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Graduate Studies Legacy Theses

1997

Humbling heroines: a ficto-critical investigation of

fairy tale motifs

Suvan, Kim M.

Suvan, K. M. (1997). Humbling heroines: a ficto-critical investigation of fairy tale motifs

(Unpublished master's thesis). University of Calgary, Calgary, AB. doi:10.11575/PRISM/20542

http://hdl.handle.net/1880/26875

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UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY

Humbling Heroines:

A Fido-Critical Investigation of Fairy Tale Motifs

by

Kim M. Suvan

A THESIS

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DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS

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DECEMBER, 1997

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ABSTRACT

This thesis explores faj, tale motifs through art employment of interventive discourses

ranging from critical commentary to fiction to a combination of both. Structurexi as a

discussion between disparate voices, Hmbiing Hemines addresw, and speaks back to,

various fajr tale conventions that participate in the süencing, erasure or destruction of

women's potentialihes. Ushg interruptions and asides, the irreverent-and 0ccasionaLly

humorous-tone Mes an audience/teUer dynamic of early foik tale tradition. Motifs

addressed include oid women's bodies, the symboiisrn of hair, mirrors, domestic labour,

bestiality, ugliness, giuttony, desire and the gaze. Materials adâressed are drawn primarily

from Europe, the U.S.A. and M c a , and extend across centuries to deal with texts as

disparate as Giambattista Basile's Z l Pentanzerone (1634-36) and Angela Carter's The

Bloody Chrunber (1979).

1 codd not have written this thesis without the research and insights of many folk and fairy

tale writers and scholars. Primary acknowledgement goes to the brilliant and thought-

provoking work of Angela Carter, a writer whose imverent prose inspires by pushing

litaary and ideological boundaries. Marina Wamer, one of Carter's staunchest supporters,

also pvided ideas and background essentiai to rny analyses through her asaire, thorough,

and engaging scholarship on women and fairy taies. Other critics whom I relied upon

heavily include Jack Zipes, Maria Tatar and Ruth Bonigheimer.

On a persona1 level, 1 would like to thank my mother, Rosalie, and my brother, Wade, for

their unflinching support of my academic goals. My good fi-iends have also been

tremendously helpful by never losing faith in me or my abilities. These include Karen

Walters. Cheryl Cameron, Evelyn Johnson, the laîe Tary Horsburgh, and especiaily Sherrill

Johnson. My thanks also goes to Ken Hare for his generosity and expertise in cornputer

support and printing .

Last, but not least, I wodd like to acknowledge the University of Calgary's Graduate

Programme in English. My years in Calgary have been empowering, productive and the

most professionallylacademidy satisfying of my life. Part of the reason for this is my

good f m in working with Arîtha van Herk-an excellent Supervisor, wondemil writer,

and exceptional person.

Page

................................................... AppmvalPage ii

Absmt ...................................................... iii

............................................... Acknowledgements iv

................................................ Table of Contents v

................................................... List of Tables vi . . ................................................... ~~stofFigures v i i

Introduction .................................................... 1

................................................. TheToothFairy 26

HaUI ........................................................... 40

PiecesofTale ................................................... 59

LaokingGlasses ................................................. 80

........................................................... Dirt 100

Enchantment .................................................... 119 ......................................... Bestiality and Ugiy People 145

........................................... Be Fruiüùi and Multiply 167

Paaimony ...................................................... 180 ......................................... A Ficto-Critical Conclusion 195

Bibliography .................................................... 206

LIST OF TABLES

Page

1. Speech Frequency in Three Editions of "Cin&reUa9' (Grimm) . . . . . . . . . . . 14

LIST OF FIGURlWILLUSTRATIONS

Page

.......................................... Dorothea Viehmann 11

............................................. GammerGrethel 12

................................... Cutting off a Woman's Rage 29

........................................ IWillMakeYouGood 31

....................................... The Mill for Old Wives 34

Rapunzel ............................................ 41

.................................................. R a p m l 45

...................................... Elsa and the Evil Wizard 53

................................................ SnowWhite 84

............................. The Old Procuress at the Toilet Table 86

............................................. SleepingBeauty 97

.................................................... Amelia 117

............................ Hidessa Meets The Great Green Worm 149

Bearskin ................................................... 157

TheWhiteSealMaid ......................................... 162

TheGluttonousQueen ........................................ 169 SnowWhite ................................................ 171

vii

INTRODUCTION

Fajr tales simply wili not go away. Their images and motifs ubiquitously

popdate television, film, music, magazines, literature, newspapers and every other

conceivable form of media The overwhelming reaction to Rincess Diana's death is a

measure of their popularity. Diana's children received more than 250,000 letters of

condolence; the charity fund established in her name swelled to hundreds of millions of

dollars within weeks. Whüc the mania of Diana's celebnty is muitifaceted, one woman

explained the phenornenon through the oxymoron, "Diana was a real fajr tale Princess."

Diana herself, in a much-publicized interview severai years ago, said her marriage was

the "ffairy taie that everyone wanted to work." One of the pmbierns with Diana's fairy

taie characterization, however, is that the audience's expectations of a heroine's role

leave no rwm for the complexity of a woman's Me. Despite Diana's need for other

narratives (as evidenced by her buümia, depression, addtery and divorce), Diana's image

remained h z e n in a picture of youth, innocence and naïveté-even befon her early

death.

Narratives within fairy tales discourage their heroines fhm stepping outside of

their constrained characterizations through a numkr of strategies. ûne is the absence of

viable d e s to grow into, for it is umally the humble Rincess, not the experienced

Queen, who takes center stage. Occasionally, a mother does materiaiize, but she often

dies (quiddy) as a symboi of seIflemess and familal devotion. Older women, when

they appeat for any length of the, tend to be cast as hags, witches, evii stepmothers and

mothers-in-law. These mature characters possess power, pride, opinions and desire-

traits incongrnous with the submissiveness expected h m youthful heroines. As a result,

the older women's fates, which range from humiliation to tomire to death, almost always

involve punishment and, ultimately, complete erasure.

In case the examples made of ol&r women fail to drill home standards for proper

female cornportment, younger women receive their share of castigation as weU. Any girl

who transgresses, or is capable of committing one (or more) of the seven d e d y sins--

pnde, covetousness, lust, anger, gluttony, envy. sloth-becomes a candidate for

punishrnent. Girls also receive the brunt of their mothers' transgressions. For instance, a

beautihil girl at risk of becoming proud and w U f d shores herself against potential

sinhilness by performing back-breakllig labour in the kitchen. A young woman who

obstinately refuses to marry a suitor metamorphoses into a cat The vain wish of a dying

woman incites her husband's incestuous pursuit of their daughter. A gluttonous woman

loses her daughter to the fairies.

1 discuss these, and other techniques for hmnbting heroines, in the following

pages. This discussion occm in the context of creating new spaces for f a j r tale

heroines, spaces where proud, powerfbl women enist past naïveté and innocence, where

desires can be fulfilled, where women's lives d o l d outside of marriage, outside of

childbirth, and past menopause. In doing so, 1 work within the fairy tale tradition of

"'re-mak[ing] the world in the image of &sirew' (Beer 79). At the same t h e , claiming

feminist tenitory involves giving up many pleasures dependent Ppon patrimhal

ideology, and some feminist texts-or at least taies-gloss over that loss in annoyingly

puerile tem. To counter my hstration with such simplistic texts, 1 have melded

images of women's desires to the consequences of those desires, sometimes in brutal

tenns. As a result, this thesis rejects the seductive and irrelevant fajr taie endhg often

based on "happiiy ever aftd' in favour of endings that acknowledge the complexity of

women' s lives. My endings still provide heroines with beginnings (Zipes, "Chaxtghg

Function of the Faky Tale" IO), but these beginnings bear the weight of the past

Much of this thesis, therefore, interrogates the very substance of fairy tale utopia,

happiness, wish-hilfilment. Jack Zipes writes:

As long as the fajr tale continues to awaken our wonderment and project counter worlds to our present society where our yeamings and wishes may find hùfilment, it will serve a meanin@ social function not just for compensation but for revelation. . . . (Zipes, "Changing Function of the Fairy TaIe" 29)

Yet it seerns to me that our society has too much media-driven wish-fument and

wonderment for women already-at least too much of the same type of wish-fulfilment

this particular discourse of women's happiness, 1 offer alternative wish-fulfilment scripts.

This means that my heroines' happiness includes rwm for disappointment, loneliness,

evil, for dispassionate averageness. Utopia is no longer presented as a space of

undiluted pleasure; it is a vista of variegated Me. Instead of "happily ever after," 1 work

with endings that tum out "as happily as possible, considering the circumstances." Such

a concept appears to 4 t at odds with what Zipes writes about fairy tale conclusions:

RareIy do wonder taies end unhappily. They triumph over death, The tale begins "once upon a tirne ago" or "once the= was" and never reaily ends when it ends. The ending is actuaily the m e b e m g . The once u p n a time is not a past designation but fataristic: the timlessness of the

tale and lack of geographical specificity endow it with the utopian connotations-utopia in its original meaning designated no place, a place that no one had ever envisaged. We fonn and keep the utopian kernel of the tale safe in our imaginations with hop. (Zipes, "Changing Function" 10)

Paradoxicaily, however, 1 think my versions of utopia do fulfill Zipes' criteria in two

ways. One, considering problematic existence to be utopian is seeing happily-ever-after

in an unusual fairy tale way. Two, my utopian constructs reflect what wornen characters

wish for by showing what they do--as well as what they c m do.

My approach to faky taie texts and fahy tale endings follows, in principle, the

tone of Angela Carter's adult f a j tales in The Blody Chamber and in other books (The

Magic Toyshop, Heroes Md Villaim, Buming Your Bouts). Carter's texts irreverently,

and often humorously, mtini7p: ideological and discursive icons by playing with, and

against, convention and propriety. Her heroines can be lustful, self-conscious, harsh,

cold, vulgar, fiercely independent, and often ironic. Marina Warner, in her book From

the Beust to the Blonde, comments insightfbiiy and inteliigently on Carter's work:

The growing presence of humour in Carter's fiction sipals her defiant hold on 'heroic optimism', the mood she singled out as characteristic of fairy tales, the principle which sustained the i&a of a happy ending, whatever the odds. But heroic optimism shades into gaIlows humour. Although laughter breaks the silence and jesting can be provocative, disruptive, anarchic and unsettling, some laughter never unburdens itself h m knowledge of its owa pessimism; it rernains intrinsically ironic. (Wamer, BtB 197)

Carter's pessimism ialres shape in many forms. As h a texts seldom sfray far h m the

topic of sexuai and romantic desire, however, that pessimism often involves malyzing

the role of ideology in the generation of women's desire. For example, Carter ruthlessly

(and seductively) exposes the emticism of the Bluebeard figme in her short story 'The

Bloody Chamber" (in her collection entitled nie Bloody Chmnber), which 1 discuss in

my section LOOMNG GLASSES. Warner goes on to Say:

In her later fiction, Carter used her own brand of carnivalesque comedy to mock the yeamhgs and delusions of eros, and she performed in WLÎe Children, a jesting burlesque on Shakespeare's A Midnunmer Night's Drem, recasting this recension of 'Bututy and the Beast' as a N1 Hollywood spectacuiar. . . . (Wamer, B d 197)

Like Carter, 1 have attempted to use humour in my wriîing to subvert and expose archaic

fairy tale conventions and ideology. Pastiche forms part of that subversion in my story,

PIECES OF TALE. This text mocks the Rincess figure's stock humiiîty, the hem

completing three tests, the nature of royalty, the integrity of the Rince, etc., to show the

emptiness of rote formulae and the frequently sexist structure! of traditional fairy tale

Another innovative aspect of Catter's prose is its mix of contrasting discourses.

Mythology, existentialism, feminism, Victorian prose, Cockney street-slang, London

street-slang, Amencan street-slang, (Canadian street-slang?), literary references,

evocative sensuality and critical theory aiI h d a place in Carter's work Wamer writes:

many of Carter's hemines . . . resemble the iiterary text of the kind she herself was writing: ornate, bejewelled, artifîcial, highly wroright prose playing hide-and-seek with the chatty, downmarket, vulgar and unadorneci personae of the charactm undemeath the greasepaint and the costumes. (Warner, BtB 194-5)

Although my texts do not work within an "ornate, bejewelled" (Wamer, BIB 195) prose

(with the possible exception of PATRIMONY), thib thesis shifts between discourses and

genres thughout. Like Carter, 1 weave theory with slang, sarcasm with criticism,

fiction with commentary. Theoretical terms are inteRpersed with scatological comments,

Shakespearean references with images h m pop cultm. This patchwork disrupts a

bierarchy of àiscourses by continually shifting between the social classes they generally

-sent Entrenched ideologies are thus wrested h m respectability and mocked out of

hegemonic dominance through snide asides, rude interruptions, eyebrow-raishg guffaws.

My critical interrogation takes shape, therefore, in tone as weli as content, reflecting

contempt for the employment of sexist and class-based discourses no longer useful to

women in the cumnt social and material conditions of the mentieth century. At the

same tirne, however, 1 do not shy away h m the difficdties involved with re-working or

extncating oneself from such discourses.

As severai strands of narrative structure this paper, 1 differentiate, via formatting,

for the following discounes:

1) My own fiction is in itaiîcs and double-spaced.

2) Cited materials are indented, single-spaced, reguiar typeface (not

italicized, unless appearing in the original as such), or, for short

quotations, clearly marked as such within the body of my critical

comrnentary.

3) Critical commeniary is in non-italicized, double-spaced text

4) As many of the taies discussed in this thesis are h m coilections, I have

given both the auîhor of the tale (if known), and the editor of the

collection in my citations. Collections are listed by editor in the

Bibliography. In cases where the editor is also the

author/compier/collaborator of the tale, for example, Johnston Phelps,

Carter (Virago collection) and Calvino, 1 have cited as follows: (Carter,

ed. and comp., Virago pg.#). This format appeared to be more efficient

than listing each individuai tale in the Bibiiography (it would have tripled

the sue of the Bibliography und made referencing more awkward).

The critical commentary sections are not, by most standards, conventional academic

discourse; they sound more like a mixture of Bette Davis, Simone de Beauvoir and Joan

Rivers. 1 have used this voice for severai reasons. One, the sombre, aimost scientific

'%ruth" of traditional criticai discourse seems to loom with such confidence in its own

a u t h ~ t y that it occasionally needs to be rerninded of its own constructedness. Two,

working with fairy tales gave nse to an ironic voice which would not, despite several

efforts to the contrary, allow itseif to be silenced.

Bloch of fiction interrupt the commentary both within and between chaptea.

The fiction sections are included in an attempt to offer alternatives to iâeologies 1

criticize. Issues discussed in the commentary are employed in the stories. Meta-

narration occurs within both the Stones and commentary. 1 myself (among other critics),

become a target for mockery in the concluding fictdtical section. In effect, different

discourses t a k back to each other in pseudo conversation, mimicking a scenario of cross-

class debate.

Observing boudana (between discomes, genres, classes) has never been a

tradernark of taie teilers in the history of the folk and f a j r tale. While tales were

o n ~ y delivered via oral discourse in lowa class communities (at the hearth, in the

fields, in spinning mm), they filtered cross-class into aristoctatic househoids through

peasants employed as nannies, servants and labourers (Zipes, "Changing Function" 13).

Priests also appropriated the structure of the folk tale for t e h g parables to their

congregations (cross-genre? crossdiscourse?), and travellers cmssing geographical

temtory (crosscounûy), such as merchants, joumeymen, soidiers and sailors, recounted

tales in tavems, inns and hostels (Zipes, "Changing Function" 14). According to Marina

Wamer, other early taie-tellers incluâed "[pJrostitutes, midwives and wetnurses [who]

occupied no h e d point in the smicture of society, as they physically moved between

worlds" (Warner, BtB 35-36). These pn-Renaissance story-tellers told their stories to

live audiences, vociferous participants, hecklers. As Jack Zipes writes,

In each historical epoch [folk tales] were generally transformed by the narrator and audience in an active manner thrwgh improvisation and interchange to produce a version which wouid relate to the social conditions of the the . These taies did not spring ftom a supernaturai reah, nor were they conceived for children. (Zipes, Breuking the Magic Spell28)

When the folk tale was appropriated by French aristocratie women writers in the

seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, it shifted to what Zipes caiis the "literary folk tale"

(Zipes, "Changing Function" 14-15) by going into print, These French writers couched

their social criticisms of the court of Louis XIV and the restrictions on women's rights in

the other-world fantasy of fw tale fiction. Although their tales were told to private

audiences "to make it 'seem' as thougb the tale were made up on the spot" (Zipes, d

Bb&e 3) for salon amusement and display of wit, the stories were often composecl priar

to live performance. A natural delivery was a mark of success; a sloppy story the sign of

duliness and incornpetence. Eventuaüy the stones becarne so popular that the writers

published their tales. Once taies were pubiished, however, their d e s c h g d Zipes

comments, "[ais text, the fairy taie did not encourage live interaction and performance

but passivity" (Zipes, BMS 12). At the same time, however, both Zipes (BMS, Bbdie)

and Wamer (Wonder Tales, BtB) discuss the circulation of the French-women's texts

prior to publication. Writer-fiends made suggestions to one another, offered critiques,

and taies' plots were subject to continual revision based on audience, performance, and

private consultations.

Using the f a j . tale as a mode of expression offered the French-women a weapon

in a literary war against the ancien regime of traditional male classicists. It meant using

a rude, lower-class fom to embody dissatisfaction with constricting, patriarchd noms.

Marina Wamer writes:

The point of recalling the oral comection was twofold: as women writers and fairy taies were sneered at by members of the Académie française . . . they made comrnon cause by identifjhg themselves with the wlgar people against the establishment authorities, who debarred them. In the prolonged and bitter Querelie des Anciens et des Modernes . . . women and wonders were fiercely, definitely Modern; men and gods Ancient. . . .

But also, by pleading native, WC tradition, the storyteiîers could inch& anything and everythiog they pleased, breaking a i i the d e s of classicism, of the uniîies, of linguistic purity, of decorum - what was calleci bim&mtce or seemliness. Hence the pleasure in the grotesque, the uniikely and the incongmous, the mixture of tragedy and comedy, the frank eroticism, the casual cnielty and the topsy-twy bizarrena. . . . (Warner, ed- & Introduction to Wonder Tales 14-15)

While employing the rude, casual form of the fa* tale trans1ated into nose-snubbing at

classicai (male) discourse, it also meant chanping the tales to refiect-âespite their

wrîters' revolutionary innovations-the manners of upper-class society. The transformeci

tales

excluded the cornon people and addressed the concerns of the upper

classes. . . . Momver, the new class perspective began to establish new d e s for the tninsformed genre: the action and content of the fairy tale subscribed to an ideology of conservatism which informed the socialization process huictioning on behalf of the aristocratie class. (Zpes, BMS 10)

The French tales focus intensely upon articulatemess, elegance, g d manuers, thus

working, often ironicaily, within the limitations of upper-class etiquette (Warner, Wondrr

Tales 4). Taies were usad "to establish conventions pertaining to a discourse on

rnanners and civilite. Implicit was a code that corresponded to the ide& and standards of

propriety" (Zipes, "Changing Function" 15). The earlier, earthy bawdiness of folk tales

became censored into good taste.

Styles change, however, and with the deciine of feudalism, the fairy tale went out

of vogue in French salons during the mid-1700s. Europe changed as weîi. Gennan

nationaüsrn bnd the notion that certain taies were autochthonic to Gmnany. Hence the

Brothers Grixnm began theY life-long vocations as coilectors and editors of fok tales in

the name of glory to the Fatherland. Their early collections came fkom a variety of

sources, including the mode1 for poster-peasant-grandmotber of many editions, Dorothea

Viehmann (see Figure 1 on page 1 1). Pictured as a Little old peasant lady with a bonnet,

she became the Grimm trademark for foWfairy tale authenticity, its rwts (supposedly)

based in the Gmnan peasantry (see Figure 2 on page 12). Ironically, however,

Viehmann was not a peasant but an inolreeper's daughter maxied ta a tailor- She had

been bom a French Huguenot with the last name Pierson.

piehmann] told her stories to the daughters of the Huguenot pastor in Kassel, and came to the attention of the inspîred, independent-minded circle of Romantic tbinkefi centred on the manor farm at Brakel, near Kassel, whm the von Haxthausen family were landornets. There, in this

~orothea Vikhmann, market sahtmmn, &ughter of an ïnnkeeper and wîh of a tailor. was one of the Grimm Brotherr'drkf sources; t k y liked tu sbcrs the Vol k aharaeter of their iirhnnants - she soon tums ïnto a genetk peasant Gammer GretheI. (Lu&@ €mil Gtimrn, Children and Household Tais. 7879, copied, anon., Gammer Glethel's Fairy Tale London.)

Figure 1. Dorothea Viehmann.

Source: caption and pictuns h m Warner, Frum the Beast to the Blonde, 189.

GAMMER GRETHEL

-0. SHE W M AND WHAT 8HE

Figure 2. Garnmer Grethel

The above page (illutrator, George Cruikshank) f b m the first EngIish transIation (1823)

of Grimm tales ai i but eclipses the historical Dorothea Viehmann with a genenc,

benevolent farm granny.

Somce: Wamer, F r m the Beast to the Blonde, 190.

German variation on the salons of Paris, the pets Qemens Brentano and Annette von Droste-Hiilshoff (1797-1848) were also inviteci to stay and exchange ideas; Brentano became a pioneeriag writer of fairy tales hirnself, and Annette von bste-Hülshoff was committed to the literature of the imagination and colïected stories for the Grimms. It was she and her niends who 'discovered' Frau Viehmann and her repertory of fajr tales and recommended her to the Grimms. In Droste-Hülstioff s unfinished novel, L&itm, a fiery autobiographical account of a daughter in rebeUion against her brothers' world of conformism and unquestioned militarist hierarchy, it is striking how passionately the heroine sympathizes, indeed identifies, with the famüy's old nurse, who has since retired to a poor cottage on their estate, continually taking the part of workers on the estate against the male authorities in the household.

The ORmm Brothers were building on the group's fervent interest in retrieving a vemacular, traditionai, national literatm, and had undertaken the patriotic &of recording local tales, in Low German dialects when the occasion arose, without the customary scholars' prejudice against the 'vulgar.' But they did not m a . the countryside themselves, gleaning stories. Frau Viehmann travelled to Kassel, to visit the brothers in their study in the city. They also gathered tales h m their own Unmediate family members, as weii as fkom niends Like Droste-Hülshoff, many of whom were in touch with French influences. Though the stones are unquestionably traditional, they are not quite as homespun-or as mstically Iowbom-as the brothers claimed. (Wamer, BtB 19 1 - 192)

Once the Grimms had collected their taies, they combined variants and edited awkward

language. As the emerging bourgeoisie class grew throughout Europe, however, its

moraIity based on "order, discipiine, industry, modesty, clcanliness" (Zipes, BMS 12)

caused distrust of f e tale wonders and fantasy. In consequence, sanitizing texts to fit

with middle-class morality fkquently involved making revisions to pmject a particularly

Protestant brand of paîriarchal ideology (see my section BE FRUITFüL AND

MULTIPLY). Ruth Bottigheimer looks at three editions of the Grimms' uCiderella,"

and analyzes the fkequency of women and men's speech. See Table 1 on page 14.

Table 1

S-h Freauencv (Direct and Indirect) in Three Editions of "Cinderelia" (Grimm)

-

Source: Bottigheimer, Grimms' Bod Girls and Bold Boys 59.

The fkequency of women's speech consistently declines, while the opposite holds tnie for

men's speech. This is particularly ironic, considering how many Grimm tales were

recorded ftom a woman (Viehmann), as weli as those which came through a tradition of

French-women' s appropriation.

As the tale moved into Victonan Europe it changed even m e r . New versions

focusseci almost exclusively on an audience of children (or an audience of Protestant

parents intent on raising deferent children), and became an important element in their

sociakation. Obedience, docility and submissiveness were touted as exemplary traits.

Curiosity was punished, humility rewarded. Maria Tatar, in her book Off With Their

He*: Fuiry Tales anà the Culture of Childhood, charts this depressing trend, and

States, ''ln their best form, the folktales that entered the s p h of children's literary

culture preserved the burlesque humor of the original taies even as they taught lessons; in

their worst, they promoted a pedagogy of feat and terroi' (Tatar, OWTH 39). Jack Zipes

discusses reasons for the shift of the fairy tale into children's litetature by itlldyzing the

rise of capitalism.

The emphasis on play, alternative forms of living, pmsiung Qeams and

1

Good GirWGood WomedHelpers of Boih L

Bad GirldBad Women

Men

1812

25

20

9

1819

12

13

15

1857

11

12

16

daydrearns, utperimentation, striving for the golden age . . . challenged the rationalistic purpose and regimentation of life to produce for profit and expansion of capitalist industry. . . . Either fairy taies themselves were rewritten and watered down with moralistic endings, or they began to serve a compensatory cultural fhction. . . . [Tlhe tremendous iocrease in the regdation of daily life as a result of capitaiist rationalization began to atomize and alienate people to such an intense degree that amusement in the sense of distraction had to be promoted to alleviate the tensions at work and in the home. (Zipes, BMS 14)

Zipes goes into a much mon detailed anaiysis of the faky tale's role in the culture

industry in his book Breaking the Magic Spell. Part of his analysis involves a discussion

of the commodification of fantasy 'Tor increased production and pmfit" (Zipes, BMS 14).

He States that the difference between movieltelevision fairy tales and earlier folk tales is

based on their reception:

Whemas the original folk tale was cultivated by a narrator Md the audience to clarify and interpret phenomena in a way that would strengthen meaninghil social bonds, the narrative perspective of a mass- mediated fairy tale has endeavoured to endow reality with a total meaning except that the totality has assumed totalitarian shapes and hues because the narrative voice is no longer responsive to an active audience but manipulates it according to the vested interests of the statc and private indu-. (Zipes, BMS 17)

Zipes is careful to note, however, that even mas-mediated fairy tales can carry liberating

messages (Zipes, BMS 18). He indicates that many fairy tales "raise the question of

individual autonomy versus state domination, creativity verms repression, and just the

raising of this question is enough to stimulate critical and fÎee thinking" (Zipes, BMS 18).

It is in more ment years, however, that Zipes look at fairy tales with a feminist

perspective (Don 't Bet on the Prince, îïte Triclk and Tribulations of Red R e g Hood);

rnuch of his eariier scholarship (such as Breakhg the Magie Spell) focuses exclusively on

an anaiysis of socio-economic forces. With this shift in perspective, tipes' analyses of

fairy tales kcome more cynicai.

While this thesis is undeniably critical of fairy tales and their sexist messages,

there are many tales, past and ment, that inscribe women, and other rnarginalized

figures, with power and value. For example, while 1 discuss the issue of domestic labour

in my section DIRT (which focuses on the invisibility of servants), there is a story cailed

"DufQ and the Devil" (a variant of 'Xumpeistiltskin") in The Maid of the North

(Johnston Phelps, ed. & comp.) whete a housekeeper eludes housework by outsmarting a

devil. In T h e Story of the Eldest Princess" (A.S. Byatt in Zipes, ed. The Outspoken

Princess and Gentle Knight), three sistea choose different paths than those destineci for

them according to fairy tale formula, In b%lelisan&" (E. Nesbit in Auerbach &

Knoepflmacher, eds. Forbiddcn Joumeys), a young woman's beautifil blonde hair

causes her nothing but irritation. In T h e Bnrnen Town Musicians" (Grimm), a group of

elderly, turned-out animals band together to create a new home for themselves. There

are many more examples of tales that offer emancipatory potential, and the list of writers

who use fairy tale forms for social and gender critiques includes E.T.A. H o m , Lewis

Carroll, Thackeray, Wilde, George Sand, IRX. Toikien, T.H. White, Thomas Mann,

and, more recently, Jane Yolen, Tanith Lee, Anne Sexton, and Angela Carter. To write a

more optimistic review of the fairy tale fonn would be, therefore, a thoroughiy viable

enterprise. Despite these writers' contributions to the genre, however, the Disney image

dominates. Secretaries stül congregate on Sdewalk benches absorbed in Hwlepût

Ronimices (the Rince will corne), men stiii throng to Sylvester Stallone movies (every

man can siay a dragon and get the girl), and littie mice simply will not stop sirtging in

children's movies. 1 grew up in this era of mass-mediateci fairy tales, and despite my

howledge, research, and thought on fairy tales, the image of Cinderella stiU makes me

cringe. Inverting that image, however, into a feminist who-cares-if-we-mq-Princes

narrative sirnply mates a reverse femhist "Cindereila" The basic story mains: do rhh

(be a feminist) and you will live happily ever afkr, instead of do that (marry the Rince,

become a Christian) and live happily ever after. Neither of these endings work, and 1

am interesteci in utopian possibilities which c m be achieved. Angela Carter, Anne

Sexton and Jane Yolen are thte of the few fairy tale re-writers who acknowledge the

need for alternative endings in the genre; it is in their wake that 1 present mine.

The above summary of the history of the f a j r tale serves as a backdrop for my

discussion of tales which range fkom Basile's Pentuneme to Angela Carter's The

Bloody Chamber. In most cases, 1 have attempted to situate each tale, as I discuss it,

within its socid and material conditions, however, this thesis is not intended to be a

strictly histoncal survey. Rather, it is a discussion of various simüarities and differences

between faUy taie motifs which mur across centuries and geographical boundaries. The

differences form an important aspect of my analyses, for this thesis does not endorse

psychoanalytic theories on the universality of fairy tale pattern and meanings.

Therefore, while a tale nom England may be placed beside a tale fiom Aûica, and a tale

h m Germany beside a tale h m France, this structure does not imply any fandamental

homogeneity of folk or fairy taies.

Although stmcnaiiig my discussion t o p i d y instead of geographicaliy or

chronologically (although it does sometimes work out chrmologically) involves a loss in

18

historical continuity, chronological ordering is not so straightforward as it seems. For

instance, Calvino's taies were published in 1956. He drew h m tales from many Italian

sources, including those coliected h m village storyteliers (old and young) around 1875

by Giuseppe Pitrè, "a medical doctor dedicated to the study of folklore" (Calvino, ed. &

comp. xxiï). Pitrè's is "a scholarly work, painstakingiy documented, replete with

fwmotes of 'variants and collations' and lexical comparatist notes" (Calvino, ed. Br

comp. xxii). To trace one of Calvino's tales would go as foilows: an 80-year-old village

woman teils a story to a scholar in the 1870'9, the scholar records it, changes it, and

writes out a new version. Another scholar dits the tale in the 1950's. changes it, and

writes out a new version. How would this particular tale be dated? How old is the story

when the woman h t tells it to Giuseppe Pitrè? Such questions do not imply that

chronological O & M ~ is an invalid enterprise, but they do point out its general

unreliability, especially in the case of transcribed folk tales.

If oral folk tales were printed verbatim, they would still bear the mark of their

collecter through the shape of the collection, Le., which tales were included, and why

wtre they included? The criteria I worked with in deciding upon which taies to use in

this thesis includes several factors. The first, and most important, is that the tale had to

elicit a response fiom me; nobody likes working with boring material (duUness, of

course, king in the eyes of the beholder). The second, and almost as important, is a

strong plot-dependent motif. Grimm tales fkquently meet both criteria, thus figure

prominentiy in this paper. Hans Christian Andersen's tales tend to be longer than Grimm

tales, more descriptive, and învolve many different, but not necessariiy dominating

19

motifs. As a rrsult, 1 use ody one of his tales in my anaiysis. 1 also include tales from

different corntries, periods, and especially from various feminist collections. Tales

which fall into this 1s t category include those h m The Outspoken Princess nnd The

GentZe Knight, Wonder Tales, The Muid of the North, nie Second Virago Book of Fuiry

Taies, Forbidden Joumeys, and Zïte Blootfy Chamber. Most of the feminist tales cater to

an adult audience, which suits my purpose, as this thesis is not a review of the folk and

fairy tale as children's litmanire. While 1 drew h m a broad range of taies, I by no

means came close to covering ail of the fascinating material available. There has been a

huge resurgence in fok and fairy tale scholarship; new collections of tales appear on

what seems to be a monthly basis. 1 simply could not discuss everything, and arbitmdy

stopped researching additional tales once 1 had obtained roughly twice as much material

as 1 could possibly use.

In terms of deciding which motifs to build around, 1 was heavily influenced by

Marina Wamer's book, Frorn the Beast tu the Blonde. Some of our chapters address

simüar topics, including hair, step-mothers, and old women. While I've drawn upon

Wamer's research, the tone and content of my project is interventative and auaiyticai

rather than descriptive and analytical. She M t e s (in From the Beast to the Blonde) in

traditional criticai discourse and works through a chronological review of tales, devoting

half of her book to charting, with pride, the history and d e s of women as story-teliers.

Despite Wamer's innuence, therefore, we use our motEs for radically different purposes.

The rea of my choices are based, ultimately, on other topics that appeaied to me. In

general, these topics focus on the humbling of women, women's bodies, and

marginalized women. More specifically, 1 discuss old women's bodies; old women's

roles in society; powemil, villainous women (step-mothers, witches); servants; women

transformeci into beasts; and gluttonous/desiring women. These topics only scratch the

surface of avaiIable motifs, and two sections I wrote on blindness and capes/coats were

discardeci prior to the final version of this thesis because they did not focus exclusively

on women.

The sections are arranged as foilows: there are six critical commentary sections

and three ''tales." A tale follows every two critical commentary sections, and a general

conclusion ends the thesis. The first two sections deal with women's bodies. The story

that follows mocks faj. tale motifs in generai. The second block of critical commentary

addresses the idvisibility and apprehension of women's bodies, especialIy in their roles

as domestic labourers. A second piece of fiction, which harshiy enacts domestic labour

(among other motifs), cornes next. In the final block of commentary, 1 analyze women

as objects of desire!, as weli as the objects of women's desire. A last story rounds off the

triad and embodies elements h m the preceding sections. (AU of the sections ovdap to

some degree.) The conclusion is a semi-nctionai drama of fairy tale critics meeting

together in an ivory tower. This section is a tongue-in-cheek tribute to the many

wonderfüi, and some not-so-wonderhil, critics I have "met" through my reseatch.

The opening section, THE TOOTH FAZRY, compares the treatment of older and

younger women's bodies in fairy tale literature. Teeth are discussed as a syrnbol of

fertility and youth, therefore the toothless or gat-toothed '?mg,'' a woman who has aged

past the rde of child-bearer, has no purpose in a patriarchai society. Her body thus

21

becomes a target of ridicule and violence, especially if she takes pains to retain a role of

value (youth) by forestalhg, or reversing, the effects of aging. Mouths figure in this

discussion as hollow organs for the containment of teeth (the phallic reference is not

intended to be subtle).

HAIR continues the topic of marginalized older women and their roles in society

through an analysis of hair as a symbol of youth and fertility. The witch in "Rapunzel"

forms a central figure in this analysis. Hair is also looked at, in ternis of younger

women, in two connadictory aspects presented in fairy tales: it represents both virtue and

lasciviousness. As a symbol of innocence and youth, hair (especiaily blonde hair) signais

the virtue of its origin; but that same symbol of innocence and youth can prove

imsistible to male adxnirers. Several interventative pieces work against these impossible

characterizations.

PIECES OF TALE is a short story which mocks fa* tale conventions. Instead

of focussing on Kings and Queens, this text revolves around a middleclass f d y (The

Buicks) who live in the suburbs. The only blonde in the story is young prostitute named

Sherri (parallelled in age, among other things, with the '%eroînen); the Pnncess-figure is

calleci Clarissa (nicknamed Caustica by the neighbours); and the PMce is an egotistical,

semi-libed-new-age-hud-(bad) guitar player ~lamed Kasey. V i e , virginity, love and

innocence are irrrlevant in the Buicks' world (dead babies, as Marti. Amis would say),

and ail of the characters ose each 0 t h explicitly to filrther their own interests.

LOOKING GLASSES deaIs with women owning the gaze of their own self-

apprehension (Iookulg into mimors). 1 use half of this section to discuss Gilbert and

Guba.' s chapter, 'The Queen's Looking Glas," in their book The Madwoman in the

Anie, and the other half to look at the role of minors in several modern feminist f a j r

tales. The commodification of women f o m a significant part of my analysis in th is

section, as does my exploration of the subtle, well-intentioned, but ultimately

undermining feminist representations of women's gaze in the modem tales. An

exception in this section, as most other contexts, is a tale by Angela Carter.

The next section, DIRT, looks at issues of social class and domestic labour

through an analysis of noblewomen reduced to servanthood (i.e., Snow White,

Cinderella). While these characters perform intense and heavy housework, their forays

into domesticity end, quickly, with the reward of a higher social position. Many of the

stories detailing these women's trials make two points very clear: fht , a noblewoman

c m work better than anyone; second, it is a mgedy if she is forced to prove it. In the

meantirne, the "reai" people who belong with the pots and pans are erased fkom the

narrative tbrough the wonders of magic (work is simply done by invisible people) or

thmugh a strangely rrcumnt motif in fairy tales: disembodied ha&.

ENCHANTMENT, a short story, foilows DIRT. It is a harsh, no-holds-bd

exploration of masochistic pleasure and desire. The story is loosely structureci upon

"Snow White," however, elements h m "Bluebeardo) "Cinderella" and "Sleeping

Beauty" also figure. DIRT takes place in the timeless never-never land of a drug house

run by petty thieves, and employs motifs discussed thughout thîs paper (mirrom, hair,

bestiality, teeth, desire). The Snow White figure, Crystd, is perversely controUing,

obsessed with cleaning, and insatiably amacted to Arthur (the Rince). LiLe Carter's

23

heroîne in 'The Bloociy Chamber," Crystal is forced to confront the consequences of her

desire.

The next section, BESTIALïiY AND UGLY PEOPLE, discusses tales where

men fa in love with femaies who have been transformed into animals or ugly women.

In most of the examples 1 cite, such transformations take place because women are wilful

andor opinionated. Stcipped of their power in a patriarchal society (their beauty), these

women become margiaaiized to the edges-or past the edges-of humanity. Grateful for

men's attentions, despite the fernales' beastly appearances, these women-animals behave

with docility and deference. Humbling the lion is a powemil aphrodisiac.

BE FRüITFüL AND MULTLPLY is the 1st piece of critical commentary. This

section brings us full-circle from THE TOOTH FAIRY by focussing upon women's

mouths, speech and the wühil use of their own bodies. Desire for M t symbolizes sexuai

desire; getting satisfaction for either results in expulsion h m the Garden of Eden. Both

desires result in punislunent related to child-birth, often through the damning of future

generations. Women's de-, whatever the manifestation, is discussed in its presentation

as 4nN, unnatural, and warranting restriction.

PATRMONY, a final short story, cornes next This wct, Wre the other stories,

uses various motifs and looks at methods through which women obtain power in

patriarchai societies. In this story, Antoinetta, the Prhcess, appropriates her father's

strategies to maintain her own power. Like the other two protagonists, Ciarissa and

Crystal (PlECES OF TALE and ENCHANTMENT), Antoinetta must deal with the

conseqiiences of her actions. aü three stories, 1 address the processes protagonists

24

go through on their joumeys towards claiming and exercising power. Acknowledging

the disadvanîages-and sometllnes sabstantial disadvantages, at bat-of occupying

feminst spaces, they initially decide to remain in the5 situations and exploit the limiteci

powers and pleasures available to them. When the status quo becomes intolerable,

however, each character decides to make changes.

The Iast section, A FICTO-CRITICAL CONCLUSION, highlights favourite

critical "bloopers" collected throughont my research. While none of the cxitics and

writers are named in this mock conference setting, the citations make identities fairly

clear. 1 include this section to offer a rebuttal to the criticai discourse of this

INTRODUCTION, as well as destabilize the authoritative and elitist 'Knal word" of uny

discourse, or the class it genedy represents.

To end this introâuction, 1 would like to offer some of my thoughts on the

practice of writing feminist fairy tales. First off, it is much more diacult than 1

expected. Many elements of the genre seem to be part of a linear plot that follows the

blueprint: Rince courts Rincess, Rince performs feats of daring, Prince marries

Rincess, ihey al l live happily ever a f h . This narrative does not bend easily to

sigaincant changes such as the absence of marriage or the absence of eternal bliss. Aiso,

despite the fact that tales were originsiuy used to "produce a version which would relate

to the social conditions of the the" (Zipes, Breaking the Magic Spe1128). the most

famous tales remain set in an escapisf and now predominately irrelevant, feudal world of

Kings and Queens. While nauseating attempts to "rnodernize" the seûing, such as the

horrible film Ptetty Wommr, beng the fairy taie into the twentieth centmy, its basic

25

structure remains Uitrinsically demeaning to women. Older women have very few places

in the fairy tale outside of cameos as mothers or d e s as villainous hags. Heroines are

supposed to be innocent, humble, sympathetic, stunningly gorgeous beacons of virtue,

and Princes and Kings are required to display intefity, courage and cash. Endiags

should end happily. From the following chapters it wiu become apparent that 1 subvert

many of these conventions, and in doing so, I m the risk of distorthg the f a . tale

structure past recognition. At the same tirne, my work faiis into some of the traps 1

criticize. There are few strong older-women figures in the centrai texts. Protagonists are

good-looking and generally young. Only one of the "Prllicess" figures expresses sexual

desire, and hers is a masochistic desire.

Although 1 have not eluded al1 of the sexist conventions of fairy tale discourse, 1

do present three strong protagonists who are not victims. Even the mother figures,

despite their minor roles, are not victims; these women rebel against constncting noms,

but th& rebellions are based on options limited by sociocconomic and ducational

opportunities. In the end, however, my stories gestrin towards the faturc by focussing on

younger women and how they crack open the enchantments constricting their

possibilities. As Zipes writes: ''Enchantment = petrification. Breaking the speil=

emancipation" (Zipes, "Changing Function" 12). A question each text must grapple with

is, what is the nature of that emancipation?

THE TOOTH FAIRY

A child nudges a loose tooth with her tongue. Strains the tooth against its root,

feels its sharp derside, an accompanying warm metallic taste. Settles the tooth bock

into place, pushes it down hard, cuning Vuo gwr Blood und the feeling of popcom

lodgmg up beside a m h r , like the sensation o f ~ g e m a i l s digging into swollen

mosquito-bite lumps. Jiggles the tooth with thuntb and index finger. More blood, and

the raw smothess of exposedflesh on tip of tongue; open, teder space. Tou sofr,

oyster imàües, sensitive. She pushes the tooth bock again, feels it catch on the root.

Closes her eyes, pauses, maps it. S u c h blaod from the punctwe, examines the tooth,

wtaps it in a Kleenex HoldF it in herfist till bedtime, sleeps with clenched hand d e r

pillow.

Thar should be worth ut least ten buch, she thinks. It hurt.

In the beginniag, there was a twth. A tiny, pearly white tooth unblemished by

coffee, cigarettes, mi wine, or ballpoints exploding while king thoughtfully sucked

Even before candy and ice m a m and fists in the mouth.

One day the tiny tooth sticks out of a gum and rnakes a girl scream like heil al I

day and night long. Wah wah wah. Shut the fpck up, the parent uiinks, but says Oh poor

baby, Hate to see her s&a, Ail part of growing up, Pwr baby. The kid touches the

tooth with her fingers, tongue, uses it to chew on her cri% bars. Som forgets its novelty

27

after a whole crowd of other teeth sprout through her gums, fill up her smooth mouth.

Cavernous softness is a thing of the pst; a minefield of spilry hard things now obsmict

the mouth's e n m . Utilitarian objects, those teeth, even multi-purpose. See teeth

strain against a piece of beef jerlcy. See teeth rip open plastic bags. @ont do that-youll

wreck your teeth.) See teeth contribute, oh so cleverly, to the most god-awful, asinine

expressions a face is capable of offering. (Who dwsn't look stupid with hidher iips

parted?) Ladies dont show their teeth!

What else can the littie buggers do? Bite. chew, grit, grind, smile. And the

whole world smiles with you.

The politics of teeth.

First the infant, gummy and mulling and puking; then the school girl, with satchel

and shining morning smile; then the sexuaily appealing adolescent, who'd better l e m

when NOT to use her teeth in one heli of a hurry if she knows what's g d for her; then

the hip-spread woman with too much attitude and not enough srniles (Pourquoi-êtes vous

si triste?'). Then the gat-toothed hag with saggy tits who staggers d o m deys and grllis

demented, gummy gins over a brown-paper-bagged mickey of gin. Unless, of course,

she has a good dental plan or an excellent denturist. Which, for many years, has meant a

husband.

Working badrwards.

Gat-toothed. An indisputable aspect of hag-ness. Long, beaky nose, couple of

'Recuuent lm h m Good Mummg, Miihight by Jean Rhys. Narrator is 45-ish-year- old WOI.MIl.

weil-placed warts, thinning, dishevelled hair, baggy, dirty clothes, drooping skin, but4

tits, thighs, trpper a m , neck, jowls, eye-tissue, himmy. And no teeth. Or close to none;

the few that remain are yellowed and mtting. Decay. Dirt. Disease. Not to mention

really bad breath.

Marina Warner, in F m the Beast to the Bhnde (149), mentions Il Pentîamerone,

a collection of fifty tales by Giambattista Basile. Basile's collection starts with a story

about a tw-sad Rincess. The Rincess's daddy, practical joker and huge fan of Smpede

Wresthg, cornes to her rescue by having oil dumped around the well of the market

square. An old woman arrives to get some water, keeps slipping. A young boy hucks a

Stone at her ceramic vesse1 and breaks it. She =es into a rage, falls flat on her ass,

flashes her privates (see Figure 3 on page 29 for an example of how to deal with a

woman's rage). Lo and behold, the Princess gets the giggles, shows her teeth. 1s there

anything funnier than an older woman's genitals?

How did the S p h w phrase the riddle? What female animal waks on four, two

and t h e legs? The baby, woman, and old lady with cane? TaLe away the cane, and if

the old lady isn't flat on her face with interna1 haemorrhaging and busted hips, we're back

to a social designation of four legs. Baby bunting-in pink-crawls fidl circle.

Maria Tatar, in her book Qf With Their Headr!: Fairy Tales and the Culiure of

ChiIdhood9 discusses parallels in didacticism towards chiidrrn and women. She wrîtes of

children:

The very genre "cautionary taie,'' while o k n warning of quite legitirnate dangers, usually really aims to &ter children from being tw inquititiive about the world they inhabit and deviating in any way from behavioral n o m . Using intimidation, cautionary taies persuade children a o k y the

Figure 3. Cutting Off a Woman's Rage.

Source: picture and caption h m Tatar, ûf Wirh mir Heads!, 1 17.

(Iüustrator: Ludwig Richter, Tage R o ~ s ~ in Drutirches Mdrchenbiach, 1857. Rivate

coUection.)

laws set down by parental authority, celebrating docility and confodty while discouraging cuiosity and willfulness. flatar 30)

Like children, women must never deviate h m submissive or docile behaviour.

Arrogance, haughtiness, and pride-whatever the name, it nuis in the blood of most royal faky-tale women and motivates a plot that relentlessly degrades women and declares them to be social rnisfits und they have positioned themselves as wives in subordinate roles to husbands. (Tatar 105)

At least the women whom Tatar refers to above have legitimate roles-as subordinate

wives, mind you-and if wives get too mouthy, there's a solution for that (see Figure 4 on

page 31). Post-tooth females are merely witches or hags and represent the redundancy of

post-menopausal femaieness. Marina Warner writes:

Desire in a woman who cannot justify it by the grace of fecundity becomes excessive and unnaturai; her lust ipso facto a mark of perverse insatiability. But the allegorical hag's sins are not bodied forth only by the impaixments and disfigurements of age, the sagging breasts and scrawny genitals. . . . A constant tendency inspires the image of transgressions as sins of her mouth: especiaüy the noisy evils of her tongue. (Wamer, BtB 47)

An outrage to femininty, the hag is often punishable, and punished, merely for existing.

Her body, unlike old men's bodies, is a site of homr, revulsion and decadence.

In a novel by Phüip Roth caiied The Professor of Desire, an academic traces the

details of Franz Katka's life. He dreams of visiting an old woman, nearly eighty, who

used to be Kafka's whore. Her name, not surprisingiy, is Eva The academic pays her

for information about Kaflra's sexuai habits. She responds to his questions promptly and

offers, for an additional fee, to let him see her genitais:

Despite her arthitic han& Eva is able on her own to tug her h s s up tmtil it is bunchd in her lap. Herbie, however, has to hold her amund with one arm, shih her on her buttocks, and draw down h a mderpants for

Figure 4. 1 Will Malce You G d

Source: picture and caption h m Warner, From the Beast tu the Blonde. 28.

her. I reluctantly help by steadying the rocking chair. Accordioned kidskin belly, bare Mned shanks, and, astonishingly, a

tx5angula.r black patch, pasted on like a mustache. 1 tïnd myself rather doubting the authenticity of the pubic hair.

"She would like to how,'' says Herbie, "if the gentleman wodd care to touch it."

"And how much does that go for?" Herbie repeats my question in Czech. Then to me, with a courtly bow,

"Her treat." 6'ThankS, no." But again she assures the gentleman that it wiii cost him nothing.

Again the gentleman courteously declines. Now Eva srniles-between her partecl lips, her tongue, stiU red. The

pulp of the fruit, still red! [The two men argue.] ...**......... ..~...........*.......*......**.................*..................*..........................*

Here Herbie approaches the old woman. her face now sadly tear- streaked, and cupping his fingers as though to catch the trickle of a stnarn, he places his han& between her bare legs.

"Coo,'' she gurgies, "Cho. COO.'? And closing her blue eyes, she nibs her cheek against Herbie's shoulder. The tip of her tongue I see protruding fkom her mouth. The pulp of the Mt, still red. (Roth 192-193)

The protagonist recoils from an aging female body; in the context of the novel as a

whole. however, Roth self-consciously uses biblical allusions to illustrate his

protagonist's depravity and sexual neurosis. Fajr tales take no sach meta-narrative

position in their contemptuous portraya1 of older women's bodies. In Qf With Their

Heads!, Tatar quotes a story fkom Basile's Penfzmerone called "The Old Woman Who

Was Skinned." In this tale, an old woman believes shell be rejuvenated to youthful

beauty if her skin is peeled away. Plastic surgery reveais its ongin.

He set her on a stool and began to hack away at the old badr, which drided and dnpped blood; every now and again, as if he were only shaving her, she firmly repeated, 'Ti faut soanrir pour etre belle." He continued to send her to desmiction, and she went on with the same song, and between hem they kept up a countefpoint to the lutes of her body till he reached her navel. There, h a smngth and blood abandonhg her, she gave out a strong cannoIlSide of deparme and by her mishap proved the

truth of Samazaro's verse: Envy, my son, destroys itserf. (Tatar 166)

In another tale quoted by Tatar, a blacksmith witnesses an old man W o n n e d into a

youth by God and Saint Peter. He figures, for no apparent reason, that heu try the same

experiment on his mother-in-Iaw at home:

So the blacksmith made a big fire and shoved the old woman into the forge. She wriggled this way and that and cried bloody murder.

"Sit still! Why are you crying and jumping around? 1 haven't pumped the beIlows enough yet."

Upon saying this, he pumped the beiiows again until ai i her rags caught b. The old woman would not stop shneking, and the blacksmith thought, This isnt working out quite right. So he pded her out and threw her into the water tub. Then she scrramed so loudiy that the blacksmith's M e and daughter-in-law heard it upstairs in the house. They both ran downstairs and saw the old woman, who was lying doubled-up in pain and howling and groaning. Her wrinkled and shnvelled face had lost its shape. (Tatar 167)

These excerpts express the same message through different points of view: old women

have no right to be women and to be old (see Figure 5 on page 34). For although

"Kafka's whorr" in Roth's novel retains her red tongue and sparkling blue eyes, her

sexuality is presented as inappropriate, repulsive and pathetic. In "The Old Woman Who

Was Skinned," a woman's despration to re-gain youthful beauty is not only pathetic, it's

morally offensive to the narrator (mail the "moral"-Ewy, my son, destroys itsev (Tatar

166)). Tatar comments on t&is barbaric tale in more detail:

the old woman's sister uses deceit to compte with young girls and is rewarded with the admiration and love of a young king. Only the sister who goes without the benefit of supernanual intemention h m seven fairies courts '%et own downfall." No matter how vigorously the t de r insists on the skinnhg as nothing but the occasion for an important lesson, it quickly becornes eviàent that the description of the act has no other pmpose than to mPke fan of an old woman's body and her futile attempt to revitalize it (Tatar 166)

Figure 5. The Mü1 for Oid Wives.

Source: p i c m and caption h m Wamer, Front the Beust to the Blonde, 43.

Tatar concludes that the torture of older women (whom she usually designates as

matemal) is based on men's jealousy of women because they cannot give birth-care for a

Little Frankemtein with that analysis?

While Tatar's analysis seems plausible, it does not engage with the helplessness

and economic dependence of older women. This is an issue Marina Wmer takes up in a

chapter called "Wicked Stepmothers" in her book From the Beast tu the Blonde. Single

women (widows and never-manied) over fifty compriseci 34% of the population in

France in 1851 (Warner, BtB BO), and those lucky enough to have children were at the

mercy of the household's male breadwinner (Warner, BtB 238). Memkrs of the latter

category wem vuinerable in several respects. For one, if an older mother lived with her

adult daughter, she could k turned out if her daughter died in childbirth (and many

wornen did die in childbirth). If she wasn't tunieci out, she could be faced with a son-in-

Iaw's remarriage, second mother-in-law, and so on and so on. The complications are

obvious, and in light of these considerations, an old woman's attempt to assert a position

of value (beauty) in a patriarchal society is more complicated than rnere vanity: it's a

refirsal to humbly and grateNly chew the few mimbs-if any-thrown to her by those

she depends upon. As we aU how, however, women who assert themselves break

patriarchal d e s , and de-breakers ment punishrnent. In the case of old women vying

for power, that punishment reinforces their insignificance by completely erasing them.

For example, while the tale about the blacksmith melting d o m his mother-in-law

doesn't exady blame the old woman for her torture, it doesn't blame the blacksmith

either. Cast es a buffmn, he fulfills the role of precocious child instead of victimizer.

36

"Innocently" duplicating what he's seen to be a successful expiment, the blacksmith's

naivety is "laughable." It's interesting to no&, however, that it's a man at the beginning

of the tale who is successfully rejuvenated. God and Saint Peter must have bought him a

new sports car and a membership in a hair replacement chic. Hmmm. The creepiest

part of the story is that a woman is almost killed because of the way a man th* she

should look; uniike "The Old Woman Who Was Skinned," this old wornan has nothing

to do with her supposed rejuvenation. In the long run, however, both women share the

same fate: like their teeth, their faces are erased.

Working forwards.

Pearls and pearly whites. Tiny hard objects embedded in velvety moisture,

envelopeà, in the center, shining jewels on tasseiled cushions. Privileged as the prizes in

disposable packing, individual items in diluted viscosity. Their dirt, the slimy muscle,

exists only as process of birthuig and nutue.

Why do children get paid for their teeth?

A kid-sked ivory nestled under the pillow and Tierbell's expected to drop

payment in the wee homs. As if she doesn't need her sleep or something, doesn't have to

get up in the rnorning, put on her mascara, go to work liLe everyone else. 1s this a rite-

of-passage metaphor? A nice, hard, defloration symbol?

h "The Little Mermaid" by Haus Christian Andersen, the mermaid Queen wears

twelve oysters on her tail as a sign of her noble birth. When the litîie mennaid reaches

puôerty, "the old queen had eight oysters SQpeeze themsclves tightly to the princes' tail

to show her high rat&. / 'It hmts so much!' said the little mermaid. / 'Yes, you must

suffer a bit to look pretty !' said the old queen" (Andersen in Meek, eds. 257).

"It only hurts atfirst, " whispers some govemess in the darkness. '"n itll be

less pauiful And it is, you know, " she lowers her voice, "your duty to your husbanrl, "

She takes a drag of her cigarette, throws back a shot of scotch. "And ifnot, my sweet

young girl, herc's a nurgic potion passed down through genemtions. " H a d i her a boxed

tube of &Y.

Brush brush brush those pearly whites mil they gleam like star light star bright.

No plaque for this girl; she buys Pearl Drops Twth Polish and that fancy ribbon-

coloured twthpaste you can see through a plastic tuk. Check-ups once a year, first her

dad then her husband has her iaken care of on his dental plan. There's no doubt that this

girl's teeth are upper-middle-class teeth, altogether ferniaine, straight, perfectly rwided

and parallel. She entes the Mrs. Teeth Beauty Pageant and smiles with those lovely

white teeth. teeth so white and clean they match her conscience, complexion,

neighbourhood and volunteer office job where she licks the white envelopes that cany

out fund-raising fom lettes.

Backstage, at the pageant, the coaching: d e , smile, srnile, but her lips crack

fÎom dryness. No problem, m n s a sponsor, just coat your teeth with a nice layer of

Vaseline. Makes those lips slip and slide effortlessly. Show off the prettiest li#Ie teeth

in the prettiest, therefore silent, iittIe mouth. Rememkr, the linle mermaid gives up her

tongue, no doubt to the Prince's chagrin, in order to become haman. Too bad she

couldn't have just had her vocal cor& removeci; other parts of her may stiu have smelt

like fish.

In the early, childbearing years of her marriage, Mrs. Teeth wins the contest; she

utters not one single woni past koo-che-koo-che-koo. Aimost as clever as that

persevering youngster in the tale, "The Swans:' Mutter not a word, dearest girl. while

you mutilate your han& sewing magic cloaks, or your brothers will never be fned from

their enchantment as swans. Language küled the cat, or was that curiosity? And if

you're planning to be satisfied, you'd better turn the other cbeek. Into your pillow, that

is, your nice feather pillow.

No big mouths, parted lips, no big square teeth. A nice girl doem't do it

willingly. But do it she must. Why else would she have such stretchable organs, ones

that expand accordhg ta the use her orner@) puts them to?

"Oh, Grandmother, what big ears you have got," she said. 'The better to hear with, my dear." "Gmdmother, what big eyes you have got." "The better to see with, my dear." "What big hands you have go& Grandmother." ' n i e better to catch hold of you with, my dear." "But grandmother. what big teeth you have got" "The better to eat you with, my dear." Hardly had the Wolf said this, than he made a spring out of bec& and

devoured poor littie Red Riding H d @y's aiready in his aimmy]. When the Wolf had satisned himself, he went back to bed and he was swn snoring Ioudly. (Grimm in Shapiro, ed. 129)

Warner's motif (From the Beart to the Blonde): when the woIf gobbles lil' red we get an

image of confinement. Finally, W y , the women are shut up for good. (But not reaily,

Red's too young to need to be shut up yet; she hasn't k e n used, not properly that is.

And heu, who cans about granny? She's a non-producer anyway.) Warm and snugly,

nuo sausages in animal membrane. Intact of course, because the hwtsman later cuts

them out of their wrappings safe and whole, no teeth marks visiile.

Nope, it's the woifthat's satisfied, but isn't that typical? Eats, mils over, falls

asleep, starts snoring. Except in Carter's version, Red doesn't need to be rescued. She

burns the cape herseif, crawls into bed, kisses the wolf.

What big teeth you have! She saw how his jaw began to slaver. . . but the wise child never

flinched, even when he answered: Ali the better to eat you with. The girl burst out laughing; she knew she was nobody's meat. She

laughed at him hill in the face, she ripped off his shirt for him and flmg it into the fire. . . .

Carnivore incarnate, only immaculate flesh appeases him. (Carter, Thr Bloody Chamber 1 18)

Irnmaculate flesh gets the ticket in this and a l l the other stories in Carter's The Bloudy

Chaniber. While Carter's later novels shift to mature women protagonists (i.e., Dora and

Nom in Wise Children are senior citizens), in nie Bloody CIramber the vir@ is stiU the

symbol of desirability. For although Red and granny end up in the same wolfs tummy,

Carter's granny doesn't get out. Instead, her finger-wagging bones ratîle disappmvingly

at the carnal goings-on between wolf and Red. Gnui is digested without fûrther ado;

wolf doesn't even use his teeth.

In dl versions of Red and the Wolf, Red is the image of desire. In order to get to

her, however, Granny must be removed. Resistance warrants torture, pain and death.

And teeth? Gran's have worn into stubs, faen out, vanished. Lîke her body, her face,

her.

A woman who loves a woman is forever young. The mentor and the student feed off each other. Many a girl had an old aunt who locked her in the study to keep the boys away. They wouid play rummy and lie on the couch and touch and touch. Old breast against young breast . . .

Let your dress fail d o m your shoulder, corne touch a copy of you for 1 am at the mercy of min, for 1 have left the three Christs of Ypsilanti, for 1 have left the long naps of AM Arbor and the church spires have nuiied to stumps. The sea bangs into my cloister for the young politicians are dying, are dying so hold me, my young dear, hold me . . . The yeIiow rose will nim to cinder and New York City wiü fdl in before we are done so hold me, my young dear, hold me. Put your pale arms arowKL my neck. Let me hold your heart like a flower lest it b1mm and coilapse. Give me your sicin as sheer as a cobweb, let me open it up and listen in and scoop out the àadc. Give me yoar nether iïps

Figure 6. Rapunzel.

Illustration by Barbara Swan to Anne Sexton's poem "RapuxszeI."

Source: Sexton, TrLlllSfon~tioions, 36-37.

ail pufQ with their art and 1 will give you angel fire in return. We are two clouds giistening in the bottIe glass. We are two birds washing in the samc mirror. We were fair game but we have kept out of the cesspool. We are strong. We are the good ones. Do not discover us for we lie together a l l in P e n like pond weeds. Hold me, my young dear, hold me.

They touch their delicate watches one at a t h e . They dance to the lute two at a time. They are tender as bog moss. They play mother-medo aU day. A woman who loves a woman is forever young.

[goes through story of Prince meeting Rapunzel]

me Prince and Rapunzel] lived bappily as you might expect proving that mother&o can be outgrown, just as the fish on Frïday, just as a tricycle. The world. Som Say, is made up of couples. A rose must have a stem.

As for Mother Gothel, her heart shraaL to the size of a pin, never again to Say: Hold me, my young dear,

hold me, aud only as she dreamt of the yellow ha- . did moonlight sift into her mouth. (Opening and endhg paragraphs to 'Xapunzel" by Ann Sexton, Trmrsformutions 35-42)

The traditional Grimm version of "Rapunzel" starts with a pregnant wife who

craves rapunzels, a husband who gets caught stealing them h m a witch's garden, and

the witch's demand, in recompense, for the couple's mon-to-be-bom child. The parents

hand over their infant daughter once she's born.

When the girl, named Rapunzl, tirms twelve, the witch seals her in a tower. The

tower has no doors, and only one window, so when the witch visits, she climbs up her

young charge's golden tresses. (Hadn't anyone invented the ladder?) One day a Rince

happens to wander by the tower, watches the witch climb up Rapunzel's hair, and

figures, hey, I'm a lot younger than that witch. 1 should be able to get up in a flash. He

does. And does again. (And we ail lmow what happens to unchaperond wgins.) When

the witch fin& out about the young couple's goings-on, she banishes the âeflowered

captive to an abandoned furest place. The Rince, upon discovering his sweetheart's fate,

throws himself out of the tower in a haif-baked siiicide attempt His gesture doesn't

work; he only ends up poking out his eyes on a patch of nasty brambles. Meanwhile, the

witch disappears, Rapunzel gives biah to a set of twins, and the blind Rince just

happens, one day, to wan&r into his sweetie's forest hideaway. She restons his vision

and they Iive happily for a long tirne.

There's a lot happening in this famous tale: a nice little moral about the

consequences of a womaa's gluüony (see section BE FRUlTFUL AND MULTIPLY); a

love-conquers-all theme; hair as a sign of fertility and movement; and the subtext of a

young woman's rite-of-passage hto matnrity. And maturity in this tale, as many others,

is spelIed with a capital S for sperm donor, and capital C for children. For although we

find out the circumstances of Rapunzel's birth, the next twelve years of her Me are

curiously absent h m the narrative. Her story realiy begins once a lover climbs up her

golden ladder. Alone or with the old witch, the girl's world lies outsde the narrative and

exists, knignly, in the womb-like structure of an all-female, one-windowed, no-dooreci

tower.

Despite being segregated from comniunity (nad: men) prior to her meeting with

Mr. Rince, there is no information to suggest that Rapunzel suffers deprivation in any

sense. The witch does not dislike her, abuse her, or show any hostüity towards her. And

with a witch for a guardian, it could have been one magic trick a k r another: cmdy for

breakfast, lunch and dimer, game tirne with pink alligators and dancing bears. We aren't

told But we are told that Rapunzel's h t reaction to the Rince is fear--which she

overcomes, immediately, because the feiiow's not bad-looking aad speaks kindly (see

Figure 7 on page 45). Rediy? A kid grows up with a witch, lives in a tower, sees no one

except for an old woman, takes one look at her very first male and thinks, Knda cute.

Yeah, I c o u ~ c k him, because, Rapunzel rationalizes, '"He'li love me beaet than old

Mother Gothel"' (Grimm in Meek, eds. 39). Love me? What's that supposeci to mean?

Isn't this story about an evil witch, an innocent girl mîserably hidden away b m the

world, and truc love conquering loneliness and injustice? A story where the audience

cheers for RapunzeI's escape? Where the Prince is the hem who h i t e s a sequestered

Figure 7. Rapunzel.

Note the expression on Rapunzel's face-she cenainly doem't appear to be an.aid Nor

does she look Like a twelve-year-old girl.

Source: Wamer, Frorn the Beast to the B W e , 375. (Illustrator, HJ. Ford, in Andrew

Lang, The Red F m Book, London, 1890.)

heroine? If so, how can the witch lovc her '>risoner"?

However, the story can also be read as a tale about the witch's love for her

adopted daughter, which is how Anne Sexton rewrites the taie in her book of poems,

Traifomtiom ( s a beginning of this section). For what do we lmow of the witch?

And what do witches npnsent in other fairy tales? Why do they so often bring about

significant changes to fajr tale plots? How does their function, in general, create

meaning in specificity? Weil, we do know that this witch is aione, old, and that she

desires a child to nurture and protect. Like other witches, she occupies a position outside

of society and f d y , not unlike the place of nanny, governess, oId wornan or hag, and

once this witch obfains her charge, she cares for Rapunzel diligently-far much more

diligentiy than the biologicai parents (a pair who simply acquiesce to a stranger's demand

for their first-boni child. No arguments, tears, lamentations; bey just hand over their

daughter and vanish h m the narrative). Once the witch controls Rapunzel, she fights to

keep her safe-an aggressive and representative stance of the witch figure. She hides

Rapunzel h m strangers, h m predators, h m harm and exposure. She ensures that the

only access to Rapunzel is through a secnt women's code: "'Rapunzel, Rapunzel/ Let

d o m your hair"' (Grimm in Meek, eds. 38). Whenever the witch utters this refrstin, it

means conditions are safe for receiving visitors. Rapunzel mrrts the witch anci, unlike

0 t h faKy tale hmines, she htens to and obeys this mother-figure. She does not stray

h m the path to granny's house, irritate her stepmother by being too beautifid, or sneak

off to illicît balls. RapimP1 is not sad and she d a s not nbel against h a captor or state

of captivity; hstead, she spends her &YS lwking out her one window and singing songs.

Hardy the sign of a desperate heroine requiring nscue.

In fact, Rapunzel doesn't ask to be rescued, nor does she ask for the Prince to

whisper the secret code aad trick ber into lowering her hair one night. Rapunzel hasn't

been staring at the Rince, hasn't been channed by his enchanting song, and doesn't even

know that men exist. AU she knows is that some guy shows up one night by using the

same language and route as her trustai pardian. He doesn't have his own schtick, his

own gimmick, his own merit to gain entry; he merely echoes the witch.

It's no wonder the witch is pissed when she discovers the amorous couple. She

spends how many years raising this little girl, only to have her child-naring tools

appropriated by the first stray Rince to saunter past? Who wouldn't be ticked to

discover that her innocent twelve-year-old child is king pumped by a guy whose calling

card reads imposter and cheat? To h o w that if her daughter gets pregaant she may very

LikeIy die? To realize that after ail her years of guardianship. of proven devotion and

care, that she's abandoned for someone just because he's there? One young guy who

does nothhg to recommnd him and the witch is displaced h m her community, h a

family and her role as care-@ver. Her anger codd d y translate into a nanny's lament

about her charge reaching puberty and leaving the household to enter into mamiage. It is

aiso a pretty snide commentary on the însidiousness of male the&

Unlike a nanny, however, this witch (and o k wîtch figures) has the power to

fight back against intruders. Once she l eam about the Rince's w i t s , she cuts off

Rapunzel's hair, banishes Rapu~lzeI to an isolateci forest place-perhaps another safe

place?-and stands in for the young maiden. When the Rince shows up to c a q off his

48

love, he's met with two things that send him hurtiïng out the window: an old woman and

the knowledge that his lover's gone.

So what's going on here? A little good old-fashioned revenge? A dose of

undiluteci matroniy protectiveness? Of course, but it could also be the witch's desire for

her own unfulfilled role as lover, biological mother, and wife-namely the power and

stability of a legitimate place in society. For while the witch mises a child who

successfdly enters this sphere (evenaially manies the Rince and goes home to his

kingdom), the old woman has no role other than temporary guardian. And that

temporary guardianship creates a relationship so exclusive it eludes much of the self-

consciousness, separateness and sphtered identifications necessary to interaction in

larger social networks. Being with Rapunzel, therefore, gives the witch the best of two

worlds: a place in a society through her reiationship to the girl, and undifferentiated

wholeness of self through the intense symbiosis of that bond. Eightiag against the end of

this state by holding Rapunzel's hair, however, is hopeless. For one, the Rince rejects

the witch out of hand (he clearly knows how to spot a twelve-year-old). For another,

Rapunzel c a ~ o t be returned to a state of innocence, dependence and chiidhood by

removing her golden asses; she's aiready pregnant.

Once Rapunzei enters the reaim of rnotherhood, the witch's d e becomes

redundant. One set of care-givers per narrative is the quota (note that Rapunul's

biological parents are enwd when the witch chornes the new mother-figure). We're

also left with the sense that future stories wil l be about Rapunzel's children instead of

Raptmze1. What does change. however, is that the Rince wmders lonely and weeping

for several years before reuniting with his children and their mother. He sufEers

blindness and deprivation. He is forced to prove his dedication and merit before being

ailowed the Company of a young woman who was once an old woman's charge.

What would happen if we tried a different version of the tale, one where the witch

doesn't have to vanish, where her ties to Rapmel are not severed by the girl's

pregnancy, where the witch's role in socieîy isn't based on performing nursemaid duties,

where a woman's sexuality exists despite her infertility?

The Prince climbs up Rapwel's severed hair,finrls himserffae to face with the

witch, and screamr. "Oh my Gd, this woman must be thiw!" He faints and hits the

floor. î%e witch roues him with aelling salts, h u i s hint over to an amchair, hands

him a gobler of scotch. Hk wits retum as he guk'ps dom his drUiR

The witch surveys the Prince. He 's short, a bit pudgy, anà sports an irregular

beard It sprouts in little iufts ueross his chin and spreadr into thick, bushy patches

across his checks. Quite unamactive, she decides, must be genetic. His nose is red and

his boots s t h k of fox-shit.

" Your name?"

"l'm the Prince," he says despondently, tracing, with hLF figer, the pattern on

his goblet.

"Wett, I'm the witch, bozo, but I'm also Andrea MathiIda Isadore the fourth.

What's your ruante?"

"Fred. "

Andrea pours herseif a drUik and watches Fred play with hir goblet.

"So w h t are you &hg in t h t fairy talev Fred? "

He skuns his goblet on the table, standr up. "Cut the crop, witch, where 's the

young girl?"

"Sit dom, M e boy. "

He sits back d o m

" Fred, &rIingp this attitude hos got to go. "

His eyes &rt around the room spy the window, focur on two large padlocks

securing its shutters.

"niat's right, honey, you're not going anywhere mtil I say so. " She ai les ,

pushes a bobby pin back into place, tnkes a sip of scotch. "Get comfy, sweets, we've got

things to talk about. "

"Look witch, " he sputters, "what's the point? Z've got to jump out the window,

get blinded by brambles, mid w d e r for a year before I f W Rapunzel. We 're wartng

time, let's jwt get on with the story. " He st& up agah

Andrea suunters over to young Fred, strokes htr patchwork beard with her gloved

han<L pwlcks his red nose as h r d as she c m He sits &wn.

"As I war scrying. Fred we 've got a lot to ta& &ut." She rubs her knuckles ond

settles onto the divan opposite the young Prince. "You've been bomg RapunzeL 1s that

correct?"

Fred blushesI coughs hto hLr hum& fiMIly

"And were you Usmg birth control? "

HLP bm*Uered Iwk mtswets the question.

51

"Great, that meam RapunzeZ's probably knocked up by now. " She pauses.

"Moybe the story is owr. "

"What do you rnean by that, witch? Maybe your story 's over but I'm only

eighteen years oid. "

"Grab a brain, Fred You're in a foiry tale, and this fairy tale en& with legalty

sanctioned procreation. Thut's marriage, Fred. "

He hol& his heud in his hands, mussages his temples. "But you 're not married, "

he coiinters, "and you 're still here. "

"That 's because I'm changing the story. lf you want more Ire, you W have to do

sornething differently too. "

"But Rapunzel's so danvr cute!"

"Quit thinhg with your di& boy-"

Fred scowls and stares at his foot. To his o~nishment, haif of his boot has

disappeared He conrinues to watch as the rest of hi& foot vunishes. His lower leg sbwly

follows suit.

" What the hell is going on?" he screams.

Andrea stretches out her legs. "Are you begmnihg to rmderstmid NOW, Fred?"

Pmic-stnrck; Fred grabs his uImost-gone thigk "Whut c m l do Andrea? Tell

me what to do. "

She y m m .

A smmge Cook cornes mer Fred's fwe. "Hey, Andrea, " he says caMy, "did you

do sornething dgerent with your hait?"

She smiles, pats herfIUny cof "Why not reully, Fred just added a fov

extensions. "

"Looks pretty good to me, " he grins, dmgs himseif over to the divan. "Do you

thhk I couid be part of your story for a while? "

Andrea ghces at the mirator, whispers for a moment, figures she c m spare hirn

a couple of pumgruph. Despite everything, he is eighteen and if's been a long time.

She lets d o m her k i r , decides to worry about R u p w e l hter.

Blonde haV is a redent substance in faUy tales; in "RapunzeI" it's used as a

ladder, and in an old Swedish tale caiied ''Eisa and the Evil Witard" (Johnston Phelps,

ed. & comp. 97-los), it's employed as thread (see Figure 8 on page 53). In this latter

tale, an evil wizard uses a magic cape to ensnare virtuous young maidens. Once

ensnared, he aansfonns the maidens into statues for his garden. Whenever the wizard

grows b o ~ d with his latest statue, he fin& himself another maiden. On one such mission

to extend his statue-collection, he meets Elsa To make a long story short, Elsa's no fool.

She wants nothing to do with the wizarà and steers clear of his cape. The wizard gows

-tic in his attempts to capture Elsa, and tears his precious cape.

Elsa, kind, Waious maiden that she is, sews the cape with a strand of her long,

golden hair. Once the wizard arrives back home, maiden-less, he can't sleep because his

cloak, the instrument of evil, shines so brightly-with W e ? intelligence?-hm the

blonde haK. He implores Elsa to take the haïr back, but she resolutely bmhes him off.

EvenWy, one by one, he releases the statue-maidem b m their Stone States so they can

retmn home. Fî~~ally, hal ly , rater ai l of the maidens are released. the evil wizard gets

Figure 8. Elsa and the Evil Wuard

Illustration by Lloyd Blwm to ' m a and the Evil Wizatd."

Source: Johnston Phelps, eâ. Muid of the North. 101.

some shut-eye.

In this story, golden, virginal hair radiates the virtue of its ongin. Celestid,

brighter than bright light blares despite the wizard's uosiiccessful attempts to destmy or

dispose of the cape. Like conscience, Wre God, the hair is omnipresent; evil cannot hide

h m its infinite power. Even after ai l of the maidens are released, the cape continues to

warn of its strength by maintaiaing a duli glow. Not enough to keep anyone awake. but

enough to be a solid deterrent against future transgressions.

Well good for vimious hair. G d for clever Elsa. Good for all those poor

statue-maidens. But what about the damn wizard? He goes back to his castle, minus a

few ill-begotten art pieces, and lives happily ever after. Yes. it's me, he no longer has

statues to stimulate his . . . imagination. But really now, he can always rent a video' tune

in to the Playboy C h e l , buy himself a couple of Penthouic magazines. He won?

suffer long, nor will he d e r much. After all, his agony isn't relevant to a plot about the

strength of a girl's virtue and trust in God. Compare his fate to the women's fates: any

number of young women are tumed into rock for any length of t h e . They sit outside in

rain and s b e , snow and sleet. Pigeons shit on their heads. Fungus grows on their feet

Ants crawl up their thighs, unda their armpits, wriggle into their ears. Back in the girls'

village, the girls' kiends grow up, get married, go off to University in distant lands. The

girls' parents becorne 016 innan, and end up in the local cemetery. The girls' childhood

sweethearts marry other women, get farms, have chiidren. Pwf. Then, one day, the piris

rem home. Strangers.

The wizard loses one frin week of sleep.

Why can't he kcome a statue? ûne that stands in the place of his former

hostages. Maybe a nice, saggy-looking nu& fountain piece whose semi-erect dick

supports a han& flower-pot. His navel could spout a Stream to water the flowers.

Have him, perhaps like the g&statues, retain N1 cognition. Let him understand how it

feels to be heipless, immobile, and the object of another's gaze.

Meanwbile, the girls he'd once cursed could take over his castle, appropnate his

wealth, set up their families with a couple of new John Deere tractors, get themselves

some designer dresses. Waited on by his servants, they could put up their feet, read

Homer in the study, leam Latin in the gazebo, nibble on h s h fruit al l day long and listen

to Brahms on the CD player. Maybe import a Prince or two if they feel lüre it-but not

Screw women's m e ; how about some justice?

In "Cat-Skin," by the Grimms, women's hair is the opposite of Wtue and utility;

it's pure, unadulterateci lasciviousness. This is an interesting twist to an earlier version of

the tale callecl '?)onkey-Skia," by Charles Perrault. In Perrault's version, the stay

begins with a King and Queen very much in love. One &y the Queen becomes ill. Her

health continues to deteriorate, and she reatizes she wil l die. On her death-bed, she asks

her husband:

Wefore I die, you must promise me one thing, and that is, if you should desire to remarry when 1 am gone-" ........ . . . . . . . * . * . - - . . *~ . . . . . . . . * . . . . . . . .~ . . * * . * * * . . . * . .

'?bit you'il give your pledge to another woman only if she is more beautiful, more accomplished, and wiser than L" (Perrault in Zipes, ed. Bbdte 67)

Compare this to the Grimms' version, where the Queen says:

"Vow to me that you will never marry again. unless you meet with a wife who is as beautiful as 1 am, and who has golden hair like mine!' (Grimm in Shapiro, ed. 299)

Not surprisingly, as with most Grimm heroines, beauty-as represented by hair-is a

woman's only recommendation. What malres the Grimms' version even more repugnant,

however, is that the Queen's request controis the plot For in both versions, the King

does find a woman who measures up to his deceased wife's prerequisites: his daughter,

his wife's child.

In 'Ponkey-Skin," by Perrault, the m g ' s aüraction to his daughter is presented

as a measure of the King's insanity . This guy ' s clearly over the top. But when the

Grimms' h g decides to wed his daughter, he isn't set up as such a bad guy. Afier all,

he cried for his &ad wife. He gmaned. It's not 6i.s fault that courtiers nag him night and

day for a new Queen. Bitch, bitch, bitch, we need Rinces. What's a poor, bereaved

King to do? It isn't hLr fadt that his wife fomd him to rnake such a stupid promise. It

isn't his fadt that his daughter meets the criteria Nope, even in a classic incest tale, it's

the cornpetitive mother (see LOOKING GLASSES section) and the innocent, beautiful

daughter who are responsible for generating a man's violent and domineering desires.

Paradoxicaily, however, hair resurfaces in both narratives as the daughter's means

of eliuimg the King's incestuous advances. By disguising herseIf in animal skins-in

Perrault's tale, donkey-&in, in the Grimms' tale, cat-skins-the Princess sneaks out of the

kingdom and escapes.

Yet once again, this use of hair differs between the two versions of the tale. For

the Grimms' Rincess, suitably dubbed Cat-Skin, echoes, in tone, the "moral" of

57

Richardson's Pamela (a book supposedly about about the rewards of fending off physical

assadt): if you get raped, toots, you'll bum in heil for being a slut. In addition, Cat-

Skin's escape h m her assailant-like Parnela's-seems divinely ordaineci in the service

of virtue, decency and Christian moraiity.

Then she threw herself upon heaven for help in her need, and went away and journeyed on the whole night, till at last she came to a large wood. (Grimm in Shapiro, ed. 3 0 )

And really now. the King is a man; how's he supposed to know he's king naughty by

trying to get under his ciaughter's skirts? No, the Grimrns need a Woman with her

Superior Ferninine Spiriniality to stand (m?) forth and Save the day. The Rincess, not

her father, the King, bears the fùli responsibiüty for upholding chastity, v h e , decency-

not to mention removing the potential of inbred royalty. Cat-Skin does not disappoint.

In Perrault's version, the Rincess visits a wise old fahy (woman) instead of

praying to heaven. The fairy isn't very useil. n h d you, but she offers the Rincess a

benevolent materna1 mentor as opposed to the Orimms' representations of older women

as young women's executioners. Perrault's fairy dso manages to revenge the Rincess's

assault by hammering a solid dent into the King's coffers. How? To make a long story

short, the King's prize possession is a donkey that shits gold The fairy advises the

Rincess to ckmand an original, Ml-length, Mr. Donkey-skin coat before consenring to

any wedding preparations. She figines this wili halt the King's passion in its tracks.

Unfortunately, the fairy underestimates daddy's ardor, by the morrow, the fur coat is

ready. Hence the disguise; hence the name Donkey-Skin. Cat-Sb's story is simiiar;

based on the same motivation (deterring daddy's lust), she requests a coat of a thoiisand

58

animai skins. Like 'Ponkey-Skin," CatSkin's dad somehow manages the impossible,

and provides the coat the next &y. Uniike Perrault's King, however, CatSkin's father

doesn't lose anything during his cameo as Mr. Furrier. A Grimm King seldom spends

much on a mere woman, regardless of how badly he wants to fuck her.

In both tales, once the Princess leaves daddy, she meets a Rince or another King.

CatSkin's Rince rescues her aRer she is tned by his hounds. Donkey-Skin meets her

King by acquiring a job at one of his farms. Eventuaily, each princess' royal identity is

revealed, there's a marriage, and we get our requisite happiiy ever after. In Perrault's

tale, however, father and daughter meet again during the f i a i marriage scene:

But neither prince nor king seemed as splendid as the bride's father, who had purifieci the criminal and odious fires that had ipnited his spirit in the past. The flame that was left in bis soui had been tmsformed into devoted patemai love. (Perrault in Zipes, ed. Bb&e 74)

With Perrault's version, the incestuous King's illness, like his cure, is the King's

responsibility. He's the one with the problem; he's the one who needs to change. In the

Grimms' "Cat-Skin," however, there's no such resolution; the King does not reappear.

AU we leam h m this latter tale is that if a father desires his daughter, it's his d e ' s

fauit for beiug vain (hence the wife dies, hence the wife's daughter must be punished), or

the daughter's fault for looking too good But ail is not lost; the daughter cm overcome

both "faults" by safely piacing her beauty-legally-in the ownership of a non-blood-

related man. Or by disguishg that beauty enough to remove its periious connotations.

PIECES OF TALE

Once upon a time the prestigious fmily of Buick ruled the enchunted kingdom of

Suùurbia. King Buick was Clerical Supervisor at the Nationut Upper-Middle-Class

Bank; he also jogged I O K every moming, wore red ties, und used his expense account to

buy dog food for his Doberm~, Duke. Qwen Buick wrrs a goumet cook, a part-time

aerobics insttuctor at a ladies' health spa, anà bulimic. Be- the maid's &ily visits

the Queen spent a great deal of thne vacuuming D u k 's hi r off the ivory-coloured

carpet. Prince Buick was a chip off the old block; by age ten he 'd collected the complete

works of Aphid the Mighty Superhero, memorized t a Imu, and started wearing burgundy

ties. Then there was Clarissa,

She loved, more t h anything else, to fight. Whether if was arguing. wrestling,

boxing, or phying wirh metal weapons, Clarissa became renowned for her skill in

combat. "Oh, oh, here cornes Caustica, " she once heard an elderly man mutter as he

hobbled to hide behind a tree. She marched up behind him, pinclvd his wrinkled neck

skin, and spac "Dejine caustic in thirty seconds.'' He whimpered "Twenty seconds."

His knees shuok, "Tenseconds. " His b W e r broke. "Phew, " she snorted, and bucked

up a step. "Ger a dicfiot~1Iy~ asshole. " she growled, mrd tumed on her heel.

One evening whîle the Queen catved rodLrh roses in the kitchen, the KECing spoke

to Chrissa about hcr proclbity for conflct. "PNicess,Vte cnwuied pning her soft

hair. "you're much too prev to be frowning al2 the the."

"I'm noot fmwning. "

60

"Princess, " he conthued, ''your mother rmd 2 worry about you. People have

begun tu talk "

"People have been talking for a long time, dod"

"Don't get man with me, young M y . "

"As opposed to- "

The King ruised his indexfiger. "Princess, you must try ro get ulong with

people. Public relrirons are the comerstone to a successfuZ--" He truiled off as Duke

lifrd his leg on the standing swug h p - "Queenie! Queenie! We've got a littie

problern in here!"

Chrtîsa's mother appeared in the doorway, her cheeks shrwaken, "Great," she

munereà, " th t ' s just greut."

"Bad boy! Bai, bud doggy!" The King rolled up a TV Guide.

"Da&- "

"Yes, PPrincess, as I was saying, " he swatted the Dobenum 's stumpy tail,

"nobody's going to like you ïfyou argue ail of the the - You want people to like you,

don 't you? "

"FMry?"

"You want to have fn'ends, get mam-cd, have a f m î l y some day. Mqbe men get

a part-time job or do some volunteer wonk "

Clanssa's mother blotted the carpet with a stwk of paper towelk

"People bug me, dad "

61

"Princess, sweetheart, thut's just your youth tolkàg. As you mature, you '22

understand. " Ine King ghnced at the cbck anù switched on the television.

Chrissa went to her brother's room and sut d o m on the foot 4 h i s bed The

PNIce did not look up front his Fortune magazine.

"h not sure Ymy premise is valid, " she started, "but I have a sneaking

suspicion that our father 's an idiot. "

"You're stupid You should have more respect for your eiders."

Clarissa sut motionlessly for a few seconds before lunging. She felt better @r

his nose began to bteed Then she went to her room and memorized the opening

paragraph of Dostoyevsky 's Notes from Undernrotoid

Swearyfrom his momhg nui, the King ~ u i c h e d a low-fat, stmvbeny-rhubarb

breaSfàst crepe and had a serious father-&ughter talk with Chrissa In short, her

behaviour and am*lude were no longer conducive to hi$ inttzge at the oflce Md in the

neighbourhood She would have to go mvoy.

She said that wouùi hem, but couid she have a car and approximately

$SO.WO.OO to get started on her own? Thc Kmg hesitated Yes. he decîded, but only if

shc found a hwbmid or enrolled in a Christirm boatding school. Tkn he squeezed her

shoulder and excused himserfto go to the hthtoom

Clarissa collsjdered herfwvre while Rying out hcr new cornputer MIL calkd

"KiIl the Weak " On one she 'd fàd plenty ofpeople to argue with at boardhg

62

s c b L She switched weaponsfrom grenades to machine guns. On the other ?und,

divorce remainrd a viable mtidote to marnage. She nddled a countty bar with bullets.

Yet marringe meant tolerating a hus- possibly men cooking. Switch to nuclear

missiles. Stiil, Christh boarding school seemed too grim; she shuddered to think of its

library. She fiattened Nevada, Her face lit up. Perhaps she cmld do neither-maybe get

a job. Yeah, she motted, nuked California, a job doing what? It would have to be

mam'age; a young. guod-lwking fernale woukin'tjhd u better r e m on her investnrent.

"But I won 't jus? rnany anyone, " she infonned her father over dinner. The

Queen played with a bottle of minera1 water. "He '12 have to pas a test. "

"Of course, Princess. And the test must have three pans." The King Iadled out a

bowlfil of lobster bisque. "Scaling a muuntain? Shying a dragon? Burning peasants'

villages? The usual stu& huh?" He sprinkled Cayenne pepper on his soup.

"No."

" Well, honey, i f s up to you. Just remernber, it's on& two weeks befre fa12

"1 get her room, " the Prince stuted his mouthfull of half-chewed asparagus.

"Don 't speak with your mu th full "

"Dad, do you trust me?"

"PNcess, sweethean. why do you ask me such questions! ûf course I don't trust

yod What kànd of a futkr do you thmk I am?" He patted the corners of his mouth with

a white napkih. A cube of lobster fell on the carpet. "D&, hete boy! Where's nry

63

boy?" He looked a r o d cu~x~ously. "Queenie, did you let the dug out? Come on boy,

where 's my boy? "

Clarissa's mother sipped her mineml water. "Oh, Z forgot to tell you- "

"So I have cmplere freedm over the tes?"

"Of course, PMcess, thut's the way it 's always been. Duke, boy!"

"--l'in such a scatterbrain these days. I ~ o k Duke in today for his appointment

to get his, you bow, " her voice lowered, '"O be fired. '"

" WlilAT? "

"When do I gel her room?"

"Okay, I'll decide on a test by toniorrow. P m the asparagus. "

The Queen drained her water with a mile.

Lute that night Chrissa crept VIto her mother's drrrkened dressing r o m Shc

smelled the bitter op im before making out her mother's shape.

"Jtist remember, don 't sign anything, donPt get pregnant, Md mcrke sure he 's

good in bed "

The Queen passed her the pipe mid CIorissa ulhaled deeply. This h u s M

business was confiLFUIg. Shouià he be good-lwking? How much money did he need to

have? ShouId he have a job? Mqbe he shuU be mure. Maybe he should be old; then

he 'd die sooner. But $ he was too old k WOU& 't be &le tu p@om Yet if he died

she'd get his moncy mid be able to sleep w-th anyone she wanted Her head swm

"Mom ? "

"Yes, honey? "

"Should I marry an intellectual? You know, a schokrr? Are they kss Nntating

than n o m l men?"

Her mother erhaled, ccughed "They 're the worst kind They don 't kiow how to

dMce and they dress badly. ?'

"So what type should I many?"

"Why the hell are you asking nie? As i f I kmw. " Her m ~ h e r took mother long

dmg from the pipe.

"That 's not very helpfu mm. "

"Hmp. "

"Cm ' t you tell me anything? "

Her mther sighed "Sure, Chrissa, Z could tell you lots of things. I just cm ' t

remember them right now. "

They smoked in silence for a few minutes longer.

" Well, Z'm gohg to go to bed "

" Hmp. "

Clarissa retumed to her roont, opened a volume of ûvid's poetry, and dremt

about car crashes.

65

Chrissa was microwc~ving her banrma-bran ns@n when the King retumedfrom

his nui. "Great day out there!" he boo~ted, '4How's my fmt~lrite Pnncess!"

"Tired. "

"Bwy night for you, huh?" he panted, wiping sweatfrom his forehead with a tea

"Yeah. Okay, dad, here 's the deal." She removed her m@nnf*oom the

micruwave. "Bottom line criteria: rich, underfifi, not bald, have his own teeth, and

b w s how to cook "

"Soundr reasonable. "

" Well-read, hates insects, over fnte-foot-nine, under six-foot-five, nice but?,

Rommi nose, Ki& DougIas cheekbones, clean-shaven, smells good most of the time,

brown eyes, Md plays the guitar. " She bit into k r m@n.

" Well, P rincess, that might be o little mure complicated. "

She mrabled while chewing. "A fiminisr, not homphobic or racist, lliks cats, a

good driver, und hows the 1yric.s to 'Anarchy in the V.K. ' "

Thc King o p m d the refrigerator d p e e r e d inside. 4'Anyîhing cise?"

" Yes. He hus to have read the cornpiete works of Shakespeare, Sylvia Plath, Jean

Rhys and Hmis Christian Andersen."

The King pulled out a canon of skim milk and drmk from the carton. "We still

need some sot? of test. You kmw, the three-part thing. " Miik dripped &wn his chin.

"Sirnple. He's got tu vend l ree nights in my Company without irrituting me."

Silence.

66

" Uh, PNlcess, " he blushed, "hm your mother mlked to you about' you km w,

how M i e s are made?"

" Yeah. "

The King srniled "Al1 right, then, as long as we're taikùag the s m e ùanguage.

1'21 have my Assistant screen some eligibles for tonight. Okay, gotta get reaày for work,

big &y today ut the once! See you later alligator." He winked and closed the fridge.

"Oh, one thkg. Pnncess- "

'' Yeah ? "

"Uh, what ifthe fellow tries to, ur, take advantage of you?"

"DaddyB don 't worry. he tries anything I don 't want him to t?y Z'll blast his

head off with the revolver you gave me hrr Christmas."

"Guod girl Clarissa! How silly of me!" He hugged her stif shoulders. "You

know how fathers wony. "

" Yeah. "

"Hi Chrissa, I'm J@ey," he be& holding out his Iiond She shwk itfinnly.

" I'm a professiml golfer, " he p a d "in rny pafi tùne, ha ha. AchuJly, I'm a Duke. "

" l m sure you are. J e "

"And I have a great ai le . ha hu, at least t h ' s wlurt my mther says. "

He certainty did have a lot of teeth Lmge, even teeth. Probably had bmces

once. Shc wondered ifhe strDII wore a retaùte~

"I sure didn 't erpect you to be so preny?"

"1 thought my father's secretmy showed nry pomuit to all of the successful

cdidates. "

"Oh," he blushed "1 hod forgotten. That's right. But the photo di& 't do you

justice at all, Clarissa. You're a real knock-out."

"You'd better hope not, " she mumured "So J @ q , cm you stick your big toe

up your asshole while standing on one fout?"

Jefrey lookPd confuseh " Why, 1 don? think I've ever tnged that. Let me sec

here, " he smcggled wîth his lot$ers.

"l'm kidding, JeBey. "

"Ha ha h a niey told me you had a great sense of hwnow. " He rat d o m on the

side of her Lay-z-boy chair and put hi& a m arowd her shoulders. He smelt good

" We're gohg to get along won&@lZy, Clarissa, why don't you tell me a linle about

yourself. "

"No. "

He cleared his throat. "Oh, I sce, you're a litfle shy. Okay, then, 1'11 start. WeU,

let me just see here. Sorry, guess I'm nemous, I'm not used to rolkng about myserf: I

pride rnyself on beîng a good lisrener you kiow, Nrryone tells me that, especially girls.

Even guys, sometùnes, you know, ut tire club. when they 've got a problem it ' s Where '3

J@ey? I just have to ralR to J&! M&s you feet good about yourselfwhen you

bunv you c m help out."

"Do you read books, Jmey? "

68

"Oh sure. I love to r e d " He crossed his legs. "The guys at the club ore alwqs

getting into some crisis if seems. Thomas tuLd me, just the other day-- "

"Wh&"

" m t ? "

"What do you read? "

* ' ~ 1 1 s o ~ s O ~ S W

"Are you a feminist? "

"Sure. I've read s w b y lots of women. I love mysteries' you know, by what 's

her mme . . . Agathu Christie?"

Chrissa sighed "What about Shakespeare?"

"Thot's a guy, right? "

She stood up, grabbed her dans, ahed for the bulls-eye. Missed the board

completely. Threw the other two &rts? hit the outer Mr "Jeffrey?"

" Yes, Clart'ssa ? "

"Why are you here?"

"What a question! Why dorling. whot would make you usk something like that?"

''J&ey? you 've got money, you 're way too good-looking, ami you 're empathetic.

Who are you tryîng tu kid?"

His face dropped and he unrossed his legs. "A1I ri& " he s i g w "if1 don 't

get marrieri, And<hrJs gohg to c ~ r off nry allowance- "

"Z'm sony, J e e y , but I wmt to get laid. "

"1 could try . . . I rnean it c o u b 't be that gross could it? "

69

Tliey shwk han& at the door to Clarissa's bedroom anà agreed to get together to

p h y tennis the folIowmg week

The next scheduled candidate cmcelled and the third was tumed oway when he

showed up wearing roller blades. A f o u ~ h named Egor Smith lasted one full hour und

Clarissa realized his howledge of English consisted of three phrases: The horor, the

horror; Nari redneckrjùck o E und It doesn't matter to me vwe have sex, but ifyou 'd

like to, jwt let me krww. The fifih passed out on Clorissu's bed afierffieefr minutes and

didn't wake up, or show any sign of lifc, while she gave him a blow job. The sixth kept

calling her Candy. The seventh, who haà a doctomte in English fiterature, had never

heard of the word "$ioreplay," and the eighth discoursed, for two and a halfhours, about

the semiotic signifcmce of anal retention. Once she realked he said "proctology, " MI

"psychoiogy, " she closed down visiting hours and rewrote some of Nietzsche's " M a

and Arrows. "

The complete man pe~petrates femhim in the same way he says a woman 's

ùatelligence is her most attractive feutute: as an eqeriment, in passing, lookhg

around to see ifsomeone notices and so that someone may notice.

Contentment protects one even from catching a cold Has a m m who knnv hi$

wife wai wlder 20 mer caught a cold?

M m me considered deep-why? Because one c m newr discover a bottom to

them. Men are not even shallow.

If a man possesses womaniy vittues, tolerate him; if he does not possess ?hem, he

becomes a philosopher.

She fell asleep scowlihg.

Kasey fkriled on his electric guitar and screamed, "Do you know why they cal1 me

Mr. Happy?" A rat scuméd into a knocked-over garbage can. "1 said DO YOU KNUW

WHY ïHEY C U ME MR. HAPPY?" A group of skaters clipped by on shabby boardî.

"I'll tell you why they cal1 me Mr. Happy!" His voice cracked as he belted out a chord

for each remaining syllable: "Because . I'm-so . . . fùck-hg . . . SMART," He

lurched backwards and tripped on the cord àungling from his guitar.

"Shit, " he muttered breathlessly, sccanning pennies Md dimes in his open guircir

case. Scooped the coins in his M, calcuhted the interest on his m p , fosrcned his

guitar in the tuztered case.

" Yo, Kuse, how 's i f goin' mm?" A girl wearing cuf-offs and a holter top s twd

on the edge of the curb.

"Shiw. Gotta cigrnette?" She tossed hiin a fil1 pack d nvirled the enàs cf her

long hair. "Business been good todrry, Sheny?"

"Bus'ness always gwd, Kme, they like 'em young. M&s 'em think they 're

doing their kidc or sumethin. "

"Yeah, t h e ' s some sickfickers out there al1 right. Hey. you waruta get a

coffee ? My throat is sore- "

"Sure, my feet are killing me."

In a nearby dùaer, h e y nmmaged through his pockets and counted out 78/.

Sheny h d e d the waitress a fie-dolkr biU.

Ktzsey gMned sheepishly and poured four creamers into hk cup. Sherry sipped a

Diet Coke ami twirled her huir around her indexfinger.

"So how corne you never wanna fuck me, Kasey? You fucked everyone else

around here. "

"Jesuî, Sherry, why do you have to be so vulgar? I told you why. I don 't do

blondes. AestheticalS, I react to t k m as victims of a superficictl, commercialize~

capitolisr society. Besides, bleached hair feels like straw. Gives me a rash. "

"Oh." She iit a cigarette. "1 thought maybe you liked me or sornething. "

"How old are you?"

She stuck out her chih defiontly. "l'rn gonna be sitteen next month."

"Bullshit- "

"It's not bullshit. "

'cHowfi~king old. Sherry?"

She took a sip of her pop. "You just hate whores, Kasey. Beneath yourfucking

standa:rds or something. "

1 got plmts, Sherry, I'm going places." Told her about gening a dnonner, bass

playet, back-up singem. Told ?ter about the distortion peààls he 'd seen at the pawn

shop. Told hcr about the new song he'd just writtea

72

"Yeah, Kose, weU I'm goulg phces too." S k took one fvuil drag fmm her

cigarette, dropped the butt in her empry pop can. "Like back to work Gotta make a

livhg ya know. "

The door slammed

As he drank his third fiee reflZL he tbught about kir . Yeah, she was a little kùi,

but blondes renlly did leme h h cold He 'd done one the previous night ofer an open-

stage show and burely been able to get it up. Nantral, that's where it was at. Notural

skin, k i r , tits, voice. He wmted a healthy-looking femole, he figured, so long as she

wasn 't fat.

He sat in the park and stared at a Robin pecking open a blouted earthworm. The

bird stopped and glrrred back "What the fuck are you looking a??"

uSony, man, I'm just bored. "

" Well look somewkre else asshole, I'm b q . "

"1 said I was sony. You dan? have to be rude about if. Remember, 2 could

smash your head open with one kick "

nte bird cocked its head to the side. 4TaaTs true, " it chipe4 hopped up on the

bench beside Kmey. '" don 't you? "

"Cause I don't feel like it. "

The bird9s eyes glemned in the sunlight. "Whut about the little girl?"

"Hh ? "

"1 heard you tnlkmg with the little girl hwkcr. "

"So?"

73

nie bird whistled and hopped h c k a d forth on the bench. "Admit it, hn-la-la,

you're not as big of an asshole as you'd like to think, tra-ùt-lu. "

"Think what you want, bird, I don't reully give a shit. "

"Tra-la-la, " the bird continue4 "I'm going to tell you a secret." It hopped down

behind a bush, retumed with a paper bug.

"You got a mickey ui there? " Kasey grinned, reached for the h g .

nie bird pecked his finger, dipped its head into the kg. Abncptly pulled bock

out. "Shit, " k whistled, "thr's only two tests. 1 need a third. " Scratched his wing with

his beuk "Okay, ~ m c ten famous birds."

Kaîey face grew animated. ' H q , are you that guy from Jeowrdy?"

"That's downnght inmlting!" the bini sçreeched, "Just ruune the birds. "

Kasey picked a pimple on his chin. 66Domld Duck Foghorn Leghorn. Some

Crow. Some Raven niar guy who melted when he flew too high. The Little Red H e n

Chicken Little. Tweetie. Is t h t ten?"

" N k "

"Aw, rnan, give me a hint. This is hanL "

The bird's eyes rolled back "1s everyone your age this stupid?"

K'ey stared at un mr crawling ovet hir bout. "Okry, I got it. The hgtes. ï k y

did somc classical s w o r sornething back m the 50's. I thurk t k y 're buried in Ohio.

Ever been to Ohio? I got an cade in Ohio. "

The bird was beghihg to doze. "Look do you wmit the talisman or not? I &n't

have allclqy."

"Huh? "

" You passed the three-part test. You get a talisman. "

"Huh ? "

"I don 't make the rules." The bird ducked into the bug, pulled out an Arnerican

Express Platinwn Card "There's a cash advance option ifyou use the PIN nwnber on

the back " The bird conrinued, in a monotone, "Keep this magic card with you wherever

you go and you will never finît yourselfin need again."

"Cool." Kacey held the card up and watched the sun's rays shoot of its slightly

scratckd sutfiace. Who are you? "

"Who do you think? "

"A bird?"

"I'rn not just a bird, " the bird snappeà, "I'm a fairy god-Robin. And no? yours,

either. "

"I don 't get it. "

"No shit. " The bird l e m d back on the bench. "1 got into a bit of trouMe a

while back and Z needed to & a good deed for a Pruicess before I could access my Swbs

bank accountr. You might say that I owe some people." The bird sat up, pulled out a

cigarette. "So there's the story. "

Kmey dug a tattered package of matches out of his pocket and lit the bird's

cigarette. Slipping the card in his pocket he thanked the bird, wumi, d, headed to the

p m shop to get his amplijier out of hock

*******************************

75

Clarfrsa Zeaned against the ivory-coloured waltpaper ht her mther's dressing

room "Why did you rnarry doddy?"

The Queen lit her pipe. "Because my father threatened to smash my heaà

through the wall i f 2 didn't murry his business parmer's youngest son." She smuked for

a minent. "And when I met your dad ut an afrer-burs club on the e u t erul, he seemed

like a better altemutive. Good posture. great teeth, had an excellent vocabuhy, and he

gave good head "

"That's if?"

"Hey, that 's quite a bit!" she saùà und crossed her legs. "Besides, ?ze hod a bit of

money and wam't uptight about me using once in a while. Told me he'd never hassle me

about my habits if1 hooked up with him for the long haul. " The Queen took anotiaer

drag. "And despite the other bullshit, he's kept his promise. "

"But why do you use, mm?"

"Because 2 like it. "

"Oh." Clrrnssa sh@ed her weightfrorn one fout to the 0 t h . "Mont, I'm kànda

b m e d . Findmg a husband is more di#icuft than I expected. "

"What's the criteria?"

"It's chonged a bit. He's got to be rich, dent, mid good in bed "

Her mother coughed "Oh honey, coukh't you just buy earplugs?"

' T m holding out, mm, it's my fitwe we 're tulking about. L i k th* about it--if

I won emplugs what would I & if the phone rang? What if2 wanted ro listen to the

stereo? "

" Yeah, I see your point. "

"I'd better get back to work "

"Weil, good luck "

"ThCULkS, mom, "

CIonssa crepr d o m the hollway and signolled io mother cadidate.

************************

Afer Kasey got his ampl@er out of the pawn shop he charged a cade nu? door

to the Buicks because it had a recording studio Md a krge, modem kitchen. Self-clean

oven and evetything. %t night he decided to rnake panc&s, the End his mther used

to make, and was hOlfWOY through the recipe when he realked he was out offlour.

The Prince opened the door. "Who are you?"

" Kaîoy. '"

"Who sent you? "

"Cm I brrow a cup offlour?"

"Chn'ssa, " the P h c e scremerl, "tkre's unother one. He's got long hair. "

nic Prince pomted to the top of a spiral stainvell md walked in the other direction.

K P P ~ ~ wondered why the kitchm was upsrairs, but he was newly rich and had a lot to

leam Holding un empty measuring cup, he poddcd up the carpeted srairs in his mmy

boots.

"In here, " a voice yellcdfom the fur end of the ML He walked imo a huge

chamber decorated with bookshelves, swswords d dmtbomds. A young woman wearing

77

a T-shirt and jeam sut k a recliner with a small papcrback on her lop. "Sit down, " she

said tuming a page without looking up. "Are you rich?"

" Yes, "

"Are you gay?"

"No. '*

" What colour are your eyes? "

"Brown. Z think "

"Was that one statement or two?"

"Cm I have a cup offlour??"

The girl put her book, The Bluodv Chamber. face d o m on the ann of the chair.

She stared ut the cuver for a moment and looked up. "l'm tired and Z don 't wcmt to

Kasey turned around

"What do yuu do?"

"I play the guitar?. 1s your h i r real? "

"Yes. but the colour's fmn a k n m What

" L e d Are your tits real?"

wuste time. Could you turn around and let nre see your butt? "

kind of guitur

Chrissa snorted "Fake tits are shply biown-q versions of sixteen-year-old tits.

How OU do you think 1 am? "

K'ey mred ut her and seemed to be thinking for too long.

"Sixteen, you dianb fuck "

"So you 're a natzwal girl huh? " Kosey sat down and pulled out a pack of

cigaretîes.

"Are you kidding? My miner and aesthetician spent nronths charthg market

trends to corne up with this look As did yours, I'm sure."

"Thut's interesting, " he mused, tupping his cigarette ashes into his masuring

cup. "30 w h t you 're suying is that ygy are a victim of rnass-markt comrnercialism?"

"No, you fool--bey c m I have a cigarette? îkmks--I'nr exploiting mass-market

comniercialism. " She lit her cigarette. "2 see your dick is hard "

"Uh, no, that's my maruring cup. " He mved to a closer chair. "But we could

still have sur ifyou want. I don 't have to be back at the studio for a halfan hour. "

"Laok, " she sputtered, "2 really need some sleep. Wky don 't we just get rrturried

and do it afterwards? "

"Wow, man, an old-fashioned girl. So, like, you 're a virgin, right? "

Clarhsa focussed on the dartboard "Yeuh, sure. whatever you sq. You too,

right? "

"Huh? "

Kàsey and Clanssa rehmied to hLr custle man a d wye. He never did get airy

flour su they ordered in from the Buming Dragon.

nie couple lived together happily for three mnths tutti1 Kasey was found ut the

bottom of a sraircase with a broken Ieg. Short@ thereujter he released h h hit single,

" f i t the Rich" Word of his fme spread so fm thot he no h g e r n e e d to use his

credit c d for mrythhg 0 t h t h prescription dncgs. Chrissa used binh control

79

faithficlly a d did not have any childmr She divorced Kasey Mer wo years and opened

a used book store with the mneyfrom her senlement.

And, though the shadow of a sigh May tremble through the story,

For "happy summer days" gone by, And vanish'd summer glory-

It shall not touch, with breath of baie, The pleasance of our fairy-tale.

(Lewis Carroll, final paragraph of epigraph to Through the h k i n g G h s 103)

Wow would you Wre to Live in Looking-glass House, Kitty? 1 wonder if they'd give you milk in there? Perhaps Looking-glas milk isn't good to drink-but oh, Kitty! now we corne to the passage. You can just see a iittie peep of the passage in Loolcing-glass House, if you leave the door of our drawing-mm wide open: and it's very iike our passage as far as you can see, only you know it may be quite different on beyond. Oh, Kitty, how nice it would be if we codd only get through into Looking-glass House! I'm sure it's got, oh! such beautifid things in it! Let's pretend there's a way of getting through into it, somehow, Kitty. Let's pretend the glass has got all soft like gauze, so that we can get through. Why, it's tuming into a sort of mist now, I declare! It'll k easy enough to get through--" (Carroll, Through the Looking G h s 110-1 1 1)

Locating the villain in the Grimm's "Snow White? is simple: it's the dam

mirror. If that obnoxious accessory had known when to shut up it would have saved a

number of characters a lot of unnecessary grief. Sure, cause and effect lead to the step-

mother's anxiety and death (punishment of pride), not to mention Snow White's happily-

ever-after with her necmphiliac Rince (reward of innocence), but hey, 0 t h endings

were possible. For instance, the Queen might never have asked that fateful question in

the fint place: "Mirmr minor on the wd, / Who is the fairest one of ail‘?" (Grimm in

Meek, eds. 54). Or, in another translation, "Teli me, glass, tell me m e ! / Of al l the

ladies in the land, I Who is the fairest? tell me who?'" (Grimm in Shapiro, ed 99). She

might never have thought of the question; if she were k e d to a wondafal, sensitive,

affectionate King, she wouldn't even consider cornpethg with her step-daughter. The

King would have sent her gladiola three times a day, arrangecl private, candle-lit tangos

by the moat (attended by discreet servants, no doubt), dribbled champagne down the

back of her thick braids, and ensured, beyond a doubt, that the refîection she so sorely

required was one of love, regard, respect and desire. Secure in her d e , secure in her

power-albeit a power and a d e dependent upon a benevolent male's authority-the

Queen wouldn't have had to feaï her loss of position, loss of status, loss of everything

from the guileless/gutless Snow White. The two women might have even become

fiiends.

Of course îhat cadt happen. For many reasons, one being that many fairy tale

Kings are conveniently absent h m wornen vs. women narratives. Absolved, one might

even Say, from the ''reai" tale about nasty women who have too much pride. It doesn't

matter that a precarious relationship with the absent male, or male authority in generai,

often cmates the women's rivalry. No, it's obvious: when women fight, one of them

must be evil.

And that damn mirror wants a cat-fight. Or at least a cat and mouse fight.

Blabôer-glas is not the passive object the narrative suggests, an objective tool that

"always [speaks] the tmth" (Orimm in Shapiro, ed. 102). Rather, it positively delights in

tormenting the new Queen, in changing its tune h m baby-yoa-tale-my-breath-away, to

sorry toots, yoa'rei>ne-washed-upbag-of-goods. Its before-and-after responses are

dowmight smug. When the Queen fmt asks, "'Of aii the ladies in the land, 1 Who is the

fairest?'" (Grimm in Shapiro, ed. 99), it replies: "'Thou, queen, art fairest in the land'"

(Orimm in Shapiro, d 99). When the Queen asks the second time, it replies:

"Thou, queen, may'st fair and beauteous be, But Snow-drop is lovelier far than thee!" (Grimm in Shapiro, ed. 100)

Excuse me? Did the Queen ask anything about how much better-lwhg a potential new

"ffairest in the land" might have been? Wouldn't a simple two-word answer of "Snow-

&op" have sufficed? Instead, the mirror has to take the blade, dig it in, twist it to the

le& twist it to the right. By the third and fourth times the Queen asks her tired question,

the mimr even ad& details about her rival's location:

"Thou, queen, art the fahst in ail this land; But over the hills, in the greenwood shade, Where the seven dwarfs their dwelling have made, There Snow-drop is hiding her head; and she 1s lovelier far, O queen! than thee." (Grimm in Shapiro, ed. 102)

In this latter case, couldn't the mirror have just saicî, "You"? Obviously, the mirror

wants trouble. Not only does it taunt, it lays the groundwork for an all-out war.

Yet the minor's role proves far more complicated than that of an annoying and

meddlesome coiifidante. For although it remains a consistent irritation, it also does what

mirrors do: nflect. But what? That doesn't seem difficult. Queen #2 owns the mirror,

talks to the mirror, spends most of her tirne-when not hunthg dom Snow White-

gazhg into the mirror. Okay, then, we have a character. But what do we h o w about

this character other than that she owns a magical looking-glas, that she's beautifid and

pmud? How does the narrative structurally situate her with respect to other female

Let's go back to the beginnhg of the story. "Snow White" opens with a

description of Snow White's mother. She sits at a window, in winter, sewing. When she

83

pricks her finger on her needle she wishes for a daughter as red as blood, as white as the

falling snowfiakes, and as black as the ebony window frame tbtough which she peers.

(Retty as the reflection of a beauiiful woman, a hmed picture, an objet d'art, one might

Say. Snow's mom doesn't know this, however, she's too busy working to be admiring

her own beauty.) A daughter, fÙUy fomed to specification, soon arrives. and Queen #1

promptly goes gently into the good night. Then 'Vie King soon married another M e ,

who was very beautifid, but so proud that she couid not bear to think that any one could

surpass her" (Grimm in Shapiro, ed. 99).

Queen #2's su& in ternis of reader sympathy, before she starts. Not only does

she have to bear the unfiattering labels of step-mother and quickly-marri& good-looking

second wife, she must also wak in on the deceased, saintly heels of The Perfect

Woman/Queen/WifeBMother. How could she even conceive of measuring up to a woman

who sewdtoils, suffers/bleedS, wishes for childredpjes birth, then dies? How could m f y

woman (without a heavy insurance policy) measme up to this angelic vision of matemal

s e l f - s d c e and devotion? And even if Queen #2 duplicated, action by saintiy action,

the exact M e of her pradecessor, she'd s a remain a copy of the original, a shadow.

On the other side of the narrative sits virginal Snow White, a lovely child who

shines "as bright as the day" (Grimm in Shapiro, ed. 99) and is soon to be seen breaking

her ass toüing, for an indefinite period, in the seven dwarfs' houe (see Figure 9 for the

illustration to Am Sexton's version of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs93. She not

only accepts banidment h m h a parents' cade without complaint, she's utteriy

delighted with the prospect of cooking and cleaning and swing for seven men. This is a

Figure 9. Snow White.

Illustration by Barbara Swan to Anne Semon's poem "Snow White! and the Seven

Dwarfs,"

Source: Sexton, TrLmSfonnations, 4.

girl without pride, vanity, experience, or lookùig glass.

To get back to Queen #2. As we h o w , she does no? duplkate, action by saintly

action, the life of Queen #1. Instead of worbg by the window (oblivious to her

reflection), she stares in the mirror. As a wife, she not only doesn't think about having

children, she soon rids herself of the second-hand child she acquires fiom her husband.

And unlilce Snow White, Queen #2 is marrieà. Which means, in faiq tale laquage, that

she supposedly has sex. So where does that leave Queen #2? A woman who supposedly

has sex, doesn't think about children, doesn't have any chiltiren, doesn't even seem to

like children, and doesn't do housework?

On top of these characterizations, Queen #2 also understands the mot of her

value, therefore her power in a patriarchal society: she's beautiful. This classification,

ironically, goes against the stereatype of step-mother. W e the image of a beautiful

second M e is all too poignant to readers, especially today, Queen #2 is defied in

relation to her step-daughter, not her husband.

So yes, she's the f h s t in the land, but fair as that may be, Queen #2 is still the

sweet heroine's step-mom, a designation that conjures up dozens of imtlatteriag

associations: stoutness, rniddle-age, varicose veins, widowhod, a previous mother with

her own, favoured children, intmder and abuser who exudes stemess, authority, control,

power. In other words, the term 'inother," especiaîly teamed up with "step," does not, in

most narratives, pli beauW. The point being, whom does the iwking glas reflect for

"Snow White's" readers? (See Figure 10 on page 86 for an illustration of a vain, older

woman.)

whe~ convl assufi EPR flirt i doon in prii Table bawd Strot

87

Certainly not the p i c e of a stunningly beautifid woman who does not have any

children. Nor the picaire of a young woman. For how old could Qiian #2 actrially be?

If Queen #1 enters the story by bleeding and then giving biah, she couldn't be much

older than 13 or 14. Let's Say that Queen #2 marries at a simila. age. The first t h e the

rnirror teus Queen #2 she's washed up, Snow White is the grand old age of seven. This

leaves us with a twenty-one-year-old woman for Queen. And that's an archetypical step-

mother?

Picturing Queen #2 as a young, beautifid, child-less woman is something few

readers andlor aitics do. Even Gubar and Gilbert, in their chapter entitled "The Queen's

h k i n g Glasst' (Madwoman in the Anie), refer to step-mom as "olde~?' and "a mother"

(Gilbert & Gubar 36). In their critique, Queen #1 and Queen #l2 are considemi to be the

same individual. The former is a younger, more innocent version of the latter because

she look out of a window, which represents outside possibilities, instead of into a

mirror.

To be caught and trapped in a mirrm rather than a window, however, is to be dnven inward, obsessively studying self-images as if seeking a viable self. . . . ms studying] is necessitated by a state from which al l outward prospects have been removed. (Gilbert & Gubar 36)

According to Gilbert and Gubar, Queen #1 also has more prospects than Queen

because she is a virgin. Once Queen #1 gets pregnant and gives birth, however, she

'UaUs" into sexuality. After the "fd,'' Queen #1 changes into Queen #2. Queen Ws

sexuality then becomes ecpated with the King's sexuality because she is obsessed with

the mirrw, which stands in for the voice of the King@atriarchy. It is interesting to note

that this mirror, therefore, tmas the visaai into the verbal, and the reflections (not to

mention the values associated with those dlections, i.e., the nature of the beautifid) it

offers are explicitiy presented as socially mediated interpretations.

To make things even more confiising, not oniy are Queen #l, Queen #2 and the

h g reaily one character, Queen #2 is also part of Snow White because of the biological,

mother-daughter relationship. Snow White is a 'khildiike, docile, submissive" (Gilbert

& Gubar 39) female "selfiessly fne of the rnirror madness that consumes the Queen"

(Gilbert & Gubar 38). According to Gilbert and Gubar's andysis, the plot of "Snow

White" hinges on the Queen's need to obliterate the passive, patriarchally-defhed role of

shut-up, s d e and do the dishes cutie-pie (Snow White) in herselfif she is to create and

continue an assertive lead role in the story.

This critique is useful, for it seems a l l too reasonable to equate the voice of the

King with the mirror. Yet why does Queen #2 have fewer prospects than Queen #l?

Even if she's not a Wgin, she stili enters the story by being the fairest in the land, hence

holding a powerful position in her society. And without the King arouncl, she's not only

in charge of her body, she's in charge of her house, her h e and the kingdom. Her

sexuality, even if it is defined by the m g , is not the oniy "prospect" at stake in her

story .

According to Gilbert and Gubar, the Queen hates Snow White because the

Princess embodies a patriarchal standard of pefiection and approval that the Queen

Innocent, passive, and seIflessiy fkee of the miaor rnadaess that consumes the Queen, Snow White nprrsents the ideal of renunciation that the Queen has aiready renounced at the beginning of the stary. Thns Snow White is destin& to replace the Queen became the Queen hates her, rather

than vice versa. The Queen's hatred of Snow White, in other words, exists before the looking glass has pmvided an obvious reason for haaed (Gilbert & Gubar 38)

But when the story opens, the mirror replies that Queen #2, not Snow White, is the

fairest in the land So how can we Say that the Queen has "rerenoced" paeiarchal

approval? Isn't the story about hanging onto that approval whatever the cost? For the

Queen only loses her power once that approval vanishes. In addition, wbat is the "ideal

of renunciation" that Snow White represents? If it boils down to ~jecting vanity, self-

possession and/or owning the gaze, Snow White's situation is imlevant. She hasn't

"renounced" anything; she's a littie kid who is controiied by adults.

M a t Gilbert and Gubar's analysis fails to take into account is the way Queen #2

appropriates male approval. hstead of humbly offering up her beauty as a prize for men,

she values her beauty/power in and of itself by owning the gaze, loolring info the &or.

When the King's voice speaks, it is mediateci through the Queen's subjectivity. This

reflects, through attempts to eliminate her niccessor, Queen #Es self-conscious

manipulation of power.

And the claim that Snow White is somehow outside of this &or madness?

That's idiotic. She is the epitome of miwr madness except her self-less-ness means she

is unaware of the standard she embodies. Unlike the Queen, Snow White's reflection is

without a mediateci subjectivity. She never looks at herself, she's only seni by others.

This girl is just plain blank, tobula rasa, a femaie first inscribeci to specîfïcatiom by

Queen #1, and then the magical looking-glass of ciad, King, country and man. h other

words, Snow White dasn't escape airything through her innocence, she's just too young,

90

dumb or inexperienced to understand that she's internaiized patriarchal expectations so

weU as to maLe them appear "natural."

By removing Snow Wte nom the muTor madness, Gilbert and Gubar naively

situate her outside of a discourse on sexuality. They clairn that only her hiture (once she

marries the Rince, the Rince's dad dies off, and she becomes Queen) will entrap her in

the mirror madness. This means that Snow White wiU only understand her beautylvalue

as a commodity oftr she's married. But isn't a woman most valuable brfore she's

married? Remember that Snow W t e displaces Queen #2 as hot-chick-on-the-block at

age seven,

To move to stage two: Queen W s no longer the fairest of them ail. Why? In

addition to king passive, innocent and damnably cute, Snow White offers the potendal

of generating children. Despite her beauty, this is something Queen #2 hasn't been able

to accompiish. Or has not wanted to accomplish. Perhaps she hows that fairy tale

mothers do not get interesthg stories. Or perhaps the missing King is an old, drunken

bastard who can't get it up anpore. Maybe the King blames Queen #Z for his

impotence and taunts her with Snow White, parading, oh-so-srnugly, what Qwen #1 did

soooo much better. Then again, maybe he's a repulsive mature who stinks so badly of

hounds and sweat that Queen #t2 won't allow him to touch her. Mayk she was sold to

him by her social-climbing parents for two farms, some goats and a prize horse. Perhaps

she was in love, once ppon a tirne, with the town miller's son and considers every

coupling wiîh the King nothing short of legdy sanctioned rape.

Noue of these questions is askad about Queen #2 because there's no place in the

91

narrative for a woman intenested in power instcad of husband and kids. As a resalt, the

Queen is reduced to the role of villain and gieefüüy condemned to death by Snow

White's husband End of her story.

Whenever a woman is uwure of the source of her power in a paniarchal society,

Le., her beauty, youth and fertility, something seems to go wrong for her. The Rincess

in Richard Kennedy's "The Dark Rincess" (in Zpes, ed. Outspokzn PRncess 128-140)

is, lüre Queen #2 in "Snow White," M y conscious of her role as commodity. Unlike the

Queen, however, she refuses to participate in this role, even by appropriating it to her

own advantage. Instead, Kennedy's Riocess walks out of the beauty contest by seeking

a nflection of merit based on the qualities she values in herself, not qualities others

value. This quest is a laudable project, and one the Rincess succeeds in hilfilling. While

she drowns, that is, in the embrace of the Court Jester.

To summarize this tale: a thoroughly interesting and introspective young Princess

is so beaatifd that people must view her through a special glass or they wiiI go blind.

Eventually couriship time comes mund and Rinces corne to woo the Princess. She asks

each Rince if he will look at her without the glass. None does. The m o n for her

request? She believes that each man values her only for her beauty, tbat if he lost the

means to see her, he wodd no longer care for her. At the end of the tale, the Princess

forlornly wanders dong the seaside. There she meets the Court Jester, who teils h a that

he loves her. She says he is silly, for she couldn't marry a Court Jester. He says that's

okay, and places the special glass in her hand Splosh. Newly blind, the Jester falls into

the water. The Rincess, ovenonfident in her swimming abilities, dives in to rescue him.

The tale ends:

And there in the darkness below they touched for a moment, and then they drowned.

And in that moment they touched, the sun rose a million times for them, and the Princess and the Fool could see each other and ail the things of life and the world more clearly than but a dozen people since the beginning of time. (Kennedy in Zipes, ed. Outspoken Princess 140)

This tale offers ambivalent readings. In one respect, it is a victory of two

marginalized figures over the sstifliag, conventional standards determining the value of

women and men. The Court lester, for example, is, like the Rincess, someow not seen

outside of the role he N f i l l s . And like "Snow White's" Queen #2, a figurative 4'glass"

(the patriarchai court) appean to be the only gaze defining the Jester's worth. Also B e

Queen #2, the Court Jester, by playing his role so sedessly, acquires the fieedom to do

the real "seeing" in the story-that of the Rincess's "true" worth (her intelligence,

sensitivity, etc.). His rnarginalized role provides him with the insight to unâerstand the

rnarginalization of the Rincess. At the same time, however, "The Dark Rincess" doesn't

mate legitimate space for this type of "seeing." It's a flash in the pan, a deviant

situation, a speed bump on the narrative road. For just when the protagonists reach their

epiphanic moment of union and clarity, water fills up their lungs and choks them to

death. The fish get a meai, the palace holdf one fimeral (the Court Jester wouldn't be

considend worthy of one), and Me goes on exactly as it had before. Order is restored

Looking glasses, quite literally, play a large role in Kennedy's story. Remember

that anyone who looks at the Rincess must protect his or her eyes by lookhg through a

special kind of coloured glass; to see such beauty without mediation results in damage (it

causes the seer's bhdness). nie Princess's beauty is aiso so poweaal that even its

reflection, through the Rincess's retina, causes her own blindness. The fkst kind of

blindness-that of others-couid be read as an inab- to see past superficial

characteristics. The second type of blindness-the Rincess's blindness-is more

complicated, for although it can be anaiyzed sllnilarly, i.e., a potentid blindness, based

on pnde, to more intellectml or empathetic qualities, it has important ramifications on

the Rincess's characterization. For without her sight, the Rincess caaaot situate herself

accordhg to the standards of her society. She is pushed out of the game by forces

beyond her control. Instead of being a beautiful, wise, intefigent, thoughtful,

introspective and rich young woman who understands patriarchal valuation of her merit,

she is defined as a disabled person. Despite her superior insights and inteuecnial

independence, her disability makes her hwnble and dependent As a result, the story says

yup, she's an amazhg woman, but something must be done to keep this type of power in

the proper sphere of ferninine behaviour, i.e. she must not possess vanity. Blinding the

Rincess also takes away her ability to own a literal gaze, or to r e m a gaze. And

dthough she possesses a figurative gaze which is, in this tale, elevated above the lirrral,

why can't she keep both? 1s Kennedy's text suggesting that this im't possible? Not ver-

flatterhg to women, or in the lester's case, men either. Besides, despite the text's

obvious preference for the Prîncess's inteUectuaVemotiona1 qualities, just how much

more objectified cm a woman get than by king biind as a bat, sixteen, and intensely

beautifid? This girl might not pemive herseIf as a victh, but without the protection of

nch, benevolent parents (abernuit figures in fairy tales), she becomes the epitome of

female vulnerability. In other words, while Kennedy Wfites a touching taie about the

sensitivity of two marginalized figures, a woman's power r e m h too dangerous if

offered up in unqualified wholeness.

The issue of a woman's beauty is also dedt with in a story by Antonia Barber

caiied "The Enchanter's Daughter." In this tale, a young woman lives alone in a palace

with her father, a wizard Although this heroine is beautifid, no one is around to admirr

the herche's beauty. This beauty, therefore, is seemingiy inelevant to the heroine's

identity .

The Enchanter's daughter was very beautifid. Her hair was black and flowed over her shoulders îike a shining waterfall; her eyes were wide and dark Lüre the eyes of a fawn in the forest; her &in glowed iike sunlight upon a ripe nectarine. She did not h o w that she was beautifid, for she saw no one with whom to compare herself. The Enchanter hew, but he had corne to take perfection for granteci: so he did not praise her and she did not grow vain. Her beauty shone out fkom all the rnyriad mirrors on the palace wds, but she passed by with never a glance at them. (Barkt in Zipes, ed. Outspoken Princess 170-1 7 1)

In this tale, however, beauty does not cease to be a standard in denning women; it is just

a standard that the woman in question-like Snow White-doesn't understand. Everyone

ehe understands that a woman's appeanince is central to her commodification, ie., the

wizard (why didn't he have an average or '21gly" daughter?) and the narrator (isn't there

an automatic association drawn between beautifid and valuable by the reader?), but heu

if the heroine herseif is let in on the secret. Even the titie of the tale and the designation

of the heroine as "daughter" locates her in a male-centred role, despite the fact that the

taie's about the Enchanter's daughter leaving the Enchanter for her mother and brothcr.

Although the girl, Thi-Phi-Yen, regains her own name at the end of the tale, why does it

take ten pages kfore she's calied anything other than "daughter"? And why is Thi-Phi-

95

Yen beautifid? What does beauty have to do with leaving a nch father for a poor

mother? 1s this saying that beautifid, humble girls do the nght thing by walking out on

wealthy dacidies and going home to mamma? Be that the case,Thi-Phi-Yen cashes in her

M e of ease for a üfe of solid toi1 with mom and brother. Not only is she ignorant of her

power in a patriarchal society, de's a good worker too (when she goes back to mom, the

onus is on farm work). D a m nice feminine traits: dutifid daughter, good worker, poor,

humble. And a virgin tw, it should be added; the only males mentioned in the narrative

are the Enchanter and Thi-Phi-Yen's brother.

In escaping the cliche of leaving mom for Mr. Bank Account, the female lead is

re-cast in this story as king even more passive and renunciative than in the tale where

she started. Once again a woman's beautylpower in a patriarchal system is an unseemly

feminine trait if the woman understands its value. Nice girls are not vain. A question to

consider, however, is who does this selfcffacement benefit? It does not appear to be

women, who just have another weapon or defence eiiminated. What is insidious about

this concem about modesty and humility is that it is often re-inscribeci by weil-

intentioned feminist writers in the service of creating new, supposedly more empowend,

feminist hetoines .

Unülre Barber, Angela Carter's texts do not advocate humility, dociüty or

asexuaüty as any sort of answer to questions about women's beauty, desirability, self-

awareness and commodification. In a re& of the Bluebeard story entitled 'The

Bloody Chamber," Carter explores a traditionaiiy patriarchai code of desirability, the

Snow White image, through a hemine's seIf-coIlSCious intemalization of that code.

I saw him watching me in the gilded mirrom with the assessing eye of a connaisseur inspecting horsefiesh, or even of a housewifk in the market, inspecting cuts on the slab. I'd never seen, or else had never aclmowledged, that regard of his before, the sheer carnal avarice of it; and it was strangely magnified by the monocle lodged in his left eye. When 1 saw him look at me with lust, 1 dropped my eyes but, in glancing away from him. 1 caught sight of myseif in the mirror. And 1 saw myself, suddenly, as he saw me, my pale face, the way the muscles in rny neck stuck out like thin wire. I saw how much that cruel necklace became me. And, for the first t h e in my innocent and confineci life, 1 sensed in myself a potentiatity for corruption that twk my breath away.

The next &y, we were married. (Carter, Bbody Chamber 11)

This young woman hows. She holds the mUror in her subjectivity and, like Snow

White's step-mother, she intends to use that image to get what she wants.

Yet Carter's heroine sees past the limitations of Snow White's stepmother's

subjectivity. The latter never questions her seemingly inescapable role as commodity,

never steps outside the evaluative eye of patriarchal standards. In ' n i e Bloody

Chambei' the perspective shifts; first t h m i s Beauty's subjectivity and then there' s

Bluebeard's. As a result, the young woman does not merely participate, albeit skilfully,

in an acquisitive stock market; she acknowledges that market as a construction and a

choice. She does not huwe to play kcause it's the only game; she plays bccause it's fun,

because she wants to be rich, because it's exciting and stimulating to fwl the power a

desirable woman holds over her desiring partner. Beauty isn't tumeci on by her brutish

husband; she's turneci on by her control over him. by the vulnerability of his lust, by the

very force of his desire. That force washes over her breakable body with an emtic

pleasure in domination and conquest She fucks him by becoming him, by hcking

herseIf, by ~e~violation. She appropriates the role of barbarian. (See Figure 11 on page

97 for an illustration of one such ''tender" moment between a fairy tale couple.)

Figure 1 1. Sleeping Beauty.

Illustration by Barbara Swan to Anne Sexton's poem ''Briar Rose (Sleeping Beauty)."

Source: S e m , T r m r s f o ~ n s , 1106.

As the narrative continues, Beauty faces the consequences of masochistic desire:

her husband tries to chop off her head. Beauty's mom cornes to the rescue and the young

woman eventually marries a swwt, sensitive piano tuner. There's a moral hem: Plan A

doesn't work, at least not for very long. Kari L o b describes the situation a little more

eloquently. She says that the genius of Carter's story lies in its narrative structure, which

fïrst seduces the reader into tecognition with the

masochistic heroine through the nchness and sensuality of the language and then compels us to experience the h o S c consequences of the heroine's surrender to the Marquis. By admowledging the glarnour of sado-rnasochistic s e l f - a a t i o n as weli as its ultimate bmtality, ugliness and misogyny, carter reveals both the difticulty and absolute necessity of a feminist redefinition of sexual pleasure and desire. (Lokke 11)

Besides, despite Beauty's voyeuristic pleasure, her first nuptial experience doesn't

exactly leave her writhing with multiple orgasms. Erotic as such power may be, there are

better pleasures to k had: her own.

Mirrors. Falling into them* Losing yourseif in them. A swimming image that

seduces, sells and teaches women their value as commodities. Knowledge as vanity,

pride, aiways accompanied by a genemus helping of shame. For what is vanity? The

dictionary calls it "empty pride . . . based on personal attainments or attractions or

qualities" (1 187 Concise O f̂od). In faVy taies, however, a woman's knowledge of her

appearance does not mate empty priàe; that same appeamuce, according to patriarchal

standards, is what defines her value.

So are women supposeci to be vain about their beauty? Strut like peacocks and

wait for applause? That's neither a new, nor partïcdarly tolerable image. But why cadt

99

wornen have the choice of withdrawing h m the beauty contest instead of being forced

to, ih Kennedy's Rincess, or because they don? h o w any betîer, iike Snow White and

the Enchanter's âaughter? Or, if a woman chooses, why can't she use her beauty, as

Snow White's step-mother does, like her intelligence: as a tool for gaining power when

other options are scarce?

DIRT

nie bathruum door hus "Ladies" stencilled on it UI antique gold finish. Inride,

the carpet is thick white pile8 the wullpaper is texturecl, mrd gold-colouredfinures

sparkle against Victorian-replica sinks.

The single occupant, an old woman, peers into a mirror lit by kindly round bulbs.

She settles her large buttocks ont0 a padded stool, b a h c e s her beige lwfcrs on its

bottom metal bar, centers herself un the pu& cushion Rununages through ber pocket,

wraps kr wrinkled kiobby fingers around an expensive gold tube of lipstick fowd at the

back of a cubicle. Pulls off the shimmerbg cap, twists the bottom. Scarlet. Holds it up

to her face, miles. Her thin, cracked lips mock her.

She replaces the lid, drops the tube in her pocket, gets up. Picks up the vacuum

cleaner IyUIg ut her feet, presses "Sta~."

*******a*******************

Imagine the course of Engiish Literature if T.S. Eliot had ever got down on his

kxtees with a toilet brush and a pail fûll of Javex (Corne in under the shadow of this

porcelain rim) and later rolled up his crisply starched white shUuleeves to scrub the

greasy residue of a used roasting pot (I'U show you fear in a h a n w of siime). Or if

Joseph Comad had ever been faced with a flu-stmck chilci, a garbage-curious terrier, a

mountain of stained un&rclothes. The Homr! The Homr! may have been an image of

ditty diapers. And domestic labour may have becom a serioas topic in the analysis of

literary metaphors.

101

But Eliot and Conrad haù wives, or servants, or both, and domestic labour wasn't

a saavy topic in the business of serious literature. Even in the deciddy un-serious

business of fairy tales, Ciderella certainly doesn't cut a very dashing figure before she

goes to a nice shiny place of privilege and hind labour (the bd). Maybe if she'd stayed

there for a while she might have spun verses about decay and death, but at home she's

too busy hauling wood, cookhg, sewing, and gettiug bitched at. For Ciderella, clad

only in a grey smock and curled up "by the hearth among the ashes" (Grimm in Shapiro,

ed. 193), dust means sneezes and burnt toes. Not that Chdy cornplains about her lot, or

says much of anything for that matter, king a good girl, she keeps her mouth shut, wahs

until the chores are doue, and thcn has a brief cry @ut not enough to make her pretty,

albeit dkty, nose reâ). Her noble binh does the complaining for her. We're told kom

square one that this chick doesn't belong in the kitchen. A case of mistaken identity,

injustice, and, don't forget: she's extremely good-lwking. Everyone knows that pretty

girls shouldn' t do mything.

It isn't fair, it isn't fiir, the narrative tone echoes. Audience, it says, get the ire

up, stoke your pityloutrage, feel those bristling neck hairs. Embrace suspense for

satisfaction later. Justice is coming to our sweet hmine ... she's going to cash in big

the. If someone screws the defenceless, the narrative taunts-especially those of noble

birth-they'll get theirs. And the evil do. Step-mommy's melty eventually tams on her

daughters (she suggests that they hack up their feet to facilitate slipper-fitting), and Cindy

ends her days eating bon bons on the Prince's divan. (LuckiLy he met her diiRiig her

servant phase; she may not have made it into the carciage afta a couple of years of

marriage.) Order is not merely restored; Cindy marries up.

The meek shall inherit the Rince (they've had their share of earth). Nasty girls

get th& toes sliced off. Give the bitches enough rope and they'll act out a good girl's

aggression without her having to raise one tiny dish-pan-hands finger. WeU, okay,

Cindy's digits do get dirty, but her reptation doesn't That's where the fairy cornes in

handy; she makes things happen, takes the responsibility for desire fkom our vimious,

humble maiden. Good girls don? wunt anything-especially things that feel good, cost

money, or both.

A low-maintenance female is a strong motif in "Ashputtel," the Grimms' version

of "Chderella." At the beginning of the story, the daMy of two step-âaughters and one

biological daughter (Ashputtel) goes off to a faV. Yo, girls, he says, you want anything?

Clothes, jewelIery, Say the step-daughters. Ashputtel sighs (yawn) and medy recpests

"'The first sprig, dear father, that nibs against your hat on your way home'" (Grimm in

Shapiro, ed 194). Yeah, right Who wants a damn sprig? And if Ashputtel redy does

want one, why doesn't she go out and pick it herseif? Her humility is rewarded, of

course. She plants the sprig on her mother's grave, waters it with her tears, and a magic

bird/ghost of dead mother (the fajr image) appears on the scene. A similar quest

occurs in Weauty and the Beast," except Beauty's sisters are her biological sisters. They

too a& for elaborate items when daddy heads off on a business trip; Beauty asks oniy a

rose. In "Beauty and the Beast," however, dismal family finances form part of the plot-

which wi l l be discussed in more detail Iater in this section.

As the Cindemiia story moves dong, we discover that Cindy wants to go to a ball

103

but can't because she has no fancy clothes, carnage or horses. Disappointed with her lot,

she has a cry and cmls up in the ashes for another boring night at home. Ka-boom, poof.

No, ifs not the cauidron scalding our young heroine, it's fairy god-motherhird. You

want some cool du&? You wanna Party with the stars? Hme a good tirne, but be back

before midnight. Y Y ~ know what happens when wchoperoned young girls stay out too

late-and ifyou don 't, I cm assure you that Z do. Pmpkin-bellied girls do not murry

Princes, Cindy, but never you m h d Don 't forget to pinch your cheeks.

F e - m o m is a tremendously clever idea. Rather than have Cindy do what every

other adolescent in her situation would have done, Le., steal one of ber sisters' dresses,

trek through the bushes, sneak into the party and guzzle a few himblers of punch, Cindy

gets to do the party in style and smeii like humble pie. Redy now, a young girl is sick

of housework, wants to paity in a new dress, geu out of housework, and goes to party in

her new dress. She takes the bail by stom, struts her beauty, youth and finery, doesn't

get hocked up, doesn't get in trouble, eventually watches both of her evil sisters cut up

their feet, and b a l l y mames the good-lookïng nch guy. The humble Wgin remains a

humble vira (pre-nuptials), and the older woman-in ihis case. the older, demi woman-

safely keeps that virginal image fkx b m ugly, deminine characteristics like desire,

jealousy, pnde and g&.

Or, then again, mayk this is just a tale about women who can't get dong. In one

corner we have (dead) wifc #1 and daughtet; in the other cmer we have wife #2 and

daughters. The beU rings and the fight's on. And seriously, who wouid want to nad the

story if the two groups Iüred each other? Pi- this: step-sister t l says, okay. sîsters.

104

let's unite-we have nothing to lose but an unfair division of labour. Take the cue h m

the Rivers' hoasehold in June Eyre. Teamwork gets the job done. Sure. Cindy, step

mom and sisters pitch in with the dishes, take turns carrying out chamberpots, alternate at

the woodpile, and at the end of a long day, pull up chairs before the hearth and sing

balîads in perfect harmony. Bail season cornes around. AU four get gussied up, Say

things like, No, sister, you tale the glass slippers, they mean more to you than they do to

me, and Go ahead sister, you dance with the Prince, you're the oldest, and Sorry, Rince,

1 can't many you because, well, it would make my sisters feel sad that they don't have

Rinces to marry. One &y they have a triple wedding. Who cares? Women's equality

and cooperatioa don't sell in this fahy tale; without their competition, the Rince's value

disintegrates.

Another scenario. Step-mom and sisters enter the household. Cindy welcomes

them, shows them around, tries to initiate conversations. Despite her efforts, the

newcomers are sheepish, cowed, speechless. They insist, damn it, they absolutely insist,

that they do a i l the work. Cindy was there fïrst, they Say, she's the tme heir of the

father's wealth. Consequently, Cindy deserves the right (advantage of her class) to put

up her feet, read novels, watch television, and flip through fahion magazines whüe

family #k2 run the household. Cindy argues. It isn't faV. she says, and tries to reason

with them After six months of racing to grab the di&-rag before one of her step-sis-

gets it, she says, aw fuck it, let 'em clean. Cindy's got it made; why would she want a

Prince?

Social class and manual labour (dirt removal) also appear in "Beauty and the

Beast." The taie begins with a prosperous merchant famüy (dad + three àaughters)

behaving prosperously. Not terribly sUrpnsing, Beauty, the youngest, is the best-looking

and rnost humble, therefore the heroine. One fine day, daddy's business goes belly-up.

It's off to the nimshackle cottage (care for a liale Sense and Semibility on the journey?)

out in the middle of nowhere. Beauty ' s reaction? "'What fun! ' cried Belinda, sturdily,

instantly setting to work to get things into some order" (Thackeray Ritchie in Auerbach

& Knoepfimacher, eds. 44-5). Meanwhüe. Beauty's sisters pass out on the sofa. Life

continues in great hardship. While her sisters sleep in till 10:OO am (Thackeray Ritchie

in Auerbach Br Knoepflmacher, eds. 47). our heroim rises at the crack of dawn to clean

and cook and do ail the other chores. There is pity, however, for Thackeray Ritchie's

version of the tale includes "two bewildered mai& who waited on the reduced littie

family" (Thackeray Ritchie in Auerbach & Knoepflmacher, eds. 45)-just to help with

the basics, you h o w . In ail the versions of the tale, however, it is clear that Beauty

slaves herself nght into good health: '%y the end of two months she became stronger,

and hard work gave her perfect health" (Leprince in Meek, eds. 156). Thackeray Ritchie

spells out, in brutal detail, the extent of Beauty's fortitude:

~eauty/BellelBelinda was found] with one of the maids, clearing out one of the upper mm. The window was open, the furnitute was piled up in the middle. Belle, with her sleeves tucked up, and her dress carefully pinned out of the dut, was standing on a chair, hammer in han& and nning up s o m dimity cuRnins againsi the window. Table-cloths. brooms, païis and brushes were lying about, and everything looked in perfect confusion. (Thackeray Ritchie in Auerbach & Knoepflmacher, eds. 46)

The sisters, nannally. are disgusted with Beauty's aptimde for manual labour, and dende

her for being dowmight common. Yucky-doo, they sneer, you seem to bcexutt in yom

father's disgrace" (Thackeray Ritchie in Auubach & Knoepflmacher, eds. 46). Beauty's

no spoiled, pampered brat. Rather than turn up her fksh, pert nose at dirf she mlis up

the shirtsieeves and gets down to it, fulfilling Ritchie's fantasies of domestic labour as a

salubrious, cheefi, heil-FUN--manner of passing the time. Beauty takes the bull by the

homs, grabs a hammer, breathes in some honest country dust.

A digression.

In a book review written by Angela Carter, entitled "Elizabeth David: English

Bread ond Yerrst Cookery," the following excerpt:

[Elizabeth David] quotes a description of Viginia Woolf kneading away like nobody's business.

Virginia Woolf? Yes. Although otherwise an indBerent cook, Virginia could ceaainly knock you up a Lovely cottage loaf. You bet. This strikes me as just the sort of pretentiously fnvolous and dilettantish thing a Blwmsbury would be good at - lcnowing how to do one, just one, fatuously complicated kitchen thing and doing that one thing weli enough to put the cook's nose out of joint. '1 will corne into the kitchen, Louie,' she said to this young employa of hem, 'and show you how to do it ' (Carter, Expleti's Deleted 98)

OF COURSE cleaning and cwking and organizing and fixing is a bloody aovelty if you

haven't done it before-or if you don? have to do it forever. One's left wondering how

humbly and gracefully Beauty and Ciderelia would have taken to their new-found duties

if these characters hadn't had the opportunity to leave them for a Mestyle of the rich and

f-s. They can afford to look sweet and virtuous for their carneos in poverty because

that poverty en&, and soon.

Jack Zipes, in his book Breakhg the Magic S ' : Radical Theories of Folk and

Fairy Tales, comments on de Beaumont's version of "Beauty and the Beast" in hader,

the tale concems a very nch merchant whose children become arrogant because of the family's aquired wealth. Indeed, with the exception of Belle, al l the children aspire beyond their class. Hence, the family must be punished The me~hant loses his money and social prestige, and the children are humüiated. Yet, they remain haughty and refuse to help the father overcome his loss, particularly the two older âaughters. Only Belle, the youngest, exhibits modesty and sewsacrificial tendencies, and ody she can Save her father when he is in danger of losing his Me for transgressing against the beast, i+., the nobility. As a mode1 of industry, obedience, hurniiity and chastity, Beile saves her father by agreeing to live with the beast. Later, impressed by the noble nature of the kast (appearances are obviously deceiving, Le., aristocrats may act like beasts, but they have gentle hearts and kind manners), she consents to give him a kiss and marry him. Suddenly he is transformecl into a handsome p ~ c e and explains that he had been condemned to remain a kast until a beautifid virgh should agree to marry him. So, the good f a j r now intercedes and rewards Belle because she has prefemd virtue above either wit or kauty while her sisters are to be punished because of their pride, anger, gluttony and idleness. They are to be tumed into statues and placed in front of their sister's palace. Surely, this was a warning to all those bourgeois upstarts who forgot theit place in society and couid not control their ambition. (Zipes. BMS 8-9)

While Zipes' critique addresses an important socio-economic distinction between

familiedclasses, it does not go into detail about BeautylBelle's household duties as

labour. Maria Tata. considers women's domestic work more spccifically in Off With

Their Heads! She makes the intereshg observation that medfathers, as opposeci to

womenlstepmothen, are seldom painted as the drill-sergeant figures responsible for

enforcing women's housekeeping tedim. Tatar attn'butes this to the fact that many

women not only cleaned at home, but earned their livings by hiring themselves out to

work in other, wealthier women's homes. She comments:

The lesson about the rewards to be reaped h m hard woik. hurriility, rnodesty, and kindness while in the senrice of an a U - p o w d fernale figure was surely pertinent, if not aiways valid, for the mauy girls whose household apprenticeships formed the basis for theV liveIihoods. m m 56)

Note that in all of the versions of "Beauty and the Beast," however, it's Beauty who

decides what has to be done. Neither the Beast, nor Beauty 's father, force het to wash

one single pot. Her self-sacrificial 'Zrirtue" is thus "pure" by creating an illusion of

unmediated naturainess. Which meam that good girls shouldn't have to think about

being g& Le. how to please men; such behaviow must be engrained to the point of

Snow White is less fortunate than Beauty and Cindereiia. Instead of king stuck

with doing chores at home, she's sent into the woods to be mrndered by a huntsman. The

huntsman takes pity on her and leaves her in the forest. S c a . alone, cold, and prey to

wild beasts, she sighs in relief upon spotting a cottage. She entes the cottage, settles in

for a snooze, and wakes up to seven tiny faces leering at her immobile body. The very

happy dwarfs lay out the conditions of her room and board:

One translation (1 964) The dwarfs said "If you wil l look after our household, do the cooking,

make our beds, do the washing, the sewing, and the knitting, and keep everything neat and clean, you may stay with us, and you shall lack nothing."

"Yes," said Snow White, '%th all my heart." (Grimm in Meek, eàs. 57)

Another translation (unlaiown translation date) In the morning, Snow-drop told them al i her story; and they pitied her,

and said if she would keep all t h g s in order, and cook and wash, and knit and spin for them, she might stay where she was, and they wouid take good care of her. (Orimm in Shapiro, ed 101)

The above translations offer two different tones for Snow's new dowstic arrangements.

In the business is business. No "we'll take care of you," but 'Lou shaU Iack

nothing." In the second, the dwarfs pi*. Yes. pity. Seven monastic dwarfs discover

a gorgeous young female in one of theV beds and ALLOW her to stay if she cooks,

cleans, sews, knits, and maintains their household One might wonder how long it had

been since those dwarfs had even seen a woman, let alone have one a i l to themselves.

One might also wonder who the heu was doing al l of the housework before Snow

showed up.

Friendly, fnsky little dwarf-fellows. Nice guys. Doing a girl a real favour. One

she accepts "with a l l her heart." And it seems like a fair exchange: one young woman's

shelter and food in exchange for complete servitude and slavery to seven men-albeit

s m d men. Meanwhile, the dwarfs enjoy a characterization coloured by their

b'charirability."

In terms of dirt, the tale "Cat-Skin" shares similarities with "Cinderella," "Snow

White," and "Beauty and the Beast." Lie Snow White, Cat-Sb fin& herseif alone and

defenceless in a fonst. She gets there by a slightly different route-her dad wauts to fuck

her, so she sneaks out of the castle in a coat made of cat and other animal fur-but that's

not the point. Like Snow and Beauty and Cindy, Cat-Skin is young and good-looking.

In her case, however, she isn't looking so g d when an itinemt king cornes dong with

his vicious hounds. Bray, bray Say the hounds, look at that weirdo on the tree.

"See," said the king, "if you can catch it alive, and we will take it with us." So the huntsmen took it up, and the maiden awoke and was greatly fiightened, and said, 'l am a poot child that has neither father nor mother le& have pity on me and taLe me with you." Then they said, Tes , Miss Cat-skin, you will do for the kitchen; you can sweep up the ashes and do things of that sort." So they put her in the coach and took her home to the king's palace. Then they showed her a litde coma under the staircase where no light of day ever peeped in, and said, "Cat-skin, you may lie and sleep there. And she was sent into the kitchen, and made to fetch wood and water, to blow the fke, pluck the poaley, pick the herbs, sift the

ashes, and do aU the &y work. (Grimm in Shapiro, ed. 301)

Cat-Skin eventually upgrades her job description by dropping one of her rings in the

king's soup. Having been to T~ùny's , he hows good jeweilery, figures CatSkin must

be of nchlnoble ongin, and proposes to her. In "Cat-Skin," iike the tales discussed

above, the ingredients remain consistent: a royal woman is reùuced to manual labour,

someone takes pity on her, then she marries a king or Rince.

It's clearly tragic when women of royal or aristocratie binh are put to "dirty

work." So tragic that they often deserve to be rewarded by a quick, just, and natural step

up from the lowest to the highest m g of social class. This depnvationlreward scenario

could mean a couple of things: poor women, keep dreaming, everyone's a Princess at

heart-you too may someday win the lottery. Or that rich women desewe to be rich.

Cat-Skin, Snow White, Cinderelia and Beauty obviously do not belong in the

kitchen sweeping ashes or scrubbing pots, although in a pinch they cm do nicely for

themselves, thank you very much. (Diversincation being, as they Say, the key to

success.) Well, then, one simple question: if these characters don't belong in the

kitchen, WHO DOES?

A ncumnt and interesthg answer cornes up in a nmnber of tales: nobody. At

least nobody who warrants a story.

Startîng with "Beauty and the Beast" As we left off with the tale, Dad, the faüed

businasman, sets out on a business trip. To retum-you guessed it-as a faiîed

businessman. Not only has he mucked up the family fortune (again), he nnds h b î f

lost in the forest on the jomney home. It's snowing. Acmally it's a blizzard. At this

111

point (not before) he rememben, oops, my daughter Beauty, my favourite, the oaiy one

who cares if 1 live or die, um, she wanted a rose. Maybe I'll find one around here?

Things don? look very promising for Dad until he spots a mansion right in front

of him. No one answers the door; no one is around. He enters the house. A hot meal,

for one, sits on the dining r o m table. He's a bit confuseci by this, but danui it, he's

hungry. Munch munch. A quick tour of the mansion. Still no one. Finds a bed freshly

made up, fires lit, iights on. Makes hunseif at home. The next &y, tranquillity shatters

when he discovers-naturally-a blooming rose garden in the back yard. Yank. Roar!

Who's steahg my roses? Give me your daughter, says the Beast, etc.

F i t question: who chops the flrewood? Prepares the fires? Tends them?

Grows or buys the food, prepares it, has it ready, hot and steamiog? Who does the

laundry, makes the bed? Who cares for the gardens? It isn't Beauty.

There's a similar situation in a story called "The Invisible Grandfather" (Calvino,

ed. & comp.). A mother lives with her thme daughters in terrible poverty. One of the

gKls heads o£f to seek her '"fortune" (Calvino, ed. & comp. 103). She w a k for a long

tirne, evenhiaiiy straight into a palace. Calls around, no answer. Scopes out the

cupboards. Bingo: tons off&. Pwf. A pair of han& sets the table and places a meal

before her. She ikds a cozy bed, has a good sleep, and the han& r e m with coffee in

the morning. Eventually she nnds herseif a Rince and lives happily ever aftu.

We also see a Rincess in a strange place in the tale 'The Brown Bull of

Nomwa," by Maria Louisa Molesworth:

Her breakfasts and dinners, and everything conceivable in the shape of delicate and delicious food, appeared whenever she wished for anythmg of

the kind; invisible hânds opened the windows and shut the doors, lighted the lamps when the evening closed in, arrangeci her long fair hair more skilfully than any mortai maki, and brushed it softly when at night she wished to have it unfastened. (Molesworth in Auerbach & Knoepflmacher, eds. 94)

The han& that serve this Princess not only do the cleaning, but they cook gourmet food

and touch the Rincess's hair more sküNly than humans. Such acts of domestic labour

are a far cry h m the unsophisticated tasks of sweeping ashes and carrying wood

In "The King of the Animais" (Calvino, ed. & comp.), there's a similar, albeit

more self-conscious Princess:

Stellina was speechless with amazement She felt herself king taken by the hand, but saw no one; and she let herseif be led into a maguificent room where clothing and jewels had been laid out for ber. She was undresseci, then clothed as a noble lady. At every moment she was conscious of somebody busying about her, but she saw no one. When they had nnished dnssing her, they led her to another room where a steaming hot dinner was on the table. She sat down and began eating. The plates were changed and new courses brought in, but still she saw no one. (Calvino, ed. & comp. 163)

Like the han& in Moleswonh's story. the hands in ''The King of the Animals" aren't

praiseà for doing dishes; these ones are @al because they know how cook well and

dress a woman in fine clothes and jewellery.

In "The White Cat" by Marie-Catherine D'Aulnoy, a Prince lands at a palace of

cats, which is d e d by a white cat. Lîke the characters above, he is guided by han&.

After getting the grand tour of a luxurious salon (the han& push and pull him a faK little

bit),

the hands, which seemed to him very beau-, white, small, plump, and weli proportioned, undnssed him. for he was drenched. . . . He was given, without his seeing anybody, a shet spiendid enough to wear on one's wedding &y, and a dressing gown. . . . The àisembodied han&

brought him a table on which his toilet articles were laid out. Nothing could have been more elegaat; they combed his hair with a defi and iight touch which pleased him mightily. (D'Aulnoy in Warner, ed. Wonder Tales 22-3)

Once again, these han& are lauded for their deft touch and elegant dressing. The

narrator's certainly not interested in who cleans the chamberpots.

Of the three tales above, only "The King of the Animais," h m Calvino's

collection, offers an explanation for where the han& corne from: they belong to a maid

of honour who has been under a spell. The spell is broken when the heroine, empowered

by a magic ring that grants her answers to questions, says: "'1 ask to see who is here

serving me!"'(Cdvino, ed. & comp. 164). Nobody eise in these fa@ tales seerns to give

a damn who's serving himher, so how did this aberration corne about? We fhd out in

Calvino's 'Wotes": '2 threw a little light on the maid of honor, who, in the original,

remains in the shadows" (726). Calvino's modification demonstrates how even a minor

alteration can shift or influence the socio-economic and ideologicd components of a taie;

hands do not manifest beyoad han& in any of the other examples discussed above.

Many critics address coUectors' or wxïters' modifications to tales in 0 t h

contexts. For instance, Zipes writes about how French-women in the seventeenth century

transformeci traditional oral tales to reflect a strong bias towards the aristocracy (Zipes,

Breakhg the Mugic Spell8-9). Maria Tatar's Qf With m i r Heads! lwks at the

selection process which canonized didactic fairy tales. Ruth Bottigheimer, in her book

GMvns' Bad Girh Md Bold Boys, devotes much of her anaiysis to the changes, tbrough

various editiom, of tales 'te-told" by the Grimms to reflect a patriarchd tete intent on

dencing women. In severai places she discusses manual labour:

Rotagonists are introduced more often by thQr occupation than by any other characteristic. Moreover, the work performed is generally hard physical labor, which dinerentiates it radically frmn either Perrault's or d'Aulnoy's tales in France or Boccaccio's Decumeron in Italy, where physical labor barely intrudes in the occupations alluded to. (Bottigheimer 124)

Domestic labour is discusseâ, for the most part, separately From "hard physical labo? in

another section of Bottigheimer's book entitled "Spinning and Discontent." The gist of

Bottigheimer's analysis of women's work, at one stage lumpeà with men's work, is that

it seldom generates matenal reward. Rather, innate or demonstmted goodness-or even

innate or demonstrateci deceitfulness, in some cases-reaps the na1 cash (Bottigheima

136). Her point is that many of the Grimm tales do not suggest that physical labour pays

off. Yet whether it pays or not, someone still ends up doing it. And the nature of that

labour clearly relates to class-based desires. One writer's labour may be scnibbing

floors; another Mter's might be dressing a Rincess or Prince skilhilly. Regardless of

the manifestation of the labour, however, symbolizing the work of servants through the

motif of invisible han& sweeps the individuality of those servants ight under the carpet

Without tired-lwking faces or bent backs trailing through the narrative, there

aren't any ugly rerninders about vulgar topics lilce dirt, the lower classes, poor employees

or housework. And for aristocratie writers like D'Aulnoy. L'Héritier, and de Murat,

domestic labour is not exactly a pressing subject. Despite these women's enlightened

views on gender equality, most were rich aud probably never even sow their own

kitchens or broom closets, let alone worked in them. Servants were the nom; if "the

help" didn' t act invisible, they may stüi have been trrated as such.

Miad you, if there's someone important (of bigh social class) vislile or invisible,

115

the narrative eventuaLly spilis the beans. In D'Aulnoy's "The White Cab" we leam that

the white cat is redy a Rincess and that the other cats are lords and ladies. In "The

h g of the Animais," when Stellina gets to the end of her fajr tale quest, the

aoimausubjects of the King are realiy "kings, queens, princes" (Calvino, ed. & comp.

166) who offer to repay her with a kingdom or royal mamage. Animals generally end up

being noblefolk at heart; the ha&, with the exception of Calvino's maid, ann't

anybody, belong to no identifid person.

From mother agie, though, it would not have been difficult or outrageous for

these writers to use servants in their fairy taies instead of hands. Why not? Who

wouldn't expect servants in stories about Kings, Queens, Rinces, Rincesses? What does

the absence of servants say?

Such an exclusion could be a way of disagreeing with class-baseû division of

labour. Not that the pm~gooists/authors/narrators/narratives even remotely suggest

doing labour themselves on a permanent basis, but by using disembodied or invisible

hands, they don? "point hgers" at anyone else either. In this respect, rnagic, not people,

becornes the sentant, and confionthg diR with supematural aid is a fairy tale motif that

spans countries, centuries and class. Magic is an escapist appmach to domestic labour all

right, but one that suggests a lot of women have been sick of doing dishes for a very long

tirne.

One final story about din. "Amelia and the Dwarfs," by Juliana Horatia Ewing,

is a narrative about a wiiful. inconsiderate girl who has no manners, carelessly breaks

things, destroys her clothes, and picks at her food.

If [Amelia] was not a favorite in the drawing-room, she was still less so in the nursery . . . [where she tormented servants through the] reckless destruction of her clothes. It was not fair Wear and tear, it was not an occasional f d in the mire . . . but it was constant wilful destruction, which nurse had to repair as best she mi@. No entreaties wodd induce Amelia to "take care" of anything. She walked obstinately on the muddy side of the road when nurse pointed out the clean parts, kickhg up dirt with her feet; if she climbed a wall she never tried to free her dress if it had caught. . . . "They must be mended," or, "They must be washed," was a i l she thought about it.

"You seem to think things clean and mend themselves, Miss Amelia," said poor nurse one &y.

"No, 1 don't," said Amelia, rudely. '1 think you do them; what are you here for?" (Ewing in Auerbach & Knoepflmacher, eds. 109-1 10)

In this tale, Amelia, like Snow White. leams lessons-ones her parents are pointedly

incapable of conducting-on domestic arts fiom some dwarfs. Unlike Snow White,

however, Amelia doesn't accept such tasks with ail her heart; her labour is forced. This

labour includes washing, starching and ironing a mountain of Amelia-dirtied frocks (see

Figure 12 on page 1 16). After Amelia has scrubbed every last stain out of every last

frock, she must mend each tear and hole she has mnecessarily inflicted upon those

frocks. Then she must repair objects (her own and other people's) that she's broken

through carelessness. As a hale, she's forced to eat Iiniracuiously pnserved foods she's

tossed away or refused to eat in the past.

This taie offers ambivalent readings. In one respect, it teaches a spoiled, bratty

kid about the consequences, especially to other people, of her seIfIfindulgent and

inconsiderate behaviour. One dwarf says:

"Sooner or later the mischief done by spoilt children's wïlfûl disobedience cornes back on their own hands. Up to a certain point we help them, for we love children, and we are wilfiil ourselves. But there are limits to everything. If you can't wash your dirty b k s , it is time you learnt to do so, if only that you may know what the trouble is you impose on other

Figure 12. AmeIia

Iilustration to "Amelia and the Dwads" by Julia Horatia Ewing

Source: Auerbach and Knoepflmacher, eds. Forbidden Journeys, 116.

people." (Ewing in Auerbach & Knoepflrnacher, eds. 115)

The message appears to be that wilfulness is fine-up to a point. But it is not clear who

determines that point, or where it Lies.

In amther respect, the taie is downright sinister. Ameiia's lessons are conducted

under what appears to be a veiled death threat. For while she's away in the dwarfs'

world a zombie-iike figure replaces ber in her parents' house. Nursed by Ameiia's

mother, this figure Lies immobile throughout the story. It is clear that if Amelia doesn't

retum, the figure! will "die" and be buried. Assuming that she's dead, no one wül corne

looking for, or îkd, the real Amelia. When Amelia escapes and r e m s home, she's

grateful for a second chance at girhood, so grateful that she becomes compiiant, kind,

helpN and well-mannered. Torture by housework is, apparently, a euly humbling

experience.

Sining on the floor behind the grey ch& she stares through greasy' overgrown

bangs. Her bony a s aches front the fIwrboards <uid a faint nausea settles beneath her

ribcage. She hanr 't mved in hours, or eaten, or slept. She thinkr about takhg some

d m e r s , some of Arthur's Serax, so site c m sleep.

She drags herjkgers through her hair, g r d s a clump, brai&. Drops a shiny coi1

fmn herjkgers and grabs another section. Divides the new clwnp intu ihree equal parts,

pulLÎ the pieces taut, weaves. Tire firsî braid @ris like an exhausted windup toy. Braids

it again. The second braid unfirrls- Brai& it again. Smoke wafrs into her eyes and she

reaches for her cigarette. A long drag and kat . Drops the halfbumtfilrer on the flwr,

picks it up with her th& Md indexfinger. uses it to light her hst Duhdaurier. A hiss in

the dregs of Coors Light. Both braids unravel. She starts again.

Arthur and Tommy play cribbage on the coffee table. "Twelve.'hys Tornniy,

chewing his yellow moustache mid throwùag down his car&

"Where'd you get W e ? " says Arthur as iie tops his cigarette on a plastàc ashtray.

Tommy points out two m, a pair, andfifienssfrom the cut.

"Yeah, okay. Deal."

Tommy's eyebrows twist as he s m e s the rattered deck "1 krow how to count. "

"1 said okay. "

CardFjlutter across the table.

"Hey, you guys, you got a cigarette?"

120

Arthur jerks hk head ro rhe side. "Who thefucR is that? " he whispers, clenches his

"For chrisrsokes, Arthur, i f s CrystaL Z'm behind the chair. "

"Jesus, Ctysral, Z hate it when you fucRng do that. Why cm't you sit like a normal

person ? "

T o m y hughs ond miles ut Arthur. "You're wasting your time ayou wmt that

bitch to do anything nomal. "

Arthr glares ut Tommy, 1Ijis his hmd to dmp two car& &O the crib, hesitates, ci@

Tommy across the head.

"Hey, whar did you do that for? 2 was sticking up for you. "

"Hove some respect. "

" Well? " Crysral's voice edges amund the chair.

" Well what? "

"Do you have a cigarette?"

"Yeah, yerrh--here. " Arthur tosses a package of D w n robacco over the chair.

"Got a light?"

No m e r .

"Do you guys have a FUCEilIhrG LIGHT?" Arthur tosses a Bic. Z t hits Crystal on

the foreheuù and skies roider the chair. "Asshole, " she snorts, l e m her check to thejloor

to find if.

Arthut counts out f i e anà &ais amthet r o d A vehicle pulls into the drivewoy.

Aniuct cocks his head to one side, pu6 dmvn his cards, iheuàs for the kitchen. Outside, an

ignition sputters und a rnetallic door slides bock

A skinny red-faced man, curryhg a microwave oven in his mms. slmns open the

kitchen door. He wheezes, msranps hti snow-caked rwming shoes on a mut. "Someboày gnte

me a hmuL" Tommy takm the rnicr~wave~ s q s something to Arthuc goes through a

doorway jmgling a set of keys.

"Where's Al?" Arthur asks while he looks a? mud meurs on the mat. The door

bangs open. A short Chinese man bahces a VCR on top of a 20-inch television "nie

remote?"

"In my pcket. "

Arthur no&. "Close the door. It's coid in here. "

Al dmps the TV& VCR on the kitchen table with a thud. "1 still gotta brîng in a

bike. "

" You ' re making a mess. "

Ai tipioes out the door. Crystal slips amund A~liur. rolls sonte paper towel off of

a holder, silentiy wipes the fior. A b m srnear remains.

The door bangs open. Crystal's srornach rightens.

"Fu&" h h u r d , want to wake up the whde goddmnn neighbourhcwd?

Be ca~eful with the door."

"Sorry, man. Should I put this downstairs? "

"No, you should put it on the roof: Christ,'" shukes his he& "sornetimcs you

guys are too stupid to fuckmg breutk. "

Al disoppems through the smne doorway as T o q . The red-facd mon looh

122

confuced "Hey, how come 2-" He g k e s at Aflhur's face, hoas the television and VCR*

Arthur hvns tu CrystaiL "Go with them. "

Downstaits, at the end of a h g halhvay, Tommy -les with krys while bahcing

the microwave on his knee. Crystal angles her way between the red-faced man, Al, the bike,

VCR and television Md yanks the keys out of Tonvny 's Tonvny's.

He renches for thena, almost drops the men. "Hey, what me p u doing ? " She tosses

the keys in the air, spins the bulky keychin around her index m e r . "GNe 'ern bu&

Crystal. " She steps out of reach, spins the keychain a few mure titnes, patiently examines

f i e or six keys, "Jesur Christ. Cry@ if1 dmp this Arthur'll have your ass. " She exammes

three more keys d miles at Tommy as she inserts a shiny yellow key into a padlock It

clicks and she opens a door.

U ' r a single light bulb the m m stinks of bleach and lemon-scented cleaner. The

cementfloor s k s d honemade plywood shelves. in rows, sag from excess weight. One

shdfholdv televisions, amnged &y size ami dl, wah m t e controls taped to their sides.

VCRs fine the row beneath the televisions, stereo systems n a to the VCRs, and musicat

equipment-guiturs, amplifiers, pedols Md keyboards--na to the stereos. Kitckn

appliances one aisle over. tools one aisle afrr tk t , sports equipment ut the end

Tomn<y follavs Chystal &wn the kitchen aisle. She points between two microwaves.

"Put it here." Retums to Tony, h d s him some m a s h g tupefrom a nail on the w d ,

shows him where tu put the VCR and television, On the other end of the room, Crystal

ernrmires lemihg againFran mhelved wall: LMin w e r , used m p , r&g bikes, din

b i h , in,nùtg ownl suitcases, chah saw. She calls Al over, points. "The bike goes h m

the coffee tuble. "Anybody got a cigarette?"

Torty flicks the pack across the table.

"Yu, man, it wm chssic. " Lights his cigarette with a Harley Davidron butane

Iighter. "You knuw lngrid's son Freddy? That fat Little fuck who hangs out ut Flash? Yu,

well, he was hying to score some MDA from Sharon-the chick from Tonnie's parlour.

Sharon had some kid hanging arounù drooling over her tits and he invites her over to his

parents'jicking buse for a Little patty. Jiut him and k r , right. She hows she owes us for

last weekenà mid sqs, oh-so-fiCCking-innocent, 'Gees, whatever-the-fuck-your-me-is, you

rMd ifnryflends corne dong ZOO?' So we follow his pickup and go for a lit& Party. It's

five minutes m m bejiore they disoppear into some fuckutg bedroom full of M o d o n ~

posters. "

Crystal standr in the living-room doonvay. W h a t about the score? You get any

Cr ystalMeth ? "

"No, man, there was nothing happening anywhere tonight. What do we have?"

Arthur butts hU cigarette, M e s the cards into a pile, drops a srnoif piece of folded

paper on the coffee table. Tommy grabs it and scowls ut the sight of bmwn, Parmesan-

looking granules. 'Tuck. Arthur, this loaks like thut shitfrom Alister. "

Arthur de& out a game of solitaire. Red ten on black jack, bkck two on red three.

A cmp& irp infront oftite house. Tonvrryjwnps up, peers undcr a heavy airtain.

A taxi pulls away. Pouding on the kitchen &or.

A woman in high b k k boots, u pink miniskirt, and a rabbit-fut jacket suiggen into

the 1-g room.

"Jesus, T e e take yourfucking boots o n How w c h dià you rnake? "

She hands Arthur a roll of twenv dollar bills. "Shitty night, mmi, if's too firckurg

cold out there. "

nie wonum 's eyes, heheily smeared with eyelkr, watch the bills settle into Arthur's

wallet, Tomnty wutches her mtch as she ymcCr of her bots* Tony ctnd Al watch the folded

piece of puper. C~rysal watches Arthur.

He glances ut her and ailes. She goes to shwer.

Weuring o towel, Crystal sits beside Arthur on a mumess in the bedroom. He's

alreadj booted up and sweat bec& ucross his foreheud.

"You goruau do me," she says, holcàs out her sk8viy ann. He stares as she pickr up

afulI rig md places it in his hand He hits her veln fint i?y.

Her m e 1 fdk O ~ Q I anù his foce blurs inîo bnckgmultcj. W m tingles shoot through

her stomach anà thighs, the museu dissipates, and her body beconies wholo, in w m s ,

beginning with her a m She falls back andfroats* Wondors why anyone would want to

sleep.

The niamess creaks. Feeling weight. she opens her eyes? focuses. Arthur on top of

her. hLÎ btea~h teasing invisible ?mirs above her lip. She feek his hmtd slide up the back of

her neck, t i g h a& a clmp ofhair, a du11 throb fiom the pressure and the coldness of

plastic buttons UnpMtîhg circles down her chest. He bites kr lip sharply. She struggles

Rom fur away? feels dmnpness between her legs. hies to bite him bocR He pulls out of

reac?a, uses hisfree ?aund to unbutton his je-

"Your buttons are stickùtg into m."

He smirk, pulls out Lis CO& pushes it against her pubic hair. Flàshes his men

teeth "You're one dirty Little slut, aren't you?" he says softy, nibbling the skin on her

collarbone. Pinches her nipple betwem his thumb and Uidujhger, runs his lips across her

thruat. She shuàders and wraps her a m a r o d his shoulder bhdes.

He releases hair, pins her wrists above her head "You'll move when I tell you to

mve. "

" Fuck you. "

She m e s b l d as his mouth splits open the tear in her lip. Their tongues met , wet,

wann. He slcuns into her,

Crysral ben& stifly over a pail of sudry water and wrings out a tattered mop. The

water blends mr0 gmy and bhcRprricles adhere to the phstic rim She stands ccp straight,

pushes her palm hto her lower buck, and grimaces nugly as her sweater rubs against a

wek She dbesn't need to check to know her back is covered with red marks; they always

feel like sunbum

She leans into the h e p Md watches the white linoletun emerge fmnr the mop's

tangled seaweed mtaclea Thcy swid m u n d on themselves and slither between the floor's

dianwnd-shped pattern. Go& stars and c~acks and holes peek out. Shc wishcs they 'd

wash ofl Her niop poundr ùtto a comer w k e she once killed a spider, spsplors PiheSol

127

and bleach-àiiuted mer m s s a faded baseboani, She pulls the chairs out from d e r the

tuble, washes greasy fuotprints, inhales deeply as the sniell of sweat evaporates from the

room,

Her vagina, red and swollen, stings as she empties the dirty water into the M. A

grey, sludgyfilm seules over the porcelain. She draws afresh pail@l of wateq washes the

dirt away, thinks about k i n g a bath.

Retums to the kitchen anà soaks rnismatched ghrscs and spoons in detergent and

bleach Her mstn*h bum as she Mses them S d s countertops covered with coffee Stains.

warhes a frdge e n p y except for two cases of beer and a jar of raspberry jan

A beeper with its unttuceable caller goes off on the kitchen table.

"Arthur!"

A voice yells backfrom the living room, "Take care of it, Ctystaf. "

"Why can't Tommy?"

"Because we 're talking. '?

She swems d r her breath, purs on her coat and m i n g shoes? Romps d o m the

sUIewalk to the phone booth at the end of the block

*********************************

"Did Tommy and T e m go?"

"Yeuh Angelrr wanted one of the TVs. "

Ciyskll opmr a q b o m d in the kitchen. grabs botttes of spring water and rubbing

alcohoL

"How much's she going to pay? "

"1 told her one m." In the bedroom Arthur unlocks a drawer in the night table, takes out a pi11 bonlr,

fout m g e s , two spoons, wo tiny ch& of cigarette m e r and two Styqfoam cups. Fills

each cup one-thirdjid of water, f i I l i an ink-m&d blunt syBnge with water, squirts an ink-

ntarked teaspîwn half-full. Enipties two-thi& @a capsule into the liquid, stirs with a blunt

tip mtii the pavder dissolves, dmps a filter in the spoon, draws the liquid into a fine-tipped

syringe. Clips it with an m g e plastic cap, phces it carefully on the table. Repeats the

process using the extra powder Md the other rigs.

Crystul settles down beside him on the mattress. "You going to go first?"

" Yeah, but don 't miss. It 's bem hard to get this shit lateiy. "

" You ahvays say that. You kmw I never miss. " She picb up the umarked needie

as he roUF up the sleeve of his black twtleneck Reveals a musculcr a m covered with tiny

bruises. She ricos wet cotton mer hLÎ ami, angles the syrihge mtil the shap tip dips beneath

his skVL PULLS the plunger back gmtly, watches a tiny spurt of cRnrron shoot into the

cyiinder. With a steady hand, she pushes down smoothly and half of the clear liquid

vanishes. Pulls the needle back abruptly as a [mge lump appears on hîs a m

"Fuck, " he shouts, slips her across the head "You firckihg miksed. I tuld you mt

to miss!" Massages the swelhg lump with his thumb, pulls out an empty n g , prepmes a

new nec& Does himseif the second the .

HLs eyes ghLc owr. r d hack slightfy, and his mmr h g limply. Me waits, rapping

herfwt, as his OOdy begins to shake.

"Arthur?"

B h k eyes look from fm away.

"Arthur?" He watcks as she pulls up the sleeve of her thin sweater. "My tum "

He focuses slowly, nuis his fntgers over her swollen skin covered wirh thick red

scabs. %uoks like shit. " She pulls up her other sleeve and offers a similarly emacicrte4

bmised h b . Wight work, here, " he says, tops a white patch just above the inside of her

elbow. Grcibs a leather belt lying ut the foot of the bed. twists it tightly around her upper

am, conrinues to tap the white patch with hisisfingegem'ps. Srnears the area with a wet piece

of cotton, inserts the ink-marked needle into a feeble v e k Flags it anentively, injects.

Releases the belt.

Cpstal W s , closes her eyes, savours the sweet, metallic ûaste rising up fmin the

h k of her throat. Reaiizes ssh may have to vomit and thinks about going to the washrootn.

Thinkr &ut the ladry, smells sweat, m e s hir body inside of her. Thinks about nothing.

Through the weak shadows ofa muied telatision, she examùzes the scars on hU chest,

Some me fmm kiives; two Iook like bullet woUItLiS. She's never &d how he got thent but

he t e k stories. Like once he said he'd shot a cop through a door when some deul go?

messed up. He said he wias out on parole Mer doingjtve yems anà he wasn 't going bu&

Amthet t h e he miil something hcibour a pmry mrd a scrawny guy who sntashed a beer bottle

in his old lady's face. Arthur said only a fucking asshole hrms a wonum so hc waited

outoide for the guy &hW a hedge. Metal bar w o s s the SM Di<lnPt look back whcn the

giry hit the sidewalk

Anhiakeeps a gun in the bedroom usually Iocked in the night-table. m e gun, like

his bottles of S e r a U a w r e in the house. Unlike the gun, the presrriptiom are legit-

Every rr~o weeks he sees a shrink, every munth he gets a disability cheque. Says, with a

srnile, that he's a tme blue mental case. Crystal &es m t know his diagnoslr.

Piles of books sit in the corner of the bedroom behind a set of weights. Mythology,

philosophy, chernisîry, medicine, history. She never sees him reading, but the books are

marked up and full of scraps of paper. When she first came to the house, she spent b u r s

lookihg through them.

"1 don't give a shit what kVd of bullshit excuses he's got. No way, not this tim,"

Arthur suys, rattling the metal chamber of h b revolver. "You can only fuck me aroimd so

many times and thut's it, you know, that's jus? fucking it. " He clamps the chamber into

place, cocks the gun, points it ut the closet. "I mean it, nrcin, I just gotta see that ugly mug

once, and-" His sweaty figer slips over the trtgger. A bhst echoes through the house.

"Whar tkjicck a n you doihg?" she shouts* He stares at the smoking gun bhnkly.

"Shit. "

Scattered voices yell fkom the livmg room.

"It's NOTHWG! Forget it. "

A beeper goes ofl They look ut if. "What time is it?" Arthur a.&, slips the wann

gun into the night-table.

'$1 don 't kmw. Eh@."

Arrhrcrsticks h i s f i n g e into the hole in the closet door, shakcs his he& pulls out

a pair of punts.

Crystzzl pulls the sheers off the bed

Arthur tries on a vest, puts it back in the closet, nunnurges for sonte socks.

"Tell someone to get me sorne blench next tim they tuke out the van."

He picks up a pair of burgundy and grey dicunond sockr, bhokis them up to the pants.

She bundles up the faundry, walks away barcrfoted, dwnps the soiled sheets in a

basket in the bathroom. She must remind h h to refiI1 his S e m

Lemihg mer the bathtub, she scrubs a rust stain d e r the tap with a tanered SOS

pad Metal threads cut into her chappedfingerttps as she pushes d o m her weight. A trail

of charcoal-coloured grit dribbles into the drain Pushing harder, she feels sweat bead

across her forehead and lodge inside her eyebrows.

She stands y, wiping her forehead with her upper am, washes the tub with fresh

water. The stain ham't budged.

In the sînk, grey flm yicldî to a few swooshes of the pad. Rimng off the debris.

Crystal pauses ut her refem'on d e r a painted 20-watt bulb. Brushing bangs out ofher

eyes, she notices M inch of m0.y brown roois erowning her small hea& Fias her hair,

sprays it with liquid gel. "Arthur, " she yells, ''1 need ten &lhrs."

" W h t for?"

' T v e got to do my hair. "

"M? "

"Yeah, now. "

"But it's nine o 'dock in the noming. "

"So what?"

"It 's swidoy. "

"No it ' s not, if 's Thursday. ."

" Oh. "

She rDrses out the SOS@ mid rosses it into a plastic pail beneuth the sink Washes

her handp and combs her hair Cleopatra style.

"Are you going nght MW?" he aPks Md peels w me-dollar bills from his bilIfoId

She mdr. "Then get me a pack of green Trident."

She grds a num's coatfrom a hwk by the kitchen door, slips her bare jeet into a

pair of m m g shues, twists a strrped scarfover k r heod anà face. Outskie, she grimuces

behind the scarfmid ben& her foreheaâ to the wind Her toes are nwnb by the tirne she

reaches the run-down drug store eight blocki w a y .

A midde-aged Viemamese wonuua behirtù the titl watches hrr closely as s h e walks

down the shmnpoo aisle and stops, stompbig her feet, in front of shUry boxes of hair colour

products. She &liberutes b e e n a p h of an unorexlLc adolescent and a face smiight out

of Sears' archives. The propriefor peeks from the md of the aisle. Checking the pnces,

Crysîat opts for ecommy.

"Hey. you buy sornething orymjkrt bok?" a wicc says quWy, sctmytng up beside

"Ya, I'm buyaig something. What the jùck b your probtem? "

"You want me to cal1 Police? You like threaten me?"

Cvstal bites her lip and concentrates on a nwle beside the wrinkled woman 's nose.

"1 am not threaîenùtg you, ma'mn, " she smes m a saccharine radio voice, "but threatening

your customers with nonexr*stent charges Lr really baâ P.R. " The w o m ~ ghres ut her as

they walik, side by side, &wn the cramped aisle to the cash register.

"You got money ?"

Crystal pulls out her wn'nkled fie-dollar bills, tosses them on the counter.

Slamming the door behind her, Crystal clenches a p W c bag with one bare hand

a d h l & up a finger of the other through bar-strtped windows.

"Bitch, " she mutters mid m e s h m the sidewolk to rhe sound of her cmckling hg.

The wind whips with renewed force and her toes hua As she rounds the corner to the

house, her scmfbbwsfiee. She pauses to re-rie it in the dark window of a vacant building

rmd a aol l , freakish figure refects back ut her. Sta~led, she drops her bug mid jerks her

head from side to side. Steps aheaà to take a closer look Ripped coat, striped scarj face

a parchwork ofraw sures and chapped, ggrey skia The tightness in her nbcage retunts and

bile rises in her throat. She ploccs her open palm against the cold window and gags. The

Peak stares ut her, mintics her gestures.

" Fuck ofi " she shoutr. backs away from the ghSS. Slides n& fingers mer her

cheeks. B a c h up futther, pulls her hmrdp up into her cout sleeves, distractedly nîbs her

cheeks. '"Fuck th&" sk mratem, ttuns away. 'Y don't need this fiCCking shit, manpjÙcking

asshules followîng me." Breaks inio a nin a d passes the phone bootk Thr cold air cuts

mto her lmgs and her bremh cornes in g q s . Hèr stomach tightens ami she mggers. Gags

134

a mouthfil of green liquid spits, falls to her knees Dips her mat sleeves into the snow.

"Get thisfuckng shit off of me, " she yells to empty streets. Scours k r cheeks and &y

droplets of cherry-coloured liquid dribble down her hanrls. "Get it off of me! C@!

m" she chants between fiantic, uneven breaths. Scours harder und knives cut into

her face, W s . Falls onto her bock

Someone dmgs her by her a m , rhe wannth of indoors, fingers undress her. "Open

your mouth, " says a voice like Arthur's. Pills in her mouth, water, wann bhkets. A m

canying her, a m holding her in a wann room A m rocking her, settling her up against

pillows, wrupping her in a thick cornforter*

'V can'tficking breathe. "

Arthur's voice again, cairn, the tightness in her stomach cracking loose. Edges blur

and more voices. Sleep.

Crystal h p s a pile qflaundry inro the wcisher mid drags an old vacuum cleaner up

frwn rhe hasement; Changes the attachments and goes to work on the couch that srinks from

sweat d beer and cigarettes. ï k mhine blasts rhrough the buse as she chucks cushions

on the flwr. No wonder Arthur was screanting kàst night, she r irks , puts the remote

conttol on the coffee table. Tk scratched male sucks up Iint and dirt and imidentifioble

chdihg objects.

Sprays vàregm and water on a m e r towef, scrubs a thick b e r of dust from the

teZmlFion screen. Wipes m u d the controis.

135

"Goddmnn @king dust, " she mutters, moves faster throughout the m m S t d

on a chair, reaches up, wpes finger-marks off the walk Fhger-marks on the ceiting?

Jesus Christ, she thinks, unrulls some more paper toweL Watches in sati@action as the

coffee table shines d e r a scent of lemon oil.

****************************

"I'm bored "

Simg on a stool, Al leans over and t h m s dice into a backgmnmon case. " Yes! Yes.

Yes. You're @king toast? buddy boy! Ha! You're g o m need double fucking sixes- "

Tony rolls a cigarette on the fingerpht-smudged coffee table. A pile of recently

wed rîgs lie beside the vinyl case.

"Corne on you guys, let's go out or sonrething, " Crystal says, nvinging her foot.

Arthurpaces Rjbnt ofa hrge window. A Aren somds in the distance ancl he stops to peer

unàer a hemry, piaid curtaUr The siren mails out of range.

"I havett 't been out ofthlr houre for two ficcking weeks. Let's go to t h t Mer hours

club on the north end This plocc is like a goddmnn muusoleum. " She puts down a soggy?

home-mlled cigarette md rakos a sip fiom a cm of chocolute Enmrt.e. Grimacing, she forces

d o m a mouthjid of the thick nunient shake- "Corne on, how about it? Tommy and Tem'

should be bock with the van suon."

Anhru bris& nmes pust t h ami disappears &wn the haU. Tony passes the dice

&I Al over the dnn>e of an aà for Jojo's Psychic Network Everyone fieetes at the sound of

a m@d cm& "CRYSTAL!" Arthur enters the living room holding un empty pill bottle.

"Did you take the rest Qmy Sera?"

"No, " sire says quietly, 'cyou m u t havefiished them yesteràày. "

He thnnvs the httk ugainrt the kicks Al's -1 with a shmy. metal-tipped boot.

Al spmwls fonvard ont0 the table anà phnic disks sphtter to the floor. "1 did no? finish

them yesterday. '"

She rolls a cigarette between shoking fingers. "1 dih ' t take them. Arthur, but we

c m get some Valiwn or something from Alister. Terri says he's always ut that club."

"Don 't fuck with me, Crystal. "

She takes a h g dmg of her cigatette* The hrr time he ran out was ut Sally 's place.

Smashed windows, kicked in a television. It took three guys to hoùi him down while she

phoned everyone she knew looking for downers.

"You jwt wunt ta see that linle shit Eliot, " says Arthur, hi& face shining. "You think

I'm stupid?"

She stores at the table, fùlgets with her cigarette. "There 's got to be un extra stash

somauhere. " T&s a drug. "Don 't be paranoid, Anhrrr. I don 't give a shit about Eliot.

I jwt wmted to heur some music, rnaybe &ce a bit*"

"1 just want to dmice," A d k sneers, "maybe a linle private dance with buddy ?"

A mrcscle twitches along the I e f t side of bis juw. "1 have a better ùlea You take my fiCCking

pilk, you dance for me." Look from Tony to AL "What do you think?"

No answer.

"Arthur, c a h &m. I'm swe I c m find something. "

"DoPt'tjùcking putronize me," he s?wuts, SM& lights a cigarette- "You going to

dance or what?"

No answer.

"Ge? up. "

She doesn't move.

Grds thef*ont of her sweater, p d s her to herfeet. She stumbles against the cofie

table.

T m waiting. "

Her shoulders slwnp. tremors stan in her ankles, sh@ into her knees.

"CrystalP I'rn waming you. "

The tremors move into her thighs, abdomen.

Hisfisr hits her squarely in the face. She staggers backwardr and a stwam of bbod

drips from her nose. Arthur chokes out a high-pitched laugh, shakes his hmid

"NOW are you ready to donce?"

She luoh nt Tony, Al, Arthur, lowers her eyes, dashes for the kitchen. Grabs M d

of the doorktwb ar a m p h her from behmd.

"ûne w q or amther, you 're going to &ce for me, CrystaL " Drags her into the

bedmm, p& off his bel?, bUrdr her wrîsts behind her back Her stomach heaves Md red

splotches dot her sweater. He throws her onto the be4 stands &ove k r with glazcd eyes.

Fists clencheri, jaw muscles taunt

Resigned she watches, swallows b l w d

"Pou fiCCking want me n, do it. don't you?" he spi& "You've actualty been waiting

for this. "

She closes her eyes.

"You W cimt, " he whirpers? 'krouldn ' t that just figure. " Lowers himserfonto the

wmpr hlrfingm îuvund her thrwt "That ' s why you came hem, im 't it? " Shakes hk

head slowly. " You didn 't have the fucking balls. " His voice truils off as he tightenr his

grip, leans close to her face. "Say it Crystal, Z want to heur you say it. "

She opens her eyes, meets his gaze.

Neither of them moves.

" I'm waiting. "

"Yeah?" She grMaces honhly. "Weil I'm waiting too, you fucker. You some kind

of pussy or what?"

The finiace taps irregularly.

A door slams fhom somewhere jar awuy.

Voices.

He licks bbodfram her lips.

She watches h h sleep from the Xanar T e h brought home.

His bhck k i r , premre ly flecked with grey and towledfrom fuckmg and sweat?

flops over his creased forehed A muscle in his jrnv nvitches and his cbsed eyelidPjWer

long làshes. Hi$ elbow jerks anà he breathes quîckly. Shc h a never seen hirn rekuvd

His cheehnes dip s e & hto olivc-colouted sha&ws. His skin is pe@ectly clear

anà&ectiy smoott?t. She hm never seen hbn with a blenzish or a CM, despite the fm thoi

139

he shuves twice a drry with his father's straight razor. Even munà ?ais lips. Finn, well-

defined lips shaped like a wonian's. He is the most beaue t m m she has ever s e n

She gets up, @ès thugh his pockets, pdk out hi$ wdlet. Takes outjîve of its eight

himdred dollatrs, picks up her clothes, tiptoes into the Mlway. Pulls her clothes on silently,

peekr into the living room, sees Al's motionless a m on the green chair. Tony lies on the

couch, eyes closed No sign of Tomniy or Terri. W n g her breath, she jums her feet into

her m i n g shoes, shifrs into her cuat, gently nudges the deaàbolt back Twists the

duorknob, slips outside, m.

Crysral, I con 't believe it's you! Slow down, I c m 't understunà you. What kind of

muble? No, no, that's al1 right. Of course you con stay with us. For as long as you need

We jwt bought a new houce and we have a spure bedroonr There's plenty of space. Yes,

Ikmw where that is. How long have you k m staying there? 2 just need to k t the car up.

No, p u don 't haw to tell me. Hm's o mbe, I'll put pur clothes in the warh. Muke

yourseIf comfonable. How long has it been since we were ut Sam's? Rernember how he

mode us put generic ketchup into He& bonles? He was such ujetk And remember that

nighr we mded up in that mùne's hotel room doing lines while he bumed incense? What?

Oh shir, me ywc serious? A n )wu okay? You're lu& you weren't killed! T M God you

called us! Okay, okqy, ifyou're sure, but I really think we shoukl cal1 the Police. Ikmw

it's up to you. A11 right, Ipromike. Here, you've got to eat someihing, you h k üke a

skeleton. You were always tmy, but-what?-no, Crystal, you &n't look fabubus. 1'11 get

some ice cream tomorrow.

Patrick, she really needr afrend tight now. Look, I krow she seem a little mange.

Yes, she told me &ut the cm threotening hcr, but it takes a while for this s w t o get out of

hersystem ûfcome not! H m c m you say thut? I know this woman; we worked together

for two years. She wasn't always like this; something tem*bIe must have happened How

shuuid Z know? No, I h e n ' t seen her for a while. A while. Five! I don 't how. Z said 1

don't know. Mqbe 32,33.

What do you mean, those k i k i of people? Whar & yw want me to do, throw her out

on the street? How do yuu knav thot animal won 't corne clfer her? No, she refuses to go

into Detox; she 's convinced he 's got people watching the place. Oh, I get it. So whose

pmblena is it? She's jumps every thte she heurs the slightest sounà Wakes up screaming.

She used to be so nucchfwr Ahvays h overdrive, you know, ulways afnrid of missmg out on

something. Or maybe just ofmid of being bored--1 &n't reully know. We used to have a

s q h g back at Sam's: that ifyou want trouble, just add Crystal mid stir. She attracted it.

She'd wear plastic hotponts, make huge tips, buy r o d for everyone. 1 cun't. It's fow

below outside! We 'II air out the basement @r she gets on her feet. We've been tulkîng

about a job, rnaybe having Social Sentices hclp her get ofrtrnbkd buchelor to start witk

Go slow, rnake a new beginning, mcrybe set her up with a good counseilor. Oh get off it,

what's s k gohg to do--cmry out the dishwasher on her buck? She can &are& stand up!

You are p a r n i d Patrick You have no idea what she's been through No, I don't bww

w k her fmib is. Patriîkf Stop it! JW a fov ààys, I promise. No, I didn't mem that.

No. h k mister, jfyou think because you've got some fmrcy piece of paper hmigmg on the

141

wall that I don't have a say in thb-well it sure s o d e d t h t way to me. Okay. I'm just

trVprg 10 scry t b t she's not stupid So her lunguage i$ pretty b d think abouf what kind of

company she's been keeping! Yes. She even took a couple of years of psychology or

something at college. Don 't ralk to me like I'm a chikL A bad influence? Fuck you Patrick

Are you sure you're feeling up to if? Honesf, I I n 't mùui driving you. You sure?

Well, it has wamed up ami the wind's gone h; maybe some air would be good for you-

it is k h i of stq@ down here. Take nry parka. itis got a wvum hwd Don ' t be silly; if you 're

going out there, Wear my parka I don'? understand you Crystal--I don 't mW. Okay, Z'll

lay & but at least put on these socks and nry old boots. So you just tunt Icff ut the corner

and it's one block up; they have al1 kir& of cigarettes, you should k able to j%d some

t o ~ c o . Is tm dollars gohg to be enough? Here, wait, take these mittens-oit's still winter

out there. Crystal?

"Lady, are you okay? You look like something 's wrong, " says a middle-aged

man with a warm, Polish accent.

She miles at him weakiy, puts the change in herpocket, skuns the door. Walks

beside fresh trucks in the driveway and poundr on the kitchen &or. "It's me, Crystal.

Corne on you guys, let nie in."

Tlie deodbolt clicks and the door opens. Her qycs follow the front of Arthur's

robe up to Terne's watery-btue eyes. "Jesus, CrystaC I'd get ouna here i f1 wrri you.

He's pretty pissed "

" I need to talk to him T e m please cal2 LM for me. "

Footsteps th& into the kitchen.

The doorflies open and Tommy pulls her i~t~ide. "Wliere's the fuckng money?"

Hits her across the face with the back of his hand "Didya spend it on your littlejkk

@end Eliot? Or maybe you bought yourself a great big dildo. "

"Where 's Arthur?" she sputtets, reeling from the blow.

"1 asked you a question Where-- is- the-fuck-+tg--mon--ey ?" Ho& up his

"Wait, " she says, pulk cnarpled bills from her pockets. Tornmy counts the

money out loud on top of the kitchen table.

" Where 's the rest? "

"1 CM get if Tonuny, 1 jus? need a bit of rime. Z need to talk to Arthur. Just for a

minute. "

"Hell, " Terri says quietly, "1 di& 't know you was coming back Crysral. "

" Crystal shouts, hybg to push past Tommy. "Arthur!"

"Keep yourfucking voice d m " a harsh voice mer s f ro rn the direction of the

bedroom.

"Arthur!" l e screams as Tommy c@s her ih the face. She fails to her knees and

the room spins.

Hmids push into her s ? w ~ r s , lijt her to her feet. "1 c m get the rest Mit, I

swem, I 'm goihg &wn to S o d Services in a coupk of days. 'Blùrkr a few times, kwks

up at Arthur's mouth "I was. I-1-I; " she stammers, puts ?ter hmids up for balunce, ''1

143

was justfircked up Arthur, I got scared 14-1 didddn 't kiow what to do, I panicked, I

fucked up. " Her teeth chutter, fmiüm tremors retum "Lmk, Ifucked up, I'rn sony.

I'll get the m n e y for you, I promise. " Her voice cracks and she starts to cry. " Yuu 've

got tu let me stay here for juîr a little while, Arthur, please. Z'm losing my fuckng mind,

man, my heuà isfitll of voices. They're everywhere, mm, they keep telling me they're

gohg to kill me. And some Peak is following me. Every t h e I han around this fucking

nut is starhg ut me, leering. I c m 'tficcking stand it. " Her eyes shifr wikily. "I can't

fucking go back there. They 're going to kill me Arthur, I swear it. " She inhales sharply,

ho [di her brearh, presses her face tu his chest. "Don 't make me go back t h e , " she

pleuds as she gets a whigof Terne's cheap pe*. "I'll use this address for my cheque,

you c m corn with me when I cash it. "

" You don 't get it Crystal. "

"1 c m get the money. Honest. It'll al1 be fine. I jurt need a little time. "

Arthur holds her face between his han&, shakes her once to get her attention.

She miles weakly.

"Crystal, " he says in a dead voice, "I don 't give a j k k what you do. Just leave

me aione. " Pushes her away fiom his chest, spins her a r o u . s b e s her out onto the

porch Tlir deadboit clicks.

Tiil wînd whips through kr c h p coat Md snow CU& info her face. No

mvement on the Street, or ho&, shouts, footsteps, cars. A regular Srmday in the

mburbs.

An k g e of her fmnfly homefills up her nmtbling stomach, She pictures the

144

stuccoed walls, grmeiled dttveway, semicircuhr anangement of s p m e trees in the front

yard.

She hated that fucking house.

Crystal stares ut a snowdrift and iaughs until she vomits.

BESTiALITY AND UGLY PEOPLE

The enterprise of the earlier fajZae writers, to try to define their own desires by making up stories about beasts who either denied them or W e d hem, has been rather Lost to sight [in Disney versions of "Beauty and the Beast"]. The vindication of the Beast has become the chief objective; the true lovableness of the good Beast the main theme. (Wameq BtB 3 f 5-3 16)

The beautyhast motif in fa j r tale fiterature has received a great deal of criticai

attention. Maria Tatar, in With Their He&!, discusses it in tenns of young brides'

fears about their new, md often barely hown, husbands of arranged marriages. M a ~ a

Warner, in From rhe Beost to the Blonde, analyses the beast as a symbol of male

sexuality. Jack Zipes, in BreakUig the Magic Spell, lmks at the beautyheast pauing as a

symbol of class conflict. When it cornes to woman-as-beast, however, there is less

schoiarship. While Wamer devotes a N1 chapter to bird imagery of the storyteiier (the

evolution of "Mother Goose") and States bat animal metamorphosis offers one character,

Princess Hawthorne (discussed on page 155), more '%dom of movement than as a

young woman, and more freedom of choice " (BtB 283), Wamer does not address more

complex implications of what happens to fairy tale women who don? measure up to

traditional standards of beauty. Being a beast, or king ugly, are two ways of missing

that mark

Marie-Louise von Franz, in her book Redemption Mows in Fairytales, lumps

male-beasts and fernale-beasts into one category. To paraphrase her very Jungian

analysis, she claims that the assumption of animal form implies that a complex has been

"arbitcarïly repressed" (RMF 62) and is thus channeued into "a perverted animai fonn"

(RMF 62). Therefore "[~Jomething which should be lived more in the psychic or

spiritual realm, is obliged to be lived on the animal pattern" (von Franz, RMF 53). Based

on the situations that foilow, that "something," in the case for women, is oftni

intelligence, pride and wilhilness.

For exampie, in a story calleci "The White Cat" by Marie-Catherine D'Aulnoy, a

Rince goes off on a Rincely quest. Along the route, he meets a white cat and faüs

madly in love with her. What does this cat have to offer that a nice, virginal Rincess

hasn' t?

It is tme that White Cat had a pleasant, good-natmd and alrnost omniscient mind. She was more leamed than a cat is permitted to be. This surprised the prince sometimes. No, he told her, it's not naturai, all the marvellous quaiities 1 behold in you: if you love me, charming puss, tell me by what rnarvel you think and speak so accurately, that you could easily be received in the most lemed academies? (D'Aulnoy in Wamer, ed. Wonder Tales 33)

Weil, the cat might have responded, I'm female and I'm smart and if 1 had some

cleavage and long legs you'd be running down my fiont lawn faster than 1 could curtsy to

the King. Which is, of course, what might have happeneci if an intefigent woman in

seventeenth century France had tied to speak with a man on topics outside of rihlaî

The practice of storyteuing grew up in the salons as part of an open campaign about equaiity and intelligence in conversation; the prdcieuses, with Madeleine de Scudéry at their head, assaulted the conventions which made gahiueries the only topic of mixed Company. (Wamer, ed. & Introduction to Wonder Tales 8)

Even worse than king scary, an intelligent woman might have been branded as

something unnamal. Maybe even-horrors-deminine, or beastly. Many critics,

including Warner, have drawn convincing paraiieIs between sinfuloess (The Beast)-

which in women usually meant assertiveness, independence, curiosity (Eve)-and the

depiction of animai parts (cloven hooves, tails and other interesting, distinguishing

characteristics).

In D'Auinoy's story, however, the cat cm 't be branded as a beast: it already is a

cute, harmless fluff-bail that even promises to keep its claws "dram in" (D'Aulnoy in

Warner, ed. Wonder Tales 33) from our c h d g young Prince. Despite the fact that she

d e s a cat-kingdom, the White Car is not an intimidating character. Had she embodied

her "me" human Princess form, however, complete with human beauty and human

sexuality, how well would the Rince have accepted her exceptional leaming and

intellect? Obviously, men needed to be cajoled with the message, don't worry boys, us

smart chicks are pussy-cats at heart. Or perhaps, on some level, D'Aulnoy still perceived

women intellectuals as animals. Note that the spell keeping the White Cat a cat only

breaks when the Rince, at the cat's urging, hacks her head off with his phallic sword.

What does that say? She'ii be a Real Woman if he smashes open her braias? Ot perhaps

a bit of pst-coitai, cigarette-smoking, coming into womanhood?

Aithough the above possibiities am plausible, they probably aren't happening in

D'Aulnoy's story. The Prince does Say, at one point, 'T love you so dearly. Either

become a girl, or turn me into a ca r (D'Aulnoy in Warner, ed. Wonder T&s 28).

Apparently he will play on her terms. And i f s the cat who dernands decapitation; the

Prince k g s for an altemative. When he acquiesces to the cat's request, he does so in

submission to, rather than domination over, bis 'lover's" will. The bottom line,

however, is that it takes a Rince to accept the Rincess's learning, articdateness and

inteliigence kfore such qualities ment the form of woman.

D'Aulnoy tries to be fair with her characterizations-sort of-because in another

one of her stones, T h e Great Green Worm," it's the guy who gets, via an evil fairy's

curse, the temporary role of animal. Mind you, he's cast as a huge, slimy worm versus

the pretty feline in 'The White Cat," but D'Aulnoy evens the score by cursing the

heroine of "The Great Green Worm," a woman cded Hidessa, with "prfect ughess"

(in Wamer, ed. Wonder Tales 192).

The queen caiied her elder daughter Hidessa . . . Hidessa grew to appear so fiightfbl that, however intelligent she was, it was impossible to look her in the face. . . . m h e n Hidessa was twelve, she threw herself at the feet of her parents and begged them to aiiow her to go and shut herself away in the Lonely Casde, to hide her ugliness. . . . (D'Aulnoy in Warner, ed. Wonder Tales 1 92- 193)

The '%rue" identities of the worm (a Rince) and Hidessa (a beautifbi Rincess) are

conceaieci behind their masks of human and animal ugiiness. In this story, however,

Hidessa's looks aren't the impediment to romance; the worm figures hey, she's no

beauty, but afkr dl, 1 an a Great Green Woxm. In this case, it's the 'iigly" heroine who

recoils h m the even uglier w o m (see Figure 13 on page 149). D'Aulnoy's narrator

does not aiiow her audience to miss this h n y :

Understand, Hidessa, that you m u t not despise the Green Worm - and, if it isn't too harsh a thing to say, 1 would point ont that he is much less ugly in his kind than yoa are in yoms. . . . (D'Aulnoy in Wamer, ed. Wondcr Tales 196)

Hidessa takes about thirty-five of the story's forty pages to heed the message on the

hypocrisy of double standards.

Figure 13. Hidessa Meets the Great Green Wona

Iliustration by Sophie Herxheimer of Hidessa's meeting with the worm in "The Great

Green Worm" by D'Aulnoy.

Source: Warner, ed. Wonder Tales, 188.

150

As Wamer notes in the Introduction to M s collection of French tales, many

women writers in D'Aulnoy's era used their texts to contest the b'oppressive narrowness

of the prevailing canon of beauty" (Warner, Introduction toWonder Tales 5). While

D'Aulnoy certainly works against this "canon," in "The Great Green Worm" she also

challenges and criticizes attraction-rating scales for men und women, noting, with harsh

dignity, that women contribute to constricthg n o m . Critics don? seem very interested

in the possibility that women might have prefemd handsome youths for loverdhusbands

instead of mature, more experienced, potenrially uglier, smarter and more empathetic

men. After ail, most of the French-women's stories were not written for instruction; they

were circulated arnong adult women and a few men for entertainment. These writers

were ali too familiar with court M e and adulterous liaisons. There was no need to

pretend "it would al1 work out" in marrïage (a common interpretation of the beautylbeast

motif) when many h e w otherwise h m experience. So maybe, just maybe, the men (if

any) these women found most appealing in later years-from niendship, conversation-

were beastly-looking according to traditional standards. Overcoming remision to such

hypothetical individuals would ceaainly work in women's interests.

Charles Perrault, a m u e n t visitor of French-women's salons, uncle of MUe.

L'Héritier, and a supporter of women's rights, coùzcidentally shared an interest in the

topîc of men's and women's ugliness. In his tale, 'niquet With the Tt&" we get a

Prince who is "so ugly and misshapen that for a long tirne everyone doubted if he was in

fact human" (Pmaalt in Zipes, ed. B b t e 52). Despite his intense ugüness, however,

Riquet has great intelligence. He is also capable of endowing a woman who loves h i .

question in

versions an

is beautiful

heroine, thc

and therefo

tde; he's a

Rincess f

year. Riqut

intolerably

and let the 1:

workable Pl

What to tual

place for an

Jack Zq, or Perrault )

153

become handsome; if anything, he becomes more unappealing as the tale conthmes. And

last, but not least, Bernard slams the institution of marriage no matter who nIls the d e

of husband. Neatly tuming the tables on the fairy tale convention of making women

interesthg only during courtship, Bernard's text states, in no uncertain temu, that

courr~hip is the only time men are interesting.

So, to retum to the question: why dont the ugiy Rincess's good qualities make

her beautifid? Because in many tales, these very same qualities are the cause of a

woman's ugliness. When it cornes to most tales written by men, attitude, power and

voice have got to make the Top Ten List of Fairy Tales' Most Repuisive Womanly

Traits. In one tale called "Gawain and the Lady Ragnell," a blatant 'Wife of Bath" rip-

off, King Arthur has one year to fuid the answer to the riddle '"What is it that women

most desire, above a l l else?'" (Johnston Phelps, e d & comp. 36). If he'd read his

Chaucer he'd have been home-free, but, alas, he hadn't. Lucky for Arthur, however,

Lady Ragnell had nad her Chaucer and offers up the answer in exchange for Arthur's

favourite lmight and nephew, Gawain. Hardy an unfair bargain, except for the tiny

detail that Ragneii "was almost as wide as she was high, her skin was mottled green, and

spikes of weedlike hair covered h a W. Her face seemed more animal than human"

(Johnston Phelps, ed. & comp. 37). Naturaliy Arthur accepts the &a& although he feels

terrible breaking the news to Gawain.

We a l l know the answer to the riddle of what women want: sovereignty, fke

wiIl. What has this got m do with ugliness? WeU, take one huge, wild guess as to how

Ragnell kcame so god-awful hideous: her step-bmther "thought ber] bold and

unwomaniy because [she] àefied him. [She] refused bis commands both for ber]

property and mer] person" (Johnston Phelps, ed. & comp. 44). He curses her with

ugiiness until she finds a man who chooses to marry her in her ugly form. If she nnds

such an unfathomable fellow, she will retum to her 'bai'' form for 12 of every 24 hours.

Uniess, as Ragneii says,

"after marriage to the greatest knight in Britain, my husband k e l y [gives] me the power of choice, the power to exercise my own h e wiil, the wicked enchantment would be broken forever." (Johnston Phelps, ed. & comp. 44)

Arthur fulfills a i l of the criteria and Ragnell regains, permanently, her beautifhi female

fom. Like the Rincess in D'Aulnoy's "The White Cat," however, Ragnell can oniy be

herself (a beautifid woman) if a man allows her to be.

In an Italian tale cded "The Old Woman's Hide," the beautyheast motif takes

another tum. When a King departs for a fair, he asks his t h e girls what presents they

would like. The youngest asks for salt. Why? Her two eM1 sisters explain it to their

father, "'Do you know why that awful girl wants salt? For no other reason than to pickle

you"' (Calvino, e d & comp. 253). Similar to other faky tale Kings, this one possesses a

notable lack of intelligence. As a result, the youngest daughter, dong with one

nursemaid, is promptly booted h m the house. Since ''[aJll the young men she met were

bothersome" (Calvino, ed & comp. 253), she disguises henelf in the skin of a recently

After much haggling, the gravedîgger picked up a knife, skinned the old woman wrinkle by wrinlrle, and sold her whole hide togeber witb face, white haïr, fingers and nails. The nursemaid then tanned the hide, stitched it ont0 cambrîc, and clothed the girl in it (Calvino, ed. & comp. 253)

155

Like other disguiseci beauties, this one nnds a King who values her wit while she's s tü l

in camouflage. In this tale, Iike others, the camoufîage is "beastly."

Ugliness and beastliness are frequently synonymous, equating, as Warner and

other d c s discuss, extemal and internai (read: submissive, docile, domestic, humble,

silent) beauty. The above stones, however, subvert the behaviourlappearance dichotomy

by making uglyjbeastly women beautifid once their wiifuiness has been acceptexi by men.

In 'The White Cat," for instance, the Prince must kiîi the cat in blind faith before she

sheds her animal disguise. In "Gawain and the Lady Ragnell," Gawain must fkely

choose to marry Ragneîi, treat her with kindness and consideration, und respect her

preferences and choices. With both stones, women hide their beauty until a man's ment

is proven. In "The Old Woman's Hide," the father-King is humbled at his daughter's

wedding festivities when she serves him dishes without salt. FmaUy understanding the

request for which he banished his youngest Princess, "the father recognized his daughter,

embraced her, begged her forgiveness, and punished the envious sisters" (Calvino, ed. &

comp. 255). In the case of natural-ugly instead of transformed-ugly women, the result

isn't quite so optimistic. For in both versions of Wqtxet With the T a " ugly women are

simpiy disposexi of.

In a story by Henriette-Julie de Murat cdled '%earskin" (in Warner, ed. Wonder

Tales), Princess Hawthorne reaiizes someihiog few other narratives acnially put into

words:

As she was no fwl, she realised that ugliness is not such a great misfortune, since beauty may oniy Iead to trouble. (Murat in Warner, ed. Wonder Tdes 105)

156

This realization nails down one of the chief ~asons many female characters actually

choose-not accomiting for random fairy punishments-animai disguises: somebody's

trying to fuck them. In "Catskin," and "Donkeyskin," for example, two of the Grimms'

fairy tales, a young woman hides in a coat of cat or donkey skins to evade her father's

lascivious advances. In "Gawain and Lady RagnelI," Ragneil is transformeci because she

refuses her brother's commmds "both for ber] propeq and m] person" (Johnston

Phelps, ed. & comp. 44). In ''Bearskin," Hawthorne, the Princess, hides in bear skins to

evade an ogre's advances. (Luc4 she didn't chwse tiger prints or a leather mini; she

wouldn't have gotten far.)

The ogre, in Hawthorne's case, is a Rhinoceros King who threatens to gobble

Hawthorne's family if she refuses to become his M e . Wedding bells promptly chime.

When Hawthorne's delivend to her new hubby's home, she sneaks out disguised in a

bearskin coat Once she gets out ont0 the road, the coat changes its properties and

Hawthorne actualiy becomes a bear. As a bear-get this-she meets a human King,

chanas him with her humility, and the two faU in love (se+ Figure 14 on page 156).

There isn't one single human-to-human attraction in "Bearskin," which prompts a

few questions like, what would the ogre do with a Princess? Weren't there any eligible

female Rhinos hanging around his court? And wouldn't a Rhino have been able to sniff

out his new bride's deparn~e-bear skin or no bear &in? Perhaps a kar is too

intimidating for a Rhino, but not for a human King? And once Hawthorne's a bear, why

is she so submissive? As an animal rumoured to be a lot more violent than a Rhino,

Hawthorne is the p i c m of humility. When she meers the human king, sword in hand,

Figure 14. Bearskin.

Illustration by Sophie Hencheimer of the Prince and Rincess/bear in "Bearskin' by

Murat.

Source: Warner, ed. Wonder T'es , 109.

"she prostrated herseif at his feet and lowered h a head to receive the blow" (Murat in

Wamer, ed Won& Tales 106). Of course he's captivated with her grace and takes her

back to his court. As the days pass, "the young king, as he reflected how clever the bear

was, dared not admit to himself that he found her irresistibly attractive" (Murat in

Wamer, e d Wondrr Tales 109). EventuaUy the aisis advances to w h m the King says:

But you can't realiy be a bear, he said to her one &y. In the naxne of al1 the go&, tell me who you are. How much longer are you going to keep it secret? You're in love with me, 1 donTt doubt it, my happiness depends on my believing it, but please, my reputation's at stake: donTt make it necessary for me to respond to the love of a kar. (Murat in Warner, ed. Wonder Tales 1 IO)

This speech is similar to the Rince's speech to D'Aulnoy's white car: something ain't

nght, baby, but 1 just can't put my finger on it. Bingo, something isn't right. As an

animal capable of tearing her young King to bits and pieces, Hawthorne behaves-unlike

Mr. Rhino--as a controlled and domesticated pet But she's still a beur. Biology aside,

wouldn't a human, King or no King, seem downright pathetic?

In 'The White Cat,'' the Riacess becomes a cat because she refuses to many a

'Bearskin," each woman becomes beastly because she refuses to do what men expect her

to. Wown's assertiveness, whatever the manifestation, n& to be punished. This

threat crosses cultural and geographical boundaries ail the way to Atiica, where a

Sudanese tale, "Achol and Her Wild Mother," endorses patnmhal dominance in brutal

terms. The story describes a mother who enüsts the help of a Lion in cauying firewooà.

Every time the lion helps her, it ckmands something in return. The mother offm one of

her limbs each trip untü she has no more limbs left. At this stage, "she b o r n e s ] wild

and [tums] inîo a lioness" (Carter, ed. & comp. Virago 136). Throughout this process,

the woman/lioness's husband and sons are away at a cattle camp, but her daughter,

Achol. rem* at home. When the mother/lion comes to visit. Achol speaks with her

and feeds her.

When Achol's brothers and father return, they are not impressed with having a

lion for a mother/wife. The first brother merely mns; the second "[empties] his bowels"

(Carter, ed. & comp. Virago 137). then runs. Daddyhusband follows suit. Fiially,

Adhalchingeeny ('The Exceedingly Brave One") comes and takes charge of the ma=

Their mother came and sang as usual. Achol repliecl. As their mother went towards the food, Adhalchingeeny pulied the rope, gagged her and tied her to a pole. He then went and beat her with part of the heavy rope. He beat ber and beat her and beat her. Then he gave her a piece of raw meat, and when she ate it, he beat her again. He k a t her and beat her and beat her. Then he gave her two pieces of meat, one raw and one roasted. She refuseci the raw one and took the roasted one, saying, 'My son, 1 have now kcome human, so please stop beating me.'

They then reunited and lived happily. (Carter, ed. & comp. Virago 137-38)

They? Weren't the women doing just fine before The Exceedingly Brave One came

dong and beat the heu out of Achol's lion-mother? There's no "they" in question; it's

the pant-shitting men who have the problem and it's the pant-shitting men who need to

"solve" it. And their solution leaves no ambiguity as to the place of women's power in a

The woman-as-lion motif occurs in two other Sudanese taies in Carter's Virago

collection. One of them is called "Duang and His Wild Wi!' In this tale, a woman

becomes a lion after her husband refuses, out of seIfishness, to feed her beef, Instead, he

punishes her for her appetite by taking away her children and ~ecretly feeding her dog

As soon as Achol heard her voice, she jumped out of her hiding place. They ran towards one another and embraced.

Achol's father took out a bull and slaughtered it in hospitaiity for the lioness. The iioness said she would not go back to the forest but would rather stay among the human beings with her daughter, Achol.

Achol was marriecl and was given to her husband. Her mother. the lioness, moved with her to her marital home. And they ail Lived happily together. (Carter, ed. & comp. Virago 154- 155)

The intensity of the females' bond remains despite men's efforts to separate Achol h m

her mother. As with the other two Sudanese stones, however, the lion must abandon her

"wildness" by confonning to the "civilized" expectations of her new community. It's not

difficult to draw a polarity of medwomen in the Sudanese tales. Females are bons; men

beat lions. Females take care of women; men punish such females. Angela Carter, who

compiled the tales, appended this note, copied from Di& Folktales, to the Achol stories:

'lions are what the Dinh fear rnost' (p.25) and 'A person who violates fundamental precepts of the Dinka moral code is often identifieci in the folk taies as an outsider and an animal' (p. 161). (Carter, ed. & comp. Vimgo 222-page notations are Carter's)

The %oral codes" violated an difficdt to reconstruct without more knowledge of Dinka

customs, however, women's desire, cunning, and exclusively female relationships are

Animal-women can take yet another form in f m tales: they can begin as

animals, change into humans, and change back into animals. This occurs in a Siberian

tale h m Carter's Virago collection cded "Story of a Bird Woman," and an Irish tale

written by the American author Jane Yolen cded 'The White Seal Maid" (in Zipes, ad

Outspoken Prûzcess). With both des , a man spies a group of animal-people: in the first,

a gathcring of geese-people; in the second a group of seal-people. Having temporarily

Figure 15. The White Seal Maid.

Iiiustration by Stéphane Po& for "The White Sed Maici" by Jane Yolen.

Somct: Zipes, ed. Tnc Outspoken Princess anà Gentle M g h t 121.

163

shed their animal skins, these animais become human (see Figure 15 on page 162 for an

illustration to "The White Seal Maid"). The spy then spots a good-looking gmsdseal,

steals her sicin, and takes her home to be his wife. In both cases, the wife isn't thrilled

with this arrangement, but children soon populate the narrative. One day each

woman/animaI figures out how to restore her animal covering and fly/swim back

"home." While both husbands go in search of their departed wives and cbildren, ody the

bird-woman's husband brings her back with him. The seal-woman and her chiidren do

not retum to the story.

Neither of these men beat their wives to make them stay and neither of these

women (and their children) do stay. Why should they? The men don't ask them if they

want to get married; they merely aick the women by stealing hem in vulnerable

moments. It might have tipped off the seal-woman's husband that something wasn't

quite right when we l em that she hasn't spoken to him for the entire seven years of their

CO-habitation. Weli, maybe he was tipped off. Mayk he hows she can't stand him.

Maybe he hows he'll never land himself a woman unless he uses deceit and trickery.

Perhaps he knows he's a loser. Perhaps he isn't stupid. Or perhaps he just likes mute

women.

In the case of the goose-woman, her human-husband goes to battle with her new

bkd-husband back in bird land. The suspense-fïîied drama of man vems bird unfoIds,

and to the shock and arnazement of ail, bird loses. Human-hubby then bomws an

eagle's 'aclothes" in order to carry his wife and children back to "theif human home.

Once there, the whole famüy sheds their bird covering togethn. This is quite di£Ferent

h m the seal story, for while the goose chooses to leave her human husband, she doesn't

have much choice in retuming to him. The warrior sti l l gets the bah-in this case,

goose-at the end of Victory. To his credit, however, at least he fights for her instead of

just steaiing her clothes again. Like the Prince in D'Aulnoy's "The White Cat," this hem

is willing to play/fight on his beloved's temtory. The seal-maid's husband merely stares

at the water and cries.

As a contrast, Angela Carter removes human characteristics from animals rather

than beating animal characteristics out of humans in several stories in The Bloody

Chamber. In a beautylkast story entitied "The Tiger's Bride," it's Beauty who

undergoes metamorphosis when she r e m s to the dying Beast, a tiger:

He dragged hirnself closer and closer to me, until I felt the harsh velvet of his head against my hand, then a tongue, abrasive as sandpaper. 'He will lick the skin off me!'

And each stroke of his tongue ripped off skin after successive skin, ail the skins of a Me in the world, and left behind a nascent patina of shining hairs. My earrings tumed back to water and trickled d o m my shoulders; 1 shrugged the h p s off my beautifid fur. (Carter, Bloody Chamber 67)

Likration of women's '%eastliness" is a common theme in Carter's fairy tales, and

Carter doesn't shy away h m scatological details. In one of her versions of Little Red

Riding Hood called 'The Company of Wolves" (nie Bloody Chamber), Red crawls into

bed with the disguised WOU-My aware that it's the wolf-and thhks about picking and

eating Lice h m his hair. In a story cded 'WoIf-Alice" (Carter, The Bfoody Chamber), a

half-animaInialf-human Nice licks dirt and blood h m her semi-humari lover's wound.

In yet another tale calleci 'Teter aad the Woif" (Carter, Buming Your Bouts), a young

woman flees £tom human relatives to rem to the wolves that raiseci ber as a child. One

of the iast scenes in this story involves the girl nursing wolf cabs.

Marina Wamer discusses Carter's work in the context of shifting attitudes on the

beautylbeast motif:

In twentieth-century culture . . . Beauty stands in need of the Beast. . . . She has not mistaken a human lover for a mouster, 1 . k Psyche, or failed to see a good man beneath the surface, like Belle; on the contrary, the Beast' s kastiiness will teach her something. Her need of him may be reprehensible, a moral fiaw, a part of her carnal and materialist nature; or, it can represent her understanding of love, her redemption. He no longer stands outside her, the threat of male sexuality in bodily form, or of male authority with aU its fearful amorality and social legitimacy, as in D'Aulnoy's stories, but he holds up a mirrot to the force of nature within her, which she is invited to accept and ailow to grow. In one sense the Beast has returned to define Beauty in the early medieval ferninine character of seductive concupiscence; only now, the stigma has ken lifted. The Beast as beast has become the object of desire. (Warner, BtB 307-308)

Wamer's analysis applies well to Carter's faUy tale adaptations. In Carter's stories,

beastliness no longer means repulsion; it means lust. As a result, the fernale character in

"The Tiger's Bride" who actudy becomes a full-fledged animal does so for pleusure.

Whether this transcendence of socialization is utopian, fanciful, deluded or snipid, it

nonetheless represents the validity of women's desire.

Most fairy taie wornen-as-beasts, however, aren't quite so sexudy liberated as

Carter's heroines; their appeal to fairy tale men is based on their paradoXical

YUIIlerability. For although a wild beast is stronger than a person, a tamed beast exists to

serve people. And a beastly or ugly woman isn't in a position to snub even the most

pathetic of men. While Maria Tatar claims that pregnancy is a humbling experience for

faUy tale heruines (Qf With Their He&! 100). crawlhg arotmd silentiy on al l fours

cadt k particulady self-esteern-buiiding eühcr. Depriveci of the power associatesi with

166

beauty, ugly or beastly women stand/kneel in an extremely vuinerable position. As ugiy

women, they cm be dismisseci without M e r ado; as animais, they can be killed 6 t h

society ' s blessing .

At the time many tales originated, animais were dangerous, and posed a real

threat to human Me (Warner discusses this issue in From the Beast to the Blonde).

Tarning one of these temfying monsters must have given the "tamer" some h d o s for

bravery. To give a d e w of the feats: charming Rince chops off a cuddly white cat's

head; tough guy marches submissive bear to enclosure; brave man steals goose's

feathers; courageous fellow-eecks-niarrles ugiy woman out of loyalty to his King; ugly

man weds sninningiy gorgeous and brilliant Rincess; and The Exceedingly Brave One

beats a lion until she's almost dead. A list of impressive feilows, al i right. It's no

wonder most of them fell for women-beasts.

The women, however, are not simply beasts. Rather, they use their

disfigurements as devices to manipulate men into accepring the very traits which caused

their initial metamorphosis. As a result, the guys end up King @&y controllable by

thinking they're in control. Blind to the knowledge, of course, that their "inferiors"

haven't lost their claws. They just choose to draw thern in.

BE FRWWUL AND MULTIPLY

Slither, slither, hiss. Wiggle, swoosh, hisssssssssss. A h e d pokes up between the

ta11 gras and whispers, with a slight lisp, "Corn on, Eve 6% you h o w you wmf it. "

-Screw o s "

"Don'tfight me, baby, I cm sse it in your eyes. "

"You 're not looking in my eyes. "

"Baby, why cre you resisting this?" Heflick his tail provocatively, changes hk

tone. "Did you [ose a few p o d recently? You look, how do [put this . . . too thin."

"Go choke on a rodent."

" You b w . Eve, I love the way you tak I've never met a woman like you

bejùre. "

"There weren't any wonen befm me."

"Don't be so ornogant." hc mutters, rubs his head againsî the tree. Brute force,

he figures, this seduction bullshit isn 't going anywhere. "Eve honey, " he croons in his

most orninous of buritones, %at the domn apple or 1'21 kill you. "

S k yawns mid swats a inosquita. "Do you prombe to go away ? "

The sMke mighrms his tie, snwths daM his scales with aflick of his tongue.

"Sure boby, butjkst you have to lake a bite."

She grabs the apple, crunches, chews with her mouth open.

168

Tm bad Eve didn't take the wise fairy's advice in L'Héritier's story 'The Subtie

Princess":

Princess, you are a wise and prudent young woman. You would not hitherto bave acted so sagaciously if you had not always kept in mind the tnrth that mistrust LÎ the mother of safty. Continue to think earnestly on the significance of that maxirn and you cannot faü to be happy, without the assistance of any arts of mim. (L'Héritier in Warner, e d Wonder Tales 93-4)

Nope, Eve caves in to temptation (in one interpetaiion) or wears the fig leaf (in another

interpretation)--Adam doesn't seem to &sire anything--but whichever way you read it,

once Eve eats the apple there's trouble.

Women can't seem to wak away h m fhi t in fairy tales either, especially when

they're pregnant. A good half-dozen kids get exchanged for a mouthfid (or twenty) of

fresh produce. Take Rapunzel's mother. After years and years of wishing for the pitter-

patter of little feeî, hubby cornes though (or the butcher, baker, . . .) and she nnds herself

pregnant. ûne &y she notices the evil-witch-next-door's garden of mouth-watering

morsels. Overwhelmed with a craving for rapunzels (the English equivalent of

rampions), the woman says to her husband: '"if I don't get some of the rapunzels b m

the garden behind out house, 1 shall die"' (Grimm in Meek, eds. 37-8). Narurally the

dolt climbs over the wall, gets caught, and gives the old the-wife-made-medo-it defence.

Whatever, says the witch, but once the kid's bom it's mine. The next thing you know,

h m ' s a kid named Rapunzel sitting in the witch's tower.

In ''The Cloven Youth" in Calvino's coIIection (99-lm), it's parsley. Lots of

parsley. So much damu parsley that the proprïetor-witch leaves ber gate open on a self-

seme/moderation policy. But mat's not good enough for the expectant mom in this story.

Figure 16. The Gluttonous Queen

Iilustration by Sophie Hefxheimer for The White Cat" by D'Aulnoy.

Source: Wamer, ed. Wonder Taies, 18.

Note: this story is discussed on page 169.

170

Once she finch herself in al2 thor parsley she gets right d o w to it and gobbles haif the

garden. Now, sure, the witch is pretty good-natured, but half the garden? That's taking

things too far. When mom cornes to finish off the patch the next &y, witchy-poo jumps

out from behind a bush and lays d o m the law: when your kid ~ m s seven, 1 get haK.

Seven years later, they slice the boy d o m the middle and he spends a good deal of his

adolescence looking nally stupid.

D'Aulnoy's "The White Cat" goes a similar route (see Figure 16 on page 168).

In this story, a Queen obsesses over tasting the fiuits of an enchantai garden. She thinks

of nothing else and raves, at one point, 'TU give you my kingdoms, my heart, my soul, if

only 1 may have fniits" (D'Aulnoy in Warner, ed. Wonder Tales 42)-a clear paraüel to

Christina Rossetti's "Goblin Market" However, this fairyiwitch im't satisfied with the

Queen's kingdorns, heart or soul; she demands the Queen's soon-to-be-boni daughter.

Hystencdy, the Queen agrees and loads up on Mt

Non-pregnant women also get into trouble for craving nuit. We a l l know what

happe= when Snow White bites inta the poisoned apple-an apple she accepts despite

strict orders h m the dwarfs (see Figure 17 on page 170). And guys seem to have the

produce-trick d o m to an art. In L'Htritier's "The Subtle Princess," the villain,

Lovecraft, gains entry to a c a s a by tempting prepant women with baskets of fruit. In

"The Salad" (Grimm in Shapiro, ed. 275-281). the hero tricks women who've cheated

him into eathg some salad. They turn into donkeys and remain that way until he's

satisfied they've leamed the consequences of aggressive and deceiaal behaviour (the

story doesn't seem to dweIl on the fact that he deceives the women). Even two evil

Figure 17. Snow White.

Source: Meek, ALfrcd David and Mary Elizabeth, eds. nie Twebe Dancing Pmicesses,

61. (The n a w of the illustrator is not stated in the text)

172

sisters succumb to Mt, which causes their downfdl, in Calvino's story 'The Snake."

In order to look at "what this ail means" (whiny, male, undergraduate philosophy-

major tone of voice), it's worth considering the origins of the tales. Grimms' taie-teliers

ranged from poor village women to nannies to govemesses to bourgeoisie fncnds and

relatives. Calvino's tales were, for the most part, coiieaed h m lower-class, agrarim

workers. D'Aulnoy and L'HCritier were aristocratie French-women who wrote their own

taies. Now obviously nuit was (is) a luxury for everyone, but there is dso the jump-out-

and-grab-me hypothesis that eating has somethiag to do with hunger. And it isn't hard to

figure out which of the above writers wmn't hungry.

While both the Grimm and Calvino collections are indisputably mediated through

the coktor 's revisions, the tales retain acast of poor people. And poor people think

about food-espeaally poor, pregnant women whose bodies require extra nutrition. Not

to mention the fact that a new child promises greater seain on already strained

foodmoney resources. Ruth Bottigheimer, in her book Grimms ' Bud Girls cuid Bold

Boys, takes this argument one step M e r and makes the interesthg connection that in

fairy tales, childlessness is ofku p d with financial proSpenty (132).

Money-rich, or at least rapunzel-rich, is the state of the childless witch in

'Wipunzel" (Grimm). She has plenty of surplus veggies but those veggies are off limits

to the neighbours. In "The Cloven Youth" (Calvino), another childless witch has a

garden full of produce, but she'll be the one to dole it out as she sees fit In a "non-Mt"

story, the witch in "Hansel and Grettel"-&O childess-has more than her share of tasty

morsels. When starving chikiren dig into her goods, however, they are almoa killed.

Jack Zipes analyses 'Thmiel and Grettel" in tenns of materid goods (food), and

concludes that the witch represents the arisumacy and the chiidren represent peasants

(Breaking the Mogic Spell32). Zipes considers this an ambivalent tale because on one

han4 the starving chüdren/peasants break the niles by eating the witch's house. On the

other hanci, the chiIdren end up replacing the witch (acquiring her wealth) instead of

altering the existing order. Maria Tatar lwks at poverty, hunger and food from a

different perspective. She States:

"To eat one's N1. . . was the principal pleasure that the peasants dangled before their imaginations, aiid one that they rmly reaked in their lives," Robert Damton has asserteà. If a fidl stomach signalleci the fulfilment of dreams, it also marked an end to struggling for advancement, and the consequent onset of ~10th. Hence the constant equation in folktales between hunger and hard work on the one hand, giuttony and idleness on the other. (Qf With Their Heads! 1 16)

Both of the above analyses make sense, but Tatar doesn't take into account the

aristocracy's vested interest in hard-worbg, productive peasants. At the same the ,

however, neither critic considers the prevalence of women msgressors, especially

pregnant women, in this whole ghtiony issue. A closer look at the lives of D'Aulnoy

and L'Héritier, the un-hungry, aristocratie French-women, offers another angle to this

discussion.

According to Jack Zipes, in a collection of tales entitled Beauties, Beasts mrd

Enchantment: Classic French Fairy Tales, D'Aulnoy came h m a wealthy aristocratie

f d y . At the age of 15, she was manieci off to a 45 year-old-man whom she disliked

intensely. Perhaps dislike is too miid a word; she hateci his guts, hated him enough to

work with h a lover, her mother, and her mother's lover to implicate her husband in a

174

scandal that labelled him with "hi& treason" (a aime punishable by death). Baron

D'Aulnoy got himseIf out of the mess and turned the tables, which resulted in the

execution of both women's lovers. D'Aulnoy's mother fled to England, where her

daughter, after a brief amst, joined her. In the following years, D'Aulnoy travelled

extensively in Holland, Spain and England. It was rumoured that D'Aulnoy and her

mother acted as spies for France. EventuaUy D'Aulnoy retumed to Paris, ran her own

salon, and became a prominent member of the literary scene. She remained married to

the hakd Baron D'Aulnoy throughout, and bore chiidren by different lovers in addition

to those by her husband. When Baron D'Aulnoy died, five years before his wifh he

demonstrated the depth of his feelings by disinheriting her. She had enough wealthy

connections, however, to secure a cornfortable pension.

In stark contrast to D'Aulnoy, L'Heritier, niece of Charles Perrault, "never

married or had any lovers. She was known for king studious, clever, honorable, and on

close terms with the most influential women of her time" (Zipes, ed. Bb&e 75). White

D'Aulnoy's tales focus on passion and the impediments to romantic love, L'Htritier's

tales address "standards of proper cornportment for young ladies" (Zipes, ed. Bbdie 75).

Zipes states that "magicai elements and imagination are not celebrated so much as m o n

and sobnety" (Zipes, ed. Bb&e 76) in L'Heritier's w& Although L'HCritierYs life

wasn't quite as c o l o ~ as D'Aulnoy's, she travelied in a fast crowâ, a crowd which at

one time inciuded Henriette Julie de Murat, a writer banished for her political satire

about Louis XI', and Charlotte-Rose Caumont de La Force, a woman banished to a

convent fot writing impious verses (among other intrigues and affairs).

175

While D'Aulnoy and L'Hdritier both came from wealthy backgrounds, they

obviously led very different lives. One was a master (mistress) of getting into trouble,

the other an expert at staying out of it. In spite of their ciifferences, however, or perhaps

because of their diamebticaüy opposed sexuai behaviour. desire-or the repnssion

thereof-was clearly central to their lives and to their writing. D'Aulnoy's characters

satisfy that desire; L'Heritier's characters-if they're smart-don't. That's where fiuit

cornes back into the pictun, for D'Aulnoy's and L'Hdritier's heroines, lilce Eve (The

Bible), don't eat forbidcku f i t for physical sustenance; they eat because they want,

desire, and crave mut. Even in tales recorded or rewtitten by the Grimm, Calvino, etc.,

many Mt-eating women, despite their povertflunger, seem to eat more than they need.

Women's appetites are often represented as unnatural and gluttonous.

To Link physical appetite to sexual desire is not outrageous; many of these food-

tmsgressive f a j r tale heroines are pregnant during their produce ravages. And,

coincidentaily, the punishment for satiation is often loss of chüdren. Does this have

anything to do with sex (possibly even love?) outside of the legally sanctioned bond of

mamage? SatMyhg thot sort of desire is completdy beyond the pale. For such

satisfaction doesn' t merely doom the "gluttonous" woman, it dooms mankind' s hiture

generations by spawning illegitimate children. A trne expulsion h m the garden ai l

right; the innocent victims of women's appetite go to hell (the witch's tower) or become

cats and cloven youths (see page 169). The moral? Females: desiring something,

anything, is bud, but experiencing satisfocnon is even worse. To get the point home, not

oniy do your choices damn you faver, but they damn your children as weli. What was

176

it that G d said? Do rwt, und 2 repeat, NOT, eatfnu't off thrrr tree. Yes, Z know it IwRr

really go04 but that 's the point. I'm teaching/tauntrng you with a prùtciple. Obedience,

rny chikiren, is an essential ùtgredient in any welldjusted ciaen 's world view. Jwt

thi& Adam, whut ifyou ever wanted to get a job in an oil company? And Eve, you're

a k s t legal drinkvrg age-you're going O have to h m about guys in gardens sooner or

luter--so I'm rarîing the stakes with un early lesson in reptiles. So sit there and stare at

those upples and let your mouths water proficsely, but don 't you dare touch them or

you 're in deep shit.

What would have happened if Eve didn't take the fimit? If she bowed had

politely to the snake and said no th&, I've already eaten. Yeah, sure. Then, she walks

away hstrated. Adam doesn't have a problem; ifs not like he overcomes temptation.

In fact, he doesn't seem to cate what he eats. As we a l l know, however, Eve does eat the

apple. Her punishment: '"in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall

be to thy husband, and he shaIl d e over thee"' (The Bible, Gen: 3:16). Maybe fruit, sex,

adultery and chüdnn are comected.

Rerninds a person of "Liale Red Riding Hood" by Charles Perrault: mother sen&

littie girl to visit granny; nasty wolf cornes almg and convinces her to stray h m path;

granny and girl get gobbled. Many d c s , including Jack Zipes (Don't Bet on the

Prince, The Tricils Md Tiibulations of Little Red Riding Hoo~) and Maria Tatar (ûf

With m i r He&!), have read the relationship between Red and the wolf as analogous to

Eve's relationship with the serpent, where the giri/woman is blamd by the narrative for

listening to the wowsnake. While similarities between the stories ex&, there are &O

important ciifferences. Firsf in Perrault's version, no one tells Red Riding Hood not to

speak to the woif, mt to stray nom the path. The namator even says, "The poor child . . . did not h o w that it is dangerous to stop and Lisen to a wolf" (Perrault in Zipes, ed.

Bb&e 58). How c m she be blamed, Lüce Eve, for transpssing a rule if she doesn't know

it exists? If anything, Perrault's tale seems more about the innate deceitfulness and

contemptibility of men. His 'Moral" at the end of the tale reads:

MORAL One sees here that young children, Esp=ifly prew girls, Who're bred as pure as pearls, Should question words addresseci by men. Or they may serve one day as feast For a wolf or other beast. 1 Say a wolf since not a l i are wild Or are indeed the sanie in kind. For some are winning and have sharp min&. Some are loud, smooth, or mild. Others appear plain kind or unrileci. They follow young ladies wherever they go, Right into the halls of their very own homes. Alas for those girls who've refnsed the tmth: The sweetest tongue has the sharpest tooth. (Perrault in Zipes, ed Bbie 60)

Perrault's point appears to be that of course girldchildren are innocent; of course they

don't understand the trickery and evil of men, but they need to becorne knowledgeable, if

not cynicd, quickly, or they're going to be gobbled up. Knowledge, not innocence-or

obedience-is the weapon in this story (a claim resonant with L'Héritier's wise fairy in

"The Subtle Rincess": ''rnistmst t the nother of scrfev (L'Héritier in Wamer, ed.

Wondcr Tdes 94)). To quote a tale retold by Maria Tatar, "The Russian Baba Yaga . . .

wanis her young -tors that 'if you know too much, you will soon grow old"' (m With

Their He&! 28). Red Hiding Hood, on the contrary, needs knowledge just to survive.

But smart women piss men off. Just look at Eve. Everyone blames her for the

fall of Ma. (What about Adam? He could have said no.) She's dangerous, aU right-

yo, guys, better watch your backs-obviously tw dangerous to be allowed to use the very

tool that seduced bec language. Because Eve's punishment doesn't end with the pains

of childbirth and exclusive, husbanddirected availability (forget desire). Rather, women

must keep their mouths f i d y shut:

9 In k e marner also, that wornen adom themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobnety; not with broided [sic] hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array. [cos?& to their husbanrls, he could have added] 10 But (which becometh women professing godüness) with good works. [who 's professihg godliness?] 1 1 Let the woman leam in silence with a l l subjection. [shhhhh] 12 But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. [sit d m and shut up dude, you 're getting on my nerves ] 13 For Adam was fint formed, then Eve. Mur point is?] 14 And Adam was not deceived [he was jurt stupid? passive?], but the woman king deceived was in the transgression. [ w u sk deceived? didn't she get what the serpmt said?] 15 Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and chanty and holiness with sobriety. [tiumks, you're a reul pal] (Bible, 1 Tim. 2: 9-15)

And the punishment for f d e n men? They must ' W y every where, lifting up holy

hands, without m t h and doubting" (Bible, 1 Tb. 28). Implicîtiy this means that

women shouldn't speak, whereas men shouldn't srop speabmg. As Marina Warner

writes, "seduction lies in talk, and the tongue is seduction's tooi" (From the Beast to the

Blonde 47). What critics can't seem to remember, however, is that language seduces

Eve, not Adam. She seduces h h without opening ber mouth. "[Slhe took of the fiait

thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with hrr; and he did eat" (Biblr,

Gen. 3:6). A woman without clothes doesn't need to speak.

The message to women to shut up and spread their legs, afier marriage, only to

thek husbands and midwives, didn't escape Henriette Juiie de Murat and Charlotte-Rose

Caumont de La Force. That doesn't mean they listened. Zipes writes: "In addition to

. . . soirees and numemus mysterhus joumeys, Madame de Munit astonished the people

of Loches [her place of banishment] by wearing a nd cloak to church every Sunday"

(Zipes, ed. Bb&e 130). Perhaps this nal-Me Red Riding Hood was the woif.

The vanity mirrorfmmed Antoinena's face wîth engraved roses a d vines Md

thoms. The miror had been importedfmm beyond the Great River f i e generations

earlier and still shone with the richness of a SUI> shdd only read about. A sun that

nourished -tic forests, intoxicating wild-fowers, thick ttees covered with talking birds.

Where people had ski. the luscious colour of w a n chcolate and wore cloaks so bright

that norrhemers Iurd to look away. Antoinettu M inuagined the south country so nany

tintes she had no desire to see it; nothing could be more beautifil than what she'd

aire* pictured.

The vanity war her due. It was bequeatw as pan of lrer dowry. tu the eldest

daughter on her sirteenth birtMay. Not on& the eldest, in her case, but the only child of

benewlent King Alexander rvid hîs hvalid wre fesobella. The royal fomilj of a vast and

wealthy country called the LMd of the Rocky Hills, where for holf of each year al1 the

rivers tumed to g h s . Altiwugh it was a north country, w b e many kingdoms' subjects

s@eredfrom starvatibn and exposure, A l d e r nded with foresight Md economy.

I m p o ~ s and exports were meticulous& computed each spMg to e w e the kingdoni

woukl k sustained with food midfurs and fiel throughout the COU time. Nobody went

hungry in the Lund of the Rocky Hi1L.r; children grcw up strong, healthy, and rmdived to old

age. The old were nursed well by their progeity and generattonsjlourjshed

PrDrcess Antomerta watchcd hrrsetf in the light oftwo candelabra Her wavy

auDm hair was piled on her heaà m swük of the htest fashwn, jewek nestled between

181

ttesses. Rubies Md emeralh sparkled as she tumed to examine her profie. Olive-

cobured skin, lmgc green eyes, and lips that never smiled nie same face as the

miniature thar had seuled her parents' betrotha1.

The Princess wondered ifs& too would age with grey circles beneath her eyes,

lines acruss her foreheud, slack-skinned hollows for cheeks. The Queen hud grown oid

before her lane and her daughter pitied her. For several years, Isabella hud Zefi her

bedchamber only for private rneals with her h u s W and daughter. Sk shunned al1

state occasions, dinners, receptions, embassies. Isabella was su seldom seen in public

that Mnours circuiated about her deuth. According to onother, less common rumour,

the Queen had been blessed by the fairies and restored to youthfil vitaliv.

Embarrassed by misrciken &esses. Antoineîta hadfVst tried to squelch such

ridiculous stories. At her iristigation, the King d m up a p roch t i on and had it read

in the village square. S W e r would be pwished;fines would be enforced. For a short

while, the talk died d m . It became clear, however, that only Isabella 's presence would

Hect a lastùtg impression. The rumeurs contmued.

Antoinetta, a sturdy? stolid young womm, was h i e r than the Queen. The

Princess rode horses and gave orders, travelled to visir tenants. ûn this, her sixteenth

birthday, she had been to inspect the mil1 mid granary with a train of her father's

&ors. &ce there, she dimnountedfrom her stallion, removed her gloves, anà took a

book from her sadde. When the owner of tlie mil1 attempted to d e r the Phcess Utto

the rece-g rom, s k interrupted hi$ obsequies with questtorts about the groundr,

equrpment rwmr. employces. He coughed and callèd for Richar., the Mmger.

182

The rough, unsttaven Manager led her a r o d the premiscs and intmduced her to

various workers. Gat-toothed old women swept grah, children caned rniys of water,

stocky men dragged henvy sach of corn. Antoinetta &d more questions. How many

sacks of corn did the mill produce per day? How mmy people were employed? The

seusonul net? Proft mîargins? Wages? Niunber of injuries? Richrirdo annuered her

questions gn@y as she jotted his replies Mde of her book At the end of the tour

Antoinetta dm& black coffee Md shook Richardo's calloused hand She would fonvard

her recortunendations Mer consultîztion with the Khg.

Antoinetta was well-schooled in the kingdom's opercztio~cs~ Her father, eqectùag

a son, had hired tutors and instructorsf*om around the world. When the son didn't corne

and Isobelkr look to her sick bed, Alexander indulgently altowed his yomg daughter to

sit and listen while he met with his uàvisors. I f she speaked out questions clbout made or

repeated unusua2 t e m , her father uplained concepts plauily and with patience. He

grew pleased with kis doughter's clevemess anà huà a tutor teuch her to read Som she

was immersed ai w, ofren d e r the tutelage of the Khg himselj

Antoinetta loved watching iirr father mile when she correctly returned a dmcult

sum, explaîhed the workings in a piece of machinery, recited a poem correctly. He'd

clap his bands like a chüd. kiss hcr on the cheek, pull surprises from his pockeis. A A g ,

a comb, sometims a story book The kind oftaLe hc'd r d to her when he was

especiany pleused with her effort.. for the &y. Tky 'd sit for hours bcfore the crackhg

f irepke mid lose themselves in Alexandet's low. heavy voice. Images of dragons and

fairies drrnced in the shodows of thejùmtes and Wled AntoVtetta mto enchanted

183

kingdorns. Sometimes he 'd rend so far mto the night he'd pause to discover hk little girl

f ~ r r aîlcep, eyes delicately shut, her even breuth agoinst his neck

The dimer bel1 rang. Antoinetta hauriedly snwed out the candelabra anà picked

up her shmvL She lookedfonvard to seeing her father, who 'd been away for several

dàys. She war a h rather himgry.

The private dining room was set with titree places. 7ïte King sat ut the head of

the ta& with Isabelh to his right. The Queen's eyelidr drooped and her Iips were white.

Her thick hair fell limply and her gown hung in extra foldi over her hunched shoulders.

Alemnder concentrated on a ledger. His bushy white eyebrows jerked as he gnmted at

something in the book He brimmed over his chair with the weight of ermine and velvet

and burgeoning corpulence.

"Hel10 father, mother. " Antoinema curtsied and stood aside as a servant curried

in a tray.

"Antoinetta, good, fhlly. I want to reviau these figures with you. I 'm thinking

ahu t opening up a cargo route to link us with Clmns's kingdoni in the east. It could

man solid dividenrls for our surplus te~n'les. R d e r how much went to waste two

winters ago? If we couid transhte that surplus into livestock new mains of produce. we

could open up relations with the fighlandr people. Good wamkrs, you h w ? and

Edmutad's forces have been building up for sotne tw m."

Antoinetta watched the maùi apportion phtes of steutning potatoes, rrwst goose,

pastries, lentils. Isabettu m d b M y at the &le.

"Fathet, we c m discuss that iater* Ear your d h r white i f s ho&"

184

"Yes, yes, " he gnunbled and pushed the book aside. He iumed to Isobcla. "My

legs are aching temebty today, I can't ride so long as I ured to. "

" You must take care of yourself; Alexander, V i s wijk whispered as she picked up

her spoon,

" Mother, how are-"

"You're right, Isabella, but there's much work to be done. Between the new miK-

how did that tour go, Antoinetta? And Ednrund's military, and that stupid d a m feud

between Jackson and Alfred. Did you know about that Antoinetin? How Jackson's prize

sow got caught in one of Alfred's traps? Thought it waî some kind of trick and vowed to

bum down Alfed's house, him in it. Should have jus? let them kill each other OB but

Jackson's a j h e pig furmer." Alexander munckd hîs food "But you 're right, I do need

to take better care of myself. Maybe go to the healing bath, take a good purgative*" He

grinned at his wqe. "You m m rub rny back iater. "

"As you wish, Alexander."

Antoinetta ate silmtly as her father detailed the s tam of each of his l i d s Md

organs. Without moving her eyes, Isabeilla responded with words of concem and

sympatitu*

Antoineîta wonàered ifthey'd both forgotten ?ter birthday. Isabella, of course,

couldn 't remember anythring, but she was dikappobted with her father. Yet he must have

krown; why ehe would the v m i ~ h m been delivered that <iftermon? As the m a l drew

to a close, she shorply &d to be excuseh

" Wait, " said Alexmider with a cryptic ~ r e s s i ù n . "While Z was away, I picked

185

up a fav items." He motioned to a iarge chest. Tiu lid creaked as she heaved it open to

discover a &en new volumes rmging from poetry to sciences to economics. SShe

beamed as she picked up each book, examined it open-moutkd, and retumed it to the

chest. Alenander watched her with a b r d mile.

"Father, this is wondefil!" she exclaiined a d embraced his bulky frcutte.

"Happy bitthdayt daughter. "

"1'21 cal1 the f o o a ~ n at once and have these tuken to the library,"she said As

she tumed to close the door, she ghnced bacR ut her father to thank him Her voice

caught in her throat; he was kissing Isabella.

******************************************

The feast had been planned for nionth. Dignitaries from the Grass Lumi

kingdom in the east were coming to discws King Alexander's proposa6 for o cargo mute.

Zt was ~ ~ r r r e d thut Clarris himseifwouid a d the talks; ut the very least? his eldest

son, Prince George, would be present.

The village bmed with anticipation Although enrbassies routinely p s e d

through the kingdom, there had never been a visitor or representative as powerful as one

fiom Grass kmd AI1 mamer of preparations were un&rtaken. î l e W r y

accwnubted the finestjbur, new cookr werc upprenticed to hanàle delicute pastries,

p&e INcstock fed a speciat diet, pens cor&ned offfor minialr to be slaughtered The

c h kitchen had been stocked, roons cleaned ami re-cleamd funtitwe re-uphoIstered,

fresh drrq,enenes hung. Sfqfwere fined with the newest and most fahwnable dresses,

coumers ou@tet& the royal fmily designed with lruatrious new costumes.

The dayfinally came. A rmUi o f f i i horses rode up to the pakàce and Prince

George dismounted He was not a hmtdsorne prince. His face was pochrked Md

ru&y, his hair dishevelled with a body oddly disproportionate--stubby legs and a long,

aquilàne torso. Mildy repulsbe, but said to be pleasmt. He bowed a stately bow tu

King Alexander and kissed Antoinetta's gloved h a d The King and Princess led him and

his men into the great hall.

Antoinetta took her usual place beside her father and diplomatically accepted the

PrVIce 's gifs ofjewels, fine linens, gold coins, elegmt tapestries. Speecks and bows

were exchged, guests shown to their seats.

"Your Highness, " George began, "my father mrd I are most anxious to hear more

about your proposai."

A l d e r began A protected trade route alung the border river. twenty-eight

leagues long. guaranteed pro fection fiom bmrdirs d hostile forces. Antoinetta

intejected--thirty-two leagues-yes, Alexander note4 they had recalculated the distance

the night brfore. Thc tenns? Guarantee of allied forces, fair trading, an exchunge of

agricultural injiorrnun'on for mcllti.fac?uring suplus. N m strains of corn and potatoes

hnd been spoken offiom merch ts travelling through Clorris's kUIgdom And h q ,

Antoinem adde4 there had bem problems lPrt season with a parasitic weed

ï%e t e m were reosodle, George concede4 but Clanis had one sttpulrrtion:

there be a nrarrUIge between the two fmnilies b@ore an agreement couid k signeh

nie Prince addressed Antoinetîa, "Your highness, we have hemd there is a drnrghter in

187

this kingdon M y father wrrhes, should I agree to your tenns, that we cernent our two

kingdoms through blood ties. "

Alexander scowled "Prince George, it is my daughter you speak with "

George blushed and dropped his eyes. "My apologies, sir, " he stammered?

"however this is a most pleasant surprise.'V3e glanced at the Princess. "I, for one,

have no objections to signùtg the agreement."

"We'll discuss that mutter later," responàed Alexander, "now it is time for

refreshments, entertainment+ " The King ordered musiciam to play and thin voices

warbled melodic balhds. Servants thmnged the hall with p h e r s of stew, roast beef;

roast pork, puddings, breads, cakes* The din of laughter and conversation.

Despite the bustle in the hall, al1 eyes-d on Antoinetta Her complexion shone

against her emerald green gown and d i e s sparkled throughout her hair Md on her

neck When the Kùtg took his daughter's hand and led her to the center of the room, the

room became silent without prompting. A wale started up on cue.

The Princess matched her father's gtace. They moved with the fmiliririiy of oki

dmce Pamiers, &ring each other's ski11 with fmer and mure cornplex improvisationsm

Both faces were Pushed with concentration as father anà hughter struggled to keep puce

with one mrother. Neither relented until the Song came to an enà

H m g his way back to hi& seut, the Khg amwunced abrupt&, "We will discuss

your tennr hter, Prince George. It LF hte cind I must rise e d y m ?* Alexonder shook the

Prince's hond "Whm you wida to retire, my doughter will show you ond your men tu

your quuners. " AA[ermidet Rissed hi& daughter on the chcek rmd lcfr the halL A fov

188

mhuîes hter, the Princess exphined sleeping artiangements to one o f k r ladies-in-

waiting and excused h e r s e m m the conzpany. The Prince hod proven to be a crasliing

bore.

Antoinetta slipped into the library to look up a List offigures for some merchants

coming Ur the morning. Lust year thcy had hied tu +te prices, as she was tiandling

the purchashg instead of her father. Alexarltder intervened ut the hst moment and

chastised her for failing to be adequately briefed on m a r k rates. Sk started when she

heard a s w i n g sound in the corner.

Alexander sltunped in his re&g chair, a storybook open on his lap.

"Father, what are you dohg here? 2 fhought you went to your chamber."

'What are you doing here?" he muttered, "LookUig at your inhen'tance?"

She stared ut him, bewikiered "The merchants are cornhg tomorrow.

Remember what happened last year. "

"Merchants, " he snorted, tossing the book on a table. "What do you care a h u t

merchunts?"

Antoinetta continued to srare,

"First your mother, now you. I won 't stand for it, " he snapped "This disrespect

is intolerable. "

"1 &ntt understand, father, have I done something to displease you?"

"You are not a child. Antometta Tnis coyness does ~t become you. "

Tears wellcd up m k r eyes. ''Tell me, papa, tell me what I've done."

AIexOnder rose to hlr feet and ghnd at het. "Why couldn't you have bem a

189

boy?" He shook his head contemptuously, repeated the question, and slmnnied the door

on his way out of the library.

The dusty courtyard was lined with dozens of MI-&wn wagons and shuggy

peddlers. Surne wore coloured hats drooping over their eyes, &ers were dressed in

shiped breeches. Still others walked with a n M perched on their shoulders-birds,

rnonkqs, srdes, lkrds. Dogs howled ruid tmiled Mer their owners.

Antoinetta anà her advisors strolled up to euch wagon Md watched as each

merchant unloaded his wares. Magic capes forjlying; s d a h for winter &ys; pots for

cooking potion^; feathers to cast away mil spells. Baskets' =tic stones, seeds,

livestock The same old garbage, Antouietta signeri, scanning the crowd

It was not like her father to miss Merchant Duy. She Nbbed her boot in the dust.

Once Antoinetta had chosen her gooh, merchmits lined up outside the receiving

room tu be paid The P rincess wote &wn each item in her ledger, counted out coins,

waitedfor her father to appear.

That night Antoinetta took her m a l in the librury. There was no word of the

King.

***************************

The Prîncess's home was coveted m swerrt. tu neck f-rl, s& blankets

soaked She had S e n out done îo check gcllt7iSons merlooking an easîern river. The

190

first one wai in temible neglect. She haà crept up behid two guardr sleeping d e r a

shady tree, whipped the cnuzchy leaves abow their heads, shouted a c o d to

atîention. Demanded to Rnow what w u going on and V t k y had no loyalty to their King.

Inside the garrison, a short, squat mm, begged her pardon for the hpse. There

had been celebrations the night befoe; one of the soldiers had just been mamged She

understuod, didn 't she, he asked her behg a young person ond all?

Her face contorted infury. 'Those men m u t be punished I will not tolemte

some fool's rnerrymaking to jeopardize nty father's kingdonil" She c o d e d that both

soldiers receive twenty larhes and threatened worse should she k r offuhcre

incornpetence. Her home whinnied in paùa as she slashed it with her whip. m e ne*

gamkon was men worse; the third anà fourth haà been cibruidoned.

Luter that evening, Antoinetta loy on her bed a d mred ut the ceiling. She stank

from the day 's riding and had no energy to move. She wondered how the kingdom's

military had becorne so dilapidcrted and reaiized that ifE;dmund's forces struck,

Alenander's lrmdr could be overthrown,

She thought of the King ond her stoînach knotted She had seen no sign of hint

since the night in the librav anù Mnours were beghing tu circulote about his f&g

heuf i I f that proved to be the case, an invasiion wus *Minent.

"Your Highness, " a nuaùi kruicked sofrly, 'Vhe dinner bel1 has m g . The Kmg

requests your presence. "

Anroinetta looked up anxibus€yI brushed dustfmm her dress, and scwicd into

the private dining chamber. Her father sat at the hcad of the table a d watched her

entry. Isabella was absent.

"Antoinetiu, I have been waiting for you. We mus? speak " His face was drawn,

eyes red shoulders huncheà Clmps of mutted huir hung over his white eyebrows Md

sweat beaded his forehed He coughed harshly and took a d m of hot mead

"Antoine#aP I am ilL You will accept Prince George's offer. I expect you to undertake

the necessary preparations. '?

Antoinetta stared at her father, her voice in hm thrwt.

"That is all, " he mutterect, waved his hand in dismissai.

"No, " she choked? " t h t îr not possible. The kingdom is in disrepair. Today 1

visited four ganiFons. Two were burely anned anci two had been abandoneci."

Alexmider went tu a chair by the fire. "Leave me. dcurghter, I hmte said my

piece. "

"1 will not, " she yelled mid stood bcfoe h k "A* al1 of rny years of training

you EMply toss rne oside ut the first opportuni@ This is nry kingdom, father, I do not

accept your decision!"

He coughed agaùtp fucussed tired eyes on her face. "You will do as I c o d

George is a good mmr He wiU do well over this kingdoni in the days &ad. I cannot

entmst my khgdom with a wommr. Now leuve me."

"But fatheru"

He jumped to his feet, skapped lier fm hard "I said leave me! Now!"

Antoihem ran front the room

*******************************

Dinner hour f@ approached The setvants hîui been dhissed

AntoUiena read each of the bottles on a lower shelf: Catrot juice, castor oil,

nerve tunic, spleen elixir. Moved to the n a t sherf: Rat poison, fertilizer, diuretics. ï%e

last bottle.

Stew bubbled mer tk kitchen Fre. Its thick broth absorbed the course powder

easily. She added some extra garfic and dried onwn to disguise the bitter taste. Poured

port into two glasses, spilt sowte an her dress. Bahced the tray with cold hands and

d e a tortuous, mteady assent up the stairs.

nie private dining chaniber. As erpccred, Isabelh was absent and the King sut

resplendent at the heu . o f the table, absotbed in a bkck ledger. She watched him and

waited, sweat trickled down her back

"Close the door?" he bellowed "I'fl catch nry death of COU." He looked up.

"Anroinena, w h t is thb foolishness?"

She set the table, l d e d soup into his b w l .

He took up a spwn and inholed the stew's arorna. "1 forgive you for your

impudence, Antoine= n i s hurnility is not necessary." Took a nioutml of mat. "Sit

down," he ch& 'Yoin me."

She &led and concentrated on the Khg's nwuth. Yellow teeth crushing

poimoes, corn, beans, be& MoutAfLZ @et muthjùl ùz quick succession. He slurped

and dribbled gravy VI his beard

"My mind is heavy, daughter, " he su4C Sunmg ut the booR "We n u r p t ~ l i z e

the arrangements."

She clenched her han& in her lap.

"My back pains me. Sorne days I c m barely rise. And my kadaches grow

worse. He wiped his chin with the bock of h a d "And l-, " his voice faltered and he

pushed his plate aside. Reached for hrF port. Dr&

She felt a du12 white noise in ?ter forehead spread to the cap of her skull. A droplet

of sweat scumed down her temple.

"Zdo not know how long Ihave Ief "

She dug herfingemails into the back of her hmid

He cowred his face with his han& and pushed his fingen into his forehed "ln

time you will tuaderstand my decision, Antoinetta, " he sighed "A marnage was

inmituble, and I could not Rsk leaving that decision to you. You are wise beyond your

years, but you canmt rule on your own "

?kir eyes met. She smiled as him gentty and sttoked his weatkred hand with her

fuig ertips.

"2 understand, papa."

1 knew you would, child Your love for me is something I have never

questioned " He coughed sputtering saliva, anà his cheeks bec- red.

"Yes, father, " she said quietty, 'Y & bve yod ' She ghced at her hrmdr,

without remorse, and added, U, a whriper, "As m c h t h t I c a "

nieir eyes locked as sk h e d mer and kissed h h lightly on the chcek Took

kt seat as his fme contortrd m a paroxysm of shudàèrs. He &ubled up and toppled

from his chair to the ground.

"Antoirietta, " he gasped, "cal2 for t h doctor. "

"Father, I cannot, " she said in M enpty voice. "He's away for several days. "

Alexnnder rolledfrom side to side. "2 can't breathe, Antoinetta Assist me."

Antoinetta knelt beside her father Md pried his han& from his r d stoniach.

Slung one of his heavy a m a r o d her shoulder and half-dragged hùn to the divan.

Her shakyfuigers unbuttoned his heavy robes, smoothed mvay his mngy hair. Dipped

her hmidkerchief in cold water, sponged his burnihg skia Propped him up gently as

thick black vomit sputteredfiom his lips. Cleaned away the mess, held water to his

parched lips. Cooled the cornpress, pressed it agah to his foreheaà, cheeks, lips, neck

Steadily held his eyes in her gaze as he writhed with an agony she hpd detemined to

endure.

In the end. she heu him w a d y to her breust, acknowledging, without illusion,

the extent of her patrimony.

A FICTO-CRITICAL CONCLUSION

Once upon a tim, differenr schools of fa@ tale mCI1ticLRn lived in dgerent ivory

tuwers. Then along came an evil wiwrd called Govenunent Cut-Bach, who closed al1 of

the towers except for one. "We have to tighten our belts, " said G. Cut-Buck, which

nohdy d r s t o o d because belts were out of style.

Inside the Zone remaining tower, a motley assortment of critics lived in an

uncornfortable cloister. There were Fernhists, Marxiss, Freudians, Jungiani,

Fowlists, and al1 combinations in between. While s o w of the critics guined instant

populariry, especially a man who stated, on hisfirst &y, "I would c l a h that it is

impossible today to be a critic without king a ferninid' (Zipes, Don't Bet on the Prince

a), other critics were not so popular. For insiance, there was the woman who

suggested that she didn ' t have ideological ugendia:

Max Luthi early pointeci out that European fairy and fok taies-their characters, situations, and episodes-typically appear before us as sublimated and emptieâ of meaning. This condition makes them susceptible to "filling" and coloring by iatexpreters in Christian, psychologicai, nationalist, feminist, Marxist, or anthropological hues. To avoid this as far as possible, 1 have tria to consider the events, motifs, and themes of seved tales together as a corrective for what might be mistakenly concludeci h m an individual tale. (Bottigheimer 167)

No one believed her. In fm none of the critics believed miytht'rg the others said but

since nuborty ou& the tower listened to fa@ tale criticism, few crîtics chose to leave

the tower through m y of its several hors. In time, some people actually forgot &ut

the outside worùi. It wasn't hard; visitors se&m entered the tower and the windows

were opaque fiom cncsted gr- (the cleaning stqfhad been laid off long ago).

196

Life inside the tower involved participating UI discussion groups on a regular

basis- On one partrrtrcular day, the topic was a paper entitled "Hwnbling Hemhes, " b y

an obscure Graduate Student. The crirics' reactions were mued Some recoiled, several

chuckled, others thought about what to have for dinner. Finally one womon, an

attractive acadernic in her thirties, stuud up and faced the group.

"This is shit, " she stated "It 's nothing more t h ontifeminirtpropagondat propagadk

written by sume glib fart to serve the continued pahiarchal repression of women. '"

A couple of heads nodded

"1 mean, just look at the stories. Nothing ends happily and the mthers are

cardbwrd skeletons- What was it I wrote about Ange& Carter's story, 'The Btuody

Chamber' T'

The Blooây Chamber ends as a ferninist tale should, with the tescue of the daughter by her stmng and heroic mother, an "eagle-featured, indomitable" woman (2). (zokke 10)

"The stories in th3 paper ultimately denigrate the progress achieved by our forernothers

in the establishment of Femintn "

She sat down to a round of polite applause.

The Grad Student perked up dejieWeIy- "But you're missing the point. The

mothers are rebellious women; their options are just more limited than those avaihblc tu

their daughters. Ifanything, the paper, on the whole, is a m h t e to older women and

their subversive clamiirrg Md exercise of power. "

AfMnpy man in a brown suit cleared his throat. Tou're both missing the point.

The Real Magic of Angela carter' lies ih thefacr that: "

Carter has been from the start a learned h t e r who assumes . . . corresponding learning in her readers. (Kendrick 77)

After so much praise [however], 1 suppose 1 have to mention it: she can't wnte a plot, not to Save her life. (Kendrick 79)

"The real magic? As opposed to what, the f& magic?" snorted a voice from the

corner.

" N m , " unother voice joùted in, "he means the un-real magic. "

"Here, here, " intejected the Chairperson. "There 's no need for polemics.

Please keep your conunents on course."

A tall, very thin woman sitning by the window waved a cigarette hoider in the air,

"Group dynumics are utterly predictuble. " She uncrossed her long legs, angled her

knees to one side.

it is much easier to be oneself and natural if one lives alone. Introverts are very sensitive and often Say that they are al i right when alone but that with other people they pick up disturbing influences and lose their innet serenity. AU patients are not ambitious, but if one patient makes a move to do something the others al i want to do the same. That is the phenornenon of mass psychology, and here primitive emotions prevaii. Reason is wiped out by infection and less educated people contaminate others and ai l are pded down. (von Fraaz, Redemption Moti$s in Fairy Tales 24)

- - - - -- . . .-

[The titk of an article wrîtten by Walter Kendrick,

The brown-suited man jumped out of his seat. "Whar & you mean by t h ? I

have niore degrees than you do! Save your analysis fur your nutcases; thLi is a

discussion group, nota therapy group."

An oùier, heavyset gentleman took the floor. "Sir, if1 may say so, I think you k

mrised the point. "

The fairy tale, after having made us tremble by taLing us to the edge of the abyss. after having fotced us to face evil and a l l the darkness which also resides within us, after having acquainted us with what we rather wish to avoid, serenely rescues us. In the course of the story we gain the ab- to live a richer and more meaningful life on a much higher plane than the one in which we found ourseIves at the story's beginning, where the hero, who is our mirror image, was forced to embark on his pesilous voyage of self discovery. (Bettelheim, 'Fairy Tales as Ways of Knowing" 12, in Metzger & Mommsen, eds., Fairy Tales as Ways of Kmwing)

He took a sip of water, cleared his thraat.

Mayk if more of our adolescents had been brought up on fairy tales, they would (unconsciously) remain aware of the fact that their conflict is not witk the adult world, or society , but really only with their parents. (Betteiheim, Uses of Enchantment 98-99)

"Oh, for chns?sukes, stufa suck in it you pompous windûag, " nuttered a rnidde-

aged man VI a cardigan. "You call yourseifa Freudùan!"

Freud's] purpose was to expose the inner forces which hinder fd t development of the individual and cause psychic disturbances because of extemal pressures and conditions. His work in theory was to destroy illusions which society creates about the possibüity of achieving autonomy and a happy Life so that the individual couid elaborate meaning out of the antagonistic relationship betwan self and society. (Zipes, Brecrking the Magic Spell165)

The Grod Stdent mred ut the speaker's cardigan mid wondered if he had ony hair on

his chest. The man took a hep breuth, obliMour to h m gaze, rmd continued to bemte his

mou do12 not have a dialectical relationship to Freudianism but bave] contniuted to the banahation of Freudian theory by blandly applying its tenets without rethinlcing and reworking them in the light of social and scientific changes. Monover, &ou have] picked up one of the worst traits of the neo- and pst- Freudians - their moralking. . . . [Your] postdates read like 'Sunday sermons'. . . . Fou] bold] the family primarily nsponsible for the conflicts a cMd experiences, thus not locating it as one of the medbting agencies through which civilization causes repression. Even worse, Cyou] [employ] Freudian terminology Iike a puritanical parson encouraging parents to have faith in the almighty power of the folk tale which will lead children through the vaiiey of fear into the kingdom of p e . (Zipes, Breakhg the Magic Spell165-166)

The older gentleinan scowled His face was red and his breath came ui wheezes. The

speaker hesitated looked down, lowered his voice.

There is something ultimately pathetic and insidious about hou4 approach to folk tales. It is pathetic because hou] apparently [want] to make a sincere contribution in fighting the dehumanization of He. It is insidious k a u s e Cyour] banal theory covers up the processes and social mediations which contribute most to the dehumanization. Fundamentally, [yourJ instructions on how to use the folk tales can only lead to their abuse. Our task is to explore the possibilities for positive utiiization with children. (Zipes, BreokUig the Mugic Spefl173)

no," the Grad Student intemrpred, T m nor exploring the positive

un'lization of fairy tales with childmr My project is centered very much on udult

issues. "

me niidde-aged nimi puinted towurds his red-foed target. "rr<rt'sfie, young

la@, but HIS isn 't. "

Cultural work with chiîdren rnust begin fiam a critical perspective of the production and market conditions of literature, and this involves asing fantastic and realistic iïterature to maJce chilchen aware of their potentialities and also aware of the social contradictions which wiiI

% the onginai text, dl of the foiîowing quotations by Zipes read "Bettelheim" or 'Bettelheim's" instead of "yod' and ÿour."

frustrate their Nl developmen~ Any other approach wil l lead to illusions and lies. (Zipes, Breakhg the Magic Spell 177).

î k narrator stepped i& ond acknowledged that the Grad SIudcnt had a ctush on

the midde-aged man. Politely suggested it was t h e to let someone else speak The

Grad Student blushed anû watched a yowg man escott the wheezing professorfrom the

A woman wearing long. dangling eamhgs anà red lipsrick snapped, in an English

accent. "Oh, sure, Mr. Holier-than-thou You cornplain a b u t HIM being mralistic mid

then conclude your lecture with EUAT self-righteous statement. "

The nuur in the cardigan gnnned sheepishly.

Glancing up from k r notes, an eamest-iooking woman with extremely short h i r

waved her pencil to get the Chairperson's attention, 'Pespite the fact that he ' s deta& I

think thut Freudim fellow who just lcft has some unresolved issues."

In "Beauty and the Beast," the last of the tales analyzed in [The Uses of Enchtment], he fin& that Beauty "gives her father the kind of affection most beneficial to him"--she not oniy '?estores his failing health" but also provides him with "a happy Me in proximity to his beloved daughter." Beauty's devotion to her husband mrd to her father becornes the happy ending both to her own story and to Bettelheim's meditation on fajr tales. On this wistfid note of wish fidfbent, which contains more than a hint of unresolved paternal conflicts (Bettelheim's suicide fourteen years later at age eighty-six came after an ''estrangement" h m one daughter and a sense of "disappointment" when he moved to be closer ta the other), the volume ends. (Tatar, ûf With Their He& xxv)

The G r d Studmt piped up, "Don 't you think you're jumping to conclus~*o~ts just

a wee littte bit thete? An eighty-sk-yearsld man woukl probobky have a nmber of

reasom forpulling the plug. E;speciolly someone who wote a book k t stupid "

"Oh, that's h e l ' " the w o m retorted "real schoiarly Uipzt-"

" Yeah? And what about your blàtantly insupportable specuùation? "

"Ladies, " the chairperson intervened, "cm we pfease gel back to our topic?"

"And that was?"

''nie paper, Ludies, the paper. "

The English woman a m s s the room snapped, "I wouùà like to know why more of

Hmrr Christkm Andersen's tales weren't unulysed in a i s paper. "

"I've addressed that question in rny Introduction. Am& for the recordD we use '2'

in Canada."

"I couldn 't agree more with the exclusion, " added the thin w o m with the

cigarette holder.

Andersen is certainly a great poet, but in my opinion he is very neurotic, and 1 cannot read his stories because his neurosis disturbs me so much that it is like a knife scratchhg on a plate. . . . Sound people will not take them up. (von Franz, The Intepretation of Fairy Tales 152)

"Don 't you just hare writing introductions?" The Graà Srrcdent looked orotutd,

noticed a pale man in a polo shia He con ri nue^ "1 wrote one for Propp's book c d

couldn 't, for the life of me, conceal the fact that I wac bored out of my bloody nid "

Propp's syntagmatic approach has unfortunateiy dealt with the structure of text alone, just as iiterary fokiorists generally have considend the text in isolation h m its social and cultural context (cf. Dundes 1964~). In this sense, pure formalistic structural analysis is probably every bit as sterile as motif-hunting and word-counting. @undes, Introduction to the Second Edition of Ropp's Morphology of the Folibrie xii)

Propp made no attempt to relate his extraordinary morphology to Russian (or Indo-Earopean) cculture as a whole. Clearly, structural analysis is not an end in itself! @undes, Introduction to the Second Edition of Propp's Morphology of the Folble xiii)

"1 mwt say, in my own defence, however, that the Russian fellow himseIfwasn't

altogether convinced ahu t the rnarketability of his project. "

"Excuse me. Sir!" A bwly man with a red beard burst through the door. "Do

allow me to speak for myself!"

"My apologies," the pale man sputtered, "but you 've bem dead for mrmy yeurs. "

" Well you're probably dead by now too, " boumed a Russian accent, "and that

hasn 't stopped you fmm panicipating in th Lr discussion " He gkired ut the roornfl of

critics, walked up to the lecîem. "I was no? iwcure, Sir, I was merely qlaining a

technicd project. My Foreword offered a rnost astute analogy. "

The word ''morphology" means the study of forms. In botany, the tenn b'morphology" means the study of the component parts of a plant, of their relationship to each other and to the whole-in other words, the study of the plant's smicture.

But what about a "morphology of the folktale"? Scarcely anyone has thought about the possibility of such a concept.

Nevertheless, it is possible to make an examination of the f o m of the taie which will be as exact as the morphology of organic functions. (Propp, Morphology of the Folktale xxv)

The pole man grimace& "At the risk of sounding disrespec#Ùl, Sir, might 2

remM you that a folktale is NOT a plant. "

nie Russian shwk his head contemptuoudy. "Be silent, you bgoon, did you no?

reaà my Foreword?"

An attempt at abbrevîation was andertaken. . . . But such an abkuiated, compressed presentation wouid k beyond the capacity of the ordïnary readec it would resemble a grammar or a textbook on harmony. . . . True, there are things which are impossible to present in a "popular" manner. Such t h g s are in this work too. Nevertheless, 1 feei that in its pnsent fom this study is accessiile to every fancier of the tale, provided he is wilIing to follow the &ter înto the labyrinth of the tale's mdtiformity. . . . (Ropp, Morphology of the Folkrale xxv)

203

"ObviousS, you are a laynuin. " the Russian concluded "Your incompetence is more

than apparent. "

The pole man strode to a blackboard ut the front of the room, grabbed a piece of

chalk "Lo& buî#y, q b e I'm a hymmr but you missed the Physics queue ut College

Registration when you signed up for Literature. " He tumed to the group. "Hme any of

you actually READ his folk-tale-plmit book? " Scratched an equation on the board:

"THAT'S how he explains a tale about nuuder! Need Z say more. " He threw &wn the

ch& stared ut the Russian.

nie Chaiperson edged between the two men " T M you, gentlemen. for your

comments on Structuralism Could you pkase take your seats, we're about r e e to wind

down with this block of o w mming discussion. Are there any last comments on the

subject paper of today 's group? "

A w o m with f i e bones mrd long white hnir spoke with a d v voice, 'Y thid it

shows t h t the writer has balls. "

Munnurs of disapproval erupted throughout the room n>c attractive, thirty-hh

academic bluiled out hrshly, "That's hrdly an appropriate adjective for a Feminist!

What kind of a schohr are you?"

nie white-haired woman mniledpolitely. "A dflcult one."

A healthylookmg wontan bt a fmhionable blue suit exchimeri, to everyone's

surprise, '"fs Angela Carter! But AngeL, " she turned to the white-haired wo-

"you're dead?"

"Mut we go through this agaiit?" growled the Rus& acuàemic.

"Marina, lm, " drawled the white-haired wommi, "you take l@ie fur too litetally. "

The healthy-looking wornan hugged her white-hairedfred and offered her a cup

of tea. Meanwhile, the aîtraaive academic shouted above the din, '? have onejinal

comment. There's too much emphasis on sex in this Graduate Stuàent's paper. " A

couple of cntics glanced ut Lr.

"The wnter's certain& neurotic, " mted the woman with the cigarette holder.

"How prudish, " suàd the man in the cardigan He refilled his cme. "And what

fairy tale isn 't about s a ? Besides, the paper's masochistic pleanrre-cwn-liberation

follows in the tradition of Carter's wonk, "

"And don 't forget, " added the blue-suited womcin, Terrault picked the ass for

effect" (Wamer, From the Beast to the Blonde 324).

The room became silent.

'Wh, Marina. Lw. " whispered the white-haired womcin, "you mciy want to revise

thur passage. '"

Two emaciated grey-suited academics who had been hiding under a M e neur

t?te bock of the room poked out their spectacled noses. "Pemault? " said the woman to

the man, "Did sontebody mention Penault? I simply c m 't abide t h t fellow. "

"How m e , darting. How very truc. Not a scholar at alL Think of what he did to

'Sleeping Be- *! It's sihply abominable." The man continued:

Perrauit simulates the plainness of the oral tradition with considerable success, bat he is no folklorist and remains at aiî times a child of the gmnd siècle. The very different resuits when a story is told by a scholar, anxious not to depart radicdy fhm his [sic] source, and when it is

handed by a writer who feels net to make whatever changes suit his [sic] fancy may be seen by comparing Perrault's ''Sleeping Beauty" with 'Briar Rose," the Grimms' version of the same story.

The story in Grimm is told with complete serioumess and genuine simplicity. Perrault retells the story in a much lighter vein; it is perfectly obvious that he does not believe a word of it and is simply enjoying himself. (ALn.ed David and Mary Elizabeth Meek, Introduction to Twelve Dancing Princesses xvi)

"Disgusting, darling, utterly disgusting, ," agreed the wornan as the two crawled

back tutder their table.

"AU right, then, " said the Chairperson in a sonorous voice, "we 'Il break for

lunch in the Cdeteria Thank you, everyone, anà we '11 resume at 2:00."

The group slowly filcd out of the roorn aMdrr handrhakes and waving fingers.

The Graduate Student offered the man in the cardigan her phone number (which he

declined, being happily rnam*ed with several children), flattered the white-haited woman

obsepuiousS, and thanked the other critics for their pioneering e#brts in fairy tale

criticim ï%en she slipped out the Exit, picked up a bottle of red wine, and went home.

She did not meet any wolves a h g the way.

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