Oppressive character types and themes in the Grimm brothers' fairy tales

Abstract

Fairy tales have often been described as an important tool in the life of children because of their great influence on infants’ creativity and imagination. According to Carl Jung, they contain a universal validity than most novels as they are universally accepted as one of the most influential forms of expression (2009). Their origin goes back centuries with hundreds of writer’s names engraved in the pages of history. One of these well-known names is that of the Grimm Brothers. In the eyes of the public, they possess a high reputation in the world of children’s literature however after further analysis of their writing, a repetitive pattern of female oppression emerges through the choice of female character types and themes. In their fairy tales, women possess only one of three major roles: either the silent and beautiful protagonist, the jealous and ambitious villain, or the neutral hag. There is little to no variety in terms of personalities, and this may contribute to the belief that women from a young age must all strive towards the same ideals and in the future boys should only search for women with greatly praised qualities. As for themes, one of the most evident is that of physical violence which is rooted in a grand feeling of jealousy between the antagonist and the protagonist either due to beauty, wealth or a combination of both. There is also the theme of emotional and verbal abuse which conveys the mental deterioration that the beautiful female is subjected to because of her divine beauty which emphasises the harmful notion that women argue between one another because of external appearances. Finally, there is also the theme of envy which depicts how envy is often the force which strives the antagonists to commit such horrible actions. This dissertation focuses exclusively on the character types and the themes mentioned above.