Customer Reviews

Fearless Girls, Wise Women & Beloved Sisters: Heroines in Folktales from Around the World

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

What a feat--to have ferreted out these wonderfully rich stories from around the world! These tales, left in their own cultural idioms, invited me to transcend ages-old boundaries and to explore life in other lands and eras. The introduction, coming from a mother who was concerned about her daughters' literary role models, didn't fully prepare me for what I had in store, though: don't go looking for a "book of virtues"-type anthology with clear object lessons or easy reading for your kids. Heroism comes in many different guises throughout these tales, in ways that chivalry and good manners might not ordinarily accept. Because these heroines are not readily categorized as the feminine archetype, they may not be obvious role models for women (and girls), but they do create much more interest and discussion than the Cinderella-type stories which women can't even begin to emulate. For some of the protagonists, their heroism lies in their ability to break out of the mold that their societies gave them--or at least, to stretch them so that their feats are unexpected by those surrounding them. That's a refreshing lesson in any culture. I very much hope, in any case, that Ms. Ragan will reach back into those 30,000 surveyed stories and, with her daughters once again in mind, come out with a collection of stories edited for our children. We wait with bated breath....

This book is terrific - the stories I read in "Fearless Girls, Wise Women & Beloved Sisters" has completely changed the way I view the portrayal of women in folktales. When I was a kid, many of the books I read had male protagonists, and early on I realized that in the stories and plays I was reading the males got all the good parts. They went off and did the courageous things while the female characters tittered, blushed and occassionally fainted in safety. The women in this book do brave things the men can't (or aren't smart enough) to do. They fight monsters, outwit giants and save lives, yet they they have traditional feminine qualities such as patience, devotion and compassion, and a soft spot for babies. The tales in this anthology are as diverse and varied as the women they represent. They come from all around the world and cross all cultural lines. To help readers understand the cultural context, the author has included her notes at the end of each tale expressing her personal reactions and the cultural background. I liked reading her remarks, and enjoyed the way they helped put the tales in context. I highly recommend this book - it is really refreshing to find out that women's empowerment is not something new! [D.A. age 14]

This book is a much needed addition to the world of multicultural and feminist stories. Because the author has broadened her definition of heroine to include qualities traditionally attributed to women and subsequently denigrated by the society, the book succeeds in bringing us new definitions of what it means to be a successful human being. Honoring qualities like creating a "hearth" for a family, kindness, perseverance and cleverness rather than physical strength (though delightful tales featuring female strength are included too!),Ragan brings to our attention stories that celebrate feminine qualities. As a storyteller, I have found stories that I can use immediately to build my repertoire of performance pieces. The care with which Ragan has sought out those sources closest to the oral tradition makes the storyteller's job of "translating" written text to oral performance much easier. I highly recommend this book to educators, librarians and storytellers. It also makes a great resource collection for parents who want to expand the kinds of stories they offer to their children, both male and female!

I find the stories in this book to be a highly entertaining read and am excited to have it as a resource for any possible future daughters of my own. When I was a girl, I often sought stories that depicted female heroines (Scout from to Kill a Mockingbird, Joan of Arc, Marie Curie, Eleanore of Aquitane, Queen Elizabeth, Athena, Isis) and it is fantastic to have a compendium of world myths and stories that reflect admiration for females.
As an anthropologist, I would like to respond to the comment below that "there is no culture on earth right now that is matriarchal-and there very likely never has been." That is untrue. Many cultures are and were of various matriarchal forms. Currently, the Mosuo, Minangkabau, Hopi, Iroquois, Navajo and Cherokee for instance, are matriarchal. So were the Arkadians (ancient Greek culture), the Nair(India) and many more throughout the world and throughout history than I care to write here.
I highly recommend this book.

Compared to other anthologies of fairy tales depicting women in a more liberated light, this book is extremely disappointing. The stories themselves have little to recommend them and, although they are folktales and so less sophisticated than postmodern fiction, they seem to have been chosen not to entertain but purely to demostrate the worth of women. I have nothing against that (hey, I'm female too) but it could be done with infinitely greater skill. The main problem with this book is the way women are depicted (yes, you read that bit right). Ragan understandably aims to challenge the myth of the representation of women in folk tales but her representation is as much a myth and one-sided as traditional patriarchal propaganda. Ragan's portrayal of women constructs them as extraordinary in strength, intelligence, principles and beauty. To me, the whole point of feminist literature is the issue of equality, not superiority. If Ragan's aims spring from such a source, women should be acknowledged in a more realistic light - some are good, some are bad and most of us are somewhere in between. They have shortcomings and flaws but dignity and worth too. A woman's place in the world does not have to be on a pedestal or in a gutter. I think Ragan also unconsciously reinforces the values regarding women in a patriarchal society. In each story, her summary comment at the end attempts to magnify the significance of the actions of the women in the story (and so reflect on all women) but she disregards any of the failings that they have. In a lot of the stories, an extremely important trait in the woman was her beauty and her skill or intelligence were used to secure herself a place in society designated to her on the grounds of her sex eg. advantageous marriage or the wellbeing of children. Also, in many instances, a woman's use of her skills is purely selfish in intent. By not acknowledging this, Ragan gives the impression that it is acceptable and, through her commentary, even admirable for a woman to use her talents in that way. This reduces women to the role of self interested child-bearing entities valued only for the services they perform for others. Such a portrayal only emphasises the limited and confining identity that is constructed for women in patriarchy but is infinitely more dangerous because it comes, presumably, from a person who is supposed to recognise the emptiness and uselessness of having exclusively such an identity.. I think for this book to be truly valuable as a comment on society, it should acknowledge that women are not merely chattels or possessions but neither are they without flaw and perfect. Women, like all people, are just that - people, and as such are capable of great wisdom and great foolishness. THAT is our worth and contribution to society - in the end, that is everyone's regardless of gender.

The tales are magical, but Ragan's dry and insipid commentary at the end of each story are a definite anti-climax. The best way to read it is to completely ignore the final paragraph in italics and just enjoy the feeling the story leaves you with.

Positive, strong female role models are of course extremely important for girls, more so than for boys, who can find them everywhere. So I had high hopes for this book when I bought it for my 4 1/2-year-old daughter, who devours books. But I found that for each story that shows a strong and capable girl thinking for herself and achieving for herself, there are 2 or 3 more stories that are about death, killing, kidnapping, treachery, deceit, physical danger, slavery, and that sort of thing. There's just too much of it in too many of the stories. Each time we sat down to read from the book, I had to look and look, previewing each story to find one that wouldn't be too scary for my daughter. The ones we found without all the scary stuff were captivating, though, and she wants me to read them again and again, so....it's six of one, a half dozen of the other.

This collection of fairy tales is great--it's not dominated by stories from Europe as is every other collection of "Fairy Tales from Around the World". It truly is a worldwide collection. Her heroines do all kinds of things in all kinds of ways. Ragan hasn't toed the line of political correctness--she lets the world's cultures and their women speak for themselves. The heroines in this wonderful collection aren't anemic passive beauties --they have character and blood. Ragan has enriched the word "heroine" and has given my daughters hopes in all kinds of new directions. As we read these stories together it was like taking a trip around the world and in each new country we were invited to sit down by the fire and listen to what makes the local hearts beat and to feel the resonance of our common humanity. I like Ragan's short commentaries at the end of each story because they gave me background information that helped me tell my daughters a little about the cultures from which the stories came. They also clearly revealed an emotional center of each story. I can't wait for Ragan's next book.

This large collection of fairy tales was a riveting read from start to finish. Kathleen Ragan has researched many nearly-forgotten tales from various parts of the world, all illustrating women in non-cinderella type roles. It illustrates the strong women inherent in the cultures around the world, which is a little different from some more recent feminist fairy tale retellings. These heros defeat their dragons and ogres through steel and wit. They are their own knight-in-shining-armor rescuers and their own defenders. They are tricksters and hidden helpers. They are mothers, daughters, sisters and wives. Above all, they are examples of what women are, and they don't take the drama lying down, waiting for someone to save them. The notes at the end of each story and the references in the back were incredibly helpful as well. She mentions some trends in the history of these traditional tales and the issues they bring up. If you like this book, you may also wish to check out Tatterhood, The Ordinary Princess, and Dealing With Dragons for fairy tales and fantasy fiction with women as their own heroes for the girls in your family. P.S. Ms. Ragan specifically edited out stories with tragic endings of the protagonist, so its all happy endings for this collection.

From her personal introduction to the universally applicable final comments, Kate Ragan's book is a rich and enlightening feast for my heart. The tales are diverse and wonderfully illustrative of both the cultures they derive from and the resourcefulness of their heroines. The book has no undercurrent of anger or vindictiveness and deals compassionately (and with some amusement) with difficult relationships. I have a large collection of various fairytale anthologies; this is by far the best of the genre.