I'm Not Defending Bluebeard, But...

Two girls in our class began their discussion this way today and it was so funny, because I think we all tend to do this at times. As humans, we have a natural ability or tendency to see things from different perspectives and analyze both sides of an issue. This may be what makes us unique from other animals. We mentioned in class today that we are animals and have basic animal reactions, but I think we have more qualities of reason and empathy than other animals. We look for the reason behind why someone did something, and whether or not they should be considered guilty or just misguided. In "Bluebeard" by Charles Perrault, there is really no way to defend Bluebeard. He killed his former wives and hung them in a bloody chamber. He was guilty of murder. He also seemed to want to tempt the new wife by offering her the key to that room while saying that she must not go in there. If you really wanted to keep something secret from your spouse, you wouldn't point it out, make a big mystery about it, and dangle the key in her face like a carrot for a donkey. He knew that she would be curious and he wanted to test her obedience. This is another reason we should not defend Bluebeard. He purposely set up a test of loyalty for his wife, to see if she was trustworthy. But it is a bit ironic that he was a horrific murderer who had killed more than one woman, and he feels he has the right to test her trustworthiness and honesty. What about his own trustworthiness or honesty? What is that old saying about people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones? That may be an understatement when it comes to Bluebeard.
But if I absolutely had to defend Bluebeard for some reason, I would pose the arguement that he was a victim of society. After all, he had a physical problem that he couldn't help and for which people made fun of him. The story says that he had a blue beard, "which made him look so ugly and frightful that women and girls alike fled at the sight of him" (Perrault's tale 144). Most of us have been teased about something regarding our looks sometime in grade school, and so we might be able to sympathize with Bluebeard's plight. Some kids that are teased alot turn out to be mean or deviant. We could say that this happened to him. Poor fellow, he couldn't get away from his flaw because his name was even "Bluebeard", which must have constantly called attention to the bad physical attribute. Girls didn't just reject him gently because he wasn't a super cool dude...they ran away from him screaming! This reminds me of our feelings for Grendel in the famous medieval tale of "Beowulf." He is a horrific murderous monster, but he is an outcast from society and not allowed in with the other folks who are singing and making merry. He is a descendant of Cain, so everyone fears and rejects him. But we tend to think that he can not help where he came from, and society made him respond with anger and hatred because of the way they treated him. I think there is a whole book written about the tale from Grendel's perspective which I hope to read someday. But back to Bluebeard...he probably did hate women because they were so mean to him. He sought revenge on something that had caused him so much pain and rejection. Should we try to understand him or feel sorry for him?
My answer to this query would be "no!" If we all decided to kill somebody every time we felt hurt or rejected, there would be few of us humans left in the world. He needed to quit worrying about it and go on and do something good with his life! I don't buy the belief in our society that there is an excuse for every bad behavior. So, I guess I'm really not defending Bluebeard!

Grimm's "Bluebeard" Has a Clever Girl..Hurray!

In the Brothers Grimm version of bluebeard, entitled "Fitchers Bird," I was pleased to see that there was one woman clever enough to trick the Bluebeard character (the sorcerer) herself, rather than wait for someone to save her. The first two daughters that the sorcerer captured were not too bright and they were both killed. But the third and youngest daughter was smart and cunning and she stayed one step ahead of the sorcerer dude. She put the egg in a safe place so that it never got the blood on it. She also put her two sisters back together and they came back to life. We were asked to say if the fairytales ever collide with our own life. Well, I've never had any horrible experience like that before, but I am the youngest of three sisters so maybe that is why I think this last sister rocks! But seriously, I like the fact that the Grimm's tales often have women who show some initiative. The Cinderalla character in their version of that tale went out to the tree she had grown and wished for an outfit to wear to the ball on her own...no fairy godmother had to appear to help her. But back to the Bluebeard tale. The third sister then hid her two sisters in a basket of gold and made the sorcerer carry them back to their parents. She even told him that she would be watching him the whole way and he better not stop to rest. She definitely took control of the situation. She used her cunning once more at the end to trick the sorcerer and all his friends into the wedding feast, then locked them in and burned them all up. But perhaps the most clever thing she did was to disguise herself like a bird so that she could get by them without being noticed. She rolled in honey and feathers. This was an intriguing means of escape and I guess where this tale got its name "Fitchers Bird." The youngest sister really came up with many tricks very quickly. Bravo, Grimms!

Bluebeard! What a change from Cinderella. I wish I had had this class last year because I would have known the story of Bluebeard and would not have missed a test question in my British Contemporary Novels class! We studied "The Bloody Chamber" by a contemporary author named Angela Carter. The test question was something like: "which fairy tale does this story remind us of?" The correct answer was "Bluebeard" and I know why now...The Bloody Chamber is extremely similar to Perrault's version of the tale. I had not read or really heard of Bluebeard prior to that time. I'm glad for the opportunity to read the 1697 version of Bluebeard and compare it to Carter's version. Her version is longer and goes in to more detailed description of the man this girl was to marry and their erotic wedding night. She seemed to fear him yet be attracted to him all at the same time. Like in the Perrault version, she was told not to enter the special room while he was gone away on business. In his "bloody chamber" was not only blood and the bodies of his former wives, but there was an Iron Maiden. This contraption was a large wood and iron structure. like a big coffin, with metal spikes coming out that pierced and killed the victim. Carter's representation of her Bluebeard character was very dark and cruel, as well as being murderous like in all the original Bluebeard tales. Another difference between Perrault's version and Carter's copy-cat version is the way in which she is rescued. In Perrault's tale, she anxiously awaits the arrival of her brothers. They finally come and, in good fairytale style, slay the enemy and rescue the lady. But I love the ending in Angela Carter's tale. Sensing something is amiss with her daughter when she spoke to her on the phone, as only mothers can do, she rushes to her castle. Riding across the water on a fast steed, hair whipping about her face and skirts flying behind her, the mother reaches her daughter just in time and kills the evil husband. Girl power! The moral of this tale...never mess with a mom's children because she will go to hell and back to save them.

Cinderella--Like Pornography for Women?

I had some final thoughts about our discussion of Cinderella before we move on. We discussed in class about how this fairy tale sets up unrealistic expectations, not only regarding a woman looking pretty and being happy doing domestic chores, but also the whole "someday my prince will come" fantasy. By hearing and watching this fairy tale as young girls, I wonder if women grow up with this thought---that someday they will meet a wonderful guy who is like a prince? He will sweep us off our feet and save us from mean family members and rescue us from the drudgery of housework. The sad thing is that the opposite is often true! When you get married, you take on in-laws as part of your family and they are not always that great to be around. And, your housework probably increases because you are taking care of your husband as well as yourself. If you have children, you can double or triple that workload. The only way to be rescued from all this is if you marry a real prince or perhaps a very rich man with live-in servants. But if Donald Trump and his many wives are any example of that lifestyle, I wouldn't want any part of it! Perhaps the truth about Cinderella and other fairy tales is what I heard someone say about a pseudo pornography for women. The theory goes like this...soap operas and what we might call chic-flicks are the same badness for women as pornography is for men. So, in essence, romantic movies and soap operas are porn for women. Why?? Because the men on these shows act the way women would like for them to act, but (this is a big but) in real life men don't really act this way. For example, the men are very communicative and romantic, they'll do anything for the woman, they often have to "rescue" her from something or somebody, by the end of the movie they love her so deeply that they'll do anything to find her and win her love, etc. It is based on female fantasy of what we want a man to be, not the way they really are. Now look at pornography for men and we can see why the comparison was made. When men look at pornography, they see a woman the way he would like them to be but they are not really this way in real life. For example, they are really confident in their own bodies, they are offering it to the man freely, they appear to love sex as much as he does, they are all about the physical fun with no strings attached, etc. Most real women are not like that. They have to have a comfortable relationship before they want to have sex, they need to communicate, they are not so comfortable putting their bodies on display. So, soap operas and chic flicks are to a woman's mind what pornography is to a man's mind. Have you ever watched a wonderfully romantic movie with a gorgeous, sweet man in it and you're starting to cry at the touching part and you look over at your husband and he looks completely unmoved?! And you get kinda mad at him because he's not like the guy in the movie? That brings us back to Cinderella. It sets up unrealistic expectations for women from the time they are young girls and learn the fairytale. We all realize at some point what relationships and marriage to a man are like, but I wonder if secretly, deep down, we're all still waiting for our prince to come. Or at least for our husbands to act like a prince more often!

Cinderella as Domestic Goddess

I enjoyed our class discussion on Cinderella's role as a "domestic goddess." While it is true that women should not be expected to look pretty and sing sweetly while they clean, it is a sad fact of life that women usually still end up carrying most of the domestic chore load. There was a girl in my Women In Lit class last semester that said a statistic showed that housework among married couples is still split 90%-10% with women doing the 90. I tried to find this statistic online but could not find it. It would not surprise me, though. I did want to put this excerpt from an article I found at http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070827174300.htm

"The study of more than 17,000 people in 28 countries found that married men report doing less housework than men who are live-in boyfriends.
According to Davis, the key finding of the study is that it suggests the institution of marriage changes the division of labor. Couples with an egalitarian view on gender--seeing men and women as equal--are more likely to divide the household chores equally. However, in married relationships, even if an egalitarian viewpoint is present, men still report doing less housework than their wives."
This does not give women much incentive to get married these days! When I was the age of most of the students in our class, I imagined myself to be very liberated and would never need a man or do so much housework like my mother. But like I said in class, if you live in a house or apartment with a boyfriend or spouse, someone has got to do the work. If you can agree to split the work equally that would be ideal, but I wonder how often that really happens. My husband will do housework and grocery shopping, but it is always interesting to me that in his mind he is "helping me." Even some of the articles I read said that men would "help out with the housework." This suggests that in everyone's mind, the work is still the responsibility of the woman, but the men have gotten better at "helping." I'm not sure if we have come such a long way in this area! I think it boils down to this: you have to be happy with what you are doing whether that is housework, working as CEO of a company, teaching, raising kids, or any other task! Cinderella may have known something good after all...be happy with yourself and have a good attitude, no matter what you're station!

Disney's Use of Lines and Color

We've read the critics articles this week and they were very interesting. I never realized how much goes into the planning and execution of the Disney films. One group presenting this week asked us to discuss the use of lines and angles in the animated films. Cinderella has soft, rounded lines to represent her goodness and gentleness and the stepmom and step sisters have harsher lines and points and angles. I looked at some film clips of Disney's Cinderella and this is true. I mainly noticed this in their bodies rather than their clothes. The stepmom has pointed eyebrows, a pointy chin, and long pointy fingernails. This gives her an evil appearance. You would know that she is an unpleasant character, even if you could not hear the dialog. The step sisters have pointy noses and eyebrows. But the article also commented on Disney's use of color. It said that Cinerella's soft browns and warm colors go with her animals and the stepmother's and stepsisters' cold grays and blues go with their cat, Lucifer. While viewing the clips, I noticed something else about the use of color. The stepsisters dresses are done in a hideous shade of green and a gaudy purple. Cinderella gets to wear pink and then sparkly white for her ball gown. The stepsisters also have to wear big ugly feathers on their heads and Cinderella has an attractive demure headband. Their hair color is quite interesting too. The stepsisters have brown hair and red hair. Cinderella has golden blonde hair. I wonder why blonde hair was associated with goodness and beauty and why Disney also thought this? For my generation, I think Madonna might have blown this image of sweetness! (Of course, I think Madonna is really a brunette.)

Standards of Beauty in Cinderella

In our society, the image of thinness equalling beauty is highly overdone. There are beautiful women of all sizes, not just thin. Yet if you look at runway models and high-fashion models, most are very skinny. Where do we get these ideas of beauty? During the 1600-1800's, when the Perrault and Grimm versions (respectively) of Cinderella were being written, women were not expected to be quite so thin, but they were supposed to have a slim waist and delicate features. In nearly every version you read or see of Cinderella, she was petite, with tiny feet that would fit the tiny glass or golden slipper. The stepsisters are usually portrayed as having feet too big to fit the slipper. But here is an interesting thing -- in Grimm's version of Cinderella, the stepsisters were told to cut a piece of their foot off to fit the slipper! One cut off her toe and the other cut off her heel. It was their own mother who told them to do that, because they wouldn't need their feet that much when they married the prince. No woman in her right mind would mutilate her body to get a man, right? That is what I thought and then realized that even modern women get fake breasts, nose jobs, permanent dye under their eyes, and probably a host of other things to get a man.
In Charles Perrault's version of Cinderella, called "Donkeyskin", he said that "Her waist was so small and fine that you could encircle it with two hands." Even if a man had big hands, that would still suggest a waistline that was unaturally small! That is why they had corsets to wrap women's waists so tightly. Thank goodness we no longer wear corsets. Doing some research on corsets throughout the centuries, I learned that they were not only painful but could be dangerous. Doctors warned of over-doing the corsets because it compressed the organs too much. In one article which I will attach here http://www.marquise.de/en/themes/korsett/korsett.shtml, it said that even babies and children were wrapped to begin to re-shape the soft skeletal structure into a "fashionable shape." That seems cruel and outrageous by today's standards. I was shocked to see that they did this to young girls. Maybe, hopefully, we have come a long way. But then I'm also a bit shocked when I see little girls in our society who are barely able to walk, and they already have pierced ears...

Negligent Father- Stupid Prince: Male Characters in Cinderella are Weak

In the Grimm version of Cinderella, the male figures are certainly nothing to write home about. Considering this story was written by men, it is surprising how weak the men are. The father, for example, does not seem to care how Cinderella is being treated by the new wife and her daughters. He knows she is dirty and has to work hard and sits among the ashes, but he does nothing about it. In our class discussion, someone suggested that he was afraid of the wife so he kept his mouth shut. This is possible, but during this period men were very much the head of their household. The story also says that he was a rich man, and a rich man would have had servants to cook and serve the family. So it does seem strange and cruel that he would allow his daughter to work and serve. My theory was that he was clueless as to what was going on with his children as most men are even in modern times, but he was aware of Cinderella's situation. Perhaps, as the class suggested, she wasn't his biological daughter and was just the daughter of his first wife. This would account for why he didn't care about Cinderella and why the story never says that he showed any compassion or comfort toward Cinderella when she cried over her mother's grave. For that matter, the story never says that he showed any grief at all when his first wife died. He was not a good male character, but was either cruel or very neglectful.
The prince is no hero either. He danced with her at the parties three nights, and every time she managed to get away from him when he tried to be her escort. He was the prince, and should have been strong and smart, yet she was able to fool him and slip away three times. Furthermore, he danced with her three nights in a row and "never let go of her hand." So it seems that he would have picked up on what she looked like, the size and shape of her body, and what she sounded like. But yet he almost married both of her stepsisters because he thought they were her. The birds had to tell him about the blood running out of the shoe! Seems like he would have known that these women were not the same one he had just spent three evenings with, or at least have noticed the blood! So the prince was either partially blind, ignorant, or just plain dumb. He wasn't a very strong male character, either. But it is a fairytale, and after all, strange things happen in fairytales. Without these strange flaws, it wouldn't be a fairytale!

Brothers Grimm vs Disney Cinderella

We have not yet started discussing Cinderella in class, but it is fun to prepare for the presentation on Thursday and study the tales. The Grimm version seems to be the one we are most accustomed to hearing in American culture, although most of us grew up hearing and seeing the Disney version and there are some definite differences between the two.
The portrayal of the characters themselves has some differences. The father dies in the Disney version but not in the Grimm's tale. In Grimm's tale he remarries and is still around to witness the cruel treatment that Cinderella recieves from the stepmother and daughters. He doesn't seem to be bothered by it at all. Another difference in the characters is that in the Grimm tale, the stepsisters were beautiful and fair to look at, but their hearts were foul and black. In Disney's version the stepsisters are physically unattractive as well as being mean. I personally love the old Rodger's and Hammerstein's version starring Lesley Ann Warren where one stepsister had a nervous eye twitch and the other had a creaky knee. (If any blog readers have not seen that version be sure to rent it because it is the best!)
The fairy godmother character that appears in the Disney version and many other versions that we have seen is totally absent in the Grimm version. Instead, in Grimm's tale, Cinderella has a magical tree out by her mother's grave. Special birds live in this tree and when she goes out to talk to them they make beautiful dresses appear for Cinderella. Later, when the Prince has been fooled by the stepsisters by mutilating their feet to fit the golden shoe, these same special birds tell him about the false brides. So there is no fairy godmother in Grimm's tale but I wonder if the magical doves are what gave Disney the idea for all the birdies in his version that help Cinderella fix up her beautiful dress. In Disney's modern day version called "Enchanted" the birds and mice from the city come to help her clean up the guy's apartment and it is hilarious. Here is the link to that clip from "Enchanted"..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pb2si7fClqA&feature=PlayList&p=898B711AAD5C8436&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=55

I'm looking forward to presenting and discussing the many versions of Cinderella in class!

One More Thought on Little Red and Male Sexuality

It's Labor Day, and the start of a new week, but here's one last blog on Little Red Riding Hood before we move on to other tales.
In my last blog, I looked at the role of gender and sexuality in LRRH, and discussed men's fear of women and their sexuality. I think the story also points to male fear of his own sexuality. We saw how the wolf had to talk to Little Red to gain her trust and then he had to stay one step ahead of her in order to get her in to Granny's bed where he could devour her. This suggests a man's fear that he has to trick or coerce women into going to bed with him. He fears that he can't just be himself, he must be tricky and sly. He must talk to her and dress up in nice clothes--just like the wolf had to dress up in Grandma's clothes. He might have to give her a gift or feed her a meal to seduce her further. In LRRH, this was in the form of Grandma's flesh and blood. In our society, this might take the form of flowers and candy or a meal out (thank goodness!)
Male fear of his own sexuality can also be seen in the characterization in the story. The little red riding hood itself (or little red cap) is suggestive of the female hymen and the man perhaps fears that he sees every young girl or woman as a "little red cap" that he wants for himself. (If this is way off base I hope my readers will excuse me...I may have been in the English Department too long ;0) The man may fear that not only does he view all young women as a little red cap, but that he views his own sexuality as being like a wolf--animalistic, wild, devouring. In the animal world, the wolf is a very strong predator. The man may fear that his sexuality places him in the role of a predator-- stalking its prey, and luring it into a trap. Much like a predator, the wolf was not very discriminating about his prey either, because he ate the Grandmother too. So, LRRH may very well depict a man's fear of his own sexuality -- that he is like a wolf, that he views women as prey, that he has to stalk and trick his prey to get her into bed with him. And I always thought this was a cute little fairy tale! I think I had a Little Red Riding Hood kiddle! Whew!

Are Men Actually Afraid of Little Red?

Like many people, I was under the impression that "Little Red Riding Hood" was handed down, probably by women, to young girls as a warning tale. It's lack of reality, such as a talking wolf, a girl who mistakes her Grandma for a wolf, and a hunter who saves them by cutting open the wolf's belly and they pop out, adds a fairy-tale, fantasy quality to what is otherwise a scary and gruesome tale. But I thought young girls were supposed to get wrapped up in the intrigue and silliness of the fairytale while still being able to learn a lesson. After studying this further in class, we see that many of it's versions were written by men, and might actually display a fear of women and their sexuality. It may also suggest a fear of his own sexuality.
Feona Attwood's article "Who's Afraid of Little Red Riding Hood"talks about how the gender roles are blurred and switched in this tale, suggesting that men are afraid of the power women have sexually. Little Red is wearing a suggestive red cape and venturing into the woods alone. This gives her a masculine power and a feminine body. The wolf is a male, but he cross-dresses as Grandma and lures her into bed with him. He is masculine yet acting in the feminine manner. The hunter in the Grimm's telling of the story is a strong man, but yet he saves the girls by cutting open the wolf and acting as a midwife, which is who they would have had in those days to help birth a baby. This gives him a feminine power, though he is male. There is no role that is strictly male and all the powerful things that happen are brought forth from a female or a female-ized role. Atwood states that these things "should be interpreted quite precisely as the signs of male fear of women." This is definitely a new way to look at this tale!
I found an interesting article by Jed Diamond on this subject and I will attempt to attach it to this post. http://www.menalive.com/ims-col7.htm

Little Red Riding Hood

Wow! Who knew that fairy tales could be so diverse and complex, not to mention thought provoking. In our study of "Little Red Riding Hood" this week, we learned that there were many versions of the tale and that they differed greatly in the details. In Perrault's version, for example, the girl is eaten at the end and the story is over. (In other versions the grandma and LRRH are saved.) However in Perrault's version, there is a long moral narrative added after the story concludes. It warns pretty, well-bred, young girls not to "listen to just anyone", and to be particularly careful of the proverbial 'wolves in sheep's clothing' who are charming and pleasant. The moral narrative finishes by saying that "tame wolves are the most dangerous of all." From this I realised that in most of the versions of this tale, she does talk to the wolf before any mayhem happens. He is friendly and conversational, and she is not afraid of him. In several of the tales, she even tells him exactly where grandma lives! This is an interesting comment on the male predator mentality. Their looks and actions may not lure a child in, but perhaps their words will. You often hear stories of young girls being lured in by a predator's kind words and casual talk. He might say she's pretty or that he's a friend or that she might like to go down the street with him in his car. This verbal exchange is often what draws a young girl in. That must be why we are taught not to TALK to strangers. Maybe our elders knew that it was that initial conversation that would attract a child's attention and allow them to trust the predator. This certainly happened in LRRH's case. She talks with the wolf and even takes his suggestion that she look around and play in the pretty woods. She listens to him and trusts him. If the wolf had seemed scary or threatening to Little Red, we might have had a very different tale. Perhaps she would have run home, or run to Grandma's and locked the door behind her! The conversation between the two goes along with the sexual undertones of this tale as well. I have heard men say that they have to "talk their wives into" having sex with them. Women do respond to words. I find that if my husband says something nice to me, it means more to me than if he does something nice. On the other side of that, if he says something wrong, it has the potential to make me very mad! I have heard it said that men fall in love with their eyes, but women fall in love with their ears. What he sees is important and sexy to him and what she hears is important and sexy to her. This idea seems to play out in "Little Red Riding Hood" because he sees the little girl and wants to devour her, and she listens to the wolf and is not afraid. This story is so multi-faceted that my blog could go on forever. I will discuss the theory that this story may represent the male fear of the woman and his own sexuality in a later blog...