaviour of people who are usually portrayed in a stereotyped way. Therefore it is necessary to be aware of such portrayals not only in fairy tales. Undoubtedly, the author of this thesis does not deny the importance of fairy tales in children´s lives and especially their influence on the fundamental moral principles the children should obtain. Fairy tales are a very essential part of literature and they should not be deleted from children´s lives. After all, famous people emphasizes the significance of fairy tales as well, for instance, Albert Einstein was aware of their magnitude in forming children as it is obvious from his well-known quote: "If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales." Nevertheless, not only do children meet with the first differences between the good and evil or consequences of their own demeanour, they also acquire the basic stereotypes related to both women and men, which can be harmful in case of children´s general and simplified perception of the world. Regarding the typical gender stereotypes present in fairy tales, it is not necessary to stress the fact that the inappropriate and one-sided portrayals concern females to a large extent. As for the characteristic portrayals themselves, women are typically depicted in an inferior or even unfavourable way. They are portrayed as weak princesses that wait for a brave prince to rescue them, or as evil witches who want to kill someone or thwart anybody´s plans. Princesses are always very beautiful with a gorgeous dress and they are also naive and unable to act or decide without a necessary help either of animals or miraculous objects. On the other hand, typical characters that men represent in fairy tales are courageous princes who are able to save anyone, usually the weak princesses, almost without any obstacles and, moreover, they get the princess as a reward. ~ 7 ~ These typical portrayals of women and men, gender stereotypes, occur in children´s literature regularly, which often means that children can begin to consider these sexist features normal, usual and also right. Undoubtedly, this point of view is not proper as it deepens the prejudices against both women and men and, at the same time, it contributes to form children´s incorrect and biased ideas about the typical behaviour patterns of females and males. The main aim of this study is to point to this problem that children have to face every day as well as to analyse the issue concerning the occurrence and potential change of gender stereotypes in fairy tales. The research was based on the analysis of the two well-known fairy tales, namely "Cinderella" and "Snow White" and their variations by brothers Grimm, Jacobs, Disney and Dahl written from the beginning of the 19th century to the