Gender Stereotypes In Fairy Tales

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Gender stereotypes plague our stereotypes still today. However, for much of history gender expectations have been much more rigid and non-plastic. It has been hypothesized that by in large fairy tales were written based on many of the stereotypes of the times. Thus, it is no surprise that many of the Brothers Grimm’s fairy tales clearly depict gender stereotypes that which are iconic of most of written history. The brothers Grimm’s tales show domestication, female submissiveness, and child, but most noticeably female adolescent naiveness. In this paper I would analyze two of the Brother Grimm’s most iconic tales: Briar Rose (commonly know as Sleeping Beauty) and Snow White. Both tales contain many similarities, but of the two tail, Snow White …show more content…
However, the beauty of the princess is portrayed in the plot much more in Snow White than in Briar Rose. In Briar Rose, the princess is instantly identified as so beautiful “that the king could not contain himself for joy” (). However, who really does not find their child as the most beautiful specimen that walks the earth. To solidify Briar Roses beauty, the second wise woman presented her with the magical gift of beauty (). To add, after the princess was stricken by the curse, “[a] legend circulated throughout the land about the beautiful sleeping Little-Brier Rose (sic)” (). Finally, once the prince conquered the hedge the story describes that Briar Rose “was so beautiful that he could not take his eyes off her” (). Briar Rose’s beauty is a defining attribute of her character, but the attractiveness of Snow White contributed much more to her …show more content…
For example, in Briar Rose, although a curse was cast on her in her toddlerhood, she was kept in the dark for her entire life and thus as she sees the women spinning, she is mesmerized and fascinated (therefore, adding to the fact that a women’s desires should be inherently domestic) and instantly foolishly grabs the spindle setting the curse. Additionally, in Briar Rose her submissive qualities become very apparent as she is awoken from her deep sleep by the kiss of the prince. Briar Rose instantly falls in love with the prince and agrees to marry him, all seemingly prior to them ever sharing a dialogue. Once again however, Snow White portray the stereotype to a much great extent and is much more detrimental. In Snow White, her naiveness allows her to be fooled time and time again by her evil stepmother, each time putting her closer and closer to death. It is only with the help of a male figure does Snow White survive and her security is reestablished because her envious stepmother is killed. Snow White’s submissiveness is also much more stereotypically present in the tale. Much like Briar Rose, Snow White instantly accepts the prince’s love and falls in love with him. As she awoke and questioned her location, the prince proclaimed “you are with me” as if already claiming her before she even offered him the opportunity. To add the prince essentially
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