Postmodern Fairy Tales: Gender and Narrative Strategies [Paperback]

Cristina Bacchilega (Author)

Book Description

Postmodern Fairy Tales seeks to understand the fairy tale not as children's literature but within the broader context of folklore and literary studies. It focuses on the narrative strategies through which women are portrayed in four classic stories: "Snow White," "Little Red Riding Hood," "Beauty and the Beast," and "Bluebeard." Bacchilega traces the oral sources of each tale, offers a provocative interpretation of contemporary versions by Angela Carter, Robert Coover, Donald Barthelme, Margaret Atwood, and Tanith Lee, and explores the ways in which the tales are transformed in film, television, and musicals.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"An extraordinary book, and a 'first' on the topic."—Jack Zipes

"Examining the workings of the powerful desire machines built into postmodern versions of 'Snow White,' 'Little Red Riding Hood,' 'Beauty and the Beast,' and 'Bluebeard,' Cristina Bacchilega's astute rereadings uncover intriguing mirrorings and revisions."—Ruth B. Bottigheimer, State University of New York at Stony Brook

About the Author

Cristina Bacchilega is Associate Professor of English at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and editor of the Italian-language volume La narrativa postmoderna in America: Testi e contesti.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press (March 12, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812216830
• ISBN-13: 978-0812216837
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,046,271 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Postmodern Fairy Tales, May 25, 2000

By 

Jennifer Aldridge (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Postmodern Fairy Tales: Gender and Narrative Strategies (Paperback)

Cristina Bacchilega's exploration of postmodern revisions and appropriations of fairy tales is a superb endeavor. She provides an excellent overview of the fairy tale as a genre and goes on to explicate narrative and gender strategies in well-known tales like "Snow White," "Little Red Riding Hood," "Beauty and the Beast" and "Bluebeard." She frames her analysis of postmodern tales through a deconstructive lens, looking for each revision's ability to challenge conventional fairy tale morals, to be both "questioning and affirmative without necessarily being recuperative or politcally subversive." Her approach is exciting and her analysis brings new depth and meaning to fairy tales, making the familiar new once again.