The Filth Beneath Fairytales

In Lawrence Talairach-Vielmas’ article, “Beautiful Maidens, Hideous Suitors: Victorian Fairy Tales and the Process of Civilization,” Vielmas details the empowering impact Victorian fairytales had on women. Three fairytales are examined; Anne Ritchie’s “Beauty and the Beast,”(1867) Juliana Ewing’s “The Ogre,”(1871), and Mary Molesworth’s “The Bull of Brown Norrowa”(1877). While many fairytales during the Victorian era emphasized the curtailment of women’s rights and roles in society due to men, these fairytales were different in that they elucidate women’s rebellion/protest against traditional gender roles. The privilege/danger of vanity, objectification of women, and restoration of status through marriage were themes present in “Snowdrop and Other Tales” by the Brothers Grimm. As Grimm’s fairytales highlight the constraint women faced in society, “Beauty and the Beast,” “The Ogre,” and “The Bull of Brown Norrowa” were written in the same period, but instead develop ideas of women’s empowerment and role in society when they fight for their rights.

Fairytales are “inevitably shaped” the historical period in which they are written which is why they must be seen through a sociopolitical lens(Vielmas). Fairy tales were reflective of what was occurring in Victorian society both socially and economically. These tales that were written also created social norms/pressure in society which was evident in society as well. Jack Zipes, the author of “Fairy Tales,” which exposes his theories of why fairytales are created and retold, details how “patriarchal interests orchestrate” fairytales which “stress male domination and feminine subjection.”

In Victorian England, fairytales were not allowed before the beginning of the nineteenth century. Women fairytale writers in Victorian England began to “affirm and denounce patriarchal discourse” in their tales(Vielmas). While tales are typically seen as fantasy, women fairytale writers emphasized the “reality of gender binaries” and morality in order for their tales to be more educational and make a difference in society. The three tales, “Beauty and the Beast,” “The Ogre Counting,” and “The Brown Bull of Norrowa” were all written by females who “depict heroines forced to marry unattractive male lovers,”(Vielmas). While the tales emphasize how Victorian women revolted against traditional gender roles, they also “confirm the conservative civilizing process”(Vielmas).

In Ritchie’s “Beauty and the Beast” she is concerned about the social condition of Victorian women as they had no rights outside of marriages. She rewrote fairytales in an attempt to separate the ideal from the real, and counter traditional women’s stereotypes in Victorian society. Ritchie weakens the male character of the beast by making him “uncivilized” and “clumsy”, while she makes the beauty “industrious” and full of “humility” as she becomes an interior decorator for the home. Ritchie’s revised beauty completes traditional domestic work, but showcases her “resourcefulness and potential autonomy.” Ritchie also does not end the story like the normal happy fairytale ending and the Beast does not change into a handsome prince. Instead, Ritchie’s revision highlights the “subversive potential” of fairytales and how they “debunk ideologies.” In Ewing’s “The Ogre,” the bourgeois class’ fixation on money is represented by a greedy ogre. Ewing rewrites the fairy tale and reverses Victorian stereotypes by writing the man to be a beast who has no knowledge of household management but is consumed by materialist culture, while the housewife is independent, capable, and smart. The “heroine” is even able to choose a husband, which is one of her new rights that has come with her wealth. Ewing’s rewriting of this tale encourages women in society to “not feel threatened by patriarchal power” and to empower women to fight for equality. In Molesworth’s “The Bull of Brown Norrowa,” vanity is not the way of finding a prince, but showcasing her juggling skills in public reveals her as the true princess. Molesworth’s tale elucidates the independence of the princess and her travel to save the prince, which represents an idea of women’s emancipation.

Ritchie, Ewing, and Moleworth’s rewriting of folktales and fairytales plays a big role in Victorian society as it empowers women to be uncomplacent and to take a stand against traditional gender stereotypes in society. The Beast is no longer a character of “animality and sexuality,” and women begin to assert their “autonomy and inverting gender roles”(Vielmas). The revisions of these fairytales encourage readers to understand that there are patriarchal ideas in these fairy tales and that they should be normalized or seen as acceptable.