From victim to heroine: children's stories revisited.

Abstract

The need to escape reality and the taste for adventure with the unknown fills a universal need for both adults and children. Fairy tales have a powerful grip on the imagination because they are homespun versions of myths and have passionate intensity without epic grandeur. The happy ending of fairy tales reflects gender stereotyping because the heroine usually does very little except sit, wish, and wait for marriage. She has no control over her destiny and no active involvement in selecting or planning her future. These heroines are really passive victims. Sexism was once rampant in children's books. The Oz books, with their independent, courageous, and active heroine were way ahead of their time. The advent of women's liberation has led to a reappraisal of the female in folk literature. Anthropologists have now discovered stories of admirable women who were strong characters in their own epic dramas.