The "Happy" Ending

The typical happy ending we all imagine for the fairy tale princess is not all it is cracked up to be. After enduring unimaginable torture and suffering, the fairy tale female reaches what seems to be a desirable outcome. However, after fighting for her independence and against such mistreatment, the future princess falls right back into the role society expects of her. She is  allowing the restoration of the "natural order in the hierarchy of gender." Especially in the 1800's, men were viewed as superior to women. The female's acceptance of marriage simply puts her under another man's rule and ownership.

Once married, the female is ultimately expected to bear children. Pregnancy, while viewed as a miracle and a sign of love in today's society, was viewed quite differently in the time of fairy tales. Pregnancy was a way for a man to exert his power and dominance over his wife. It was truly the wife's job to reproduce. It was even seen as a form of humilation, and a way to put her in her "proper" place.

Also, the female's battle is almost always overshadowed by a male hero who steps in to save her. There are few stories in which the female is able to save herself, which reflects the strength and independence of the sex quite poorly. Snow White is kissed (and therefore revived) by a prince, Little Red-Cap is saved from the belly of a wolf by a huntsman, Rumpelstiltskin saves a girl's life by helping her spin hay into gold, the list goes on and on. The female's future and happiness is unfortunately dependent on the men around her.

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The Grimm Brothers openly admit in "The Three Elves in the Wood" that marriage is a joy, but also torment, for the husband. The fact that many marriages in the tales were forced or arranged left a negative view on the sanctity of the union.

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Rumpelstiltskin saves this fairy tale female's life by spinning hay into gold for the demanding king. However, she was forced to give him all of her jewelry in return, and eventually promised her first born to him as well. The King took her as his wife, as he believed she could truly spin hay into gold by herself. Despite this superficial basis of the marriage, she accepted the royal life and had his children.

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Cinderella tirelessly slaves over her demanding stepmother and step-sisters throughout her entire life. In the end, we all know Cinderella earns her chance to win over her future prince, and succeeds. Her former family even gets the karma they receive. Both step-sisters cut off pieces of their feet in attempts to make the glass slipper fit, and their eyes were pecked out by birds when they tried to attend Cinderella’s wedding.