April 6th
In chapter three of this companion, we are met with a certain hypothesis that aims to understand how stories like Sleeping Beauty could be used to understand the true wants and needs of the female psyche. In this portion, three portions of the hypothesis are presented which I personally, found very interesting.
The first portion of the hypothesis was that in the case of Sleeping Beauty and the like, the woman is actually freed from seemingly domesticated duties. She is no longer needed to cook and clean and take care of the household as she is physically unable to do so. On top of this, she is arguably in a better environment than her own home-- enjoying the comfort of a "relaxing" sleep on a soft and plush bed. The second prong of this hypothesis is that women no longer have to experience the whoas of childbirth and infertility, miscarriage and the struggles of raising a human. Instead, the woman (in some versions) is given the chance to produce a life without the need to care for said life. Yes, absentia within rape could occur, but the main focus of this portion of the hypothesis is that both mom and child prosper---- the mother not being exhausted by maternal duties and child being carefully raised in a beneficial environment. The third portion of this hypothesis is that women are then desired both emotionally, physically and socially by not just members of the opposite sex, but themselves and other women too. In their state of sleep, the worry and curiosity that others endure lead to an infatuation with the individual who is asleep.
It is ultimately argued that these stories are in fact not written for the predatory male, but rather in support of women and their basic desires-- to be wanted, to be cared for and to be rid of all responsibility. Ultimately, this could be taken as a sexist perspective if written by a man, however, if written by a woman I believe this would be taken more seriously and with more understanding. This leads me to wonder if no matter what, this is the truth, just not one that woman wish to accept from anyone but themselves.
I really like this take on the readings for today & appreciated the summary of Tatar's three main prongs of focus this section. I focused a bit more on the role of men in my blog response so this was helpful in discussing aspects I may have left out. I too took away from the section the ideas about women doing things for themselves rather than others/the male gaze. Great work!
ReplyDeleteI also found this interpretation of Sleeping Beauty since I had only ever understood the story to be about men wanting the ideal woman who is seen and not heard. Especially intriguing is the third part of the hypothesis. It captures a common aspect throughout most relationships between women in fairy tales-- the desire to be the one most desired. There is a jealousy and competition aspect to it that we see in Cinderella and Snow White. More than that, we still see this desire to be unique and individual today. For a while, there was a movement and a desire to be "Not like other girls" because it somehow made you better or above the other. However, culture shifted and most women tend to see this comment are derogatory because it is a way to cut down other women.
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