By Athenna Harrison

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     There are many theories on how and why myths and fairy tales exist. Some mythographers – people who record or collect myths- believe that myth’s are a societie's way of explaining our world to young children, others believe that it was the “primitive people’s equivalent of science” (Sellers, 3). These stories have affected the way people view themselves or others, and tend to correspond with the societal beliefs of the time.

     Fairy tales, like Snow White or Cinderella, are very much like myths because both “deal with ‘archetypal figures” (9). Unlike myths, however, fairy tales typically begin with “Once upon a time” and end with “Happily ever after” (10).  In fact, fairy tales are widely considered feminine, while myths are essentially masculine. Some feminists argue that fairy tales have a rigid view toward gender. Not once do the stories tell of a princess who questions the “regime that promises rescue” (25) and rescues herself. The hero-- usually a prince-- always gets the power, the wealth, and a beautiful bride as rewards for saving the 'damsel in distress.' The heroine-- predictably, a lovely young woman-- is not much of a heroine at all. Portrayed as a helpless and fragile being, she always waits for the hero to save her. As compensation for surviving until the end of the story, the heroine’s “happily ever after” is marriage and motherhood.

      Fairy tales often contain common themes, like a wicked stepmother, an absent father, or a deceased mother. In common storylines, like the tale of Snow White, the stepmother replaces that real mother soon after she dies. However, the stepmother treats the daughter horribly and tries to kill her, whereas the father is conveniently absent. “History is full of examples of heirs and heiresses murdered by a new spouse, ambitious for their own offspring” (15), as seen in tales like Cinderella. Today, many of those beliefs have changed. There are many women writers who continuously change a woman’s role in stories to that of a temptress, a hunter, or even a willing slave. In a novel by Anne Rice, The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty, Beauty is a slave to the prince and repeatedly disobeys him, yet her punishment is always decidedly erotic. In contrast, Pat Califia’s story “The Vampire” turns the male into the submissive and the female into a vampire dominatrix. From stories like these, and many others, women have realized that they can choose their own fate and change from a helpless princess waiting for her prince to save her, to a self-reliant woman that can rescue herself. (A. Harrison)