encode rules of behavior for little girls

That's a good point, Teppy. Do you think it's primarily aimed at little girls or at kids in general? IE, "walk in the woods/dark place by yourself and wolf/wicked witch/nasties will eat you".

I know "Women Who Run With The Wolves" is laughed at lot, but I found her interpretation of fairy tales fascinating and insightful.

encode rules of behavior for little girls

That's a good point, Teppy. Do you think it's primarily aimed at little girls or at kids in general?

I suppose kids in general, so that boys learn that They Do The Rescuing Of The Helpless Princess, and girls learn that they are the helpless princesses, meant to be forever passive.

I recently read a version of Beauty and the Beast, and suddenly recognized that I was reading a story of Stockholm Syndrome.

Ooooh! I hadn't thought of it that way. I'm gonna go nab my office book buddy and try this theory out on her as I head out.

I can't decide if you scare me deeply, or you're the coolest human alive.

Hee hee. I'd prefer the latter.

The digressions annoyed me no end -- which is also my problem with Dostoevsky.

Oh, Fred. I love Crime and Punishment. An interesting character with a crisis, a detective story, plot twists...I totally wasn't expecting a classic to be so fun to read.

girls learn that they are the helpless princesses, meant to be forever passive.

You have to read the right fairy-tales. "East of the Sun, West of the Moon" and "The Black Bull of Norroway" both have active heroines who wind up rescuing the prince.

You have to read the right fairy-tales. "East of the Sun, West of the Moon" and "The Black Bull of Norroway" both have active heroines who wind up rescuing the prince.

I know such stories exist, but what are the ones that the majority of kids hear? Cinderella. Sleeping Beauty (which has such an icky sexual subtext that it needs a therapist). Rapunzel. Snow White.

Bah.

Sleeping Beauty

You know in the original she's pregnant with twins immediately after waking up, right?

Steph, I think you're reacting as much to the Disney versions of those stories, which are heavily sanitized, as to the actual stories, which are dark and terrifying and full of Justice.

Steph, I think you're reacting as much to the Disney versions of those stories

Yeah, but those are still the ones that get told most often.

How many people know how the Grimms' original version of Rumplestiltskin ended? Dude ripped himself in HALF. While I love it, in all its bloodthirstiness, people just don't know that's how it was written.

My heart sinks a little when I read a post saying the poster doesn't like one of my favorite authors. I don't know why, and it's cool everybody's got different tastes.

I just find my reaction odd.

Uh, maybe some of y'all should take another look at what I wrote.

I was pretty clearly disparaging the tendency which some people show hereabouts to write off a work of literature because it's difficult or unpleasant. Did I name names? No.

Did I say, "Steph, you read it and didn't like it, so SHAME SHAME SHAME! Now your opinion means nothing."? No. Did I say "Canon is set in stone, and you must all read it and enjoy it or you're dumb."? No. Hell, I hated Middlemarch, too (although I understand why I had to read it), and I don't know what would make me not like Steph. And I would hate to think that in 20 years, any literate person will continue to think that Brett Easton Ellis has created great literature.

Anyway, everytime I express this opinion in here (which is, to be clear, that Great Books are Great Books for a reason, a general opinion to be sure, which may or may not hold true for any particular work of art), the same backlash happens against my ever-so-mean point-of-view, so I'm kinda done with this thread.