“Contradicting the Fairy Tale Message”
According to the majority of the Brothers Grimm fairy tales, in order to live happily ever after as a female, one has to rely on anyone and everyone but yourself. Female characters most often do not have the ability to determine their own happiness. Although Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm succeed at teaching children valuable moral lessons, I strongly believe the stories often belittle the women while doing so.
In the fairytale Cinderella, the Grimm Brothers show children the negative effects of treating others with disrespect, and how lying to get one's way is not beneficial. Cinderella is treated with the utmost disrespect by her stepmother and sisters. They treated her like a slave and would not allow …show more content…
Rowe, who is an American Literary Critic and a specialist in Renaissance Literature, wrote in an article called Feminism and fairy tales. Karen stated, “Portrayals of adolescent waiting and dreaming, patterns of double enchantment, and romanticization or marriage contribute to the potency of fairy tales. Yet, such alluring fantasies gloss the heroine’s inability to act self-assertively, total reliance on external rescue, willing bondage to father and prince, and her restriction to hearth and nursery” (Rowe). Rowe does a good job describing the way fairy tales are displayed, especially in majority of the Grimm brothers work.
When children are growing up, it is important for them to learn self sufficiency. That is a hard concept to understand for females, especially if they read fairytales like Cinderella, whose character is not strong willed. Gratefully, the Grimm brothers did write a fairy tale that shows an unyielding female …show more content…
In his article, he talks about how the lessons or main idea of the fairytales does not allow the child to think or imagine on their own. Children read these fairytales and believe that this is how life really works. Jacquelynne Eccles, who is a PhD professor of, psychology, education, and women's studies, did a study of children’s development. Eccles explained that from the ages of 6-14, children start to learn about themselves and who they are. They learn how to become independent and find their place in the world. This shows the significant impact of the fairy tales they read during school. Cinderella shows young females that they have to find their prince in order to be strong and happy. On the other hand, Hansel and Gretel shows that the brother and sister needed to lean and depend on one another to solve their problems. This also demonstrates how the female characters can take part in being heroic. Because of these reasons, children's literature should reflect the values that society would want our students to
According to the majority of the Brothers Grimm fairy tales, in order to live happily ever after as a female, one has to rely on anyone and everyone but yourself. Female characters most often do not have the ability to determine their own happiness. Although Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm succeed at teaching children valuable moral lessons, I strongly believe the stories often belittle the women while doing so.
In the fairytale Cinderella, the Grimm Brothers show children the negative effects of treating others with disrespect, and how lying to get one's way is not beneficial. Cinderella is treated with the utmost disrespect by her stepmother and sisters. They treated her like a slave and would not allow …show more content…
Rowe, who is an American Literary Critic and a specialist in Renaissance Literature, wrote in an article called Feminism and fairy tales. Karen stated, “Portrayals of adolescent waiting and dreaming, patterns of double enchantment, and romanticization or marriage contribute to the potency of fairy tales. Yet, such alluring fantasies gloss the heroine’s inability to act self-assertively, total reliance on external rescue, willing bondage to father and prince, and her restriction to hearth and nursery” (Rowe). Rowe does a good job describing the way fairy tales are displayed, especially in majority of the Grimm brothers work.
When children are growing up, it is important for them to learn self sufficiency. That is a hard concept to understand for females, especially if they read fairytales like Cinderella, whose character is not strong willed. Gratefully, the Grimm brothers did write a fairy tale that shows an unyielding female …show more content…
In his article, he talks about how the lessons or main idea of the fairytales does not allow the child to think or imagine on their own. Children read these fairytales and believe that this is how life really works. Jacquelynne Eccles, who is a PhD professor of, psychology, education, and women's studies, did a study of children’s development. Eccles explained that from the ages of 6-14, children start to learn about themselves and who they are. They learn how to become independent and find their place in the world. This shows the significant impact of the fairy tales they read during school. Cinderella shows young females that they have to find their prince in order to be strong and happy. On the other hand, Hansel and Gretel shows that the brother and sister needed to lean and depend on one another to solve their problems. This also demonstrates how the female characters can take part in being heroic. Because of these reasons, children's literature should reflect the values that society would want our students to