When I was growing up, my favorite fairy tales were "Bluebeard" and "Donkeyskin" ... Yet, had I been asked I would have told you "Beauty and the Beast" was my favorite.
I have always attributed this reaction to the fact that generally young girls are asked "Who's your favorite Disney Princess" not "What is your favorite fairy tale" ...
Today it occurred to me that it was easier to say that I vocally identified with Beauty because, let's face it, isn't a rebel. She's basically the perfect model of femininity. She bends the rules, but doesn't break them. Her skills and interests Rene toward the domestic. She is "the angel in the house" that I aspired, my entire childhood, to emulate and be. Because that's what good little Mormon girls do.
Donkeyskin and Bluebeard are stories about women who break the rules, rebel, take their lives in their own hands... And aren't punished. They live, they survive, and they don't need a bloody fairy godmother or singing rodents to accomplish their goals. And they frackin rock.
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