I did read the whole of chapter 8 but I did get caught up in the introduction. I am a great fan of fairy tales always have been always will be so this stuck out to me the most. I do agree that fairy tales do tell you that if you are beautiful, young, and strong your happiness will come. The thing I really don't agree with is the whole Feminist look at fairy tales and that the women are brainless and weak. Bressler talks about Cinderella and how Feminists should look at the story on page 144 he states: "In sum, they must reject the idea that women (like the traditional Cinderella) are mindless, weepy, passive, helpless creatures who must wait for a man to come and make their lives meaningful." The problem with this statement is it's not true. The prince, granted, does take Cinderella out of the bad situation but he doesn't even know she exists until she comes to the ball. The true savior of the story is the Fairy Godmother (who is a woman) without her, Cinderella would be still stuck at home.
Rumpelstiltskin is another example of a strong woman. It is the girl who is cunning enough to both agree to ask for help from Rumpelstiltskin and to find out his name to save her child. Rapunzel, she is the one who has to find the Prince in the end and she saves his eyes with her tears. When looking at Fairy Tales it is always the women who suffer the most but they also use their own strength and love to overcome and persevere.
Granted these women do not have political power but they are not "mindless, weepy, passive, helpless creatures." I could go on and on but I'll stop with these three examples.
Often times in Fairy Tales it is the men who are pawns. Like in Cinderella, the Prince just shows up at the very end to sweep her off her feet. In Rumpelstiltskin the Prince is the object of the girl's desire and what she is striving for. In Rapunzel the Witch flicks the Prince off the tower and he falls and goes blind until Rapunzel finds him again.
Not only are the heroines strong women but more often than not the oppressor is a strong woman as well. Fairy Tales are dominated by women and their struggles, they are filled with cunning and smart women. Just because these heroic women in Fairy Tales are selfless, doesn't mean they are weak.
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I love how you focused on the fairytale portion since the book used it as a representative of literature depicting women in a shallow/almost degrading light. I also love the fact that you disagree. I read the chapter’s POV on these fables and I was like: oh yeah, that ‘s kinda true. But what you showed was a different analysis, done by way of literary deconstruction. You broke things down and read them differently than this author did; and I love that. It’s like watching the Hawthorn vs. Jene’ all over; it’s David and Goliath. And we all know how all these epic bouts end :)
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