By Avantika Swali
As children, we all read fairy tales. Cinderella, Snow White and Little Red Riding Hood are some of the classics. All the fairy tales have a plot; however, they all have happy endings. There have been numerous stories about the 'real' endings to these fairy tales, for example, Cinderella by the Grimm Brothers. Nonetheless, these versions of the stories are far from realistic; they are borderline horror. How would the story change if the princess and the prince were not married "happily ever after" and instead had a more realistic relationship? What effect would the more realistic story have had on our childhood?
The happy endings have the moral that there is a light at the end of the darkness and be an installation of hope in children early on. Although, we must explore the possibilities that the 'hope' is misleading. In Cinderella, for instance, the fairy godmother appears when Cinderella is upset that she cannot go to the ball. She fixes everything, and Cinderella goes to the ball looking perfect. Could this cause us to wait subconsciously for a Fairy Godmother solution to problems, or does the Fairy Godmother contribute to the story's supernatural element? Imagine a version of Cinderella, where instead of the Fairy Godmother magically making everything perfect, Cinderella uses the sewing skills her mother taught her to make herself a beautiful dress, thus independent and intelligent, finding her way to get to the ball. Would the version with a more independent Cinderella be a better moral?
Fairy tales have been highly critiqued for their love portrayal with the highly inaccurate view of love and a sexist relationship. They are also known for their lack of diversity, as there are no fairy tales with same-sex relationships and very few containing people of colour. The relationships are incredibly sexist, usually involving the handsome prince rescuing the beautiful princess, and they live "happily ever after." Snow White has been recently critiqued because, in the story, the prince didn't take Snow White's permission to kiss her, she was unconscious, and it wasn't correct for him to kiss her without her consent. Fairy Tales also implement the notion that women need a handsome prince to come to rescue them, which, in my opinion, is utter nonsense. If a more realistic portrayal of love were seen in fairy tales, it would significantly enhance it. A situation where the princess rescues the prince, or perhaps one where the relationship doesn't end happily ever after, and a homosexual relationship would be revolutionary. Should these more diverse themes be seen in fairy tales, I believe that they would teach children from a young age to be accepting everyone they see for who they are and know that no matter their race or gender, they are respected and recognized.
Fairy tales reiterate society's parameters of 'beauty’ and objectify the concept through their characters. 94% of all Disney Princess films mention beauty. The stories and movies portray the princesses with a highly unrealistic body image; each princess has an unnaturally small waist, with large hips and fair skin. Young girls see these princesses as the definition of beauty, who then believe that the standard of beauty is limited to impossibly tiny waists, large hips, and fair skin. There are zero stories or films which showcase body diversity. A more realistic depiction of the human body would considerably widen the ridiculously narrow standard of beauty that society follows, initiating the inclusion of all body types from a young age.
To conclude, I believe that a slightly more realistic portrayal of the world in fairy tales would immensely benefit children by educating them about what they will see once they enter the real world and enabling them to be more inclusive and accepting of those around them.
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