Once upon a time, the first fairy tales evolved from their folkloric origins, thus giving rise to one of most popular fairies. literary genres. Since then, these fairy tales have enchanted us and thousands of retellings have been presented presenting the original tales in a new light. Women's liberation movements have given rise to feminist narratives that give voice to oppressed female heroes, providing them with the opportunity to tell their stories. In “Feminism and Fairy Tales”, Karen Rowe discusses the anti-feminist messages conveyed by the most popular fairy tales. Even though we expect modern stories to be more feminist in nature, many of her arguments referencing the passivity and objectification of heroines still apply to them. It is therefore important to ask whether these modern narratives, which appear to support gender equality and women's rights, might have an underlying patriarchal tone. Madame de Beaumont's "Beauty and the Beast" was published in 1756 and inspired Emma Donoghue's story "The Tale of the Rose" which presents the traditional story of "Beauty and the Beast" in a unique. Donoghue's story follows the budding romance between two women and contains a female beast instead of a male beast. Although “The Tale of the Rose” appears to promote feminist messages through a strong, independent heroine, it has a subtly patriarchal tone. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay In “Did They Live Happily Ever After?” », Laura Tosi explores the elements of feminist narratives and explains why they promote feminist messages. According to her, contemporary rewritings of popular fairy tales challenge "the implications of gender roles in fairy tales" (369), implying that the authors of these tales, especially feminist ones, intend to present strong female characters rather than passive ones. In “The Tale of the Rose,” Donoghue depicts Beauty as a woman who seems capable of making her own decisions. When Beauty offers to take her father's place and go to the Beast's castle, she says, "for the first time in my life, I felt like I owned myself" (Donoghue 31). This expression not only exercises independence, but also rebels against the notion of male ownership that was rampant in the patriarchal era. Beauty's determination and strong character are further demonstrated by her response to the Beast's question whether she came willingly: "I did." My stomach hurt, but I did it” (Donoghue 31). The first two words are a separate phrase that emphasizes the fact that this decision was hers, and the use of "but" as a connector proves that Beauty is capable of sacrifice. Donoghue essentially instilled in Beauty elements that are mainly found in male characters: independence, heroism and nobility. However, even though it appears that the heroine was given the freedom to make her own decisions, it is important to consider that she is often treated as an object. Rowe states that "fairy tales reduce women to marketable commodities" (351) and this is illustrated in "The Tale of the Rose" when Beauty's father says "My daughter, I have sold you" (Donoghue , 30). Additionally, he promised the Beast “the first thing he would see when he got home” (Donoghue 30). The verb "sold" and the use of the noun "thing" to refer to beauty represent the type of male ownership over women thatexisted in patriarchies. Beauty is deprived of the freedom to make her own choice because her father exchanges her for the Beast. Beaumont's Beauty and the Beast is not much different from Donoghue's version in this respect. The heroine first appears to be the decision-maker when she says “you cannot stop me from following you”, then demonstrates her noble character through the quote “I intend to offer myself to appease his fury” (Beaumont 175). However, just like in Donoghue's version, Beauty does not seem to have much of a choice because if she had not volunteered to take her father's place he would have died, and she is bound by her devotion to her father. Donoghue's heroine therefore seems to go there of her own free will but she had already been given up by her father without her consent. In addition to Beauty's freedom, Donoghue tries to differentiate his characters from Beaumont's. Beaumont endorses the patriarchy by punishing the stepsisters for following societal norms. When Beaumont published his story, women were expected to have husbands and marrying to obtain wealth was common. However, the stepsisters were punished for their greed by the fairy who said, "Your destiny is to become statues" and there is "no greater punishment" than making them witness the happiness of the Beautiful (Beaumont 181). Moreover, the fairy thinks that the stepsisters will not learn the lesson and will remain statues forever. But surely they shouldn't be punished for making mistakes, they are only human beings. In contrast, Donoghue depicts patriarchy to show how Beauty struggles against it. For example, the contradictory sentence “I went there as a hostage, but I felt like I was going into combat” highlights the submissive role of women in a male-dominated society (Donoghue 31). However, it should be noted that the second half reveals Beauty's newfound freedom as she longed to "go into battle", something only men were allowed to do. Second, one of the most notable differences in Donoghue's narrative is the depiction of homosexuality. The Beaumont Tale, like all other traditional fairy tales, presents the romantic journey of a man and a woman. Since the publication of the first fairy tale, millions of heterosexual versions have been created. Donoghue, on the other hand, emphasizes the importance of acceptance in her story and goes against the expected patriarchal norms that imply a woman must marry a man. Nonetheless, Donoghue's attempts to differentiate his characters are unconvincing because the underlying logic of the tales remains the same. even. First, in Beaumont's "Beauty and the Beast," the stepsisters "rubbed their eyes with an onion" to appear tearful while the brothers cried (175). Describing Beauty's sisters as heartless makes them seem incapable of human emotion, which undermines the feminine character even if it was not Beaumont's intention to do so. In “The Tale of the Rose,” Beauty’s sisters also have “onion eyes” (Donoghue 32). Although Donoghue may have done this to criticize the original narrative, there is other evidence, which will be explored in detail later, that the sisters are undermined in his story. Therefore, as their tears for Beauty are not genuine, they resemble the stepsisters in Beaumont's tale and this presents women in a negative light. Second, Beauty of Beaumont opened a book that said in golden letters: “Ask whatever you want, you are the mistress of all here” (Beaumont 177). Although the book states that Beauty has freedom, she still believes that the Beast is the master, and even after the Beast says "you are the master", Beauty does notnot take advantage of his status (Beaumont 177). In "The Tale of the Rose", Beauty seems to have internalized the narrative of Beaumont's tale and follows him even though the Beast tries to tell her not to. The heroine does not seem willing to accept that this is a new story and she limits herself to restrictions. Even when the Beast says “I am not a man,” he is too absorbed in the original story to realize the implications of these words (Donoghue 37). Donoghue tries to present a strong, liberated heroine, but Beauty's reluctance to step outside her confines and enjoy her independence suggests a hesitation to oppose the patriarchal environment. “Tale of the Rose” attempts to produce what Tosi would call a “gender-neutral adult.” » version of the original tale by assigning male characters to weaker and less powerful roles (384). In BeaumontBête's “Beauty and Beauty,” the heroine politely rejects marriage proposals, saying that she could not “leave her poor father in his misfortune” (Beaumont 172). Here, the men are represented in a positive light since they are willing to marry Beauty as she is despite her low social status (Beaumont 172). In contrast, in Donoghue's version, Beauty refuses her suitors because "their stubborn devotion seemed too easy to win" (27). Not only does the "canine devotion" alliteration compare the suitors to harmless dogs and emphasize that Beauty is too beautiful for them, but it also contradicts everything that Beaumont's original Beast represents: male dominance and patriarchal power. Furthermore, the absence of a male beast in Donoghue's story further accentuates the fall of patriarchy and elevates the position of women. Therefore, Donoghue's story fulfills Tosi's expectation that a feminist narrative "deconstructs a traditional paradigm of masculine identity" (384). Instead of focusing on the characteristics that would distinguish Beauty, Donoghue's emphasis on deconstructing notions forces him to neglect the inner beauty of the characters. Donoghue emphasizes the physical attributes of Beauty and the Beast. However, the tale never suggests that beauty is objective, but rather reinforces the idea that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. This is illustrated by the quote “After months of searching, I saw that beauty was infinitely varied and I found it behind her white face” (Donoghue 40). Through this quote, Donoghue attempts to criticize the standards set by traditional fairy tales. However, her desire to disprove that appearances dictate feminine worth leads to the creation of flat characters with no obvious personality traits. This is called "flatness" and is an element of folk tales, as described by Kate Bernheimer in "Fairy Tale is Form, Form is Fairy Tale." Flat female characters actually oppose feminist sentiments because they are simply beautiful, without characteristics that make them human. Even in Beaumont's tale, beauty is its most exceptional quality. “When she was little, we simply called her ‘the little beauty’” and her real name is forgotten, which takes away an integral part of her identity (Beaumont 171). The name itself objectifies the heroine, making it seem like nothing is more important than her appearance. However, “Beauty and the Beast” actually gives the heroine more depth to her character. Beaumont describes Beauty as charming and polite and makes readers aware of her intelligence and love of books; she is recognized as a real human with personality traits. We can therefore say that the most feminist tale in this case is in fact the classic version of Beaumont since it.