Customer Reviews

Don't Bet on the Prince: Contemporary Feminist Fairy Tales in North America and England

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This book is divided into three parts. The first, "Feminist Fairy Tales for Young (and Old) Readers," is the selection of stories you want to read aloud to your daughter or son. These stories have sophisticated subjects and good language, but no lengthy exposition of narrative that bogs down a reading out loud. Most set up admirable gender roles, but some, such as "Snow White," are explicitly political, and can help you raise good activists.

The second section, "Feminist Fairy Tales for Old (and Young) Readers," is comprised of more structurally complex stories that invite a silent reader to take time and try to swallow them. Though intended for adult readers, literate children can follow them, and for the most part should be encouraged to do so early and often. Sex roles and social station dominate these stories, but we get glimpses of how these issues are impacted by war, work, and more.

The third section, "Feminist Literary Criticism," is pretty slow-moving. Most of us are already familiar with the idea that fairy tales have detrimental effects on our children, especially our daughters, and while we may be briefly interested in a scholarly explanation of why this is so, the common reader won't get as much good out of this part as the previous two.

Educator, writer, and scholar Jack Zipes has compiled here an excellent antidote to the stultifying fairy tales that molded the minds of most of us when we were young. Zipes is the editor of several thematic books of fairy tales, and this is neither the least nor the last. Whether you approach this work as a parent, a reader, or a scholar, this book is highly rewarding.

I read this first as a little girl, before i knew how to spell feminism let alone define it. The stories captivated me then for their ability to lead my mind into another land more fantastical than my own. Later in life, re-reading this book i was compelled by the issues, thoughts and questions Zipes raised in my mind. It is not feminism that kills you with its anger, it is feminism that makes you think. Sometimes whimsical, sometimes daring, and sometimes blatant, it always stands there to be read and re-read. A constant delight.

This is such an amazing book. It's part of what lead me into my research into looking at strong female characters in folk tales. This book is a must for people who don't want to read stories about wishy washy princesses waiting for the prince, and scholars alike. I reccomend this book highly.

The book tells feminist fairy stories that are gentle with the guys too. Jack Zipes, the editor is, after all, a man. I've used the book with students, grandchildren, fellow feminists - all to a warm welcome. Highly recommended.

In three sections (following a lengthy introduction), editor Zipes compiles three revised, purportedly feminist takes on traditional fairy tales: Feminist Fairy Tales for Young (and Old) Readers and for Old (and Young) Readers, 17 modern fairy tales from authors like Tanith Lee, Jane Yolen, and Anne Sexton among others, and four pieces of feminist literary criticism on fairy tales. That a work purports to be feminist, however, does not necessarily make it so. Or, rather, a work can claim to be feminist, can aim to be feminist, and still fall short of the mark--as is the case here. First, it's Zipes that drags down the anthology. In his overlong introduction and concluding critical essay, he's given to cumbersome academic dialog and bold leaps of reasoning, a tendency towards form (in place of content) which makes for inscrutable, unsubstantiated arguments. Those arguments are promising, but they beg clearer, more thorough address. The anthology's second weakness is the stories themselves. There are some gems--most provided by the authors mentioned above, and Carter's "The Donkey Prince" and Atwood's "Bluebeard's Egg" also appear on my list of favorites. But there are many stories which fail to push their feminist premises far enough, leaving them open to worrying commentary.

"In none of these tales is marriage a necessity or a goal for young women, rather it is a possibility which may or may not enter their plans. [...] In addition, the lives and careers of the young women are not telologically [sic] shaped by marriage (17)," writes Zipes in his introduction, yet in a surprising number of Prince's stories marriage is presumed--and in more, female energy is focused on male figures, roles, and relationships. The stories that don't fulfill heteronormative goals of romance, marriage, and childbirth often focus on that failure, mourning the sense of loss that accompanies it. For a purportedly feminist anthology, Prince has a surprisingly strong focus on men (even in the title!), and heteronormative standards are nearly inviolate. Perhaps I aim too high (and take too modern an approach) when I wish that Prince didn't constrain its feminism to heteronormative obligate male/female relationships; the fact that it does not, however, makes it limited in scope and depth. And then there's de Larrabeiti's story "Malagan and the Lady of Rascas," in which a husband has his wife made grotesque to force her to remain faithful, and when she does for many years remain faithful--and good, patient, and forgiving--he learns to be a decent human being. A story where men make decisions, women survive ill treatment without complaint or agency, and men reap the rewards of the experience is not feminist--certainly not feminist enough to fit a collection that totes the word so boldly on its cover.

Prince is not all bad--many stories are second rate (not just because of their feminist content, but because they are too far divorced from their source material to be effective retellings), Zipes is a constant irritation, but the other essays are thoughtful (if dated and brief) and there are some intriguing stories in the collection. But the volume aims to be more than this, and it's a lofty goal; that it fails to reach that goal makes it a disappointment. There are better feminist takes on fairy tales out there, even if they don't come in such proud packaging. I don't recommend this one.

this is an excellent book. The stories are well written and varied in theme. I was captivated by the stories for young readers as well as the stories for old readers. buy this book for your children!

It includes feminist twists in the stories, but still has "gender assigned" stories...Do not buy this book if you have, like me, studied feminism in many ways. It will be sure to dissapoint you.