Fairy Tale Vs. Perrault's The Sleeping Beauty In The Wood

Ella Enchanted is an interesting and fanciful take on the fairytale Cinderella that is adapted to suit modern gender attitudes. The tale unfolds in a fanciful medieval world filled with ogres, elves, fairies, and giants. The primary conflict of the story centers around Ella’s curse of obedience and her journey to break the curse. While there are some similarities between the book and movie versions of Ella Enchanted, the many differences are far more significant and include differences in tone, character, and climax.

In What’s Wrong With Cinderella? by Peggy Orenstein, she argues the stereotypical views on the female population and the unfavorable aspect of princess fairytales. As a feminist, Orenstein feels the need to defy against the negative outlook on girls and protect her own daughter from the hostility of these false feminine beliefs. She embraces the idea that the princess culture is showing that beauty and perfection is the importance in young girl’s lives. While Orenstein recognizes how princess culture affects the female population in a negative way, she fails to acknowledge a more positive outlook on women. Women are expressing themselves more than just beauty. She strongly advises that our generation needs to improve feminine and gender based problems being faced in today’s society.

Grimm’s Cinderella is similar and different from Perrault’s Cinderella or (The Little Glass Slipper) because of the moral of kindness, themes, endings.

After Cinderella, by Charles Perrault, we are acquainted with the moral that “beauty is a treasure, but graciousness is priceless. Without it, nothing is possible; with it, one can do anything.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinderella#Cendrillon.2C_by_Perrault) “Without doubt it is a great advantage to have intelligence, courage, good breeding, and common sense. These, and similar talents come only from heaven, and it is good to have them. However, even these may fail to bring you success, without the blessing of a godfather or a godmother.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinderella#Cendrillon.2C_by_Perrault)

Fairy tales have been told for centuries and have been used to portray the conflict of sexual politics over time. Little Red Riding Hood and Beauty and the Beast are both examples of fairy tales with this focus. Making use of this conflict in The Handmaid 's Tale, Margaret Atwood has used certain elements of fairy tale genre to have the opposite effect of the stereotypical ‘happy ever after’ as the novel plays in a dystopian world. More specifically, the author has borrowed elements of fairy tales to develop the theme of shifting power in The Handmaid’s Tale.

Charles Perrault uses the princess’ character to reveal the major themes of overcoming evil, child abuse and incest in the story. Perrault also brings out the moral that it is better to encounter awful challenges in life than to fail in one’s duty. He shows that although the virtue may seem unrealistic, it can always triumph. The author uses various literary devices to reveal the various morals of the story. The most significant element of the story is the use of a fairy.

The art of storytelling is at the heart of fairy tales. Since the beginning, fairy tales have captivated readers with its magical worlds and enchanted characters. Quintessential to fairy tales are destined happy endings and the clear division between good and evil. The nature of these stories creates distorted perceptions that do not align with reality, making it difficult to distinguish between reality and illusion. This is portrayed in Terry Pratchett’s Witches Abroad, in which Lilith Weatherwax struggles to free herself from the fictitious world she has fabricated. With the use of storytelling, Witches Abroad uncovers the hidden dangers of false appearances to explore the underlying theme of reality versus illusion.

In “Donkeyskin,” Charles Perrault tells the story of a princess whose mother passed away wishing the king to only marry someone who is smarter and more beautiful than she is. The king wish to marry his own daughter so she ran away with the lavish gowns and donkey skin he had given her. In Jack Zipes “Breaking The Disney Spell,” he argues that Disney appropriates the fairy tales and injects his “all-American” morals and values into them. By putting his idealistic vision into films for everyone, Zipe claims that Disney insults the historical integrity of the folklore tradition, deceiving audiences with an illusion of happy fairy tales. Like Zipes, who argues that fairy tales validates the social norms and power structures, Charles Perrault’s Donkeyskin shows that the value of women is their beauty and for them wait for the male to make the first move. The female character are passive.

Fairytales have majorly altered throughout history in a variety of disturbing ways. Grimm’s fairytales were known as gruesome parables that spoke of harsh realities and were told to people of all ages. Disney is identified by their hopeful and imaginary stories aimed at the audience of children. The reasoning behind this stark contrast of fairy tales is for numerous diverse explanations.

The Cinderella tale has been at the heart of many stories for generations. People have become very familiar with the storyline, as it is very prevalent in society today through many moderns movies and stories. The Cinderella story is adored by young children, more specifically by young girls. However as a more feminist culture has emerged, society’s viewpoint of fairytales is becoming increasingly negative. In, “The Princess Paradox” and “Cinderella and Princess Culture”, authors James Poniewozik and Peggy Orenstein further evaluate themes found in the Cinderella stories. In their articles, both authors call on the gender roles that sit at the center of modern day fairytales. Poneiwozik and Orenstein also touch on the glorification of being

F_# _fn @ cfm fairy tales. With this essay, I’d like to convey what fairy tales mean to me as an artist, which is everything. (Ever since I was a child I have been happiest living in the sphere of a story. That in itself is a fairy tale.) I’d also like to demystify the idea that fairy tales are of use only to writers of fantasy or fabulism. I’d like to celebrate their lucid form. And I’d like to reveal how specific techniques in fairy tales cross stylistic boundaries. For while the interpretation of fairy tales is a well-traveled path among writers, fairy-tale techniques remain little identified and appreciated. “The pleasure of fairy tales,” writes Swiss scholar Max Lüthi, “residesin theirform.” I find myself more and more devoted to the pleasure I study the interpretation of meaning in fairy tales—there is a pile of scholarly books on my desk in which are buried my worn-out fairy-tale books—and I apply what I’ve learned to my editing, teaching, and writing in intricate ways. To learn the history of fairy tales is to learn the history of myth, printing, childhood, literacy, violence, loss, psychology, class, illustration, authorship, ecology, gender, and more. My first three novels—scarce of word though they may k a t e b e r n h e i m e r 64

The Authors, a student and a Professor of history at Rutgers University Nancy Hewitt, uses data from modern western fairytales to define gender roles created within these stories. She takes a four step approach to defining gender roles within fairytales first by defining what makes up a modern day fairy tale. She defines the classic heroine fairy tale as an introduction to every contemporary fairy tale that she dissects within the essay. The Heroine theme is a base for all contemporary fairy tales and this theme shows many monolithic gender stereotypes within it. A classic stereotype of women within the Heroine theme is how they are left helpless waiting for their savor. Both the authors state that this primitive ideology of waiting to be

Throughout generations, fairy tales have become a main influence in fantasies occurring in children and adults. It begins as a tragedy that ends with riches and happily ever after. In “Cinderella,” Anne Sexton mocks the happiness and perfection brought within the stories. She gives a whole new perspective of the famous happily ever after ending. Most of the characters in these stories are not doing so well but then by chance, become wealthy. Throughout the story there were points about terrible decisions being made, and most of the people would rather marry in riches, which is also going to extremes to get the easy life.

From the very beginning of Disney Princesses’, young children have received the wrong ideas on what gender roles should really be like. The story of Cinderella is about a young girl whos mother and father both passed away. However, before her father's passing, he remarried a woman with two daughters. Her step-mother took in Cinderella and made her the maid for her and her two children after the passing of Cinderella’s father. After being tormented and ridiculed, Cinderella was introduced to her Fairy Godmother. Her Godmother magically turned her beautiful to attend the Ball and meet the King. By the end of the story, the King finds Cinderella and she leaves her tragic life to be a wealthy and married princess. From this story, and many other similar Disney Princess stories, Ashley Bispo was able to write her article, “Fairytale Dreams: Disney Princesses’ Effect on Young Girls’ Self-Image”. This writing piece discusses the ideas of how stories like Cinderella have negative effects on girls and how they see themselves and/or others. Through both readings, it is clear that the Disney Princesses’ have given girls and boys an inaccurate understanding of gender roles in society through domestic responsibilities, one's appearance, and the ideas of marriage.

There has been a lot of debate in the recent years over the importance of fairytales in the lives of children. There are parents who think fairytales are not good for their children, they believe fairytales are unrealistic and portrays such imaginative images that hamper the development of children and are not always values that should be followed. I believe fairytales are more than just imaginative creations for the enjoyment of children. They are not just for children but can help in the lives of adults as well. The fairy tales that we hear today were not written for children in the first place, it was after the late nineteenth century that the tales were changed and made ‘more appropriate’ for children. In case of children’s fairytales in simple terms – they show children how to solve problems, they cross cultural boundaries and at the same time familiarize children with their own traditions and cultures, they develop a child’s imagination and last not the least they teach lessons (moral lessons, life lessons etc.). Thus I think fairytales are an important part of the learning process especially for children, while for adults it can be a source of entertainment or