Most of us are familiar with a specific type of fairy tale involving young women. In these tales, such as sleeping beauty, you will find a princess with arrested development that her sole purpose in life is to find the prince and marry him. The poor girls in those fairy tales are essentially helpless. those damsels in distress depend for their survival on men, either in the shape of dwarves or a dashing young prince.
I have found a collection of original fairy tales from many countries and many cultures. Their content was not modified in any way. These fairy tales portray a strong feminine hero. The heroines are strong, smart and brave. These are tales of women who take their destiny into their own hands.
Maybe the fairy tales that have been passed down to us have been filtered to suit today’s gender roles. This book shows that there is a much broader range of portrayal of women in traditional tales.
I wish I had known about this book when I raised my children. Even more so, I wish I had known about it when I grew up.
