After our discussion of Anne Sexton's Transformations I overheard a number of classmates discussing the heteronormative biases and assumptions of the fairy tales we enjoyed as children. See Brenna's October 13 post for an interesting discussion about "marriage brainwashing" in fairy tales (Brenna's Musings). In spite of the fact that Sexton's renditions are mostly focused on the sexual, societal, and domestic realities of the adult woman I too read Transformations against the storybooks of my childhood. I began to wonder how my adolescence may have been different if my parents had read me stories about princesses rescuing princesses as a child.This is an issue of particular interest for me as a future educator particularly because of the growing concern with inclusive curriculum.
Interestingly, one of my favorite childhood stories was The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch. My mother often compared me to the stubborn protagonist- Princess Elizabeth who is forced to rescue her "practically perfect" Prince Ronald after a dragon abducts him (burning up her entire wardrobe in the process). With nothing left to wear, Lizzy dons a paper bag and goes on a daring rescue mission only to discover that Ronald is more concerned with her wayward appearance than her bravery- he doesn't even say thanks! A true feminist, Lizzy tells Ronald that although he is nice looking he is really a "bum" and leaves him right there. Truly my mother did a great job of finding stories I could relate to as a child- particularly those with stubborn female protagonists who liked to do things for themselves but the stories were still heteronormative and never really departed the princess paradigm.
In search of an alternative fairytale I discovered "Sir Rupert the Gay Knight" on YouTube. I cannot find a last name to offer for credit to the author who goes by Shannon or "thinkmorepink" but note that she wrote and illustrated this tale as a tribute to her gay brother. If LGBT children had access to stories such as Rupert's would they be more comfortable with themselves as they became conscious of their gender and sexuality differences as adolescents? Would incorporating curriculum like this in early years classrooms affect the way children react do gendered and sexual differences? Let me know what you think!
Yellow Sargasso Wallpaper
"Half-way up they closed in on me and started talking. The girl said, 'Look the crazy girl, you crazy like your mother." Wide Sargasso Sea pg.26
"If a physician of high standing, and one's own husband, assures friends and relatives that there is really nothing the matter with one but temporary nervous depression -- a slight hysterical tendency -- what is one to do?" The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gillman line 10
I couldn't help but read Wide Sargasso Sea as an echo of Charlotte P. Gillman's The Yellow Wallpaper. In both cases we observe women descend into madness as they are confined by their marriages and held captive by their husbands. The pathology of this madness can be traced to a loss of voice. As we discussed in class, Antoinette's marginalization stems from her Creole background in which she does not belong culturally or linguistically to any of the white Europeans or black Jamaican groups that surround her. Antoinette's isolation is finalized when her husband relocates her to England where she has no sense of belonging. The narrator in The Yellow Wallpaper suffers for the lack of an audience that will take her seriously. She is heard only in a secret journal she keeps because her husband/doctor has isolated her due to a "hysteria"she has developed since the birth of their child. Even in brevity the feminist concern is clear here: Gillman and Rhys portray womanhood as marginalizing and marriage as isolating and disempowering. Moreover, having a voice, particularly through writing is presented as a gendered practice. Antoinette's voice is silenced in part two of Sargasso in exchange for the perspective of her husband- the reader must rely on Rochester's observations of her descent into madness. Gillman's narrator is communicating to the reader through a series of secret journal entry because she is not allowed by her husband to write anything. Both writers arrive in Bronte's attic, concluding that feminine experience, both gendered and sexual is one of marginalization and like Woolf, argue that women must find a room of their own outside of the patriarchy if they wish to have any voice at all.
Now for the real question: Has Beyonce read Gillman or Rhys? Doubtable...
Single Ladies- Beyonce
"If a physician of high standing, and one's own husband, assures friends and relatives that there is really nothing the matter with one but temporary nervous depression -- a slight hysterical tendency -- what is one to do?" The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gillman line 10
I couldn't help but read Wide Sargasso Sea as an echo of Charlotte P. Gillman's The Yellow Wallpaper. In both cases we observe women descend into madness as they are confined by their marriages and held captive by their husbands. The pathology of this madness can be traced to a loss of voice. As we discussed in class, Antoinette's marginalization stems from her Creole background in which she does not belong culturally or linguistically to any of the white Europeans or black Jamaican groups that surround her. Antoinette's isolation is finalized when her husband relocates her to England where she has no sense of belonging. The narrator in The Yellow Wallpaper suffers for the lack of an audience that will take her seriously. She is heard only in a secret journal she keeps because her husband/doctor has isolated her due to a "hysteria"she has developed since the birth of their child. Even in brevity the feminist concern is clear here: Gillman and Rhys portray womanhood as marginalizing and marriage as isolating and disempowering. Moreover, having a voice, particularly through writing is presented as a gendered practice. Antoinette's voice is silenced in part two of Sargasso in exchange for the perspective of her husband- the reader must rely on Rochester's observations of her descent into madness. Gillman's narrator is communicating to the reader through a series of secret journal entry because she is not allowed by her husband to write anything. Both writers arrive in Bronte's attic, concluding that feminine experience, both gendered and sexual is one of marginalization and like Woolf, argue that women must find a room of their own outside of the patriarchy if they wish to have any voice at all.
Now for the real question: Has Beyonce read Gillman or Rhys? Doubtable...
Single Ladies- Beyonce
