Feminism And Gender Roles In Brothers Grimm's Fairy Tales

As varied as the range of children’s literature available, so is the socio-cultural situation of a child. In today’s society books, magazines, television and cinema have one of the largest platforms available to engage with each individual child or youth. Behind every storybook picked up by a child is an adult who through these books is expressing their views and morals in an approach a child can relate to. Much as hero stories such as Where the Wild Things Are appeals to the average, white, young male, so does And Tango Makes Three to the child of a diverse family whose parents are of the same sex. Children’s literature, including Young Adult fiction, allows the predominantly adults authors help shape the young minds of tomorrow, moulding
Feminism has brought about vast changes to society over the past forty plus years and our staple story telling tales needs to reflective upon the way our society now views women compared to when Margery Hourihan published “The Story Deconstructing the Hero”. Women for many years have only played background roles, especially in the much loved “hero stories” as such (Hourihan 9). The publication of Angela Carter’s “The Bloody Chamber and Other Tales” has brought about a more radical approach to the long rooted traditions of patriarchal classic fairy tales (Zipes 120). Zipes suggests this change in roles and more feminist approach to Children’s Literature is not a result from breaking away from the past but rather women seizing it, making the past their own (Zipes 124). In Carter’s own translation of the traditional tale by Charles Perrault, she has regenerated the story, becoming more fitting to the current times of women and the struggle of power play between the two sexes. Even though the change feminism has brought to children’s literature has seen some backlash, it has also inspired and influenced many male writers. The Drover’s Wife by Henry Lawson is a great example of this. A simple, hero tale of a wife/mother who must battle the harsh and wild conditions the Australian bush offers while her
As Jacqueline Rose states in The Case of Peter Pan: The Impossibility of Children’s Literature children’s fiction sets up a world in which the adult comes first as the author, maker and giver and the child come after as the reader, product and receiver’ but neither party enters the space in between (Rose 2). Children’s literature draws the child in, allowing them to feel secure and framing their ideas and dreams. A diversity in children’s literature is intended to help enable the child to develop their talents, their creativity and also their critical thinking (Zipes 39). Zipes claims this might better their understanding of the conditions of which they live and allow them to develop a sense of civic responsibility and affective attachment to other human beings (Zipes 39). If children’s literature was not influential to their targeted audience there would not be so many challenges to the diversity upon the library shelves, just because certain members of the community see as outside the ‘norm’. Once again this reiterates the fact that children’s literature is created by adults who are seeking to help shape and mould the young minds of