By Wan Anisa Binti Shahrir Amir
Grimms’ Fairy Tales is a collection of fairy tales written by Wilhelm Grimm and Jacob Grimm. It was first published on 20 December 1812. This first edition of this book consists of 86 stories, and by the seventh edition in 1857, it contained 210 interesting fairy tales such as Rapunzel, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and so on.
The most interesting section and story that stood out the most for me in this book is Snow White.
Snow White can be considered a feminist icon. The story of Snow White is about a queen who died shortly after giving birth to a beautiful daughter named Snow White. Her father remarried a very gorgeous woman within a year.
However, Snow White’s new stepmother is evil and envies Snow White for her beauty. Snow White runs away from her and lives with the seven dwarfs.
The queen was blinded by her jealousy and attempted to kill Snow White. She disguises herself as an old woman and feeds Snow White with a poisoned apple. Snow White eats the poisoned apple and falls dead. Fortunately, Snow White is rescued and brought back to life by a handsome prince. They got married and lived happily ever after.
I personally like this book as the vivid language instantly transported me into the fantasy world. As a kid, I would always enjoy reading fairy tales before going to bed, and I still love it until now. However, there are a few ideologies in this book that I dislike.
Most people would perceive Snow White as a role model, whereas in reality, this book represents the wrong ideal women in fairy tales. Fairy tales often portray the oppression of women by reinforcing gender stereotypes. Women are expected to be passive and subservient. For example, Snow White must be subservient and do all domestic duties. The dwarves assigned her to be the housekeeper and cook for them. Snow White has to obey them and serve the dwarves. The dwarves also forbid her from leaving the house. Snow White is also not allowed to work in the mine, unlike the dwarves.
On the contrary, the dwarves are free to leave the house and work in the mine; meanwhile, Snow White does not even get to taste her freedom. Hence, it can be seen that princesses in fairy tales are the victims of patriarchal society. Men are considered superior to women. Women do not have their own autonomy and are expected to conform to the traditional gender roles set by society. As a result, women are marginalised and silenced in society.
Therefore, gender stereotypes should be abolished. The marginalisation of women should be put to an end. Women should be given equal opportunities and rights as men.
I would rate this book 6 out of 10. I highly recommend this book to those who love fairy tales and would like to explore more about the realm of feminism. In addition, this book is very suitable for those who love leisure reading and people of all ages. Thus, I hope everyone enjoys this book as much as I do.***
(The views expressed in the article are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of IIUMToday.)