Black Bandits of Texas

MCLT 223/GEND 290 – Gender, Structure & Fairy Tales (HM, GN)

Read Max Luethi. “The Fairy-Tale Hero: The Image of Man in the Fairy Tale. “In Hallett & Karasek, Folk and Fairy Tales. 315-322.

NOTE: Swiss scholar Luethi does not use inclusive language, i.e., when he says “man,” he sometimes means human beings and other times he means males.

1. List four or five reasons Luethi gives for what he sees as the predominance of women and girls in fairy tales (315-16)?

Grimm brother’s informants were predominantly women

Today children learn fairy tales mainly from their mothers, grandmothers, aunts, and female teachers

Child –boy or girl- is basically closer to feminine than masculine

Children living in dwellings with mother and female teachers

2. As opposed to myth or animal tales, the focal point of fairy tales is human beings, male or female. What does Luethi believe is ultimately important about the nature of the fairy tale hero or heroine (317)?

That the lowest can rise to the highest positions and that all things are possible

3. How does Luethi help us understand the appearance of royalty (king, queen, prince, princess) and such objects as gold, crowns, diamonds, and jewels in fairy tales (318)?

Luethi states that these descriptive words provide a symbolic force/appeal

4. The journey or quest is important to the fairy tale hero or heroine. Who or what may help the hero/heroine, and why? What is it about the hero/heroine that attracts help(319-320)?

Little old man who shares his bread and gives advice, meets a beast that helps solve a problem, etc. The hero is usually alone and trying to achieve a specific goal

5. What reason does Luethi give to explain how modern literature (he mentions Franz Kafka) features anti-heroes or anti-heroines (322)?

6. What rings true for you in Luethi’s article? Do you find fairy tales poetic? persuasive? powerful?

The fact of why fairy tales predominantly include women and girls rings...