When she lives there, she continues to do the housework and she takes on the natural role of being a mother' to the seven dwarfs. Cinderella is portrayed in a similar light; she takes care of her evil stepsisters and assists them in preparation for the ball. She alone cannot attend as she is dirty and poor (class subordination) and therefore helplessly runs off and cries. Then, with the help of magical force, she acquires beautiful clothing, jewellery and transportation to the ball. Here, the prince is mesmerized by her beauty and falls in love. He decides to marry her and she passively accepts with no objection. These messages are certainly unhealthy' for the minds of young girls. They suggest that beauty and the power of man is all they need to be happy in life.
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1.
"Woman Hating-, by Andrea Dworkin.
2.
www.geocitites.com/wellesley/8740/woman.html, by Andrea Dworkin.
Another interesting typical fairy tale character is the evil older woman, who has a lot of power, but is always destroyed in some way or another. Both stories portray a wicked stepmother who reveals her true face when the good' father dies and uses witchcraft in many bad ways. A good question to ask is "Why are the mothers looked upon so horribly? Why are the daughters looked upon as if they sold their brains for an evening gown?-. 3 Snow White's wicked stepmother hates her for her beauty and therefore tries to trick her into eating a poisoned apple. (Here is a great example of how competition is brought about amongst women.) Snow White falls asleep into a coma after she bites the fruit and (unfortunately for the step-mother) is later rescued by the kiss of a handsome prince with whom she happily rides off. .
In Cinderella's case the story looks a little different. She is a helpless female who not only desperately relies on a man to take her out of oppression, but also needs magical force to rescue her.
