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Fairy Tale and Film
altogether, prioritising the role of being a supportive partner and parent,
and any emotional reticence or self-interest reproved, affirming nurtur-
ing and kindness as favoured masculine traits. We might align this with
an understanding of reconstructed masculinity, often associated with
the ‘new man’ promoted in popular culture in the last few decades,
and developed in response to a sense of dissatisfaction with restrictive
gender roles placed on both men and women. As Zipes asserts, ‘feminist
fairy tales ... have emerged from the struggles of the women’s move-
ment and are being used to elaborate social choices and alternatives
for both females and males. As indicators of social, psychological and
political change, they are also agents of a new socialisation’ (1984: xii).
Feminist influences are equally apparent in certain films, including
those assessed here, and the fact that mainstream cinema has been keen
to provide new models of manhood is an interesting and important
development. As to whether the transformed males evaluated in this
chapter reflect female aspirations and desires (as much as those held
by men), it seems fair to conclude that they are a mutual response to a
commonly experienced sense of dissatisfaction with ‘traditional’ gender
roles, emerging from a recognition that ‘masculinity’ is every bit as
variable as ‘femininity’, equally as prone to conflict and dissension, and
equally capable of the nurturing capacities so often considered a female
trait. Far from serving as meaningless comic diversions, these films
have something serious to impart, acknowledging that difficulties and
disadvantages cut across gender, presenting male characters whom both
men and women can identify with, and thus conceding the potential
for progressive affiliations.
Wish-fulfilment fantasies do not simply pertain to romance of
course, and while male and female maturation rites in fairy tales tend
to culminate in marriage, this is often accompanied by ascending to
the throne and securing all the attendant privileges this entails. Does
the impulse, noted here, of protagonists eschewing materialist goals
reflect a wider sense of dissatisfaction with capitalist dreams of avarice
and advancement? The next chapter assesses tales of rapid social ascent
achieved without a royal courtship – often through illicit if not down-
right illegal means – evaluating the ambivalent reaction both films and
fairy tales have shown towards securing wealth without work and the
contrasting narrative consequences that result when characters resort
to crime.
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3
Wealth through Stealth: Evening
the Odds, or Flirting with Disaster?
Narrative success, in fairy tales, often takes the form of romantic
reward, yet vast riches are an added incentive for those who ‘marry up’.
Impoverished heroines can say goodbye to work when they attract a
royal spouse, just as knaves, numbskulls and ne’er-do-wells may beat
off rivals, and defy expectation, to wed a princess. Another means of
getting ahead entails a certain degree of moral latitude, spotting an
opportunity to swindle or steal, and taking full advantage of it. The
rapid social ascents made possible by such tactics suggest that unfa-
vourable origins are as inconsequential as a class system in terms of
impeding progress. Individuals can ‘pull themselves up by their boot-
straps’, as Zipes has put it, and make good on what they have in an
interesting affirmation of entrepreneurship. Indeed, while he claims
that such tales ‘gave vent to the frustration of the common people
and embodied their interests and wishes’ (2002a: 6), affluence remains
a primary objective. Whether it is achieved through securing a royal
marriage, or stealing treasure hoarded by villainous witches and ogres,
money is understood as a means to evade poverty and live happily ever
after – in most cases at least.
1
While the last chapter looked at cinematic
narratives that bring a measure of maturity to male characters, noting
a tendency to repudiate material concerns as secondary to family and
friendship, we look at a direct contrast here: tales with the specific aim
of seeing protagonists make a fortune, appraising differing treatments
of this apparent dream-come-true. A chief aim is to question the often
quite illicit means by which heroes seek to rise above their station,
assessing how criminality has been represented in both fairy tales and
film. When are seemingly questionable acts of deceit and robbery,
even murder, permitted as a form of social advancement, and when
are they censured? Is any line drawn between approved and prohibited
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