Strauss 1

Fairytale Unit Portfolio

Strauss 2

Sasha Strauss
WGS225
Prof. Van Buren
Literature Circle 1
Position: Discussion Director
1. Considering the overall theme of Beauty and the Beast, do you think the lessons to be
learned from such a tale are found necessary or even pertinent enough for todays
audience?
Personal:

The motifs expressed of the complications of marriage and of the

importance of resolving individual differences are widely geared towards helping women
in dealing with such problems, most of which were previously unbeknownst to them. In
parts of the world were arranged marriages are common and where women are regarded
as fragile/lesser or unengaging, stories like this were found very useful in settling such
marital disputes. There is a section in the text that states the following:
Beauty and the Beast has been celebrated as the quintessential story of
romantic love, demonstrating its power to transcend physical appearances. But in
many ways it is also a plot rich in opportunities for expressing a womans
anxieties about marriage, and it may at one time have circulated as a story that
steadied the fears of young women facing arranged marriages to older men. In
cultures where arranged marriages were the rule, it was a tale that could brace
women for an alliance that required them to efface their own desires or to favor
the desire for wealth over other considerations.

Strauss 3

This all clearly contradicts itself. In my opinion, the fact that introducing women to a
story that is supposed to be exemplary of true love as an aid in [steadying] the fears of
women facing arranged marriages is completely rubbish and will obviously lead to
skewed perceptions of marriage and perhaps exemplifying that women should be able to
settle for something that is undesired due to an outward influence. To the point, I do not
believe this story is evident anymore in its lessons because women nowadays are proven
to be more independent and capable of dissolving situations like this in order to
accomplish their own goals.
Group:

As far as this question goes, I had a great deal to say about the opinions

stated above, and most of the group agreed with the bulk of what was stated. One thing
that was discussed was that in some parts of the world today these topics and the storys
use of calming women are still widely applicable.
2. Rumplestiltskins role is that of a helpful character, but for the wrong reasons. He takes
advantage of the millers daughter so that he can have her firstborn child, not so
dissimilar to the Enchantress in the story of Rapunzel. Why do you think it is a recurring
theme for antagonists to demand the firstborn of a protagonist character?
Personal:

The intros to both stories allude to the fact that it was a very common

paranoia of newly found mothers that they were afraid their child would be taken away
from them. From my experience with travelling to Europe, I know that a fear of gypsies
stealing anything from your wallet to your child is quite common and with a bit of
research I did find some truth to this common fear. It was actually a tradition that in
Rome (and other areas in Europe, but Rome specifically) if a child was sick they would
be given to gypsies to be taken care of, and eventually mothers grew wary of doing so,

Strauss 4

the gypsies eventually resorted to taking the children forcefully. I believe the story of
Rumplestiltskin could have been used as a subtle warning to mothers in Europe to protect
their children from being taken away.
Group:

The group actually thought something quite different, they think it could

have been a message on priorities to women in Europe. It does seem that a woman
agreeing to part with her firstborn in order to live a life of wealth would be completely
absurd. A common theme in fairytales around this time was also that of marrying the
right person, whether in terms of wealth, children, or a myriad of other things; perhaps
this tale could have been a contrast to keep women and girls who read it to keep their
priorities in mind.
3. In the article Rumplestiltskin and the Decline of Female Productivity, Zipes gives this
comparison between the oral tale of Rumplestiltskin and the Grimm brothers
interpretation:
Why do you think the Grimm
brothers decided to add the fact
that the maidens father was a miller
and that he would brag that his
daughter could spin straw into gold?

Personal:

As far as why the Grimm brothers did it, I think it was simply their style.

Their fairytale adaptations always held some level of gloom or doom to them to keep a
darker feeling behind what was happening. In this particular case, I would think that it

Strauss 5

was to add some component of greed to the story. The idea that the Miller or the Maiden
stood to gain something from Rumplestiltskin gives the reader a sort of sour-feeling when
it comes to why they accepted the help from our antagonist.
Group:

We agreed that the story held more suspense in its plot with the Maiden

being boasted about by her father than what we read of the oral tale. The Grimms style is
known to not only entertain and educate, but to emotionally grab the reader and make
them feel something for the characters (usually negative or thrilling).

Strauss 6

Literature Circle 2
Position: Gender Scholar
For this literature circle we were to read the story of Cinderella from our text and my
group was assigned to read Vasilia the Beautiful in addition. As for these two tales, they both
convey the protagonist in a somewhat anti-feminist fashion. Both of these stories being older, it
is not uncommon that women were regarded in such a fashion. In the text, Cinderella takes on
the more docile and fragile role of a young woman who does what she is told and was always
kind nonetheless, whereas Vasilia is more of a soft-spoken underdog of a woman. Neither
portrayal of our protagonist does unaccompanied by their evil stepmothers and wretched step
sisters, who are quite necessary in contrasting their overall vanity and pompousness with
Cinderellas absolute natural beauty and Vasilias kind-heartedness and empathy.
The overall portrayal of our Cinderella in this tale could be seen as quite degrading to
todays audiences. Unfair treatment and verbal abuse aside, the fact that Cinderella merely stands
by while her stepsisters and stepmother torment her is very sheepish and would now be seen as
foolish and self-degrading. The character of Cinderella is portrayed as polite, obedient, beautiful,
modest and even bashful, among other things. These traits are all exemplary of the ideal way a
proper lady was accepted to be at the time, while nowadays society looks at women in a more
independent and accomplished fashion. The prime example as to how nave Cinderella is would
be when, even after her stepsisters treat her so badly, she forgives them in the end and not only
allows them to live at the palace with her, but she also finds them husbands. Feminists today
would argue that Charles Perrault was a great instigator in prolonging of these gender norms and
the portrayal of women as such. Sadly, this was the norm of the time, for women to be dainty and
fragile.

Strauss 7

As for Vasilia, she is portrayed as a simple person, appearing to be the mildly oblivious
type. Most of her personality traits are caused by her mother dying and her father marrying her
wretched stepmother; all this portraying her as the typical, helpless, female underdog character.
After her mother dies and her new family members become a part of her life, she is constantly
put down and scorned for her innocent beauty and kind-heartedness. Similar to Cinderella, the
fact that she stands by and simply absorbs all the abuse is an abysmal example of the typical
docile female. The gender norms of either time period are rather similar in the fact that women
are looked at as slightly lesser than men and thought of as seen, not heard. One thing that is
different about this story is the gender of the helper character. In Cinderella, our protagonist is
aided by the help of her fairy godmother, where Vasilia is helped by her mothers doll. The doll
does not truly take on a gender, but it does exude masculine traits as fair as the time period is
concerned. The doll is almost seen as a hero because whenever Vasilia is given something to do
by Baba Yaga that seems impossible, the doll does it before she can even bat an eyelash. This
also conforms to the periods typical gender norm that men were to do the work while the
women were to tend to other things, or in this case, when the women could not do what they
needed to, the men would pick up the slack.
When I presented my notes to the group, the topic of discussion became the influence of
the audience and how in todays audiences the female characters would be seen as helpless. The
group discussed that younger female readers would be influenced that being a pushover and
immensely nave were nothing but normal and expected. A topic that was brought up as well was
what the story would be like if it were first written in current times and that Cinderella would be
more proactive in defending herself from her family and most likely attempt anything necessary
to leave that place.

Strauss 8

Rapunzel Comparison
As with most folklore and fairytales, a myriad of different versions exist for any one
story. Within the context of our Fairytale Unit, we were to choose a particular tale as a group and
individually find alternate versions of our chosen story to compare the two. In my case, my
group happened to pick Rapunzel and my alternate version is titled Falling for Rapunzel.
Although most story comparisons analyze differences due to cultural changes between either
versions time period and/or changes in moral importance within either plot, this is simply not
the case for this comparison. These two variations are almost completely different; if one were to
use alternate names when reading Falling for Rapunzel, he or she would never be able to connect
the story to its original fairytale. The reason Falling for Rapunzel is so different from what we
know from Rapunzel is inarguably that it has a much lighter side and is very simply written in
its effort to appeal to a much younger audience.
Our tale of Rapunzel has had many meanings and although they have gradually changed
over time, they all have a basis centered about the idea of protecting and/or hiding away ones
daughter and how she reacts to her particular situation. As for the version Rapunzel in our text,
the plot is that of the typical long-haired blonde orphan whom is cast away in a tower by her
witchly Mother Gothel in an attempt to hide her from the world. Eventually a Prince comes
along to see Rapunzel after hearing her sing, they then fall in love and plan a way for Rapunzel
to escape from her domain; when the witchly woman finds this out she exiles Rapunzel to a
foreign wilderness and the Prince is blinded from falling into a bramble after Mother Gothel
has her way with him. Although this is a tale recorded by the brothers Grimm, it does happen to
end somewhat happily wherein Rapunzel and the Prince meet once again, his site is restored, and
they return to his kingdom with their twin children. This version of the story is quite closest to

Strauss 9

the generic tale most people think about when they think about Rapunzel; the main points are
all there: the long-haired blonde beauty in the tower, the prince, the godmother/witch/fairy, and
the happy ending.
The motif of this tale has become a staple of folklore and fairytales since; many other
stories such as Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast, and many others have used similar
characters and plot ideas close to that of Rapunzel. In many parts of the world, the way women
are regarded is still very similar, although slightly outdated, to that of this fairytale. The story of
a girl locked in a tower sounds a powerful chord in cultures that cloister young women in
convents, isolating them or segregating them from the male population (Tatar 105). Themes like
this one have been used for a very long time to teach young women anything from the
importance of true love, to even believing that they can achieve anything. This being said, ideas
like these have been used to show young women, not girls, their importance and to give them an
idea as to how ambitious they can realistically become. These complex concepts, although
seemingly simple and adolescent, were not and still are not normally fit for children due to a
lack of understanding as to what it means to have ambition, among other things. The rendition of
Rapunzel in Falling for Rapunzel appears to be an attempt at adapting the original generic in
order to appeal to adolescents and convey lesser components of the previous motifs.
In regards to Falling for Rapunzel, most of the main theme is still evident: a long-haired
blonde beauty in a tower, a prince, and a happy ending. On the other hand, this tale differs in
regard to who the protagonist is. In this variation the main character is actually the Prince; the
stage is set with Rapunzel introduced already in her tower while the Prince is shown calling up to
her, which does not appear to work out very well. He starts to call for her to let down her hair so
that he could climb up to her chamber, but he finds that she cannot hear him very clearly. In the

Strauss 10

confusion, she starts to send a few things down to him (her underwear, socks, a cantaloupe, a pig,
etc.) eventually leading to her mishearing the Prince say braid and she throws him the maid.
Although not how the original tale pans out, the Prince rides away in the sunset with the maid
and they both fall for each other. Whilst reading this tale, the reader can tell it is geared toward a
childrens audience in that it is illustrated in the fashion of a childrens picture book, as well as
the fact that it rhymes. From this you can clearly see the similar overarching theme of ambition
and perseverance: the prince is determined to get to Rapunzel and only then gives up when the
maid falls for him; whereas in the textbook version, it is Rapunzel that has ambition to leave
with the Prince and is determined to braid a rope long enough for her to escape with him. This
picture book setting clearly sends a similar moral across to its younger audience, but the original
tale gives more in-depth examples of any of the themes one can pick out from Falling for
Rapunzel.
Another aspect of the newer tale that is overlooked is how readers interpret the new story
and its lessons. The archetypal maiden in the tower motif usually comes across with lessons of
true love as well as patience and perseverance while the newer adaptation does not. The way
Falling for Rapunzel is intended to be read is that of a silly tale of seemingly true love and a
life happily ever after; when - in all actuality - it is a foolish tale of a prince who ends up
falling in love with the maid of the woman he previously sought after. This lighter message of
love and happiness can be argued as weak and could possibly condition childrens perception of
such topics in negative ways. The original tale and its closer variations were intended for a
slightly older audience for exactly this reason. The lessons and morals of such a fairytale are too
abstract and complex for an adolescent mind to appropriately comprehend.

Strauss 11

The reason Falling for Rapunzel deviates as much as it does from our version of
Rapunzel in The Annotated Classic Fairytales is because it is clearly targeted toward a much
younger audience and is unmistakably intended to capture the attention of said audience by
conveying a more positive and joyful tone in its plot. Whether it was adapted this way in hope of
a monetary gain for the writer or even just for younger children to possibly enjoy the classic tale,
the outcome is a poor excuse for a childrens book that holds almost no moral or intrinsic value.
The only successful trait of this work is that it actually does keep the attention of younger
children due to its constant rhyming and vibrant illustrations. The only substantial purpose for
Falling for Rapunzel is for it to be a rhyming picture book to help teach children how to read or
something of the sort.

Strauss 12

Works Cited
Tatar, Maria. The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales. New York: Norton, 2002. Print.

Gross, Ila Lane. Cinderella Tales around the World. New York: LEAPUSA.com, 2001. Print.

Zipes. "Rumplestiltskin and the Decline of Female Productivity." N.p.: n.p., n.d. 48-71. Print.

Strauss 13

The Story of Rose

Her name is Rose

She wants to go to school and become a lawyer/doctor instead of getting married

Her parents adamantly attempt to find her a suitor

She runs away

Hair is cut, face is scarred.

Meeting Journal:
We decided to adapt Rapunzel for a more modern time frame because we wanted to
connect the classic tale with our generations familiar problem of whether or not to pursue
education. As for differences in setting, we made the tower Rapunzel was exiled to Roses
room, where her parents ground her and tell her she cannot come out until they say so. When we
were casting our group for the characters, we also decided to cast the parents as the opposite
gender; in my opinion it was to show that the say of the parents was pertinent no matter how it
was acted out and that Rose would rebel regardless. I was cast as the Mother and did most of her
lines, and we agreed that she would be the more imposing of the parents, insisting that Rose was
to be married ASAP.