Masters Degrees (English)
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Browsing Masters Degrees (English) by Subject "Brothers Grimm"
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Item Open Access The perilous realm of Faërie: an analysis of constructions of gender and society in selected fairy tales(University of the Free State, 2012-11) Potgieter, Marike; Raftery, M. M.English: Fairy tales emphasise such things as the passivity and beauty of female characters, thus functioning as gendered scripts which serve and support the dominant gender systems in societies. Beauty, which is represented as an ideal state of being in fairy tales, is a socially constructed notion indicating that the physical appearance of a woman is her most important quality, and that she should therefore strive to perfect it. The ideal of feminine beauty is “viewed largely as an oppressive, patriarchal practice that objectifies, devalues, and subordinates women” (Baker-Sperry & Grauerholz, 2003: 711); however, some women willingly strive to attain beauty since this is seen as a way to empower themselves. Studying the significance of beauty in fairy tales from a gendered perspective can provide an insight into the dynamics that exist between power, culture and gender, as well as their significance. This study is therefore interested in the gender dynamics of the texts, the state of gender relations between various characters from the texts, and the patriarchal attitudes limiting characters (particularly female characters) to a certain sphere of existence. Thus, the norm of being accepted (as well as other societal norms) plays an important role. The instructions found in stories reassure readers that they have not strayed from the accepted path, but that they are defining themselves within the framework of the society they live in. Thus one is taught to act and react in certain circumstances, sometimes to the detriment of one’s personal growth. All societies have their shared belief structures, which are embedded in the tales, whether the message is religious or moral. Depending on the source of the translation, the same tale can teach different moral lessons. In “Aschenputtel” one finds that a person who does bad things and uses deception to get ahead in the world will be severely punished for his or her transgressions. The French version, “Cendrillon”, on the other hand, teaches its readers or audience to treat other people in the way that they themselves would like to be treated. Beauty, as illustrated in fairy tales, has an interesting relationship with industriousness, goodness/morality, economic privilege, danger, and class. In fairy tales, it appears, beautiful women are usually kind-hearted and hard-working, as illustrated in the tales discussed in this dissertation. They are usually rewarded for their goodness (beauty) by gaining some form of monetary gain and/or an increase in their social standing (class). Beauty also seems to go hand-in-hand with danger; they become targets of malicious attacks because of their physical appearance. Women are usually treated as inferior to men since fairy tales are set in patriarchal societies. Some women would say that these messages are archaic and demeaning. However, these tales can still teach valuable life lessons if the reader is willing to navigate through the perilous realm of Faërie, wary of the pitfalls, dungeons and traps left along the way by generations of storytellers. Thus, the reader of fairy tales must gain mastery of the text in order to avoid these traps and to be able to master the lessons and morals embedded within the tales