In her essay “Some Day My Prince Will Come: Female Acculturation through Fairy Tale” Marcia R. Lieberman argues that the effects that classic fairytales have on young children is nothing short of acculturation.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Quick Analysis of "Some Day my Prince Will Come"
Image credit: Landsbókasafn Íslands
Marcia Lieberman’s “Some Day my Prince Will Come” explained the messages that young children receive about gender roles and the superficial values that they are taught even before they understand what it is that they are really learning. The process of acculturation.
This understanding made my re-review of many versions of the classic tale of “Snow White” made it all the more entertaining.
Oral Tradition, Folk lore and Fairy Tales.
For my online course on Folk & Fairytales, we read two interesting pieces which explain the origin of folk literature and the importance (or lack thereof) the chronology of oral tradition.
An Introduction...
How many times have you sat in awe of someone who started off a story much in this fashion, listening attentively to the story waiting for it to unfold into a happy ending?
Many of us grew up listening to fairytales and expecting that our lives would mirror these tales of so-called happy endings. But what happens when you awake from your slumber at age 35, with the almost painful realization that you are still single, with no prospects of a true Prince Charming and most dreadfully stuck in the harsh reality of the digital age?
Surrounded by nothing but slimy frogs, ogres and wickedly evil witches. How can a fairy princess navigate and find her way? And with her time running out, how can she ever find her happy ending?
What many of us don't realize is that these romantic fairytales are not simply a fantastical precursor to the world we hope to one day live in but a means of socialization and gender indoctrination. One that ultimately sets many of us up for severe disappointment and failure.
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