Skip to main content

Letting Down Rapunzel: Feminism’s Effects on Fairy Tales

Children's Literature in Education volume 46, pages 424–437 (2015)Cite this article

Abstract

The importance of stories written for young readers is undisputed, and in particular the central place of the fairy story in popular culture is clearly recognized. Whilst most of these stories are centuries old, they have been adapted by the cultures of the tellers to be more compatible with the ideological views of the audience. This article will explore how feminism has influenced two versions of the same story, published by the same publisher for comparable age groups through an exploration of the Ladybird versions of Rapunzel as published in 1968 and 1993. It will show how there are subtle changes in the text which do not affect the overall narrative structure but can offer an insight into the ways in which society has ideologically positioned men and women. Fairclough’s critical discourse analysis (CDA) will be used to show how a close linguistic analysis of the text can reveal the impact of feminism on the adaptation of children’s books.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

References

  • Ariès, Philippe. (1962). Centuries of Childhood: A Social History of Family Life. Trans. Robert Baldick. New York, NY: Vintage.

  • Baker, Caroline and Freebody, Peter. (1989). Children’s First School Books: Introduction to the Culture of Literacy. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baxter, Nicola. (1993). Rapunzel: Favourite Tales. London: Ladybird Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bettelheim, Bruno. (1976). The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales. London: Penguin.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Bourdieu, Pierre. (1983). Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cole, Babette. (1986) Princess Smartypants. London: Picture Lions.

  • Crew, Hilary S. (2002). Spinning New Tales From Traditional Texts: Donna Jo Napoli and the Rewriting of Fairy Tale. Children’s Literature in Education, 22(2), 77–95.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fairclough, Norman. (1989). Language and Power. London: Longman.

  • Faludi, Susan. (1991). Backlash: The Undeclared War Against Women. London: Chatto & Windus.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grena, Nathan and Howard, Byron. (2010). Tangled. Walt Disney Studios.

  • Halliday, M.A.K. (1985). An Introduction to Systemic Functional Grammar. London: Edward Arnold.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hourihan, Margery. (1997). Deconstructing the Hero: Literary Theory and Children’s Literature. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hunt, Peter (Ed.). (1992). Literature for Children: Contemporary Criticism. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Knowles, Murray and Malmkjær, Kirsten. (1996). Language and Control in Children’s Literature. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Levorato, Alessandra. (2003). Language and Gender in the Fairy Tale Tradition: A Linguistic Analysis of Old and New Story Telling. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Lyne, Adrian (Director). (1987). Fatal Attraction. Hollywood, CA: Paramount Pictures.

    Google Scholar 

  • Macdonald, Myra. (1995). Representing Women: Myths of Femininity in the Popular Media. London: Arnold.

    Google Scholar 

  • MacInnes, John. (1998). The End of Masculinity. Buckingham: Open University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Munsch, Robert and Martchenko, Michael. (1980). The Paper Bag Princess. Toronto: Annick Press.

  • Perkins, Margaret. (2008). Literature for the Very Young. In Prue Goodwin (Ed.), Understanding Children’s Books: A Guide for Education Professionals (pp. 21–32). London: Sage.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Roberts, David and Roberts, Lynn. (2003). Rapunzel: A Groovy Fairy Tale. London: Pavilion Children’s Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rutherford, Jonathan. (2003). Preface. In Bethan Benwell (Ed.), Masculinity and Men’s Lifestyle Magazines (pp. 1–5). Oxford: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Southgate, Vera. (1968). Rapunzel: A Ladybird “Easy-Reading” Book. Loughborough: Wills & Hepworth.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sunderland, Jane. (2011). Language, Gender and Children’s Fiction. London: Continuum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Talbot, Mary. (1995). Fictions at Work. Harlow: Longman.

    Google Scholar 

  • Talbot, Mary. (2010). Language and Gender, 2nd edn. Cambridge: Polity.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilcox, Leah and Monks, Linda. (2003). Falling for Rapunzel. London: Penguin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zipes, Jack. (1983). Fairy Tales and the Art of Subversion. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zipes, Jack. (2006). Why Fairy Tales Stick: The Evolution and Relevance of a Genre. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

Many thanks to the editors and reviewers for their very helpful suggestions and recommendations, and to Michael Higgins for his invaluable advice in reading over drafts of this article.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Culture, University of Sunderland, Priestman Building, Sunderland, SR1 3PZ, UK

    Angela Smith

Authors
  1. Angela Smith
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Angela Smith.

Additional information

Angela Smith is Reader in Language and Culture at the University of Sunderland. She has published widely in the area of media discourse and gender studies. She is co-editor of the I.B. Tauris International Library of Gender in Popular Culture.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Smith, A. Letting Down Rapunzel: Feminism’s Effects on Fairy Tales. Child Lit Educ 46, 424–437 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10583-014-9239-6

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10583-014-9239-6

Keywords

  • Fairy tales
  • Power
  • Feminism
  • Masculinities
  • Cultural capital