The Last Unicorn Character Analysis

A fairy tale is an important part of children’s literature that features magical and imaginary characters who after experiencing some trials and tribulations, receives their happily ever after. A key characteristic of the fairy tale genre is that they often illustrate a variety of female figures as being significant to the story’s narrative. On one hand, there is always a heroine who is the epitome of beauty and perfection and on the other, there is a villain who tries to bring about the heroine’s downfall. Despite the growing movement towards feminism in society, women still have to deal with the socialization of gender roles when depicted in novels and the media. This is especially demonstrated in Peter S. Beagle’s The Last Unicorn and the …show more content…
A woman is never demonstrated as being able to save herself from peril. Instead, she depends on the male hero to come to her rescue. In the case of The Sleeping Beauty, this is particularly true for Princess Rosamond who along with the rest of the palace was cursed to sleep for 100 years. It was not until a prince came and reawakened her with a kiss that she was released from the wise woman’s curse: “And when he saw her looking so lovely in her sleep, he could not turn away his eyes; he stooped and kissed her, and she awaked, and opened her eyes, and looked very kindly on him.” (Grimm 102). This portrayal of male dependency describes one of the many restrictive social roles placed on women. It reinforces the idea that women can only be rewarded in life through praise and recognition of their external beauty, which will eventually lead to marriage and their happily ever …show more content…
They are either depicted as innocent, naïve and beautiful or they are portrayed as ambitious and evil which is often also linked to their ugliness. These ambitious women are always associated with unfavorable attributes and are therefore cast as the evil witch or stepmother who wishes some type of harm to befall on the heroine. This is proven when one of the wise women curses princess Rosamond as an act of revenge and jealousy for not being invited to the celebration feast: “In the fifteenth year of her age the princess shall prick herself with a spindle and shall fall down dead.” (Grimm 101). Anytime a woman is characterized as being self-aware or powerful, she is either shunned or murdered, proving that exhibiting what would be considered as “male” traits has its consequences. Fairy tales punish these women verifying that they embody the various ways that society tries to censure women and restrict them to the role of being