International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Invention

ISSN (Online): 2319 7722, ISSN (Print): 2319 7714

www.ijhssi.org ||Volume 4 Issue 8 || August. 2015 || PP.49-54

Re-thinking Fairytales: Happily Never After?

Munira Mutmainna
Lecturer, Department of English, Dhaka International University, Bangladesh

ABSTRACT: Fairytales occupy a special place in the mindset of youngsters while consciously and
subconsciously shaping their outlook regarding the issues mentioned in those tales. Occupying almost every
childs hearts as bedtime stories, fairytales describe it all. We are given a brief description of a prince, a maiden
or a princess, her sorrows and sufferings and a heroic and adventurous narration of the prince rescuing the
princess. This paper shows the way politics of patriarchy is put to work through these mere fairytales. It further
explains how telling and re-telling of these stories normalize the situation in such a way that women in
general feel the necessity of being under patriarchal rule. For this paper, several versions of some famous
fairytales were analyzed that showed how all the variations end up delivering partially or completely the same
kind of messages. This paper used the computer animated film Happily NEver After directed by Yvette Kaplan
and Paul Bolger as an example that emphasizes the observations made here about these fairy tales. Finally, it
also details how a new kind of re-telling can go a long way to bring about a change in these stereotypes.
KEYWORDS: fairytale, films, stereotype, happily ever after, patriarchy

I. INTRODUCTION
Fairytales seem to be very innocent in general sense. But little do we realize that there might be more
elements in these tales than it meets the eye. As Jack Zipes suggests fairy tales are not intended solely for
children, that they have a purpose in socializing [all] readers (Zipes qtd. in Brown par 2). Fairytales, in the
beginning, may have had entertainment as the sole purpose but later on, they became more like a tool, serving
for historical purposes. When youngsters are listening to a story that has a beginning like Once upon a time in a
land far away... their minds are drawn automatically into a land of kings and queens, of rivers and hills and
snowfalls, scary witches and fairy godmothers. Finally when the story ends with a happy note saying and
they lived happily ever after, which happens most often, a sense of completion fills up their hearts with joy.
But the question is, with the change of time did the purpose remain confined only to entertainment or was it
modified to meet the needs of the society? If the latter is taken to be true, then what impact did it have on the
outlook of the people? These are the questions regarding which I give my opinions in this paper. I show how the
idea of a perfect fairytale is subtly mocked at in the film Happily NEver After. Also I express the process
through which, I believe, a change can be brought about.

II. FAIRYTALE: WHAT ACTUALLY WAS ITS PURPOSE?

The inception of fairytales goes far back in time. Fairytales by Perrault or Grimm Brothers were only
rewrites intended for children (Bacchilega 3). They were different from prior tales because they omitted sex,
limited violence to bad characters, and had virtuous heroes or heroines and a moral (Bottigheimer 8-9). These
tales were used to define the social conventions and norms and make the children aware of it.
in old days the primary purpose of folktales was less to entertain than it was to train.
This is not to suggest that fairy tales had never since been used for training, but that stories in
the old days were like survival guides of sorts, training people in survival strategies and
practical wisdom and were used for, besides explaining the mysteries of life and nature,
providing people with such practical wisdom as not to dream too big, as opposed to stories
that are now produced primarily for entertainment before anything else (Dutta 2).
Even when the fairytales started serving entertainment purpose primarily, these were not meant for
everyone in the society. The modification was made mainly for the higher class audience, and most of the
modifications were made regarding the portrayal of the female characters the stories over the years lost some of their feisty women characters, and were replaced by
more passive, patiently gentle, helpless and docile women characters, as these qualities came to
be regarded as desirable in women (Dutta 2).

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Re-thinking Fairytales: Happily

Later these stories were started to be used as a great way to help in a childs psychological growth.
Tales ending with a moral tone often helped a child realizing the significance of conforming to values. This way
the fairytales had spread largely in almost every society.
Fairy tales have passed from generation to generation, almost as a rite of passage, throughout
western civilization. Whether it is the tales of the Grimm Brothers or modern Disney versions,
fairy tales have permeated society for ages. The question is whether they are merely stories told
to children for entertainment or something more. Every tale offers children morals to live up to
such as not trusting strangers to being kind to animals. Are morals all that are provided though?
Fairy tales seem to have a much more lasting effect on a childs psyche than simply a lesson
learned. (Patel 1)
Based on what Henal Patel has said, this question can be raised easily. From this point onwards, I will
go on discussing what has lead to these modifications and the stereotypical beliefs resulting from it.

III. RECIPE FOR A PERFECT FAIRYTALE:

While going through some popular fairytales I realized that with the course of time these fairytales
were changed following a similar kind of pattern. Thus it can be said that there is a recipe for almost every
story to become a perfect fairytale. No matter how wonderful a storyline is, it cannot be called a fairytale if it
fails to meet the requirements. The two most important ingredients for a perfect fairytale can be marked as
1. A female lead who always ends up suffering and is in some way or the other subject to physical or mental
torture, often without a very convincing logic.
2. A male lead, most of the times to be seen appearing out of nowhere only to save his ladylove.
Then there is the portrayal of these characters. As far as the girl is concerned, she has to be an epitome
of everything the society assumes is positive. She must have sweetness, beauty, kindness, submissiveness and
all those good qualities in her.
[] the beautiful single daughter is nearly always noted for her docility, gentleness and good
temper (Lieberman 188).
In short, she has to be whiteness personified, figuratively and literally. Even mere inner goodness or
beauty is not enough. Here the idea of good nature is associated with good looks.
This is one reason why fairy tales are based on the attractive physical appearancesThis also
sends the message to girls that being beautiful also means having a good personality or
attitude (Metz 2).
So to make an ideal fairytale, it is a must to show the girl as a complete package of what everyone
thinks is conventional. Anything out-of-the-box is plain evilThe heroine is perfect in every way. She is beautiful, kind, helpful, and compassionate. She is
the idealized good. She is also helpless, naive and lacks any sort of intelligenceShe is
certainly not smart, clever, or ambitious. She does not find her way out of situations with the
use of her wit or savvy, but waits for others to save herWhen it comes to female roles the
message these tales convey is that there are only two types of women: the helpless and the
malicious. Good women do not save the day, they do not scheme, nor do they get themselves
out of bad situations; they wait until a Prince saves them. Women who have desires and the
moxie to achieve them are villainous and will be punished in the end (Patel 17).
Now coming to the male lead, or the hero of the story, who must be (most of the times) a prince.
Generally there is no mention of the prince until one day he suddenly appears out of thin air. Just for the storys
sake let us assume he was busy minding his own business till now and the poor fellow got tired and decided to
take a stroll for a while, and that too outside his kingdom. In this way, he meets or comes to know about the
heroine, falls in love with her at the first sight and so on. I find that Henal Patels description of such a hero is
quite apt.

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Re-thinking Fairytales: Happily

The hero in fairy tales is never wrong. He is handsome and wealthy and generally reputed to
be brave. However in many fairy tales, he does not actually do much. He is simply the
character who seems to cause everything to work out. Upon closer study, it is clear that the
supporting actors are those who play the largest part in ensuring that the hero saves the
heroine. Still, the fairy tales tell us that the Prince is the ideal. He is the man every woman
wants. He is also the one who guarantees the happy ending needed for a fairy tale to be
complete (Patel 2).
So what does he do? Almost nothing, as long as one does not count horse-riding and deer-hunting as
heroic deeds. Yet, he is the one who gets all the accolades in the end.
He gets his bride and a happy ending, regardless of the plot. Most of the time, he does not
even cause the successful conclusion, but depends on minor characters who are on his side.
Regardless, he is still the unequivocal hero (Patel 26).

IV. THE PRINCE CHARMING SAVING THE DAMSEL IN DISTRESS: THE HAPPILY
EVER AFTER
This is something almost everyone knows. Those who have heard or told fairytale at least once in their
lives are very much familiar with the phrases damsel in distress and Prince Charming. Generally, fairytales
include a beautiful girl who is often showed to be in a state of suffering, be it mental or physical and is at last
saved by a brave and handsome prince. In famous fairytales like Cinderella, Snow-White, Sleeping
Beauty, Rapunzel etc the scenario is quite similar. How many times have we come across a fairytale where
the prince is prohibited from going to The Ball? Or is made to do all the household chores? Clean the
chimneys? Or fetch water from the well? Never. What are these fairytales doing to us then? The scenario
unconsciously promotes within us the idea of women being the submissive one, the sacrificing one, the domestic
laborer.
Rarely do you read a fairy tale and not have the women laboring in some way or
another....These ideas of women doing housework all the time has probably helped to keep
traditional family patriarchy alive today. Fairy tales teach young girls that they should grow
up to become good housewives. These thoughts may inadvertently be placed in the minds of
girls today. They could feel that their only purpose is to have children and keep house while
their husbands go out and live the more active life (Metz 8).
In Cinderella, Cinderella is seen suffering because of her step-mother and step-sisters. She is
beautiful, gentle- everything the society seeks in a perfect wife. In the turn of events, she finally meets her
Prince Charming, gets married and is left to live happily ever after. But what role does she get to play
throughout the whole story?
After leaving her slipper at the ball she has nothing more to do but stay home and wait. The
prince has commanded that the slipper be carried to every house in the kingdom, and that it be
tried on the foot of every woman. Cinderella can remain quietly at home; the prince's servant
will come to her house and will discover her identity (Lieberman 389).
Similarly, the Sleeping Beauty portrays passivity herself. She is put to sleep using an enchantment. The
only way out for her is getting a true love. When the Prince finally comes and kisses her (in the childrens
version), she wakes up from the enchanted sleep. Same fate follows Rapunzel who remains imprisoned in a
tower and needs a Prince to rescue her.
So many of the heroines of fairy stories, including the well-known Rapunzel, are locked up
in towers, locked into a magic sleep, imprisoned by giants, or otherwise enslaved, and waiting
to be rescued by a passing prince, that the helpless, imprisoned maiden is the quintessential
heroine of the fairy tale (Lieberman 192).
Now this is quite obvious to ask what is wrong to have such endings. Listening to stories with happy
endings is not a problem. The main problem lies in the aftereffects of listening and telling of these stories over
generations.

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Re-thinking Fairytales: Happily

Fairy tales affect the way our society in general thinks about girls and their role in society.
They also affect the way girls feel and interact with each other.Because fairy tales are read
to children in their impressionable years, they imbed thought into the child that affect the way
they think about women and normal social roles (Metz 1).
Agreeing with what Metz has said in the statement above, I feel that all the familiar fairytales which are
told over generations modify the societys outlook to a great extent. The child and specially the female child,
grow up having a stereotypical image of themselves and their future. Their views and beliefs are changed, subconsciously if not consciously, to such a level that often they themselves fall victim to these. They are led to
believe deeply that if they want their part of happy ending, they must be like these heroines. This is because
The female characters that do show signs of intelligence or ambition are evil (Patel 17). Doing anything to
improve their condition or aspiring for a better life may lead to harmful consequences.
The princesses in "The Yellow Dwarf," "Goldilocks," and "Trusty John" are described as
being spoiled, vain, and wilful: the problem is that they refuse to marry anyoneThese
princesses are portrayed as reprehensible because they refuse to marry; hence, they are
considered "stuck-up," as children would say. The alternate construction, that they wished to
preserve their freedom and their identity, is denied or disallowed There is a sense of
triumph when a wilful princess submits or is forced to submit to a husband (Lieberman 393).
So, the good girls are not even given a chance to decide what do they want to do with their lives, or
whether they even want to get married or not. All of this is done in accord with the social values of their time
(cited in Haase 11). Therefore, all we have to do is get a brave prince, a tamed princess, every piece put into its
proper place and we will have the same old happily ever after we are so eagerly looking for!

V. FIDDLING WITH THE BALANCE: HAPPILY NEVER AFTER?

So far, we have the proper ingredients for a traditional fairytale. A prince, a damsel, an adventure and
finally the happily ever after; it sounds just perfect. But what happens when one slightly messes up the
ingredients?
I just wish we could mix it up a little bitWhat if we make the seven dwarves seven feet
tall? ... What about making Rapunzel go bald? (Happliy NEver After)
The statement is given by Mambo, the helper/assistant of the Wizard in the animation film Happily
NEver After directed by Yvette Kaplan and Paul Bolger based on the fairy tales of the Brothers
Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen. On a surface level, this statement is only meant to be funny. However, on
a serious note, I also feel quite similar to Mambo after listening to these fairytales in the same way over and
over again. This film also shows the female lead, Ella, having her happily ever after with a lad. But at least for a
change, this time it is not the Prince, rather it is his servant, Rick. The film subtly mocks the typical fairytale-ish
requirements for a perfect ending and a lot of it is done through the portrayal of the character of the Prince. He is
shown following the book that instructs him on almost everything. From this book, he gets the idea of
becoming a perfect Prince Charming which even includes cutting his hair Not too much off the front.
Everything must be perfect. Tonights the night I meet my Damsel it says so right here in the
bookon his 21st birthday (Happily NEver After).
The Prince prepares himself to go to the ball where he is to find his damsel, according to the book, who
is preferably blonde, who is either imprisoned, cursed or distressed (Happily NEver After). To succeed in his
attempt, he follows the rulebook and tries to be romantic, look heroic in the ball. On the other side Mambo
starts playing with the magical ball and in the course of events the very familiar wicked step-mother ends up
conjuring the magic scepter. When she discovers about Ellas happy ending she dismantles the balance of good
and evil resulting in a wide range of changes in the fairytale endings of the whole fairytale land. Thus we see
Sleeping Beautys Prince falling into a deep slumber himself after kissing the Princess, Rumplestiltskin winning
his bet with the queen and taking her baby and so on. When the enchantment on Ella wears off and the Prince is
left with nothing except a shoe of her, the first thing he does is check the book for his next plan of action! It is
not because he actually loves Ella, but because the book says to save that particular girl that he goes to find her,
and that too when she is standing in front of him and trying to talk to him. Even in a crucial moment where he
has failed and has been captured by trolls, instead of using his Princely brain he opens up the book for a
solution and with the comment Kiss thy royal butt goodbye he finds there, all he can do is panic.

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The female lead Ella is no less. She keeps waiting for her Prince Charming when she doesnt even
know whether or not she stands the chance. All the thoughts regarding the Prince occupy her mind in such a way
that she does not realize Ricks true feelings for her. Disillusioned by this stereotypical fairytale-like idea, she
does not realize her feelings for Rick as well. Does she ever think of having a life of her own without a Prince
for once? Why does she have to meet the Prince and wait for being rescued by him? As we often say, Self-help
is the best help- then why does she need a fairy godmother and a Prince to help her have a happy ending? The
answer is quite simple- it would be an imbalanced fairytale then. It is the norm that they put the princess on
display and exaggerate her passivity (Seago 16).
Throughout most part of the story, Ella hopes to reunite with the Prince. She never gives herself a
chance at love with Rick until the end. Though the film meets a different end compared to the traditional
fairytales the stereotype remains there. Ella has her happy ending with Rick instead of the Prince. It shows that
she needs to be saved after all, even if it is by the servant. Therefore, we are back to the point where we started
from- the whole damsel-in-distress thing.

VI. RE-TELLING: A WAY OF RE-CONSTRUCTING

Apart from fairytales, there are other stories to listen to as we grow up. There are famous classic
novels, historical narratives, plays, short stories covering a vast area of themes. There are stories where the only
lead is a female character, or where the whole storyline revolves around one. But since fairytales are the ones
that contribute largely in shaping our outlook it can also be used to bring about a change as well. Through
appropriation, the same old fairytale can be shown in a totally different light. Fortunately, some have already
set many examples of how this can be done. Very recently some authors have come up with unique ways of
retelling well-known fairytales which are mainly of science-fiction genre or set in the current time period,
making it somewhat easier for the readers to feel a connection. One such would be the Lunar Chronicles series
by Marissa Meyer. The author uses known characters, or at the least the known female main character, to retell a
tale in her own style. The readers are able to almost instantly connect to the storyline and the hint of fairytale is
still there. In the first three books of the Lunar Chronicles series, Cinder, the science-fiction version of
Cinderella, is not some damsel-in-distress who needs to be saved. She has her own qualities and talents, setting
herself in a stark contrast against the Cinderella of the traditional fairytale. Yet you cannot help feeling a sense
of connection to Cinder in a similar way you do for Cinderella. Both have their own evil queens or stepmothers
to deal with, but while Cinderella is more like suffer-in-silence kind of a girl, Cinder has a spark within her, a
strength to fight back for herself. In this case, therefore, she stands against the traditional notion the society has
created through the fairytales- she is not breathtakingly beautiful, has a prosthetic leg, not tamed at all, and
most certainly can take care of herself without the Prince. Appropriation has often been taken as a means to
freedom, or to assert ones identity. Therefore, it is possible to appropriate the fairytales in such a way that we
feel we are still connected to the age-old traditional tales, but these are something more liberating, more
refreshing. It is like new candy in an old wrapper.

VII. CONCLUSION
Through seemingly innocent narration and storyline, the former, traditional pattern of fairytales
portrays the boundaries set by the society. Fairytales of these kinds influence the readers or listeners to believe
in the boundaries as unquestionable norms, resisting them from asserting their individual wills. Using literature
to assert individuality is nothing peculiar. Feminists have always tried to break through this hegemonic system
through their writings. Specially in todays age of media and technological revolution, movies and retellings like
Happily NEver After and Lunar Chronicles can go a long way to bring about a change. Gradually but
effectively, it can contribute in redefining the traditional definition of a fairytale and of balance. After all, it is
the first few steps that count, no matter how small.
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