The Burning Influence of Fairy tales
In one of our CORE classes this term, we have begun to learn about argument and the core of what it means to be independent. Through the teachings of Howard Zinn and arguing Proffessor Joanne Freeman´s view on our Declaration of independence we began to see two sides of a story that had been told time and time again and bring into a new light what the point of all of it was. This assignment challenged us to think of a subject we found interesting and argue why it should be that we have the right to independently study it on our own. The subject I chose to study up on was the history of fairy tales and the process was not at all as i expected.
Purpose of education:
While education being very subjective to one's views, I see it as almost a coronation. It is to ready us for a job we may have in the future that requires some of the skills taught in class. In the society we live in today we are brought up to believe it is the only path to success, and while the school system is very helpful in teaching children on a curriculum, that curriculum isn´t always proven to be the best for everyone.
Unalienable rights:
I have the right of freedom of discovery as a student who is choosing their own path on what to study based on personal interest and for the sake of human curiosity and need for knowledge. This declaration is an expression of my independence to pursue valuable knowledge and the truth of our world so that I may use what I learned in the future and educate those around me. I think it is especially necessary to study the behavior of knights comparatively to how they are portrayed in the stories that adorned the pages of the books over decades of writing to fill our heads with unreal ideas of all the power men hold over women.
Guiding question:
The question I am aiming to solve with this study is ¨ How is the role of knight in shining armor used throughout fairytales and history and what does it mean for the way we view gender roles?¨
What I've found:
Roles we have seen repeated throughout history, like in our government and everyday ideals, seem to be appearing in the same books we raise our children on. These ideals, that we then thought had grown inside us for years, had actually been placed into our way of thinking from when we were young. From the informative Ted Talk featuring professor Anne Duggan, we see that fairy tales are rooted in quite problematic ideas. Taking the example of Little Red Riding hood, earlier versions of the story were filled with references to taking advantage of the little girl, even having her partake in acts of cannibalism while trying to be taken away by the wolf. Speculation leads to the character of the wolf representing an older man wanting Little Red Riding Hood to come with him into bed as his end goal. There are many examples of having men characters take advantage of the woman or ¨damsel in distress¨ and no matter what, get his way in the end and call it a ¨happy ever after¨.
Syllogism:
P1:
The idea of knights in shining armor stems from fairy tales, all written by men who held the popular beliefs of the time, which were grown from a man's world.
P2:
Stories that have gone on for centuries off of this image have been read to generation after generation, and still in subtle ways are what we view gender roles to be today.
P3:
We still use the term ¨Knight in shining armor¨ today, as it is still used as a term of endearment.
Therefore:
I have the right to study this part of history, uncovering the truth of where our fairy tales come from, for the purpose of educating myself and the others around me on the unjust treatment women are given in our most beloved stories; and how the men are portrayed as the one and only good.
Goals for throughout the course:
- Understand the origins of knights historically from around 1400 and how the lives they lead compared to the portrayal in children's tales.
- Vocabulary terms from a reading of Little Red Riding Hood
- The dark story of Sleeping Beauty and discussing why we think the story was so graphic in nature
- Learning about women's roles and how they were treated in fairy tales, how they were seen as lacking intelligence or skill
- Chapter presentation on a chapter of choice from The Egg and the Sperm by Emily Martin
All resources needed for the course:
- https://history.rutgers.edu/docman-docs/undergraduate/honors-papers-2009/154-gender-roles-indoctrinated-through-fairy-tales/file: An accumulative essay on the roles of men and women within the world of fairy tales to be referenced multiple times throughout class to spark conversation
- earliest copies of sleeping beauty available to buy in bulk to read throughout class
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jit32hKZ-BM: a ted talk revealing the reality of little red riding hood and the positions in class these storytellers usually held back when the tales were first written.
- Disney's Rapunzel to analyze the adaptation of stories over time
- Lindsey Hewitt: to come in and talk on her experience and observations
- The Egg and the Sperm by Emily Martin
Overall, I thought that this project posed an interesting challenge. It took what we were learning to the next level by giving us a small amount of time to argue for such broad subjects. I do think that I gained a lot of confidence after a certain point in the brainstorming process. All of my ideas were foggy at that point, and I didn't know what direction I wanted to take the project. The more I thought on it, the more It became clear that the purpose of this course would be to educate those who might be oblivious to the dark truths of the fairy tales we've known for so long.
All Sources Used:
Hewitt, Nancy. Gender Roles Indoctrinated through Fairy Tales in Western ... https://history.rutgers.edu/docman-docs/undergraduate/honors-papers-2009/154-gender-roles-indoctrinated-through-fairy-tales?format=html.
“History of Snow White.” Blackpool Grand Theatre, 18 July 2020, https://www.blackpoolgrand.co.uk/history-of-snow-white.
Carlton, Genevieve. “In the Original Sleeping Beauty, the King Is a Sexual Harasser Who Forces Himself on the Princess.” Ranker, Vote on Everythingentertainmentmoviestvcelebritycomedyhorrorbehind the Scenesnostalgiawatchworthymusicrockhip Hopcountrymetalpop Musicsingersalbumsmusic Historynerdygamingcomicsanimecartoonstoystechspacesciencesportsnflsoccernbabaseballhockeycollege Sportscombat, 3 Nov. 2017, https://www.ranker.com/list/details-from-the-original-sleeping-beauty/genevieve-carlton.
“Knight in Shining Armor / Analysis.” TV Tropes, https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Analysis/KnightInShiningArmor.
TEDxTalks, director. Changing the Way We View Fairy Tales. YouTube, YouTube, 18 May 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jit32hKZ-BM. Accessed 21 Jan. 2022.
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