The perilous realm of Faërie: an analysis of constructions of gender and society in selected fairy tales

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Date
2012-11
Authors
Potgieter, Marike
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University of the Free State
Abstract
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
Afrikaans: Sprokies beklemtoon eienskappe soos die passiwiteit en die skoonheid van vroulike karakters; dit dien en ondersteun die dominante gender-stelsels in gemeenskappe. Skoonheid, wat as 'n ideaal in sprokies teenwoordig is, is ’n sosiaal-gekonstrueerde idee wat aandui dat die fisiese voorkoms van vrouens as‘t ware hul belangrikste karaktereienskap is, en dat hulle daarna moet streef om dié kwaliteit te bereik. Die ideaal van vroulike skoonheid word hoofsaaklik as ’n onderdrukkende, partriargale praktyk beskou wat vrouens as minderwaardig en ondergeskik ag (Baker-Sperry & Grauerholz, 2003: 711), maar sommige vrouens strewe tog na die verkryging van skoonheid, omdat dit gesien word as ’n manier om hulself te bemagtig. Deur skoonheid in sprokies vanuit ‘n gender-perspektief te bestudeer, word insig verkry in die belangrikheid van die dinamika wat tussen mag, kultuur en geslag bestaan. Hierdie studies spits hom toe op die gender-verhoudings tussen die verskillende karakters in sprokies, en op die manier hoe partriargale houdings die karakters (veral vrouens) tot ‘n sekere bestaansvlak beperk. Die norm van aanvaarding, naas ander sosiale norme, speel ‘n belangrike rol in die vorming van karaktereienskappe. Die instruksies wat in sprokies gevind word help die leser om nie af te dwaal van dit wat aanvaarbaar is nie, en om homself/haarself te defin ieer binne die “korrekte” raamwerk. Dus word ’n mens geleer hoe om op te tree en te reageer in sekere omstandighede, soms tot die nadeel van 'n mens se persoonlike groei. Alle samelewings het hul eie geloofstrukture, wat in die stories saamgevat word. Afhangend van die bron van die vertaling kan dieselfde verhaal verskillende morele lesse leer. In "Aschenputtel" vind 'n mens dat ‘n persoon wat ander probeer verneuk en kwaad aandoen, vir persoonlike beswil, swaar gestraf sal word vir hierdie oortredings. Die Franse weergawe ("Cendrillon") leer die leser/gehoor egter om ander mense te behandel soos hulle self graag behandel sou wou word. Skoonheid, soos in sprokies geïllustreer, toon 'n interessante verhouding met ywer, deug/moraliteit, ekonomiese voorreg, gevaar, en klas. Dit blyk dat mooi vrouens in sprokies gewoonlik gaaf en hardwerkend is, soos geïllustreer deur die stories wat in hierdie verhandeling bespreek word. Hulle word gewoonlik vir hul weldade (skoonheid) beloon deur een of ander geldelike voordeel en/of 'n toename in hul sosiale stand (klas) te verkry. Dit blyk ook dat skoonheid ’n noue verhouding het met gevaar: as gevolg van hulle fisiese voorkoms word die vrouens die teikens van kwaadwillige aanvalle. Vrouens word gewoonlik beskou as ondergeskik aan mans, aangesien sprokies meestal in patriargale samelewings plaasvind. Sommige vroue sal sê dat hierdie boodskappe argaïes is, en selfs vernederend. Maar hierdie verhale kan steeds waardevolle lewenslesse oordra as ‘n mens bereid is om versigtig deur die sprokieswêreld te beweeg, behoede op die slaggate en strikke wat deur vorige vertellers langs die pad gelaat is. Die leser moet dus sy/haar leeswerk bemeester om hierdie strikke te vermy en om die lesse wat in die tekste gevind word, te kan bemeester.
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Women, Socialisation, Economic privilege, Goodness/morality, Industriousness, Brothers Grimm, Fairy Tales, Women in literature, Feminism -- Fiction, Dissertation (M.A. (English))--University of the Free State, 2010
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