As
I was thinking about a topic to write the next essay on, I looked around my
dorm, searching for something to pop out at me to write about. While I was
scrutinizing every knick-knack that cluttered my shelves, my roommate was
singing a song from Mulan. Of course I joined her, and after a solid two
minutes of belting out the classic Disney song, I thought about Taylor’s blog
that centered on Frozen and the feminist approach that people commented on.
Being a bit of a Disney buff, I was intrigued by the class discussion on the topic,
so I went on JSTOR and searched ‘feminist fairytales’. I wasn’t expecting a
huge flood of results, but after flicking through a couple of resources, I concluded
that there was definite potential for a three to four page paper.
One
of my sources thus far, Salman Rushdie’s
Attempt at a Feminist Fairytale Reconfiguration in Shame, by Justyna
Deszcz, seems the most intriguing. As I was skimming through the document, one particular
quote caught my attention. “Woman must make the best of her fate, for if she
does not love Man, why then he dies, the Beast perishes, and Woman is left a
widow, that is to say, less than a daughter, less than a wife, worthless (158)”.
This quote was provoked from the fairytale Beauty
and the Beast. The movie showed a slow progression of a relationship
getting more and more simple and traditional as the Beauty acclimated to life
with the Beast and the Beast eventually returned to his true human form. It stated
that women must settle with which men are allotted to them, otherwise without
the status of being someone’s wife, their lives could be considered worthless.
I hope to argue the thesis that original
fairytales created a certain mold for women in the minds of others, especially the
children who grew up hearing about these stories. Maybe, if time permits, I
could include something about how modern day fairytales are spun in a completely
different direction, sending the message out to viewers that feminism is alive
and well.
This sounds like a fascinating topic. I wonder what exactly would make for the distinction between the two types of fairytale. I'll just have to read your paper to find out I suppose.
ReplyDelete