Quick: What do "Snow White," "Cinderella," and "Beauty and the Beast," all share? Radiantly lovely heroines? Yes. Nasty villainesses? Yes. Villainous fathers? Absolutely. Yes, villainous fathers. One of the most neglected characters in fairy tale studies is the father figure. He is either weak, absent or self-serving. (In some stories, he's outright evil, but that is not the focus of this post.) As such, he is essential to the needs of the "Evil Ones." Without the Shadow Father, these stories would have far less momentum and excitement. They would also have far less utility in helping readers understand the family condition.Take "Snow White." The child's father marries a virago, then disappears from the story, leaving his child to a reign of terror that not even seven other men can thwart. Some scholars argue that the hunter who takes Snow White into the woods in order to murder her (at the queen's command), is a stand-in for the father. Yet his willingness to abandon her to wild animals because she's too pretty to kill does no favors for the father image in the story. It merely underscores an essential indifference to Snow White's fate.
In "Cinderella," by Charles Perrault, the father marries the evil stepmother, and, as Perrault says, "No sooner were the ceremonies of the wedding over but the stepmother began to show herself in her true colors. She could not bear the good qualities of this pretty girl, and the less because they made her own daughters appear the more odious. She employed her in the meanest work of the house."
As for Cinderella's father, this is the most telling quote: "The poor girl bore it all patiently, and dared not tell her father, who would have scolded her; for his wife governed him entirely." Here we have the weak-willed, henpecked father, who cares only to please his wife, even though Cinderella is demeaned, driven like a slave, and left largely alone. Just a little spine on his part would have ameliorated Cinderella's fate -- but of course, then we would have no story. The kind of spinelessness Daddy-rella shows is evil borne of cowardice, but is no less rotten for it.
Finally, there's the father in "Beauty and the Beast." His breathtaking willingness to allow Beauty to go live with a "beast" (who even in his animal form is a far better man than he or his sons), demonstrates a love of his own life that is far from characteristic of the average father. It is true that both the brothers and, especially the father, try to dissuade her from going to the Beast in order to pay her father's debt to him, but truly, most fathers and brothers would tie Beauty up and hide her in a closet to make sure she did not go to what they believe is a terrible fate. As for the sisters, they are as mean and sneaky and insincere as any you'll find in fairy-tale lore. That they are permitted to be as cruel as they are shows that the father is not as interested in his family as he ought to be.
In our mother-focused times, we tend to celebrate or castigate the one who gives us birth or the wretch who dares to take her place in father's affection. We give a pass to the man who stands by and lets it happen or even colludes with the maternal persecutor. And, even when she is absent, as in "Beauty and the Beast," the weak and selfish father takes center stage, allowing chaos and trouble to reign. Allowing the show to go on.
Note: Illustration by Edmund Dulac.
38 comments:
Interesting. I've read that when the Grimm brothers wrote down the tales they heard, they often glossed over or omitted the common themes of paternal abuse and neglect in those stories. Some of the wickedness attributed to mothers and step-mothers in the Grimm versions was more directly associated with fathers in earlier oral versions.
Do you know anything more about Grimms' sanitizing of father characters in German folklore? I find it interesting that there were so many tales of child abuse or neglect and also of children being able to escape or save themselves, with varying amounts of magical help, and especially when they could verbalize their problems to a sympathetic person or being. (Like Cinderella's magic tree or fairy godmother.) It seems almost like these tales were kind of subversive, stories of warning and comfort and hope told by mothers to children in a harsh, patriarchal society. Do you think this is an accurate guess as to what was going on?
Indeed the Grimm version of fairy tales often watered down earlier versions that may have seen unsavory by those wealthy and refined enough to purchase their books. Maria Tatar discusses the Grimm brothers’ financial standing at a first printing, with less edited scenes of violence or exploration of the sexual proclivities of the characters. The sensibilities of the upper echelons of 18th century society were less than enthusiastic about these first editions, and Tatar comments ( in her essay Sex and violence: the hard core of fairy tales) upon the shift to comparatively far more edited content in the second edition, lending to a friendlier “G” sort of rating among the audience at hand. I do not recall the specifics of women easing the pains of patriarchy for their brood, however other editions of Cinderella may add credence to this point.
The Grimm’s version of Cinderella diverts protagonist evils to the wicked step mother, yet in Perrault’s version (Donkeyskin) the father becomes inflamed with desire for his daughter and seeks to marry her, forcing her to flee to a life of poverty and destitution. Both stories have an eerily similar theme, the differences perchance can be attributed to the blogger Gypsy’s previous assertions.
Melissa L.
Well-written and very intriguing! It is fascinating how many of the stories include cowardly or even malicious fathers who put the heroines (and heroes) into their predicaments, while it is the "evil stepmother" who gets blamed for the problems (because the father is simply a blameless lackey of the stepmother) or there is no parental blame. Two examples I always thought of in these cases are Hansel And Gretel and Rumplestiltskin.
In Grimms' story Allerleirauh, too, there is a father who wishes to marry his daughter. The mother is dead, and in the Grimm version (not in earlier versions) the dying mother on her deathbed makes her husband promise not to marry again unless the woman is as beautiful as she is. So in the Grimm version, there is an implication that Mom carries some responsibility for the father's behavior. His daughter runs away to escape, and the story is similar to other Cinderella variants.
In many stories, such as The Six Swans or Fundevogel, there is one parental figure, biological or step, who has malicious intentions for the child(ren) (to rape or kill them) and another parent who is a Shadow Figure, as Kate describes, who stands by and lets the abuse or attempted abuse occur. (It is interesting to me that the malicious figure is always a father or step-mother--never a biological mother. Maybe biological mothers were not thought capable of child abuse or neglect?)
In many of these stories--The Goose Girl also comes to mind--the child either refuses to talk about what is going on or is cursed to lose her voice. When the child can speak and tell someone about the injustice or abuse, then someone else, usually a royal or magical being, comes to their rescue, or a spell is broken, and the child is saved.
This pattern was striking to me when I studied Freud in college psych classes. There was a clear link between central European folklore and Freud's imaginings. When Freud started out talking to young women with psychological problems, he discovered that many of them described being sexually abused by fathers or other men in their families, and having other parents and relatives stand by and turn a blind eye. When Freud's early discoveries were met with distaste by the people footing the bills for young women's psychotherapy (their dads, grandpas, uncles--those in power), Freud's theory suddenly reversed. Instead of saying, "girls are being abused in this society," he concocted this upside-down notion of children having incest fantasies and false memories. It went over very well with the European bourgeoise men of his day, as we all know. Go figure!
"Just a little spine on his part would have ameliorated Cinderella's fate" is definitely a subject that has come to mind when reading several fairy tales. As Kate W. observed, if the father would stand up for himself or his children in some of these stories, well, there would be no story! For example, Hansel and Gretel would have never be cast out into the forest alone if their father had not agreed to the stepmother's plan. But along with that, the children would never have fostered their bond together nor rid the world of the witch (possibly saving other children from the same fate as themselves - or at least the fate they were almost subjected to!)
I have also read several of the original and retellings of "Snow White" and what has since been written about them on the Journal of Mythic Arts. In the article "Snow, Glass, Apples: The Story of Snow White," Terri Windling quotes Angela Carter, "Without the absent father, there would have been no story because there would have been no conflict." Having just read that article last night, and then reading this blog post today, it really made a connection and made me realize how many father figures are "spineless" and "absent" in fairy tales.
Abbey H.
I love this take on fairy tales. I actually never thought of any of this. While in college I took women's studies courses, a course on fairy tales would have been a great addition.
These terrible parents certainly make me appreciate mine! I couldn't imagine my dad being a spineless piece of crap or my mother either fading from the picture or turning against me like these parents! However I suppose while the story lacks some substance compared to a Harry Potter novel, the absent parents do seem to strengthen the character, or in the very least it gives the audience a reason to root for the possible annoying weak heroine.
Indigo:
It occurs to me that study of fairy tales might fit well into a women's studies program as a primary source for the concerns of women of that era.
Here's why. The patriarchy controlled the official records, but the mothers told tales to the children. A frequent strategy of the oppressed who wish to convey a socially unacceptable message is to frame it within a tale - look at Nathan in King David's court. The resolution of the principal conflict, of course, had to suit societal conventions, but the beginning and middle of the tale could be heart of the matter.
One dimension of folktales is who did the telling. I know that in some cultures such as in rural northern India, there are/were stories meant to be told only by one type of person in a certain context. There were women's stories told only by women to other women, and there were men's stories. Does anyone know whether such a gender-based division of folktales, formal or otherwise, existed in Germany before the Grimm brothers recorded their tales? I am assuming that most of these tales were told by mothers to children, but I haven't read anything confirming that idea. If many of the child-escaping-from-bad-parents stories were, indeed, told by mothers to children, then it looks like a clear case of revisions for sale to the patriarchy, like Freud's theory.
This is an issue that is important to me. As a single father raising a 4yr old on my own it kills me to think of the fathers in Fairy Tales. Fathers in Fairy Tales rarely show the side of fathers that the other half is about. Most the time they show the dead beat dad who upon marring a new wife deserts his child to run off and do whatever, or the perverted dad trying to marrying his daughter after his wife dies. These things do happen in life, but why cant we see more stories of fathers coming to the rescue and being the hero at the end, someone who steps up to the plate and saves the day. The role of fathers is the one role I dislike most in Fairy Tales, but one I will continue to prove wrong.
John J
Fathers in a fairy tales are not only villainess as demonstrated in "Cinderella," "Beauty and the Beast," and "Snow White." Fathers in a fairy tales are sometimes not present at all in the stories. In "Jack and the Beanstalk" by the Grimm Brothers, the father is not mentioned throughout the story. The only mention of the father was done in the introduction by Maria Tatar. Like in "Snow White" how many people interpret the hunter as the father figure in the story, many interpret the giant or ogre in "Jack and the Beanstalk" to be the father figure. Ogres, however, are not pleasant creatures! They like to feast on small children! Ogres are incredibly villainess! Another father that is present in the fairy tale, but is extremely weak-willed is the father from "Hansel and Gretel." He is very similar to the fathers in "Cinderella" and "Beauty and the Beast." He agrees to his wifes plan to send their children out into the forest and fend for themselves. He willingly agress to the plan twice and doesn't try to stop it! He lets his children suffer for his own patriarchy. I entirely agree with what Abbey H. stated above, that if the father were any different, there would be no story.
Whitney M.
Indeed, negligent or absentee fathers certainly do seem to be a common thematic device in most fairy tales. While it's true that the (step)mother is often portrayed as the more openly cruel of the two, I usually find the crimes brought upon by the father to be even more so, if only because he commits his on the sly.
You've named a classic example of this with the father in Beauty and the Beast; it was almost comical how ineffectual he was in his attempt to stop Beauty from taking his place. I could practically hear him sighing in relief once she made the offer; though perhaps he acted so cavalier because he knew she would bail him out all along.
Another, perhaps even more disturbing example, and one that you didn't mention in the original post, would be the father in "Hansel and Gretel". Ineffectual doesn't even begin to describe him, nor does cowardly. The father, while not entirely onboard with his wife's plan to abandon the children in the middle of the woods, none-the-less follows her lead like a little dog yipping at her heels. After his children return home, you'd think he'd be thankful and, having realized the error in his ways, promise to himself never to atempt something so ghastly again.
But, of course, you'd be wrong; not only does he make a second attempt at offloading his children to the dangers of the forest, but he rigs up a tree branch in such a way that it simulates the sound of his wood-cutting. If that isn't calculating and deliberately cruel -- and cunning -- than I don't know what is.
And yet, in the end, upon the death of the witch (wife) he is given a pardon.
-Adam K
To my surprise, a father figure can play an important role in a story. They are supportive, loving, and willing to help their children. In the stories of Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, and Snow White the fathers are highly looked as villains.
After reading these three stories in my Fairy Tales class, I was stunned to see how the fathers were evil. They did not care for their daughters and only cared about themselves. The father characters even tried to hurt their daughters. I was upset and shocked at the whole concept.
Watching the Disney movies is a 180 of the stories. I hope little boys and girls do not think fathers are really like this. The fairy tales stories ruined the image of what a father truly is and also a mother as well. Now, when I think back I see father figures in a different like, especially celebrities for example.
Men and fathers can be selfish, sick human beings and we do not need men like that in boys and girls lives.
Ashley G.
The different views of mothers and fathers in fairy tales is very interesting and I think part of it has to do with our culture and what the role of “mother” or “father” means to us. I also think this may have to do with the fact that biological mothers carry the child inside themselves for 9 months which amazes me to no end. Not saying that fathers are not as close to the children as the mother is at all, I just think that it is just one of the many differences that males and females have from each other. What I am trying to get at is perhaps we view evil mothers in a worse way because they are the ones who carried the child, who (in some cases) fed the child from their breasts, and in many cases spend more time at home with the child and for her to do ill deeds against that child goes against…well I guess nature. But on the other hand the father is just as much the child’s parent and protector and should be held equally accountable for any misdeeds of his own against the child - I just feel oftentimes he is not.
First of all, I really enjoy Edmund Dulac's work, and while it's true that you rarely see Beauty's father depicted, this picture captures him perfectly.
And while this isn't about fathers, I feel "Snow White's" Huntsman is perhaps even worse than the queen. Clearly he's aware of right and wrong, yet his "heroic" action is completely self-serving. He actually justifies not killing her by telling himself that she'll be eaten by wild animals soon enough anyway. He's just glad he doesn't have to kill her personally.
So here's a guy who's been ordered to kill a little girl. Now he knows that killing a little girl is wrong, so he puts on his thinking cap and comes up with a solution...to let wild animals devour her! Problem. Solved.
What an awesome dude. Although...if he had been in charge of coming up with the plot of Ocean's 12, it might have actually been watchable.
Nonexistent father in the fairy tales spells for trouble… Somehow that sound a little way to close to the real life to me. Everywhere you look, if the father is not there in the family, or he’s there but has no influence, children will turn into some kind of problem. Mother will try to be tougher than necessary because she feels like she needs to compensate for that hole in the parental figures and this creates problems.
In these fairy tales step-mothers, or if you will, mothers, don’t really compensate but they become cruel towards the child, agonizing them to a point of total destruction. In the story child prevails in the end and most of the times mother aka. evil step-mother, dies and “they lived happily ever after” happens. Well this is not so true for real life.
Child who strains away because it feels like it’s missing something usually never returns…
2. The absence and irresponsible fathers in fairy tales is something that many people did not even think about. In “Beauty and the Beast” illustrate an irresponsible father. He trades his daughter like a product in order to save his life. Fathers in fairy tales do not show their good side. They always are absent and lack of responsibilities. In “Jack and the Beanstalk” does not appear a father. Jack lives only with his mother—the ogre cannot be his father. The father from “Gretel and Hansel” is a man who also lack of responsibility—he lets the kids get lose in the forest.
In the past centuries, fathers did not care of their kids. Wives were responsible of taking care of their kids. What I mean is that fathers were providers—they work to bring food to the home. In several cases, fathers were outside fighting in wars. This can be some of the reasons why fathers do not appear in many tales.
Ever A.
Is this why Americans feel that dad’s are not as good as mothers? These tales were read to us instilling the thought that our fathers should be absent. Not only that but if misfortune befell him be would sacrifice his children, one or more, in order to regain it. Oh yes, he would regret it whole heartedly, but as my grandmother would tell me, “you’re not sorry, you’ll do it again” Fathers continually play the absent card when life is too hard or they don’t want to deal. This could be we are so surprised when a man is a good father. This could also be why we give men a pass at child rearing. Since they are absent and would give up their children they are not fit to raise them. Especially in the tales where there is no mother present. Poor kids.
I see "bad" fathers performing very similar tasks to "bad" mothers in fairy tales such as "Beauty and the Beast" and "Snow White." The purpose is to set up a way for the (most often) heroine to accomplish the set of tasks or the challenge before her. Although it may be easy to chastise the fathers, and rightfully so in most cases, it is undeniable that the poor decisions, or even lack of presence function to create a space for the heroine to take over.
Imagine for a moment, if Beauty's father was an upstanding father; a father that would meet our standards of what it means to be "good." Well, then, she would have never been exposed to Beast. This may sound good, but if Beauty and Beast had never met, than Beauty would not have freed Beast from his curse. Beast, based on his treatment of Beauty, seems to be a "good" character, deserved of being freed from the curse, and one worthy of happiness.
With this understanding, we can discuss the necessity of the "bad" father in these tales, in part, encourages the outcome of the tale.
I think the fact that the father is seen as irresponsible has somewhat shaped our views of society. For the most part, fathers are the providers while the mothers are the caring, loving ones. It’s important to realize that by seeing the Disney versions of “Beauty and the Beast,”, “Cinderella,” and “Snow White,” we’ve been brainwashed into thinking a certain way about our parents. For most of us, as children, grew up seeing that the father figure didn’t exist much in the fairytale world. Now, by reading the real versions of these fairytales, we’ve come to see that that is true, but also that the father figures were selfish and somewhat neglectful. For example, in the real version of “Beauty and the Beast,” we see that the father let Beauty go and take his place at the Beast’s mansion and was willing to let his daughter die for him. What father would do such a thing? By learning this real version, I’m not so sure it’s a good thing to have little kids watching such “fairy tales” and thinking that every father is like the ones they are seeing in these films.
-Jessica L.
It is remarkably sad to say that fathers such these do still exist very much in the world. Unfortunately I know them all too well, too afraid to stand up for what is right because the wife may get in a tizzy. For Cinderella and Snow White it is absolutely gut wrenching to imagine how a father could standby and allow his own daughter to be treated so poorly. For that matter so violently all in the name of love and happiness, ridiculous, I guess love just really is not in the cards for me then. In regards to Beauty and the Beast, what a cowardice act on her father’s part, there is no way in the world any father would allow his daughter to face death to save his own life. It would not matter how much she pleaded a father good or bad would not allow such an injustice to be done to his daughter.
In Cinderella,it is interesting to think about the use of the plain and ordinary things such as a pumpkin, rats,and mice as the items the fairy god-mother turned into beautiful and magnificent horses, a coach and the men in waiting. Also the fact that Cinderella herself is turned into a plain, ash-covered young woman who is eventually transformed into a lovely creature, stunning the whole assembly of folks at the King's ball. That is what most people think of when they hear the word fairy tale. The plain and ordinary turns into the shining and a bit enchanted glory that people, women especially, day-dream about. There is always the hope that maybe someday the plain unnoticed woman will suddenly have her chance to shine and be noticed. It is this outward beauty that everyone thinks makes the difference. People also know that the inward beauty of kindness, compassion, humility and such really make a woman stand out, but we nevertheless still feel that outward beauty will complete our happiness. I include myself as an example. Yet we know that it is a deception that blinds the truth. Beauty does not bring happiness.
LindaC T-390
I think the weak fathers that you read about in fairy tales mimics the American condition today. When contemplating the effects of the rise in divorce, separation, having babies out of wedlock, and sperm banks now available, the idea of dad's being a active part of the family is all but gone.
There are men doing what they should in standing up and taking care of their responsibilities, but, a large number are not. I believe this trend is reflected on the change in the man's role in the fairy tales that are popular in our culture. It is, after all, what we know and see all around us. However, instead of having absentee fathers, we just have weak, spineless, self-serving fathers who will even sacrifice their own child to save themselves. Like in the Beauty and the Beast when the father brought his daughter to exchange her own life for that her father obviously did not value as much as his own.
Some believe that newly educated women in our society are the reason fairy tales look and sound the way they do, that we construct our reality. I say this is a story telling the truth about the hard core reality or life that today’s women live. That is if you are a woman you are worthless, or at the very best you have less worth than a man.
I never noticed that the father was lacking form fairy tales or was the bad guy in till this moment. In most of the stories such as Beauty And The Beast the father is harming his daughter. As a man my self I cant explain some of these behaviors. I know as a husband and Future father, it’s hard to accomplish all the roles presented to us at times. Men often fill a variety of roles. Men sometimes have to fill the role of mom and dad. I believe that is often way fathers are seen as the bad guy. In most cases the father is responsible for disciplining the child, giving him the bad guy image. The husband works hard and long hours, thus he is not home or around in most fairy tales. These are generalized; I realize that roles have changed a lot over the years. However there are certain cases where I just cant explain why things are done. I would never give up my child’s life for mine.~ James B
Many female characters in fairy tales do not have a father figure present. Could it possibly be because like many modern day men, the male is often off working to support his family to the best of his capability? I am sure that Snow White’s father wouldn’t have allowed the queen the ability of pushing his daughter out the door and into the hands of danger had he had the opportunity to be a stay at home dad.
Did Kate’s mother in the fairy tale “Kate Crackernuts” leave Kate’s father to marry the king, or was the father deceased? Do you thing Kate’s father would have wanted his daughter living with the mother of his child knowing what evil the mother was capable of achieving? Would the king have not been absolutely appalled to know that the queen was plotting to kill his own daughter, Anne, and not done his best to prevent such an ill fate?
Women are often left as the caretaker of children and the men are just not as informed of the upbringing of their brood as they should. I believe that these male parental figures are not at fault for the ill treatment of their children, but are put to blame for merely taking on the social role that society has placed upon them.
Vicki G.
In, "The Shadow Father" blog post, I feel as though the observation of the father in "Beauty and the Beast" is fair in most respects. What the blog post fails to acknowledge is Beauty's insistence on sacrificing herself to the Beast. Granted her father should not have been willing under any circumstances to let her take his place with the Beast, but we are not ever made certain of all of her motives. We know for sure that a big part of her motive is to save her father, but I feel as though there is more to it than that. I feel as though Beauty had some selfish reasons for accepting the Beast's offer. One possible reason would be to live life away from her sisters whom she disliked so greatly. Another reason may have been to receive all the material possessions should could possibly want. I know the story goes that she came upon her special room after accepting the Beast's deal, but I cannot help but think she may have knew there were riches to be had, for after all the Beast lived in this great castle, which any average person could assume meant he was well off.
Snow White, the character, is a very stupid individual! She has been warned by the seven little men that she lives with to not open the doors for strangers, and to watch out for the wickedness of her step-mother. She was warned by these men, dwarfs more specifically, that the lady is crafty and most likely gunning for her; after all she did try to have a huntsman kill her and decimate her little body for the beauty which can be supposedly brought out after eating (which is just gross). The huntsman, himself even warned her of impending doom if she doesn’t run far-far away.
So there is a lot of emphasis put on how evil her step-mother is, but really it is a lot Snow White’s fault that she is so gullible and quite honestly the most ignorant person that I have ever read about – ever. Snow White’s step-mother was wicked; we all know this, but can we look at Snow White for a minute and ask what the heck?! How dumb can you be?!
And honestly look back at this story and see that ignorance truly is not bliss!
The absence of fathers in the above mentioned fairy tales is not as bad as the father in beauty and the beast who is almost painfully present. He gives his daughter up to be killed in his place because of his ungratefulness for the beast hospitality. What father gives up his father daughter to die in his place for something he has done. There is even a hint of him trying to pass of the blame onto Beauty for asking for the rose when he says “….beauty take these roses for they have cost your father dearly.” In Tatars, Classic fairy tales. At this point Beauty’s father is basically saying, if you hadn’t asked me for a rose we wouldn’t be in this predicament. How crazy is that! He blames her and ultimately end up taking her to the Beasts castle proving that he is a coward despite his half hearted attempts to stop her from taking his place. Actions speak louder than words in this fairy tale.
Fisher, S.
I think about the social problems that actually find a little truth in these stories just because there is a emphasis on masculinaity doesnt mean that the male will always stand up and say hey this is wrong. You think in most cases when things concerning children a lot of fathers will step up and do something but then you have how many single mothers raising children and the father left? Or how many children that have been abandoned by both parents. What doesnt kill makes you stronger or in the original fairy tales could drive you insane or kill you. There could be males who get tamed by they're ruling wives that get power hungry and then say forget this this woman is crazy, but if he's king why didnt he just get rid of the broad and take pride or profit in his daugthers pin head beauty? In Cinderella I mean hey happens all the time guy marries woman he finds out is horrible and he is always off visit the village chamber maids forgetting about a his girl. As long as he gets to sit on his butt and they have a free maid why not? At least the first wife left him something. Now Beauty and the Beast...the father was probably thinking (in the version I read at least)hey, I have other daughters at home and Im the one who can support them so Beauty show do this for the sake of everyone. Even though its a beautiful daughter im sure he was scared when he seen that big beast and thought at least the beast has gotten money. I guess what Im trying to say sarcastically is people can be selfish and thats not a fairy tale that can be reality. There are many other coward dads that just cop out and im actually surprised that in stories they dont seem to benefit from; I guess they just dont care.
This was very interesting to me. I never considered the father's role in these stories. It's amazing how easily people's attention can be diverted from the father's role, something people would often consider or examine, because it is overtaken by the cruelty of the "step" mother. I find it interesting how in some of the fairy tales the mother role was changed to stepmother in order to take the harshness off of motherhood, but nothing was done to save the poor portrayal of the father. It is very true that without the selfish, spineless, or absent fathers we would not have our fairy tales. They could, however, have the fathers making a valiant effort. Maybe one small gesture of care could slightly redeem them from what they are allowing their daughters to be put through. The general idea about the father-daughter relationship is that she is daddy's little girl and he will do anything to protect her. These fairy tales not only do not show this relationship, but they almost mock it. Especially in Beauty and the Beast, Beauty is protecting her father and he is letting her. I know my father would never let me get him out a mess that he made. I am a daddy's girl, so to see this aspect of fairy tales is an eye-opener and something I never considered before. Thank for the new prospective!
-Kelly H.
I think that fathers are consistently made out to be the bad guy because fairy tales are generally aimed at a female audience. Fairy tales about pretty, good-hearted princesses beating the odds to find prince charming are written to show little girls that they just have to endure some trials and tribulations to reach that happy ending. If such stories are written for women, who better to blame than the men in the story, or lack of. It does seems a bit over the top to have fathers who are so easy to neglect, but the point of the stories, I suppose, are to teach a lesson regardless of how over the top the characters might be. Let’s not forget that the so-called “stepmothers” were in many cases originally the girl’s real mother. The mothers have only been changed into stepmothers to put off the idea that one’s birth mother could do such a thing to her daughter.
Rachel P.
“Without the Shadow Father, these stories would have far less momentum and excitement.” I completely agree with this. Without a father in the story, whether he is being villainous in some way or not, there wouldn’t be a story. Even when the father is present and perhaps has some good intentions, the story may not be as exciting as others we have come to know. One such instance is Hansel and Gretel. This tale is a pretty good one and well known. However, when comparing this tale to others, it falls a little flat. One may deduce that the lack of a father in the story may be the better way to go. Stories without fathers generally are better known, a la Snow White.
In many ways the fathers in fairy tales are the driving force of the stories because without them, as you have said, there is no story.
Paul W. :: T390
The father or “missing” father is always a very interesting character in fairy tales. I did not always realize how often fathers received the easy way out until it was discussed in class. Snow White’s father plays a significant role in the story. He not only leaves Snow with a terrible step-mother who is out to kill her, but he is also the voice in the mirror which is the instigation for the jealousy and killing. Her father may also be the shallow huntsman who avoids killing her just because she is too beautiful. Hansel and Gretel’s father is also so easily forgiven for his terrible behavior. He listens to his wife and leaves the children in the woods twice to fend for their own food and survival at a very young age. Their father not only goes along with it, but makes the most of it by pretending to cut wood nearby. Many fairy tales have awful parents but the fathers’ mistreatment and ignorance often is overlooked. Kayla W.
I agree that the father’s are the villainous figures of many fairy tales because they are self-centered, weak and absent. As demonstrated in the fairy tales, “Snow White,” “Hansel and Gretel,” the father’s are portrayed as malicious and immoral because they are lacking the parenthood tools. For example, the father in “Hansel and Gretel” is profoundly weak and helpless towards his children, but yet he is given a pass. As Dulac mentions, “As such, he is essential to the needs of the "Evil Ones” this explains that men are often used as a form of an instrument by women, in order to fulfill their deeds. I agree that men in many fairy tales are used as sources and therefore, do not have a voice in the tales. Men usually, in fairy tales listen to their wives and, as a result, are manipulated in a ways that affect their character. Similarly, to “Snow White” story the huntsman who is believed to be the father listens to his wicked queen. We don’t know enough information about male characters, for the fact that they disappear, but it is usually appealing to the audience because they return as heroes. I believe males in fairy tales are usually rich, handsome, and evil, but these are the only qualities that we know, other than that they disappear. In other words, the shadow of the father leaves us with the suspense of his character.
Mary Cruz A.
While I would have to agree that men in most fairy tales are either not represented, or seemingly represented unjustly, I use the word unjustly lightly; we can look to see when most of these fairy tales were written. Most of the fathers would have been I guess you can call him the bread winner. Never, or barely ever at the home because they would most likely been working. So the idea that the father is not represented or represented as a nonparent makes sense. I’m no history buff but I would put money on it that most men didn’t concern themselves with most things in the home. Like it has been said without the neglect of the father the stories would most likely cease to exist. The obedience that the father shows to people other than their own blood shows a certain cowardice. In Snow White and Cinderella, we see the king as a coward because allows his own flesh and blood be treated poorly by their stepmother. Dan S.
It really is hard to find a hero of the parental figures in any fairy tale. It is usually the child that has to do everything themselves, and overcome obstacles mostly alone, or with other children or child size helpers. Perhaps this is why fairy tales are so closely associated with children. In these stories, they are the heroes. But anyway, I had hinted on this a little in my paper that the fatherless figure in fairy tales is something seen in today’s society. It seems that we continue to thrive on the mother figure being the main support for children, and father figures are only good for bringing the child into this world. It makes us future fathers a little hesitant to say the least. Except today we see a lot less of the stepmother villain, which in most cases was only introduced so that children wouldn’t think so bad of their actual mothers.
Many fairy tales seem to start the same way, with a father who somehow losses his wife and remarries. Then the stepmother steps in and takes over, where does the father go? In many of the tales you may not hear of him again, in other he shows up every now and then but plays no big part on the effects to the hero or heroine. For fathers reading these tales to their children it would be tough to have to explain to them that this would not happen to them. That is one event I know that no one wants any child to go through yet in many of these fairy tales that is exactly what goes on. I wonder what some of these stories would have been like if the father did step in and do his job as a protector of the house hold. Would Cinderella end up with the prince? Would Snow White ever meet her prince? Those two well known stories could have been totally different. They also may not have ever been as popular as they are today. All I know it that for my children I don’t want them to have to wonder what my role is, they will know that I will protect them and look after what is best for them and their future.
--Tyler Biller
This post is very interesting to think about and to connect with today's society and world. Fairy tales do leave an absent father-like figure in most of the popular fairy tales, still around today. But what we take from these fairy tales today is that the father was absent or was present but wasnt pleasnt and that it is okay to miss that father-like figure in reality. It is important to have that kind of role model to have. Being an only child I could relate to "Cinderella" because the step sisters weren't pleasant to Cinderella and the step mother hated her, the only person left to love Cinderella should have been her father but it was not so. The father in Cinderella didn't have much part throughout the story. In today's society it is expected that the father step up to provide and protect their child along with the mother.
Courtney Stewart
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