THE CREATION AND EVOLUTION OF FAIRY TALES: FROG PRINCE, RAPUNZEL, SLEEPING BEAUTY, AND SNOW WHITE

By Heather Beaman, Shaila Bringhurst, Allen Cook, and Ashley Giddings –Department of English

IntroductionAs foretold, a beautiful maiden pricks her finger on a spinning wheel and

falls into a deep sleep. A passing prince finds her and decides to have a “relationship” with the dreaming woman, and she is impregnated. The babies (twins) are taken care of by fairies but nursed by Briar Rose (who is still asleep). One baby suckles at Briar’s finger and pulls out the spindle splinter. Briar awakes. Drama ensues when the prince’s wife discovers Rose. She tries to feed the babies to the prince. Luckily, the cook has a heart and doesn’t kill the children. In the end the prince dumps his wife and leaves to live with Briar Rose (Grimm “Little Briar-Rose”).

Needless to say, this fairy tale is very different from the version of “Sleeping Beauty” that most people are familiar with. It can be seen from just this one example that fairy tales have been greatly altered with time. Julius Heuscher said,

These tales represent various efforts to explain and deal with the phenomenon of human existence; that they not only express the ways people think, feel, hope, desire, believe, and behave, but also reinforce these ways along idealistic lines;  that they satisfy and further man’s basic emotional needs, while simultaneously strengthening faith and morality” (5)

From comparing the Frog Prince, “Rapunzel,” “Sleeping Beauty,” and “Snow White” with past culture, it can be stated that: society has influenced the creation and evolution of fairy tales. This is seen not only in the original versions, but also in the Disney films and modern remakes.The Frog PrinceOverview

The Frog Prince has undergone a lot of change throughout history. While the story historically possesses oral roots, the Grimm Brother’s written version is as close to the original as one can get. The tale is unique as the princess saves the prince rather than the traditional prince saving the princess. In the story, a selfish princess loses her golden ball in a pond. A frog retrieves it under the condition that the princess becomes his friend which she promises, but refuses to keep. The frog pursues her to the castle where the princess’ father forces her to fulfill the promise

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she made. The frog eventually wants to sleep in her bed for the night. Angry, the princess throws him against the wall changing the frog into a prince. He then marries the princess. The faithful servant of the prince, Henry, who bounded his heart in iron to prevent it from breaking, comes to collect the prince with joy. As they ride in the carriage, the bands break from Henry’s heart because he is happy his master returned (Grimm “SurLaLune”).

Figure 1: “The Frog Prince”- The princess expresses contempt for the frog despite his assistance in retrieving her most valued possession.

Source: janey-jane on Deviantart.comThe original tale closely follows classic fairy tale tropes. The tale typically

follows a royal protagonist who loses their birthright and “through magic and [or] marriage” they regain their rightful place as royalty (Bottigheimer 212). The morals of the tale are questionable because the princess is spoiled and uses violence to solve her problems. She never develops or changes over the course of the story, yet she marries the prince and gets her happily ever after. Interestingly, the morals lie with the servant Henry who remains ever loyal, in contrast to the princess who will not keep her promise. The Frog Prince classically demonstrates the philosophy to not judge something based on its appearance. After becoming human the prince “told her how he had been bewitched by a wicked witch,” (Grimm 11). Had the princess realized this she would not have treated the frog so poorly.The Silly Frog Prince

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Comparatively, modern adaptations omit Henry in favor of making the princess the compassionate and loyal figure of the story. Such is the case of Disney’s The Princess and the Frog and the children’s book Princess Euphorbia by Vashti Farrer. In the latter, Euphorbia inexplicably has green hair, which is unalterable by any means. Her parents post a personal ad to attract a prince who would want her. Prince Nasturtium accepts the princess, but refuses to kiss her. The princess manages to kiss him on her honeymoon which turns him into a frog. The two live happily ever after and have tadpole children.

The children’s book version of the tale is a far cry from its origins. It uses the frog prince angle as a surprise twist. The narrative subverts traditional fairy tale clichés such as “Princesses are meant to have long golden hair and blue eyes. They’re also supposed to marry handsome princes,” by making the princess unattractive and the prince a frog in order to appeal to more modern audiences (Farrer 6). The morals in this retelling are weaker because of the emphasis on humor. The characters are both named after green plants, but other than the color similarities there is no symbolism. Euphorbia does not leave the prince even after he becomes a frog. It echoes loyalty just as the original, but the ending with tadpole children implies bestiality which weakens and makes the moral twisted. In an essay about human and animal companionship Laurie Adams Frost notes in contemporary fiction and fairy tales “One quality that each of the heroines has in common is great loneliness” which is true of Euphorbia who is rejected due to her differences (49). While it does dabble in the strange, this retelling of the Frog Prince is shallow. It relies heavily on its comedic slant.The Disney Frog Prince

The Princess and the Frog from Disney does not follow the original tale, but makes several interesting parallels to the stories roots. The Princess and the Frog is based off of the book The Frog Princess by E.D. Baker, but with gaping differences. Taking place in historical 1920’s New Orleans, Tiana is not a spoiled princess, but a workaholic who puts her goals before everyone else around her including herself because she has taken her late father’s advice “that it’s fine to wish upon a star, but that hard work gets the job done” (Dargis 2). The prince of the story is Naveen who is spoiled and loves to party. The Shadow Man, Dr. Facilier, easily tricks the prince and transforms him into a frog. Believing Tiana is a princess, Naveen convinces her through bribery to kiss him as she finds his frog

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form disgusting in a similar manner to the original story. Tiana becomes a frog herself because the curse would only allow a true princess to reverse Naveen’s condition. Together the two end up in the swamp looking for a voodoo priestess to help them break the spell. The heroes miss the deadline to have Naveen kiss Charolette, who is the princess of Mardi Gras for only a day, but defeat the Shadow Man. The two marry in the swamp and when they share their kiss it breaks the spell as Tiana technically became a princess by marriage (The Princess and the Frog).

Disney adds more adventure to the story. While the movie keeps the same morals of loyalty and trust as the original tale, but in a different context. In this version, the frog prince is selfish and flighty. He, like the princess, made promises he did not intend to keep. Naveen grows into being a more responsible and faithful friend over the course of the movie which sets him apart from the original. Disney has received much praise and criticism for their retelling due to Tiana being the first African American princess of their franchise. “The Princess and the Frog memorabilia[…] to little African-American girls and their parents— were in high demand and mostly impossible to find just before the November movie release” (Lester 296). They lightly bring up racial and economically social discrimination, but do not actually explore it in detail. What little of the subject they do have they use to promote the moral hard work can make anyone’s dream come true.The Whole of the Frog Prince

In modern consciousness, the original tale has lost almost every element it once possessed such as the princess’ golden ball, the true temperament of the princess, the violence, and the servant. Most modern telling has replaced it all with just a kiss. “In the modern world, rise fairy tales with male heroes have generally given way to rise fairy tales with a poor heroine” (Bottigheimer 213). The focus in modern fairy tales shifted to the princess character for many reasons. Peggy Orenstein, a journalist for the New York Times, reports Disney’s famous Princess lineup “started the craze […] by packaging nine of its female characters under one royal rubric, have shot up to $3 billion, globally, this year, from $300 million in 2001. There are now more than 25,000 Disney Princess items” (Orenstein 1). Princesses have proven they are highly marketable since then and many of our modern fairy tales will highlight them to attract little girls. While the Frog Prince receives the treatment of becoming more marketable it has certainly benefited

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from its retellings. The modern influence has given the princess of the story a more flattering, active role to play. Euphorbia, despite her creepy relationship with a frog, is not a shallow, squeamish princess. Tiana is down to earth and a hard worker. All of this change though has not changed the original moral values of the original Frog Prince, but have served to be enhanced a promoted by modern societies.RapunzelOverview

Many have read this story in one of its numerous forms, and most assume this story comes from the brothers Grimm anthology; however, this tale originates from France. The original author was Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de La Force under the title Persinette (Zipes 794). It was adapted and published by the Grimm brothers in 1812 in their book Children's and Household Tales (Grimm).

Figure 2: “Rapunzel”-Rapunzel looks through her tower window.Source: Rhinestonearmadillo.typepad.com

Grimm’s TaleThe story of Rapunzel begins with a man and a woman who desperately long

for a child. Looking out the window the woman desires a flowering plant from the neighbor’s garden known as Rampion or Rapunzel. This is referring to the Spiked Rampion or Phyteuma spicatum (plant life). The woman desired for the Rampion so much she began to waste away for the want of it. Her husband climbed over the

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garden wall and retrieved her some leaves of Rampion. The resulting salad was so delicious, the woman desired more and more.

Upon the husbands second descent he is caught by the witch, Mother Gothell, and makes the bargain to forfeit any child conceived in exchange for as much Rampion as he pleases. The witch appears at the birth and caries the child off; the child is named Rapunzel by the witch. Twelve years later Rapunzel is confined to a tower without an apparent entrance.

Later on a prince comes toward the tower and hears the singing of Rapunzel and is enchanted by it. After a short time the witch discovers the prince had visited and sends Rapunzel off to live in a desert as punishment. The prince returns and is deceived by the witch; he only manages to escape by flinging himself off the tower into a thorn bush thus scratching his eyes out. He wanders blind until he reaches the desert where Rapunzel and her twins, fathered by the prince, are living. Upon discovering the prince, Rapunzel weeps, her tears restore the sight of the prince and they all live happily ever after (Grimm).

The behavior of the witch, although harsh, is quite common among overprotective parents. When children act out and disobey, their parents can become enraged and enact a severe punishment. (Nakamura 109) In the case of Rapunzel her indiscretion is punished by exile. We find a modern analog in similar situations. Parents have been known to exile their children from their home upon discovery of the same act of rebellion.

Andy Kaiser in his podcast entitled, Original meanings of classic fairy tales, he explains what might have been the purpose behind the telling of this tale. “The morals of the original Rapunzel: A child maturing into adulthood can’t be stopped. It is a parent’s emotional burden to want to delay this process, though they shouldn’t act on it” (45). Disney’s Tale

Disney brought the story of Rapunzel back into the public view by the movie Tangled. In this retelling Rapunzel was stolen as a child for the life giving quality of her magic hair. It is of note to mention the flower bestows this power upon Rapunzel through her mother, as is quite similar to the Rampion plant from the original tale.

The prince in this tale is represented by a thief who has stolen the tiara that was intended for Rapunzel. He comes upon the tower while fleeing from the guard

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and his two accomplices. Instead of being enchanted by Rapunzel’s singing as in the original he views the tower as a place to hide. She in turn uses the tiara to negotiate the thief into being her escort to a lantern festival she was forbidden to go to.

Rapunzel is innocent and is portrayed as thus through the whole movie. The romance is portrayed as a chaste one, and the prince figure’s conjugal visits do not occur. Instead the story becomes her journey to observe the yearly festival of lights ironically held in her memory by her true parents. In the process of the journey she discovers her past, falls in love with the thief, and explores the realms of rebellion as opposed to obedience.

The story continues with Rapunzel having conflicting and rapidly changing emotions. She is torn between freedom and obeying Mother Gothell the witch character. Mother Gothell enlists the aid of the thief’s two accomplices to help separate Rapunzel and the thief. The story ends with Mother Gothell turned to dust and Rapunzel reunited with her family (Tangled).

The morals of this version are both similar and different from the original. Both stories warn parents about the dangers of being over protective. However, the underlying morality code of the original becomes a rebellion from unfit authority in the new Disney version.

In “Tangled" it has the underlining moral of vanity being a curse as well as to not judge a book by its cover. Cliché morals, but Disney gives it a modern twist with a magical style. The audience can also view the film as a lesson to adults to give a child room while growing up, to let them have their own sense of explorations. (Punkfairy53)

Modern Retelling In a modern retelling, “Falling for Rapunzel” by Leah Wilcox the story

continues to evolve. In this story Rapunzel is in her tower with her maid. The prince passing nearby comes to rescue her. The prince calls for her to let down her hair, but Rapunzel is so high up she mishears him and begins throwing out different items depending upon what the prince shouts. Finally the prince tries the word ‘braid’ and Rapunzel throws down her maid.

The prince is immediately smitten and rides off into the sunset with the maid. Rapunzel then descends the tower via the back door and begins collecting her thrown possessions quite happy the prince has found what he was after. She then returns to her tower, happy to have been of service (Wilcox).

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This comparison shows as time goes on society drifts further and further from the original tale until the story is almost nonexistent. No tale is more so, than that of the story of Rapunzel, some might also find this retelling slightly offensive due to Rapunzel being hard of hearing (Katrina).

Regardless of the origin or the changes that take place over time, this story is meant to teach. By looking at these stories from ancient beginnings to modern retellings we can see the moral lessons of these stories shift with the culture that embraces them.Sleeping BeautyOverview

The tale of a young princess named Briar-Rose has been told throughout the generations. There are many versions of this story about a young woman who pricks her finger on a spinning wheel and falls asleep. However, the tale is always told a little differently as shown.

Figure 3: “Sleeping Beauty”-The prince finds Briar-Rose asleep.Source: Ivy Chow

Grimm’s TaleThe Grimm’s tale of “Sleeping Beauty” is actually titled “Little Briar-Rose”.

The Grimm’s brothers transcribed this tale from earlier versions into what we have today. If we were to read the original tale to our children it would involve rape, pregnancy, and cannibalism (“The truth about the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale”). In the Grimm’s version of this tale, taken from The Complete Grimm’s Fairy Tales,

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Briar-Rose is cursed by a wise-woman, who is upset about not being invited to Briar-Rose’s birthday feast. Since the “evil” wise-woman interrupts the gifting process her “curse” of death for Briar-Rose, at age fifteen, is able to be lessened to a hundred year nap. The King tries to protect his daughter from the curse, but parents cannot always protect their children from danger. Briar-Rose pricks her finger and the whole kingdom falls asleep. When the hundred years are over a prince just happens to come along and kiss Briar-Rose before she wakes up. Briar-Rose and the prince find the whole kingdom waking up when the two leave her “nap” tower, thus ends the Grimm tale of “Little Briar-Rose” (237-41).Origins

The story of “Little Briar-Rose” is entertaining for children, but also teaches certain social skills. People in this story show the social dynamics; King is equivalent to Father, the master of the house; Queen equals Mother; the “Wise-women” could hold a resemblance to female relatives. This story was selected by the Grimm’s brothers for its strong oral history and they translated this tale for the entertainment and teaching of children. Roger Sale, a seasoned researcher of fairy tales, states; “The ancientness of these tales…[is a] testimony to the strength of an oral tradition now all but gone”(373). The origin of these tales cannot be pinpointed to one specific country or even one story, as they were handed down through oral performances by relatives, as they did not have television or radio. These tales would be told to not only entertain rowdy children but also to teach those children lessons about life and that they are similar to other people. Bruno Bettelheim, a psychologist, supports this, “[Learning] that others have the same or similar [dark] fantasies makes [them] feel that [they] are a part of humanity, and allays [their] fear” (qtd. in Sales 376). Shockingly children were considered adults when they were able to leave the comfort of home to work, childhood did not exist until the compiling of the fairy tales (Sales 379).Disney’s Rendition

Childhood is now an important phase, which many people have come to realize, one industry in particular, Disney. The purpose of the Grimm telling of “Little Briar-Rose” coincides greatly with the purpose of the film Sleeping Beauty Disney studios made in 1959. Though much of the story does change; in the film there are three “good fairies” that take the princess, named Aurora, to a house in the forest to raise her away from the castle, there is an evil witch, Maleficent, who

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curses Aurora to prick her finger at sixteen. The curse is not offset by a long nap but instead only until “true love’s kiss” awakens the princess. However, Maleficent tries to stop the prince, Philip, from reaching Aurora, first by her minions throwing Philip in jail; second, by making thorn bushes grow around Aurora’s castle; and third, by Maleficent transforming herself into a dragon that Philip must defeat. At the end of the film we find a happy ending, Philip has kissed Aurora, she has awoken and they “live happily ever after” (Sleeping Beauty).

While Bosley Crowther, a movie critic with The New York Times, believed “Sleeping Beauty,” to have, “plenty of fearful action to make the kiddies cower in their chairs”(12). This quote seems out of place in current society since children are watching movies with much worse content. Walt Disney has been paving the road for children’s entertainment for decades; thus, this film taken from a fairy tale is just another way to entertain through television. Instead of having mom or dad read the children the Grimm fairy tales, just turn on a movie. Though the roles of the people within the story are almost identical to the Grimm tale, we find the prince becomes more developed in the film. The prince, Philip, has more motivation to free Aurora in the film than the prince in the Grimm tale. This gives us the hero, the societal epitome in reality being the fireman, policeman, or soldier. Films have positive impact, as Dorothy Hurley, a professor at Eastern University states; that film, “[Provides] visual images to children that give them cultural information about themselves, others, and the relative status of group membership” (221). This shows that the teaching of morals can come easily through the process of hearing and watching fairy tales. As Jack Zipes, an editor, states, “The social function of the fairy tale must be didactic and teach a lesson that corroborates the code of civility as is was being developed at that time” (qtd. in Hurley 221). The Modern Tale

A modern retelling of “Little Briar-Rose” done by Adèle Geras, an award winning author, is entitled Sleeping Beauty. This retelling follows in between both the Disney and Grimm tales. The mesh of both these tales shows that Geras keeps her tabs on the changes this story has undergone. She uses the Disney tale that most children would associate with, while adding elements from the Grimm’s tale. Aurora receives blessings from the good fairies (Geras) as in the film; however, the curse from the evil fairy is taken from Grimm, a hundred years of sleep. From this

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point Geras follows the same story line as the Grimm tale, with the kingdom falling asleep while Aurora slumbers, the prince battles through briars to find the castle within. In Geras’s story however the Prince is given direction to the castle from the good fairy that lessened Aurora’s curse (Geras). This doesn’t happen in either the earlier Disney or Grimm’s versions. While this is an enchanting story filled with wonderful illustrations, the tale and fable are still the same. Even though Geras adds new elements to this tale, the skeleton remains. The morals within this tale do not change, even if the characters and society do, as Sales states, “Fairy tales are important because they are irreplaceable, but when a tradition fades until it can be recovered only imperfectly, and by isolated individuals, damage is inevitable, to the reader and to the tale.”(374).

Snow WhiteOverview

Snow White’s cannibalistic stepmother murdered her in a patch of wild flowers. Content, she then boiled and ate Snow’s liver and lungs. The end. Well, almost. In actuality, Snow White escaped, and the queen (stepmother) ate a lung and liver of a boar instead. However, the queen was not a stupid woman. When she discovered that she’d been deceived, she found Snow White and laced her so tightly, Snow could not breathe. When that did not kill her, the queen combed Snow’s hair with a poisoned comb. Still, the dwarves revived her. Finally, the stepmother gave Snow the poisoned half of an apple. Snow White died. True love’s kiss did not revive her; the servant did when he dropped her casket and dislodged the apple. Snow White married the prince, and the queen died from dancing in burning shoes at the wedding (Grimm, “Little Snow”).

Does this story seem unfamiliar at all? That is because this was the original telling of “Little Snow White” as compiled by the Grimm brothers. Compared with the Walt Disney version and a later novel by Tracy Lynn, the original is very different. Before expounding on why they are so different, a summary will be given of each other version by Disney and Lynn.

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Figure 4: “Snow White”-Snow White falls into a deep sleep while the dwarves gather around her.

Source: Commons.wikimedia.comIn the Disney movie “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves,” the stepmother

envies Snow White for her beauty. In an attempt to diminish Snow’s features, the queen enslaves her. All is well until the stepmother’s magic mirror declares Snow to be the fairest. Immediately, the queen orders her huntsman to kill Snow and bring her heart in a box. Overcome by guilt, the huntsman warns Snow instead and then delivers an animal heart to the queen. Snow runs away and finds refuge with seven untidy dwarves living in the forest. The queen transfigures herself into a hag and presents Snow White with a solid red apple. Snow White dies, and the queen runs. However, as the queen attempts to kill the pursuing dwarves, she falls off a cliff and is supposedly eaten by vultures. Snow White is revived by true love’s kiss, and she lives happily ever after with her prince (Snow White).

In 2006, Tracy Lynn published a modern retelling of Snow White titled “Snow: a retelling of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” Jessica is born into the arms of a dying mother. When she dies, the king mourns for years but eventually remarries. Jessica’s stepmother is unable to have a child. She sees women as having two roles: be beautiful, and produce heirs. Unable to fulfill her second role, she tries desperate experiments in an attempt to conceive. She even mates with animals, nothing works (1-62).

In madness, the queen decides to eat Jessica’s heart. Luckily, Jessica is warned by the voice of the mirror (a human named Alan), and she runs away to

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London. When there, she falls in with a group of “lonely ones” who are half animal, half human (later, it is revealed that these people are products of the queen’s experiments). Snow (as she was now called) falls in love with one named Raven. However, the queen finds Snow and beguiles her into a secluded room. After immobilizing Snow, the queen hooks her up to a machine that should make Snow young forever. The queen is unwilling to try it herself until she knows it will work for sure. It does not work, and Snow is put under a deep sleep. Three years later, her friends manage to revive her. However, she does not remember anything. Months later, Raven’s kiss of true-love restores her memory. The queen does not die, but upon contact with Snow, loses her memory instead (64-259). Snow White Origin

Evolution of fairy tales has been taking place since their first creation. In fact, Snow White, as written by the Grimm brothers, wasn’t the “original”. In “A Psychiatric Study of Fairy Tales,” Julius Heuscher explains that before fairy tales were compiled by people like the Grimm brothers or Perrault, they were told orally (5). As the stories were shared, some were carried overseas by merchants or migrants and, over time, were changed to fit new cultures (6). This would explain why there are 354 versions of Cinderella (6). So, even before they were recorded, fairy tales were being passed around and constantly altered.

When the Grimm brothers came into the picture, they altered the tales even further to ensure they were “suitable for young readers” (Cashdan 7). With the first English translation came further revision. The preface to the English edition says: “We have omitted about a dozen short pieces to which English mothers might object, and for good and satisfactory reasons have altered, in a slight way, four other stories” (Cashdan 8). As can be seen, Snow White has been through many hands, and a careful study of it should reveal much about the different cultures it’s passed through.

After the summaries, we ask why “Little Snow White” has changed so much. The answer is simple: Snow White has evolved because it has passed through evolving societies, as the following sections will show.Snow White’s Age

In “Little Snow White,” Snow is seven-years-old (Grimm, “Little Snow”). However in the Disney version, she is sixteen (Snow White) and in the novel, she is fourteen (Lynn 248). Why is she so young in the original and so old in the others?

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The answer is simple, childhood wasn’t invented until long after fairy tales were written (Sale 26). In fact, Philip Aries, as quoted by Robert Sale, said: “In the Middle Ages…and for a long time after that in the lower class, children were mixed with adults as soon as they were considered capable of doing without their mothers or nannies, not long after a tardy weaning (in other words, at about the age of seven)” (26).

At age seven, Snow White was considered an adult. In modern culture, that age comes later, ranging from at least sixteen (driving age) to twenty-one (voting age). Then, why is Snow from Tracy’s telling only fourteen? Well, when Snow falls asleep, she is fourteen; when she awakes, she is seventeen, or an adult (Lynn 248).Snow White Cannibalism

Another question is why the cannibalistic elements were removed from the Disney version? Why were they included in the first place? There are two good reasons given by experts. First, cannibalism was originally included to make the queen worthy of death. In nearly every society, eating another human is considered barbaric. “Flesh eating is an altogether reprehensible act that identifies its practitioner as a thoroughly repugnant human being…the reader must be convinced that she deserves to die” (Cashdan 47). Anyone who is willing to eat someone else is worthy of death.

Now, why was it removed in the Disney telling? In the nineteenth century, chapmen (peddlers who sold cheap books among other things) began selling fairy tales designed for children; this was the first time they were published in bulk for the younger generation (Cashdan 6). Since then, fairy tales have been modified to soften the more gruesome qualities of the originals (Cashdan 60). However, it should be noted that the morbid nature of the queen still remains. This time, instead of devouring a boar’s entrails, she asks for Snow White’s heart in a box (Snow White). Macleod Yearsley notes that cannibalism was believed to endow the devourer with any powers possessed by the victim. This includes wisdom, bravery, or even beauty (39). Sale agrees saying, “The queen’s desire to eat Snow White’s lungs and liver implies only her desire to include Snow White’s beauty and power within herself” (Sale 41).Snow White Power No matter what version is read, every telling of Snow White has an evil witch/queen/stepmother that is envious of Snow in some way. Why? What in

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society sparked this envy of the Stepmother towards the daughter? Robert Sale ascribes it to a desire for power:

In fairy tales the primary task for women is bearing children, and childbearing was often fatal; whatever other power women had lay in youth and beauty…Men in fairy tales seldom develop an envious murderous passion against younger men, because whatever power men have does not erode with time. (Sale 42-43)

The roles of women and men in fairy tales definitely date back to the actual roles of men and women during medieval times up until recently. Understandably, the queen was jealous because she saw that Snow White had power that she did not. Snow White was young, beautiful, and a virgin. No matter what, the queen would lose to Snow White because of age (Sale 41). Unless, of course, Snow White was dead, or even better, if Snow White were dead and the queen was young again.

This theme carries over into the retelling by Tracy Lynn. When Jessica begins menstruating, her stepmother pulls her aside and gives her a womanly talk. Near the end of the conversation she says: “‘That is what you will be someday, Jessica. A mother. Society only has two uses for women, remember that. Beautiful young girls and mothers…Be one or the other, or both, but not neither. No one wants an old hag. Or Trollop’” (46-47).

Later, when the queen finds Jessica again, she begs forgiveness and then tries to justify herself. She admits that she wanted to eat Snow’s heart because she believed it would enable her to produce an heir. Again, her statement resembles much of the societal qualities that have been stated:

But understand this: As mad as I was, there is some truth in what I am about to tell you…My desperation to have a child, my obsession with my looks—these are merely a mirror for society at large. Society has only two uses for women: as young and beautiful things, and as baby machines. You are only wanted or useful as long as you fill one of those two roles. (185-186)

The setting for Lynn’s book was around the seventeen or eighteen hundreds, not that long ago. Lynn definitely ties into the theme of power in relationship with roles of men and women during that time. As Children’s Literature specialist Lillian Smith put it, “These stories reflect their origin, the qualities and atmosphere of the country from which they came” (52). Whether by a cannibalistic stepmother or a half-human dwarf, each telling of Snow White has something to say about societies both past and present. Conclusion

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Society and culture has obviously influenced the creation and evolution of fairy tales, as is seen from studying the “Frog Prince,” “Rapunzel,” “Sleeping Beauty,” and “Snow White.” Cannibalism, morality, parenting, etc. are all examples of elements that have been changed by cultures. Thus Briar Rose will never be raped again, thanks to changing culture.

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