Maria Tatar, and presumably the rest of the fairy tale world, see Cinderella tales and Donkeyskin tales as stories of the same type. While there are many similarities between these stories, I don't necessarily agree with each of the connections she draws.
Looking quickly at the tales, we see a 1) princess who is 2) working domestically. I agree that when I think of princesses cleaning and baking, I immediately think of Cinderella, regardless of whether or not they are wearing a donkeyskin coat. However, I do not agree with Tatar's claim that both princess types have entered into this role through persecution by their parents. Cinderella is obviously the victim of bad circumstance. She once had a loving mother who then died, and is unfortunate enough to have a spineless father who is completely entranced by his new wife. The stepmother, now wanting to assert her power, relegates Cinderella into a maid before she can be rescued by a fairy godmother/matchmaker who send her into the outstretched arms of the Prince. It is obvious throughout the stories that her stepmother does not love her and is deliberately trying to make her life miserable. In the Donkeyskin stories it is not persecution by her father, as Tatar claims, but the overwhelming combination of love and grief that sends Cinderella into domestic servitude. The king is usually still distraught about the loss of his wife and is trying to replace her more than find a new wife. Unfortunately, Donkeyskin is the only woman who will fit the bill. The king is never mean to her, he never beats her or treats her poorly or makes her do chores. He just loves her and wants her to marry him. It's Donkeyskin's moral compass that leads her to the kitchens of the castle. Tatar is wrong to call it "erotic persecution". It is more of a misguided affection.
Later, Tatar accurately points out that in the modern proliferation of fairy tales, the blatant theme of incest is difficult to overcome. She also points out that these tales may have stayed on the back burner because they so clearly endorse disobedience of your parents. However, when I raise my children, I hope they know that it is wrong for a father to want to marry his daughter. Tales like "The Princess Who Would Not Marry Her Father" could easily make it into my bedtime story repertoire. It has the same mystical intrigue with fairy godmothers and jewels and dresses, without any endorsement of tolerance of abuse at the hands of a wicked stepmother. I think I would be okay with a little assertion of independence if my kids were the victims of incestuous advances. I would rather have a role model that lived far away from her perverted father than complacently under the nose of a sadistic stepmother.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Although I must say that I thoroughly respect your wish for your children not to find incest an acceptable practice, I must apologize for taking issue with another section of your critique. In your explication of the differences between the two tales, you delve quite deeply into the psychology of the characters and their motivations when you choose to claim that the two are different tales. Aside from the fact that fairy tales in the traditional setting rarely pay much heed to the introspective ponderings of the characters and the logical (logic in general usually gets suspended) causes of the characters' actions, these minor differences can hardly be deemed significant enough to warrant a new tale type.
ReplyDelete*See "A Better Cinderella for Children?"
I have to agree with you. I would also tell my children the story of Cinderella and Donkeyskin so that they become accustomed to the realities of life and are given an example of how unacceptable parent/adult to child interactions look like. This way they can maybe prevent being victimized by any adult and learn to help others that may encounter it.
ReplyDelete