The Dialectic between Individual Identity and

Social Conformity: Reading Hair as a Symbol

in Select Adaptations of Rapunzel

A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the

Requirements for the Award of the Degree of

Master of Philosophy
in
English

by
Suchismita Dattagupta
(Reg. No.1530019)

Under the Guidance of

Sushma V. Murthy
Associate Professor

Department of English

CHRIST UNIVERSITY
BENGALURU, INDIA
December 2016
 Approval of Dissertation

Dissertation entitled The Dialectic between Individual Identity and Social Conformity: Reading

Hair as a Symbol in Select Adaptations of Rapunzelby Suchismita Dattagupta, Reg.

No.1530019 is approved for the award of the degree of Master of Philosophy in English.

Examiners:
1. ___________________ ___________________

2. ___________________ ___________________

Supervisor(s): ____________________ ___________________

Chairman: ____________________ ___________________

Date: ……………………..
Place: Bengaluru
 DECLARATION

I Suchismita Dattagupta, hereby declare that the dissertation, titled The Dialectic between
Individual Identity and Social Conformity: Reading Hair as a Symbol in Select Adaptations
of Rapunzel is a record of original research work undertaken by me for the award of the
degree of Master of Philosophy in English. I have completed this study under the supervision
of Dr. Sushma V. Murthy, Associate Professor, Department of English.

I also declare that this dissertation has not been submitted for the award of any degree,
diploma, associateship, fellowship or other title. It has not been sent for any publication or
presentation purpose. I hereby confirm the originality of the work and that there is no
plagiarism in any part of the dissertation.

Place: Bengaluru
Date: ………………… Suchismita Dattagupta
Reg No.1530019
Department of English
Christ University, Bengaluru

ii
 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the dissertation submitted by Suchismita Dattagupta (Reg. No.1530019)
titled The Dialectic between Individual Identity and Social Conformity: Reading Hair as a
Symbol in Select Adaptations of Rapunzel is a record of research work done by her during the
academic year 2015-2016 under my supervision in partial fulfilment for the award of Master
of Philosophy in English.

This dissertation has not been submitted for the award of any degree, diploma, associateship,
fellowship or other title. It has not been sent for any publication or presentation purpose. I
hereby confirm the originality of the work and that there is no plagiarism in any part of the
dissertation.

Place: Bengaluru
Date: ………………… Sushma V. Murthy
Associate Professor
Department of English
Christ University, Bengaluru

Head of the Department

Department of English
Christ University, Bengaluru

iii
 Acknowledgements

The writing of this dissertation has been an amazing journey. The task of completing it
wouldn‟t have been possible without the support of my professors, mentors, family and
friends. The first person to receive my gratitude is my supervisor, Dr.Sushma V. Murthy. She
has been a ray of sunshine and a great support system, making sure that I am always on track
and pushing me through some of the toughest times. While working on a girl with long hair, I
found my own superhero Rapunzel in her. I feel incredibly privileged to have had her as my
supervisor.

Another person who deserves all the gratitude is my roommate. In those long nights and
tiring days, I knew there was someone to have my back and pull and push me through the
crisis.

Writing a dissertation is both extremely enriching and tiresome and I thank my classmates
and friends for making sure I had my share of laughter and encouragement. My family, might
not be in the same city with me, but their constant encouragement and undying support of my
work helped me go on in some of the most difficult situation.

I would like to thank the Head of Department of English, Dr.Abhaya N.B., who was also my
internal examiner, for her helpful insight and guidance. Lastly, I extend my gratitude to the
Department of English, Christ University, andother professors from the department who
would readily extend a helping hand.

Suchismita Dattagupta

Date:

iv
 Contents
Approval of Dissertation i
DECLARATION ii
CERTIFICATE iii
Acknowledgements iv
Abstract v

Chapter 1
Introduction 1

1.1 Research question and objectives 1

1.1.1 Research question 1
1.1.2 Research objectives 1
1.2 Method and methodology 2
1.2.1 Method 2
1.2.2 Methodology 2
1.2.3 Rationale for method and methodology 2
1.3 Review of literature 2
1.3.1 Fairy tales over the ages 2
1.3.2Growth in children's literature and fairy tales 4
1.3.3 Grimm Brothers and fairy tale 5
1.3.4 Fairy tales and feminist critique 7
1.3.5 Fairy tales and hair 11
1.3.6 Fairy tale adaptations 13
1.3.7 Reasons for studying Rapunzel 14
1.4Conclusion 15

Works Cited 16

Chapter 2
Re-visualising Hair and Identity in Rapunzel: A Groovy fairy tale 20

2.1 Introduction 20
2.2 Children's literature and visual narrative 20
2.3 Background to the narrative 21
2.4 Reading the visual narrative 22
2.5 Hypertext and Hypertextuality 26
2.6 Fairy tales and gendered perspectives 28
2.7 Breaking stereotypes with visual narrative 30
2.8 Conclusion 37

Works Cited 40
Chapter 3
Rapunzel's Revenge: A Counter-Narrative 42

3.1 Introduction 42
3.2 Countering traditional narratives 43
3.3 Countering gender roles 47
3.4 Medium of instruction in schools 54
3.5 Transformation of the princess 55
3.6 Changing hair symbolism 56
3.7 Conclusion 61

Works Cited 63

Chapter 4
Conclusion 66

4.1 Scope and limitations 71

Works Cited 74
Bibliography 76
 Chapter 1

Introduction

Literature for children is a popular literary genre that is designed to instruct and

entertain children. Apart from fuelling the imagination of the child, the medium also becomes

a powerful tool that helps children imbibe valuable knowledge about society through the

means of rhymes, lullabies, and illustrations. The fairy tale was a simple oral tale that

contained magical and miraculous elements and was related to the belief systems and values.

Fairy tales were known as magic tales, and they have seen numerous translation before the

invention of print that leads to the tales getting printed into books. Jack Zipes in “The

Meaning of Fairy Tale within the Evolution of Culture” deals with the vast array of stories

and folklore that have gone to create the ocean of fairy tales. He mentions that the form of

fairy tales wasn‟t really as they are now.

1.1 Research question and objectives

1.1.1 Research question

An analysis of how hair symbolically constructs femininity and becomes a tool for

subversion, thereby underlying the dialectic between identity and social conformity in the

selected adaptations of Rapunzel.

1.1.2 Research objectives

The objectives of the dissertation are:

 Analyse how hair constructs identity, especially femininity

 Comprehend how hair becomes a symbolic performance of conformity and/ or

deviance

 Examine the tension between individuals and social conformity

 Dattagupta2

 Understand how the adaptations of “Rapunzel” subvert feminine identity through hair

symbolism

1.2 Method and methodology

1.2.1 Method

The method employed is Discourse Analysis.

1.2.2 Methodology

The methodology employed is Children‟s Literature, Feminist criticism, and

Hypertextuality.

1.2.3 Rationale for method and methodology

The main reason for employing discourse analysis is because the later adaptations of

“Rapunzel” aren‟t limited to printed words and text. They include images and illustrations,

and a better understanding of the text can be attained only when the analysis includes written

words and images that are used as the language of the texts when it comes to communicating

an idea. To carry out a comprehensive discourse analysis, the written and the non-verbal

aspect of the text has to be studied, and this is where the metalinguistic tool of analysis of

Hypertextualityis incorporated into the Methodology. Hypertextuality was defined by

Riffaterre, who said that it would be the manner in which the entire idea of the text can be

estimated from the descriptive and narrative symbols. The analysis goes beyond the text and

produces different interpretation and variation to the text under study. Since the adaptations of

Rapunzel have been written from a feminist perspective, different feminist readings, as

propounded by Bacchilega and Simone de Beauvoir will be considered to further the scope

and reading of the texts.

1.3Review of literature

1.3.1 Fairy tales over the ages

 Dattagupta3

The fairy tales are deeply rooted in oral traditions, and they do not exist in the form in

which they were first told. It is not an easy task to trace the historical evolution of fairy tales

to a particular time and place. In the 1600s, the “fairies were all the rage” (Bottigheimer 14).

During the early 17th century, fairy tales were a popular literary idyll among the French

aristocrats. A noblewoman called Madame de Sévigné wrote to her daughter from the court at

Versailles, informing her that the royal ladies of the court would amuse themselves with

stories about princesses and fairies in an hour-long activity, which they called “mitonner”

(Bottigheimer 14). Countess d‟Aulnoy soon composed a long novel, Histoire d’ Hippolyte,

comte de Duglas, talking about the fairy tales that were popular in the court and it was only in

1697 that Charles Perrault compiled HistoiresouContes du temps passé avec des Moralité,

which was subsequently translated into English and was meant for the nursery.

There had been a lot of issue with translated fairy tales, which were meant for the

nursery. The criticisms from moralists were dominant and particularly, Sarah Trimmer

attacked the fairy tale in her The Guardians of Education, calling them, “juvenile literature”

(Trimmer 7) that are contributing to perverse the minds of the young and the innocent. This

was followed by the evangelical editing of fairy tales, which relegated them to the position of

the chapbooks. M. O. Grenby talks about hornbooks and chapbooks while talking about the

inception of the fairy tale genre. He says in his “Fantasy and Fairytale in Children” that fairy

tales existed throughout history and the traditional tales that were written in the 16th century

and the 17th century was meant for adults. The traditional reading material for children were

the hornbooks, which contained alphabets and prayers and the chapbooks, which contained

religious and political matters.

The chapbooks were popular printed literature that was produced cheaply. The

tradition of the chapbooks started back in the 16th century, and with the advent of printing, it

became highly popular in the 17th and the 18th century. The primary purpose of the chapbooks

was the dissemination of popular culture to the large mass, especially in the rural areas.
 Dattagupta4

Chapbooks were crude paper covered books, which were used by children for their reading

material. Apart from evangelical information printed by the Religious Tract Society, the

chapbooks also included medieval romances, spelling lessons, fairy tales and nursery rhymes.

The chapbooks were originally meant for adults, but by the turn of the 19th century, they were

widely read by children. The abolition of the Star Chamber in 1641 provided some religious

and political freedom, and this increased the market for the chapbooks (Darton 69). For the

next two centuries, these chapbooks became primary reading material, in particular for the

poor class.

1.3.2Growth in children’s literature and fairy tales

By mid-18th century, the importance of chapbooks had died down since the adult

audience did not favour the medieval romances anymore. This was when the chapbook

publishers started catering primarily to young readers. The shift to cater to the younger

audience was evident in the fact that woodcuts started adorning the pages of the chapbooks.

There were woodcuts previously that would depict adults, but now it was only children who

would be represented pictorially. In the 19th century, some publishers started adorning

chapbooks with colours and used children to illustrate them with their own hands (Avery 15).

These chapbooks throw light on the commercialization of fairy tales and the prevalence given

to the young readers. Given the attack against fairy tales, authors started incorporating morals

into the stories when they started to translate them from the original sources. The inclusion of

morals and the fact that they stuck to the fairy tales and are present even today is ironic in the

light that the evangelicals tried to illustrate the demoralizing influences of these foreign fairy

tales. Kimberley Reynolds‟ notes in “Perception of Childhood” that the history of children‟s

literature and particularly fairy tales makes it very clear that the genre has seen two dominant

forces – realism and didactic and fantasy and fiction. The 17th century saw the movement to

keep children away from stories of spirits and goblins. The general perception was that these

would scare the children. Another idea behind this was that these kinds of tales were usually

popular among the servants. Locke talks about this idea in Some Thoughts Concerning
 Dattagupta5

Education (1693), where he asks the parents to keep their children away from the supernatural

tales that were popular among the lower classes. The reason behind this was that there was the

tendency of children being influenced by their social inferiors with the help of stories that

they would learn from them. While Locke rejected fairy tales, he felt that stories with morals

were most appropriate for children. Since the influence of Locke on education was pretty

dominant, there was a movement where realism and didacticism replaced the elements of

fantasy and fiction in children‟s literature.

By mid-19th century, the line between didacticism and fantasy was completely blurred.

The literature meant for children took a new turn when fantastical elements were introduced

in rational tales. They realized that these supernatural and fantastical elements captured the

attention of children faster and would help to drive home their point in a more effective

manner. Writers like Hans Christen Anderson and Lewis Carroll showed that moral tales

could also contain fantastical elements. It was during this time that the publishing world

realized that children played a crucial role in driving the book market and this was when

authors like Richard Jefferies, James Janeway, and Bunyan came out with their literary works

meant primarily for children. There was another major educational theorist who had an

influence on children‟s literature. Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who published Emilé, ou De

l’education in 1762, which was translated in the very next year into English, rejected the

Puritan “doctrine of the Original Sin” (Reynolds) and that of children being born sinful as the

consequences of mankind‟s “Fall.” This explains why much of children‟s literature was

focused on instructing children and providing them with role models. Things changed when

the concept of childhood started being associated with positive meanings and attributes. After

Rousseau‟s Emilé, children were considered to be innocent, only to be corrupted by the

outside world. Folktale was always considered to be inappropriate reading material for

children and both Locke and Rousseau warned against their frightening aspects.

1.3.3Grimm Brothers and the fairy tale

 Dattagupta6

Following Rousseau‟s footsteps, poets like William Wordsworth and William Blake

started celebrating childhood and the innocence and this “idealised version of childhood”

(Reynolds) became crucial in transforming children‟s literature. It was realized in the 19th

century that children could drive the book market and this was when authors like Bunyan,

Hans Christian Anderson, and Lewis Carroll started working on children‟s literature. Jacob

and Wilhelm Grimm decided to publish KinderundHausmärchen in 1812. This was the time

of the German Romantic Movement, and Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm were looking to create

collective German consciousness and attempted to collect and preserve German folklores. The

Grimm Brothers felt that the German folk tales contained the scattered fragments of the

ancient Germanic myth and if they collected it to together, they would be able to provide the

people of the country with the way to reassert their national identity. Little did the brothers

realize that the so-called German folktales that they have taken into consideration, mostly

have French and Italian origins. Marina Warner points out that the stories that were compiled

by the Grimm Brothers in the 1812 edition of Children’s and Household Tales were intended

to have German roots, but most of the stories had roots in non-Germanic tales and “Rapunzel”

was no different.The Children’s and Household Tales was borrowed from Perrault‟s moral

collection of eight fairy tales. The book made the Grimm Brothers household names and is

one of the most widely known and read work of German literature. The Grimm Brothers‟

version of “Rapunzel” is the most popular, but the first instance of the story of Rapunzel can

be found in the prose collection Il Pentamerone, written by a courtier in the Italian court, by

the name, Giambattista Basile. He had published the collection in Naples between 1634 and

1636 (Warner 332). The story of Rapunzel is here titled, “Petrosinella,” after the heroine and

it is the earliest printed version of the tale. Petrosinella is the Italian term for the herb parsley.

The heroine of the French story, Persinette, by Charlotte-Rose Caumont de La Force, is also

named after the parsley that her mother craves to have during her pregnancy. While the basic

premise of the story of the Italian and French version of Rapunzel is similar to that of the

Grimm‟s version, the tone is slightly different in each of them. The plot of each of these
 Dattagupta7

stories provided the Grimm Brothers with their plot; they modified it to some extent and

changed the ending. The Grimm Brothers have been blamed of mystification of the tales

(Baumgartner 93), but it should be kept in mind that the main reason for their editorial work

was meant to polish the tales. The debate about whether fairy tales were suitable for children

was still continuing during the time the Grimm Brotherspublished their work. Joseph

Baumgartner mentions in “The Grimm Brothers As Collectors and Editors of Fairytales” that

when Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm started creating their collection, they didn‟t intend for it to

find a readership among children. It was meant for the adult audience. In spite of this, critics

opine that it is difficult to ignore that they didn‟t have children in their mind after knowing the

name that they assigned to the collection. The subsequent editing carried by them drives home

the point that they “did have children in mind as soon as they went public with their findings.”

(Baumgartner 95) Most of the tales included in the available collection of fairy tales were

unsuitable for children and the Grimm critics, A.L. Grimm and Friedrich Rühs were of the

opinion that the stories were inappropriate to be included in a collection meant for

childrensince it didn‟t match the prevailing value system. There was a feeling that a mother or

a nanny who would read these texts out to the children would blush when they would read the

tales out loud.In response to critics, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimmconfessed to deleting parts of

the original tale and rewriting the stories to make it suitable for children. However, the

revision to make the tales appropriate caused them to lose all their literary fidelity with the

oral tradition that they were based on since the Grimm Brothers deleted “every phrase

unsuitable to children” (Tartar 19).

1.3.4 Fairy tales and feminist critique

The term “fairy tale” as we know it came into popular usage only after the 1750s. The

term was first coined by Marie- Catherine d‟Aulnoy in 1697 when she published her first

collection of tales in the book called Les contes des fées. Fairy tales, as the name suggests, are

not just about tales that are narrated by the fairies, they are instead “charm‟d magic

casements” (Warner 329) that highlight a world of unspoken desires and deeds. Marina
 Dattagupta8

Warner in “After “Rapunzel”” elucidates that „fairy tales‟ need not only be stories about the

magical world of enchantment. They are more often than not the stories about the experiences

and knowledge derived from voiceless people in the society, namely the women and the

children. The fairy tales as Warner explains, were prevalent in oral practices before written

words became popular. In the “feminist fairy tale debate” (Joosen 5) of the 1970s, it was

assumed that the fairy tales have a direct effect on the dreams and lives of women, by giving

them the idealised romantic notion to live through the pages of the book. Elizabeth Wanning

Harries talks about fairy tales being autobiographical to women. Alison Lurie assumed in her

article “Fairy Tale Liberation” that fairy tales share a direct relationship with woman‟s lives.

However, feminist critics have argued on this point stating that the image of the women that

these fairy tales construct is one of a passive, weak heroine who is dependent on the prince to

enter real life. The women portrayed in the fairy tales are either beautiful and naïve young

girls or wicked and grotesque stepmothers. Little girls had no choice but to go ahead and

mimic the roles of the fairy tale princesses since the other type of women were “evil.” Instead

of creating a life for themselves, these girls are told to wait for the prince to come and rescue

them. Helen Cixous wrote in “Sorties” that fairy tales create the hierarchy of gender in the

West. Lurie picks this idea again in her article “Witches and Fairies” and goes on to say that

fairy tales are dangerous for girls because they create “images of woman” (243) that shape or

deform real lives.

Bottigheimer bases her study in Grimms’ Bad Girls and Good Boys: The Moral and

Social Vision of the Tales on the gender-related inequality between boys and girls in the

fairytales. She uses the feminist perspective for her research and does it with the help of the

historical philology that is available with her. The main aspect of Bottigheimer‟s research is

the comparison of the editorial changes between the “edition princeps” (Bottigheimer 170) i.e.

the “small edition” and the 1857 edition. The Grimm Brothers revised the tale constantly in

accordance with the 19th-century moral code that did not favour women. Bottigheimer pointed
 Dattagupta9

out that the revisions “weakened womanhood” (Bottigheimer 170) and denied their female

voices, thereby reducing them to a being that quietly and obediently followed the male

voice.Since the 1857 edition of Grimms‟ Children’s and Household Tales, the fairy tales

became a popular literary genre that catered primarily to children. “Seeing White: Children of

Color and the Disney Fairy Tale Princess” by Dorothy L. Hurley, talks about how fairy tales

are designed to entertain children. It also becomes a powerful tool for instruction since it

helps them imbibe valuable knowledge of the society through the help of rhymes, songs, and

illustrations. Hurley states that fairy tales affect the self-image of children since they develop

their identity based on how they see themselves in the verbal and visual medium. The images

that are present in the fairy tales are important since children internalize the symbols

associated with them.

The same idea is propounded by Karen E. Wohlwend in “Damsels in Discourse: Girls

Consuming and Producing Identity Texts through Disney Princess Play.” Wohlwend uses a

mediated discourse analysis to depict how children internalise the image of the Disney

princesses. The specific focus of her study is young girls who are fans of the Disney

princesses. Wohlwend shows how children assume the identities and gender expectations

from the dolls, storybooks, and films that they are exposed to. This study helps understand the

gender stereotypes that are created through the fairytale characters and the notions of gender

performativity that they promote. There is a distinction between “performativity” and

“performance” as explained by Judith Butler in “Performative Acts and Gender Constitution:

An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory.”Butler says that gender isn‟t a

performance, rather it is a performativity and goes on to explain performativity as something

that we often perform unconsciously. It is an act over which we don‟t have a freedom of

choice. It is said that a child is aware of its sex only from the age of three and it is because she

is made aware of her gender roles and can draw the distinction between the gender roles of the

opposite sex.Continuing with the notion of gender performativity, Jerilyn Fisher and Ellen S.
 Dattagupta10

Silber talk about the influence of cultural expectations and the limiting sex role stereotyping

that is prevalent in classical fairy tales. In “Good and Bad Beyond Belief: Teaching Lessons

through Fairy Tales and Feminist Theory” Fisher and Silber talk about the image of the

mother and the relationship that is shared between mother and daughter. In a thematic reading

of the fairy tale based on Freudian psychoanalysis, the article brings out the idea that the lack

of the mother figure is what drives the fairy tale princess, particularly Rapunzel, to fall in love

with the prince.She tries to escape to the world where she can find in her husband, the mother

she never had.

Bruno Bettelheim states in The Uses of Enchantment that Freud‟s ideas about feminine

development can be read as an exposition of the Victorian notion of the girls, as deemed fit by

the patriarchal society. Similarly, fairytales reveal the deep-seated workings of the cultural

edifice that teaches children the accepted male and female roles that they should adopt.There

is an assumption that gender is derived from the biological sex. What is missing is the

acknowledgment that individuals can create their identities through social practice. C. Lynn

Carr says in her essay “Tomboy Resistance and Conformity: Agency in Social Psychological

Gender Theory” that where “gender identifications are understood as influenced by social or

biological forces, questions of agency concern the relative power of individuals” (Carr530).

While identities are constructed socially, individuals do not have “identities manufactured by

them” (Carr 530).

Cristina Bacchilega in her work “An Introduction to the “Innocent Persecuted

Heroine” Fairy Tale,” uses the thematic and structural definition of Steve Jones‟s “Innocent

Persecuted Heroine.” Here Bacchilega tries to map out how the features of the innocent

persecuted heroine are shaped by the narrative. She takes up notions of gender and innocence

to understand how they are constructed. The performative use of the language is the most

powerful tool in the fairy tale since it lets the imaginative world take its course. Jones reads

the fairy tales as images of the women characters as perceived by society. Bacchilega is of the
 Dattagupta11

opinion that there are different ways of looking at these fairy tales – semiotics, historicism,

feminism, and structuralism. These offer different strategies to retell and interpret the stories.

This article also refers to the change that has come about in the interpretation of feminist roles

in fairy tales. In her “Feminist Approaches to the Interpretation of Fairy Tales,” Kay Stone

shows how the perception of a gendered role in fairy tales has changed over the course of

time. This helps in understanding the steps taken to make the new – age fairy tale princesses

more of a cultural icon than the previously perceived ones.

Carolyn G. Heilbrun has written in “What Was Penelope Unweaving” that the chief

source of patriarchal power is the unquestioned acceptance of narratives. These fairy tales

have come down for years, unquestioned and it is only now that we raise our voices to

challenge the roles that they have carved out for women. Since a “male plot” will not work for

women, we have to go back to studying the fairy tales from a new woman–centred socio-

psychological understanding that will be accomplished through feminist theory.

Shuli Barzilai in her work “Say That I Had a Lovely Face: The Grimms‟ “Rapunzel,”

Tennyson‟s “Lady of Shalott,” and Atwood‟s “Lady Oracle,”” draws a connection between

the female character in these three works to understand how they are very similar when it

comes to the experience of the protagonist. Barzilai shows how the structure of the tower has

been internalised by Rapunzel to such an extent that the hair becomes a symbol of escape. It

helps her attract the prince who is her only escape from the world of confinement. With

Rapunzel‟s hair shorn off, there is no escape from the internalised notion of the tower and

Rapunzel is completely overpowered by the societal forces of domination. Barzilai uses

Charlotte Mary Yonge‟s notion from “Dress” in Womankind where she says that hair is a

fertile ground for instruction and is the crown of woman‟s glory. This analysis of Rapunzel

throws light on a very pertinent issue that the dissertation will delve into. Hair becomes a way

of conformity for women in society.

1.3.5 Fairy tales and hair

 Dattagupta12

Samantha Yee Yee Foo in her dissertation paper The Beauty Trap: How the pressure

to conform to society’s and media’s standards of beauty leave women experiencing body

dissatisfaction explains how media and society‟s standard notions of beauty have influenced

how women and girls perceived their body image. She says that with female body being a

medium of culture, women have to face a lot of pressure to meet certain standard notions of

beauty as determined by society. Foo says that a woman‟s body is not just perceived as an

object of beauty but also expected to go through disciplinary practices. The image of the ideal

female body is produced by literature and media, and this image is internalized particularly by

children.

Hair is one of the main images in the story of Rapunzel. Hair as Anthony Synnott goes

on to talk in his essay “Shame and Glory: A Sociology of Hair” is a malleable aspect of the

human body and this feature of hair goes on to make it an important vehicle for conveying

symbolic changes. Hair was first brought into the focus of scholarly musings with E. R.

Leach‟s “Magical Hair.” Leach stated that head hair is symbolic of unrestrained sexuality and

cutting of hair is symbolic of sexual restraint. Elizabeth C. Hirschman in “Hair as Attributes,

Hair as Symbol, Hair as Self” agrees with the cultural significance of hair as a sexual object.

C.R. Hallpike in “Social Hair” is of the opinion that long, free-flowing hair symbolises

freedom. When Rapunzel‟s hair is cut off with brutality, it signifies that the “unique marker of

her fairy tale identity and femininity‟‟ has been stripped off her. This association of hair as

representative of the repressive forces of the society has been supported by Berg in the article

“Unconscious Significance of Hair.”

Emily Francomano in “Escaping by a Hair: Silvina Ocampo Rereads, Rewrites, and

Re-Members “Porphyria's Lover”” resonates Elisabeth Gitter‟s thoughts in “The Power of

Women‟s Hair in the Victorian Imagination” when she talks of Victorian society‟s

preoccupation for hair bordering on obsession. Hannah Aspinall in “The Fetishization and

Objectification of the Female Body in Victorian Culture” points out that discourse on hair was
 Dattagupta13

always present, but it was only in the Elizabethan, and subsequent cultures that use of hair

symbolism became prevalent in literature.

Women‟s hair became a visual indicator of the changing understanding of the

femininity. The image of the hair when it comes to individual women send a social message,

both positive and negative, which brings forth issues related to the femininity of hair to the

forefront of the cultural discourse. In “Memory-work as a (be) Tween Research Method: The

Beauty, the Splendor, the Wonder of My Hair” the fifth chapter of Seven Going on Seventeen:

Tween Studies in the Culture of Girlhood, authors Kathleen O‟Reilly-Scanlon and Sonya

Corbin Dwyer talks about how hair forms identities. Baker Miller says that since the age of 3

years, a person is aware of being either male or female. The meanings through which these

ideas are developed are culturally imposed. The authors go on to give a memory work to

understand how hair, as a way to establish identity and adulthood was present in their lives.

They also point out the role of popular culture and media to highlight the significance of the

perfect kind of hair and how it goes to create stereotypes.

Hair imagery is used in literature to communicate and explain the tension between

individuality and social conformity. Hair is read as a symbolic expression of femininity and

offers an important aspect to understand the effects of individual and social forces that

constructs and subverts femininity and the fashioning of the female body in literature. The

central preoccupation with hair is because it is simultaneously private and public. It is visible

to everyone, while at the same time being a very personal aspect of the human body (Weitz

667).

1.3.6Fairy tale adaptations

The fairy tale genre has come a long way since the time it was considered

inappropriate for children. With feminist movements and thanks to the authors like Margaret

Atwood, Angela Carter, and others, the tales became more appropriate to the sensitivity of

children. With the advent of technology, the printing technique changed as well, which further
 Dattagupta14

added to the fairy tales. The manner in which the tales were depicted underwent a massive

change. The traditional narrative gave way to picture books and graphic novels with the

traditional fairy tale plots intact. The traditional narratives have now become hypertexts. Jack

Zipes states that fairy tales proved to be an excellent means to both propagate for and to

question the official dogmas. Hypertext, as defined by Ted Nelson in 1965, is a new kind of

textuality that helps “transcend the linearity of the written text.” (Riffaterre 780) The fairy

tales are now published in books, where the written text accompanies images and photos. The

hypertext changes the meaning of the story beyond the written text. They show how the fairy

tale as a genre has evolved to better incorporate the issue of hair symbolism and the

sensitivity of the readers.

1.3.7 Reasons for studyingRapunzel

Fairy tales with their princesses and witches have always attracted children and one of

the most popular fairy tales of all time is “Rapunzel.” The main plot of the story revolved

around a young princess who is taken away from her parents and locked up in a tower by a

wicked witch. Rapunzel grows to have beautiful long golden hair, which she lets down to help

the witch come inside the tower. One day, a prince hears Rapunzel sing and uses the hair to

enter the tower. Rapunzel and the prince start a relationship, and when the witch finds out

about it, she casts Rapunzel away and throws the prince into a bed of thorns. Rapunzel roams

around the forest pining for the prince, while the now blind prince roams around the world in

search of Rapunzel. The two ultimately meet, and Rapunzel‟s tears bring sight to the prince

and they live happily ever after.

When there is a such a huge collection of fairy tales, why should the focus primarily

be on the character of Rapunzel and deal with the original plot and adaption of the same?

Rapunzel is one character in the entire collection of fairy tales, who can easily be identified by

the young readers, from her long golden hair. Lawrence R. Sipe says in “A Palimpsest of

Stories: Young Children and Construction of Intertextual Links Among Fairytale Variants”
 Dattagupta15

that the plot of “Rapunzel” is one where the main plot has remained unaltered in the majority

of the adaptations. Rapunzel always has long hair and is stuck somewhere high up, from

where she struggles to escape. The presence of the witch or the evil woman is always there

with her, and the character remains unaltered. While Rapunzel‟s hair becomes part of her

identity, the change in the reader‟s attitude, with changing time, has brought in some

modification in the adaptations of Grimm‟s “Rapunzel.” The adaptations break away from the

source text and highlight a shift in the dialectic between individual identity and social

conformity. Keeping this in mind, the dissertation will deal with three primary texts. One of

them would be the 1857 version of “Rapunzel” from Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm‟s Children’s

and Household Tales. The second text would be Lynn Roberts and David Roberts‟ 2003

adaptation, Rapunzel: A Groovy Fairy tale,and finally Shannon Hale and Dean Hale‟s 2010

adaptation,Rapunzel’s Revenge, which has been illustrated by Nathan Hale.

1.4Conclusion

We already get a clear idea of the fairy tale genre from the literature review that has

been carried out in the current chapter. It highlights the change in the form of fairy tales, the

preoccupation of the genre with the woman‟s body, with the tendency to instruct and enforce

conformity to the accepted social customs. Hair is highlighted as the primary aspect of the

woman‟s body and society‟s preoccupation with it dates back centuries. There has been

several reworking on the primary plot of Rapunzel. These three primary texts under study,

show the character of Rapunzel in three very distinct set-ups and gives an accurate idea about

how the tale has been reworked keeping in mind cultural and social forces of the time.

Rapunzel has become one of the most iconic characters in the fairy tale genre because of her

long hair. The literature review further highlights that while no specific work has been done

on the symbolic implications of Rapunzel‟s hair, a trend can be noted in the modern authors,

who have taken up the story of Rapunzel and given a new symbolic identity to her hair. Since

none of the articles deal specifically with the dialectic between individual identity and social
 Dattagupta16

conformity with reference to hair symbolism in select adaptations of Rapunzel, it shows that

there is scope for the research.

 Dattagupta17

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Cixous, Hélène. “Sorties: Out and Out Attacks/ Ways Out/ Forays.” The Newly Born

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(1984): 936–54. Web. 12 April 2015.

Grenby, M.O. “Fantasy and Fairy tale in Children‟s Literature.” British Library.N.p. n.d.

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Grimm, Jakob, and Wilhelm Grimm. Grimm‟s Fairy Tales. Trans. Lucy Crane. Wordsworth

Classics. 1993. Print.

Hale, Shannon, and Dean Hale. Rapunzel’s Revenge. Illus. Nathan Hale. London:

Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, 2008. Print.

Hallpike, C. R. “Social Hair.” MAN (1969): 256–64. Web. 13 April 2015.

Hammerberg, Dawnene D. “Reading and Writing “Hypertextually”: Children‟s Literature,

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August 2016.

Harries, Elizabeth Wanning. “The Mirrors Broken: Women‟s Autobiography and Fairy

Tales.” Marvels &Tales 14.1 (2000): 122–135. Web. 25 August 2015.

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 Dattagupta19

Elizabeth Wanning. “The Mirrors Broken: Women‟s Autobiography and Fairy Tales.”

Marvels &Tales 14.1 (2000): 122–135. Web. 25 August 2015.

Heckert, Maria Druann and Amy Best. “Ugly Duckling to Swan: Labeling Theory and the

Stigmatization of Red Hair.” Symbolic Interaction. 20.4 (1997): 365-384. Web. 1

September 2016.

Heilbrun, Carolyn C. Embodied Voices: Representing Female Vocality in Western Culture.

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and Consumer Behavior 6 (2002). N.p. Web. 13 April 2015.

Hurley, Dorothy L. “Seeing White: Children of Color and the Disney Fairy Tale Princess.”

The Journal of Negro Education 74.3 (2005): 221–232. Web. 14 August 2015.

Joosen, Vanessa. Critical and Creative Perspectives on Fairy Tales: A Intertextual Dialogue

Between Fairy-tale Scholarship and Postmodern Retellings. Detroit: Wayne State

University Press. 2011. Google book Search. Web. 23 August 2016.

Klose, Charlotte. Rev. of The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy

Tales, by Bruno Bettelheim. The English Journal 67.5 (1978): 78. Web. 24 August

2015.

Leach, E. R. “Magical Hair.” The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great

Britain and Ireland 88.2 (1958): 147–64. Web. 12 April 2015.

Reynolds, Kimberley. “Perceptions of Childhood.” British Library.N.p. n.d. Web. 19

February 2016.

Roberts, Lynn. Rapunzel: A Groovy Fairytale. Illus. David Roberts. New York: Harry N.

Abrams, 2004. Print.

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Research Method: The Beauty, the Splendor, the Wonder of My Hair”. Seven Going

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August 2015.
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Sipe, Lawrence R. "A Palimpsest of Stories: Young Children‟s Construction of Intertextual

Links among Fairytale Variants ." Reading Research and Instruction. 40.4 (2001):

333-52. Web. 7 January 2016

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Society. Ed. Ruth B. Bottigheimer. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press,

1986. 229 – 236. Web. 11 September 2015.

Synnott, Anthony. “Shame and Glory: A Sociology of Hair.” British Journal of Anthropology

38.3 (1987): 381 – 413. Print.

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Press, 1987. Print.

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August. 2015.

Weitz, Rose. “Women and Their Hair: Seeking Power through Resistance and

Accomodation.” Gender and Society 15.5 (2001): 667-686. Web. 5 January 2016.

Wohlwend, Karen E. “Damsels in Discourse: Girls Consuming and Producing Identity Texts

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Web. 14 August 2015.

Zipes, Jack. “The Meaning of Fairy Tale within the Evolution of Culture.” Marvels & Tales.

25.2 (2011): 221-243. Web. 20 August 2015.

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Chapter 2

Re-visualising Hair and Identity in

Rapunzel: A Groovy Fairy Tale

2.1 Introduction

Angela Carter says in her “Notes from the Front Line,” “Reading is just as creative an activity

as writing and most intellectual development depends upon new readings of old texts.” (435)

These new readings are available because of the changing perspectives of readers with the

passing of time. Lynn Roberts and David Roberts make a conscious attempt at adapting the

story of Rapunzel in a visual narrative. These days, children are immersed in visual culture in

their televisions, computer and video games. These media encourage children to interpret visual

images. However, not all children are capable of critically analysing and interpreting them. This

is where the role of visual narrative becomes important. The images and pictures in the books

provide the children a unique opportunity to develop visual literacy. It is interesting to note that

the author hasn’t included any pagination in the text, which is a way of deconstructing the

narration. The reader can read the text from whichever page they want to start from.

2.2 Children’s literature and visual narrative

Children can comprehend the visual images in the books that accompany the text. They

read the images, explore the nuances and learn how to reflect and critique them. Lee Galda and

Kathy G. Short in their paper, “Visual Literacy: Exploring Art and Illustration in Children’s

Books” talks about how with the help of the visual narrative, children attain deeper meaning

from the books and this helps them develop an awareness of the world. Children’s literature

fulfils the task of incorporating the habit of reading and writing in them, but visual narrative

takes a step further and helps children develop the ability to understand the world around them.
 Dattagupta 21

In its attempt to educate the readers about the world, visual narratives have a huge range when

it comes to the topics they dabble with and the quality of the illustrations that they deal with.

The illustrations can be the most basic of black and white images, or they may include the entire

colour scheme and detailed images. The shape of the objects in the images, the space that it

occupies, the patterns that are incorporated, the colours and lines involved, all go on to create

feelings and perspectives, which get communicated to the reader.

2.3 Background to the narrative

Rapunzel: A Groovy Fairy Tale has been based in the world of rock and roll of the

1970s. The illustrator David Roberts makes a conscious attempt to include artefacts from the

age. There are lava lamps, record players, posters of musicians like Elton John, David Bowie,

and Saturday Night Live. The term artefact, in this chapter, would refer to the objects made by

human beings that are typical of a particular time and are culturally and historically of interest.

In his note to the book, Roberts makes it very clear that the reason for placing the story of

Rapunzel in the 1970s would be the character’s long hair.

The 1970s was marked by the counter-culture phenomenon in the western world. It saw

the advent of the hippie movement and the rise of Bohemianism. This was an anti-establishment

cultural phenomenon. What had begun as the American Civil Rights Movement gained

momentum in the 1960s and started dealing with pertinent issues concerning social and human

rights, sexuality and woman’s rights. The era gave birth to a dynamic subculture that

experimented with an alternate lifestyle. The counter-culture of the 1960s and 1970s was caused

because of the baby boom following the World War II that had created a huge population of

dissatisfied youth. There developed a “Generation Gap,” where there was a huge divide

between the old and the young. The chasm between the generations was caused by rapidly

evolving fashion and hairstyles that were adopted by the young people. There was a shift

towards long hair and Afro hairstyles. Apart from the changing dynamics between the social

framework, there were the Civil Rights Movement and the Free Speech Movement that had a
 Dattagupta 22

lasting impression on the minds of the youth. It was during this time that Angela Davis and

Gloria Steinem started influencing young women and gave wings to the feminist ideas. While

the first wave of feminism drew attention to gender equality when it comes to suffrage and legal

rights, the second wave of feminism was all about drawing attention to the domestic space and

fighting for the rights of the woman. Simone De Beauvoir spoke about “Woman as Other” in

her seminal work The Second Sex. She said that women could never achieve the same status as

that of men, even if they are entitled to it under the law. As Beauvoir pointed out in her work,

men have been predisposed to consider women as an inferior since time immemorial, and these

were backed by scientific and religious facts that served their purpose. There was a movement

towards a change and the alternate lifestyle that the generation gave rise to during this time,

embraced it. Hairstyles have always been an important cultural artefact, and the 1970s is

remembered by their trend of long hair. It is not practical for a girl of Rapunzel’s age in

Rapunzel: A Groovy Fairy Tale to have such long hair and by placing the story in the age of the

70s, illustrator David Roberts makes the long hair a possibility.

Both Lynn Roberts and David Hale wanted to break from the traditional story of

Grimm’s “Rapunzel.” The 1970s setting might have justified Rapunzel’s hair, but it also

justifies the change in Rapunzel’s attitude. Counter-culture and the second wave of feminism

validate her action, where she decides to make her own living without Aunt Esme. Reader

sensitivity has evolved over the course of time, and hence little children might not find anything

in common with the fairy tale princess. Lynn Roberts and David Roberts tried to bring to the

readers a world and characters that were easily identifiable by the readers.

2.4 Reading the visual narrative

Being a visual narrative, Rapunzel: A Groovy Fairy Tale contains illustrations that have

been done with pen, ink, and watercolour. The images were then hot-pressed on heavyweight

paper. Lynn Roberts and David Roberts have placed the images in one whole page facing the

written text. There are ancillary images on the page with the written text as well. The opening
 Dattagupta 23

page of the book shows Rapunzel standing on the balcony of the apartment looking at the city

below. She is clothed in a regular red and yellow turtleneck sweater and patchwork skirt. She

has her long hair in a braid. The opening image is in stark contrast to the illustration

accompanying “Rapunzel” in the Grimm’s collection of Children’s and Household Tales.

David Roberts opens the story for Lynn Roberts with an image of Rapunzel where we are on

her side. We see the view from the balcony in the same fashion as her. She looks happy and

content, playing with a butterfly. The Rubik’s cube and the plants make Rapunzel appear as

any other young girl. On the other hand, the image of Rapunzel in “Rapunzel” shows Rapunzel

from the outside. The readers aren’t in the tower with her, they watch her from the outside. She

clings on to the prince and looks like she desperately wants him to take her out of the tower.

Rapunzel in the fairy tale is someone the reader only sees and reads about, they do not connect

with her since she is away from them, inside the tower, where they cannot enter and which they

don’t know of since Rapunzel isn’t given a voice or an agency. Rapunzel’s world isn’t

introduced to the reader. They only watch her as a passer-by going by the tower.

Fig. 1. David Roberts. Rapunzel: A Groovy Fairy tale. 2003.

 Dattagupta 24

Fig. 2. Walter Crane. “Rapunzel.” Children’s and Household Tales. 1857.

David Roberts said that he wanted some connection between their previous work,

Cinderella: An Art Deco Love Story and hence brought in some artefacts from Cinderella into

the book under study. There is a subtle hint at the two families being related, and the readers

will find some of the plants and chinaware from the previous story in Rapunzel: A Groovy Fairy

Tale. Visual narrative is meant to be bright, and given that the book deals with the hippie

movement of the 1970s, the colours used by David Roberts are bright and robust. Appearance

plays a primary role in determining how a particular individual is going to be perceived in

society and one of the basic physical traits that help determine personality traits is hair colour.

As Druann Maria Heckert and Amy Best have said: “Hair is an important aspect of how people
 Dattagupta 25

define themselves and how other people define them.” (365) It is important to understand that

hair colours go a long way in creating stereotypes. The primary colours, used in Rapunzel: A

Groovy Fairy Tale, are red and orange. It is no secret that red-heads play an important role in

various literary works and they are primarily associated with spirited and temperamental

individuals who are mischievous and imaginative. It should be noted how Lynn Roberts and

David Roberts consciously created a protagonist for their “groovy fairy tale” who didn’t share

the golden hair of Rapunzel from the original fairy tale by the Grimm Brothers. Lynn Roberts

didn’t plan on creating a character that was similar to the original fairy tale and this purpose

was fulfilled by David Roberts who created a redhead with long hair. Given that hair colour has

been associated with particular personality traits, and that sociologists like Michelle Beddow,

Robert Hymes, and Pamela McAuslan have carried out research on hair colour stereotypes and

how people with different hair colours are perceived by others. Chelsea Anderson in her

dissertation The Importance of Appearances in Literature: What Does It Mean to Be a Redhead

in Literature? studies how redhead has been used as a trope in literature. Redheads have been

associated with “magical or the mystical world.” The study conducted by Beddow, Hymes, and

McAuslan have found that individuals who are blonde, are often considered to be dumb.

(Anderson 5) This takes us back to the typical idea of the fairy tale princess, the damsel in

distress, who is incapable of escaping her current situation and needs a prince to help her out.

This labelling theory propounds the idea that there are “certain symbols [that] become deviant

because of the stigmatization of those symbols.” (Anderson 6) In the same way, as blondes have

been stereotyped across culture, redheads have also been stigmatized throughout history and

has been associated with forms of deviance. Redheads are usually considered to be the symbols

for the weird, the clown and the intellectually superior. Given that the visual narrative of

Rapunzel: A Groovy Fairy Tale is adapting the original fairy tale to tell a story with a modified

ending that suits the sensibility of the current audience, there is a clear idea that the redhead

here is associated with intellectual superiority, someone who is spontaneous and imaginative.

It is interesting to note that even Shannon Hale decided to make her Rapunzel in Rapunzel’s
 Dattagupta 26

Revenge, a redhead. This conscious attempt at trying to replace the original blonde fairy tale

princess with a redhead is a motif that the authors of these fairy tale adaptations have

consciously resorted to.

2.5 Hypertext and Hypertextuality

Being a visual narrative, Rapunzel: A Groovy Fairy tale contains information that goes

beyond the letters and the mere words that are printed on the pages. The readers are therefore

made to look beyond the written text and decode the meanings from the images and the pictures

scattered all over the book. The reader has to realize that the illustrations found in children’s

literature aren’t mere decorations. They are legitimate forms of art and as art, have the potential

of producing “a state of mind where new and personal meaning can take place.” (Marantz) Gail

Haley wrote, “A book does not really exist until it is read, looked at, and thought about.” The

reader needs to take the visual narrative and use it to fill the empty spaces between the written

letters and blank pages. (Considine)

“Hypertext” was first defined by Ted Nelson in 1965 to describe the new kinds of

textuality. Hypertext is defined by Riffaterre as “the use of the computers to transcend the

linearity of the written text by building an endless series of imagined connections…” (780)

Riffaterre notes that hypertext can be used in making meaning, analysing text, contextualizing

it and then describing it. With the advent of technology, it is now possible to mix graphics and

images with alphabetic texts. The interactive and non-linear hypertextual forms of

communication that are there to rival and support the printed word extends the preview of the

traditional printed texts. The primary change that has been made in children’s literature is the

inclusion of graphics and images. The illustrations that are found in the text shouldn’t be viewed

as mere extensions of the printed words. This attitude of viewing the pictures reduces the impact

of the visual narrative. Keeping in mind the transformative role of the fairy tales, the aim is to

break sex-role stereotypes. The easiest way to do that when it comes to children’s literature is

to take a tale that the readers are already familiar with and give it a new meaning and an alternate
 Dattagupta 27

ending. Each generation re-creates the “fairy tales after its own taste” (Carter 17). This idea is

supported by Bacchilega, who states in her book, Fairy Tales Transformed?: Twenty-First-

Century Adaptations and the Politics of Wonder that this genre is being used to “transform the

world and make it more adaptable to human needs.” (Bacchilega 36) The transformation of the

original tale is taking place through adaptation and the book under study in the current chapter,

Rapunzel: A Groovy Fairy Tale is differently located, in genre, medium and discourse from the

original tale by the Grimm Brothers. (Bacchilega 31). The readers of Lynn Roberts and David

Robert’s story will recognize the characters from the original tale, the resemblance to the plot

in the old text of Grimm’s “Rapunzel” and certain specific images from the same. While reading

the adaptation of an old text, Linda Hutcheon’s argument from A Theory of Adaptation needs

to be kept in mind. Hutcheon makes it very clear that the original text isn’t superior to the

adaptation and that Rapunzel: A Groovy Fairy Tale has been adapted by weaving in multiple

texts and being translated across media and audience. This connects the original text and the

new one not only intertextually, but also “hypertextually.” (Haase)

Hypertextuality, as defined by Riffaterre, is first derived from the text to estimate the

total idea, the descriptive and narrative symbols, the thematic material that the author has

appropriated within the text for the purpose of the story and finally the social, cultural and

historical background of the text. Hypertextuality is then the metalinguistic tool for the analysis

and the interpretation of an existing tale. The analysis might go beyond the text. The third and

final role of hypertextuality is that it contextualizes the text being studied, analysing it under

the light of what is not literature and what may lead to the creation of it. Hypertext is constructed

partly by the writers and partly by the readers. The potential reading opened by the hypertexts

address questions raised by multiple versions, translations, illustrations, which seldom happens

in a traditional narrative. Since the hypertext opens up new possibilities, it goes beyond the

traditional narrative and allows the readers to reflect upon the multi-layered contexts outlined

in the text.
 Dattagupta 28

2.6 Fairy tales and gendered perspectives

The world of children’s literature as we have seen in the previous chapter is

predominantly based on folk tales. The stories deal with traditional roles for men and women

and these often go on to create gender role stereotypes. Men end up going out and are the bread-

earners while women are focused on the home-front, taking care of the hearth. These gender

role stereotyping in literature for children has ended up making the books being cast as villains.

(Kolbe and Voie 369). Rosalind E. Engel in her paper “Is Unequal Treatment of Females

Diminishing in Children’s Picture Books?” noted that the number of female characters in

children’s books has slowly gone down. It was 40% between 1951 and 1955 and it went down

to 22% between 1971-1975. The inequality and stereotyping in the presentation of male and

female characters is present even today, and it is shocking to see that it persists in a society that

is aware of gender role stereotypes.

As Gauthier said, the “world narrative” (81) belongs to men and hence the stories that

we read from the books are predominantly spoken from the mouth of men. There have been

complaints that books do not necessarily portray women as primary characters. If they are

featured in the narrative, they have to be happy with the less prestigious roles. (Kolbe and Voie)

This practice in literature for children needs a change. According to Brooks-Gun and Matthews,

“the child in subtle ways accept the role prohibitions and prescriptions set forth in the text.”

Since children are sensitive to what they imbibe through literature, the stereotyped sex roles

present in what they read, influence their attitudes and perceptions. The growth in readership

and the advent of the feminist movement in the 1970s brought along an intense criticism for

this stereotyping of gender roles in literature. The question of the hour was since books are

known to be the inculcators of social values and role models, how is it that they are still being

written in a way that continues to depict “sex role stereotypes.” (Kolbe and Voie 369).

The understanding of fairy tales as a genre went through a massive change in the 1970s.

There was a call to delve deeper into the political sphere and social values of the fairy tales and
 Dattagupta 29

the role they played in shaping the gendered perspectives when it came to “self, romance,

marriage, family and social power.” (Bacchilega 7) Annie Sexton’s Transformation changed

the way women read the fairy tales, particularly the Grimm’s collection of Children’s and

Household Tales. Leading scholars and educators came out in 1971, following Sexton’s

publication and blamed the classic fairy tales for “reinforcing female passivity.” (Bacchilega 7)

This movement saw writers like Angela Carter, Margaret Atwood, coming out to adapt the

classic fairy tales from a woman-centred perspective. Vanessa Joosen connects the “fairy-tale

renaissance” (4) with the 1968 social uprising and the second wave of the feminist movement.

The sudden drive to bring about a change in the genre made it possible for fairy tales to

introduce feminist and social critiques into children’s literature. Ever since the Grimm’s

popularized the fairy tales, the genre has been associated with magic and enchantment. These

two features of the tales were considered to provide gratification to the readers. This attitude

changed in the course of time, and there was a call for disenchanting the fairy tales. This call

for disenchantment of fairy tales was directly associated with the idea that magic was used in

the fairy tales, as a deception of the reality of the social conditions that were canonized in them.

(Bacchilega 5)

There has always been a query about what purpose the stories served when they didn’t

have any element of truth in them. The readers of the fairy tales knew since the very beginning

that the elements of magic and enchantment included in them do not have a place in the real

world, and this brought in a lot of questions about the purpose that they solved. It has to be kept

in mind that fairy tales were always considered to be educative and in the recent times, there

have been versions that have tried to remove prejudice and privilege. How the reader associates

with the genre play an important role in understanding the poetics of the genre; whether the

fairy tales become a symbolic act of wish fulfilment, role playing, or survival. Zipes has

mentioned that the fairy tales are meant to transform the world and make it adaptable to the
 Dattagupta 30

human needs. This statement by Zipes shouldn’t be mistaken as the definition of the fairy tale

genre, but as an idea that is central to what the fairy tales attempt to do.

2.7 Breaking stereotypes with visual narrative

The visual narrative of Rapunzel: A Groovy Fairy Tale is changing the idea of the fairy

tale characters that the children have imbibed. It has always been known that children imbibe

the stereotyped gender roles that are depicted in the fairy tales and these aren’t deemed healthy

anymore. The visual narrative in Rapunzel: A Groovy Fairy Tale makes it very clear from the

cover of the book that the Rapunzel the readers are going to read about, isn’t anything like the

Rapunzel that they have read in Grimm’s “Rapunzel.” While Lynn Roberts and David Roberts

creates Rapunzel as different from the fairy tale character as possible, they also make sure that

Rapunzel’s hair colour doesn’t hint that she has an unruly temperament. The colour red is

associated with individuals who are wild, but given that Rapunzel always keeps her hair in a

long straight braid makes it clear that she isn’t one of them. Given that the readers of the book

won’t be familiar with the 1970s except through images and photos, David Roberts filled the

illustrations with artefacts from the time; from posters to items of clothing to music sleeves and

photographs. This makes the readers stop reading and pour into the images that are placed

beside the written text to discover the items scattered in the images. The images are so detailed

and multi-layered that each reading reveals something new for the readers. The fairy tale

princesses that children read about are usually living in a far of place that they cannot relate to,

and these princesses are people they have never seen for real. Lynn Roberts and David Roberts

have made a conscious attempt to make Rapunzel’s character in Rapunzel: A Groovy Fairy Tale

someone that the readers can instantly connect to. She lives at a time that they can see through

images and photographs and she lives in a city that is similar to the ones the readers might be

living in. It is interesting to note how far the illustrator David Roberts has gone to make

Rapunzel connect to the readers. The little children who read about the princesses in the fairy

tales consider these characters to be perfect and flawless and this instantly makes them acquire
 Dattagupta 31

an idea about the ideal woman that they need to become, someone who is beautiful and good

natured and the epitome of perfection. Things are very different in real life, and Lynn Roberts

and David Roberts have tried to break this stereotyped notion with their book. Who could have

ever thought that Rapunzel who was caught up in the tower would have hair fall problems? It

is completely unthinkable in the magical and mystical world of the fairy tales. However, the

case is completely different in the world of Rapunzel: A Groovy Fairy Tale. David Roberts very

cheekily includes combs with strands of Rapunzel’s hair in the foreground of the visual

narrative to make it evident to the readers that here is a character who is very regular and normal.

There are images of her sitting with her long hair wrapped up in a towel after washing it and

then blow drying it. It is normal for strands of hair to fall when one combs such long hair, and

he includes them to make the visual narrative relatable.

Fig. 3. David Roberts. Rapunzel: A Groovy Fairy tale. 2003.

 Dattagupta 32

Fig. 4. David Roberts. Rapunzel: A Groovy Fairy tale. 2003.

Traditional fairy tales try and remain as close to the folk tales that they are derived from,

but their “adaptations convey a personal touch, and each version reflects its own time and

society.” (Nikolajeva 139) In the same light, Lynn Roberts and David Roberts have tried to give

their personal touch and give the tale of Rapunzel a new plot. The visual narrative states that

Rapunzel was living with her Aunt Esme and her hideous pet crow, Roach because her parents

pass away in a car accident. In the original story, Rapunzel was locked up in a tower with no

doors and stairs; in the modern adaptation of the tale, Rapunzel might not be stuck in a tower,

but she is trapped in a city tenement where the elevator doesn’t work. Rapunzel’s aunt is too

lazy to climb the “hundreds of stairs” (Roberts) to her apartment and hence she used Rapunzel’s

long hair to climb up and down. It wouldn’t have been an easy task to let someone cling on to

one’s hair to climb up and down a tall building, and this is made evident with the help of the

visual narrative in Rapunzel: A Groovy Fairy Tale. The illustration depicting Aunt Esme

climbing the building, holding onto Rapunzel’s hair shows how difficult it was for the poor girl.

Rapunzel has already been depicted as a skinny girl, and on the other hand, Aunt Esme has been

depicted as a woman who was fat. Rapunzel’s expression in the image makes it clear that the

whole task of pulling up her aunt from the ground floor was a painful task that she had to endure.
 Dattagupta 33

Fig. 5. David Roberts. Rapunzel: A Groovy Fairy tale. 2003.

Since Rapunzel: A Groovy Fairy Tale is meant for children between the age of four and

ten years old, there are certain aspects of the original fairy tale that has been modified in the

adaptation. It should be remembered that even the Grimm Brothers had to edit their edition to

make it meet the standards deemed fit for the children readers. The prince has been brought into

the story, but he isn’t the typical prince that the children have encountered in the fairy tales.

Roger, is a regular school boy, who loves music. He also has a band called ‘Roger and the

Rascals’ and they perform in different schools from time to time. Roger encounters Rapunzel

when he watches Aunt Esme climbing down her hair one morning while on his way to school.

He recognizes Aunt Esme as the nasty lunch lady from school, and when he rushes back from

school, he witnesses her calling “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair!” (Roberts). The

extraordinary sight captivates him, and Roger decides that he has to meet the girl with the long

red hair. Roger goes back the next day and mimics Aunt Esme’s booming voice to have the hair
 Dattagupta 34

rope lowered for him. He climbs it up and comes face to face with Rapunzel. The two connect

instantly and bond over music. Roger would frequently go over to meet Rapunzel and would

often take presents for her. The two of them sing, where Robert would play his guitar and sing

the new songs that he has worked on and Rapunzel would join in with the tambourine that

Roger had gifted her. Unlike in “Rapunzel” where there were no talks of the prince taking

Rapunzel out of the tower, Roger decides to take Rapunzel on a tour of the city. Rapunzel had

never been allowed to venture out since Aunt Esme told her that the city “isn’t safe for you…”

(Roberts) Rapunzel is the one to come up with the idea that could make her go out. She decides

to make a rope ladder out of all the scarves and belts that she possessed, and the two of them

set to work together.

Fig. 6. David Roberts. Rapunzel: A Groovy Fairy tale. 2003.

However, the happiness is short-lived, since Rapunzel ends up blurting out that it was

easier to pull Roger up than Aunt Esme, as she was heavier. This prompts Aunt Esme to fly in

a terrible rage, and she cuts off Rapunzel’s hair for deceiving her and forces her to climb down

her hair. Rapunzel is cast out by Aunt Esme, who waits in the balcony for Roger. It becomes

clear that Rapunzel was encouraged to keep the long hair, which also happened to be

fashionable since Aunt Esme needed it to climb up and down. For a woman, power is never

ascribed; it is always achieved and the only way power can be taken away from them is through

the control of their body. Accommodation and resistance lie buried in everyday activity. (Weitz
 Dattagupta 35

667) For Aunt Esme the way to control Rapunzel was to take control of her hair, and hence she

cuts it off and makes her climb down her hair rope.

Fig. 7. David Roberts. Rapunzel: Fig. 8. David Roberts.

A Groovy Fairy tale. 2003. Rapunzel: A Groovy
Fairy tale. 2003.
It is interesting to note that the same hair that was cut off to take away power from Rapunzel’s

hand since she deceived her aunt was the one that was powerful enough to break Roger’s fall

and prevent him from dying. The woman’s body has always been a site for the struggle for

power, and this same space becomes the site for resistance as well. Rapunzel refuses to let her

situation get the better of her. She is a young girl, out in the scary city, with nowhere to go, but

she doesn’t let her hopes down. In spite of the world crashing down upon Rapunzel, the end

sees her becoming happy. The book is meant for young readers and sets the tone for a future

where one finds happiness and solution to all their problems. Rapunzel meets Roger, and he

gets his memory back. Roger had kept Rapunzel’s braid with him, and this becomes Rapunzel’s

ticket to a new life. She starts a wig company. The “docile body” that was created by a unique

set of disciplinary practices covertly resists the whole societal notion of the submissive female

body. Rapunzel opens a wig business with her hair and ends up making Roger and his band

wear the red wigs from it.

 Dattagupta 36

Fig. 9. David Roberts. Rapunzel: A Groovy Fairy tale. 2003.

The feminine hair that is controlled to make the female body stay within the prescribed limits

goes on to adorn the hair of the masculine forces. This sends a strong message that states that

the world is changing and that the men are coming forward to embrace women empowerment.

It is stories like these that deviate from the sex-role stereotyped fairy tales that can be a true

learning ground for the children. The visual narrative sends home a stronger message in the

case of Rapunzel: A Groovy Fairy Tale since it is David Roberts’ illustrations that depict ‘Roger

and the Rascals’ standing with Rapunzel, wearing the red wigs that Rapunzel have been creating

in her shop. The hair ceases to be a marker of sexual differentiation since the hair that belonged

to a female, is used by both genders now. The image of the band standing with Rapunzel in

their new hair-do shows them as confident and happy, and this is truly the happily ever after

that children should read about.

 Dattagupta 37

2.8 Conclusion

While there is a shift in the stereotype for Rapunzel, things haven’t changed much for

the character of the witch. She is still being depicted as the cruel woman, who is the devil

incarnate and is still being projected as an ugly woman. There is no denying the influence that

folk tales and their adaptations on have on children, and since folk tales usually reflect the

culture from which they grow, it is “curious to see how young child may be influenced by their

prevalent values.” It has been noted by Dan Donlan in his paper, “The Negative Image of

Women in Children’s Literature” that when one looks into the female characters scattered

across children’s literature, it is common to realize that the “passive female” is always portrayed

sympathetically while the “assertive female” is depicted in a negative light. The woman who

takes control of her action in these tales is always portrayed unsympathetically and as a witch.

In the visual narrative of Rapunzel: A Groovy Fairy Tale, Aunt Esme is portrayed in the same

manner and is created as a hateful lunch lady. The character of the witch in children’s literature

has always been depicted as ugly since her outward appearance reflects her inner evil. She has

to be created as an antithesis to the beautiful and pure princess, whose outward beauty reflects

her pure heart. David Roberts and Lynn Roberts might have taken necessary steps to make

Rapunzel different from the original character in Grimm’s “Rapunzel,” but they have continued

to depict Aunt Esme in the same ugly fashion as the Grimm Brothers depicted the witch. The

illustrations show her as a fat woman who has an ugly face. She has a huge set of teeth that

stick out of her mouth. Aunt Esme has short matted hair that she styles in a hideous fashion.

She wears loud make-up that does nothing but accentuates her ugliness. Aunt Esme wears a

pair of fur lined black boots that are associated with women who are tough and wears a long

black overcoat. Just to show how disgusting she is, there is an image of her with Roach having

pooped on her coat, which she doesn’t care about. The ugliness and the grotesqueness of the

character are heightened by the fact that she was the “most fearsome lunch lady the children

had ever seen.” (Roberts) She would prowl around the cafeteria and force the children to
 Dattagupta 38

consume every morsel of the disgusting food that she and her team would prepare. Lynn Roberts

writes that Aunt Esme would force the children to eat her cold pea soups and lumpy pudding

and David Roberts illustrates it beautifully.

Fig. 10. David Roberts. Rapunzel: A Groovy Fairy tale. 2003.

He paints scared children being covered in pea soup since Aunt Esme would purposely splatter

them with it while serving. With the intention to appeal to children, the writer goes a step further

to show how terrible the aunt is. She might not be the witch from the fairy tale, but she is close

to it. The children who read these adaptations might not know what a witch is, but they can

clearly associate with the scary lady who makes her pet crow steal scarves and jewellery from

little children in the school and takes them to Rapunzel, pretending to have bought them for

her.

The chapter shows that though there is a conscious attempt to change the way women

have been depicted in children’s literature, there isn’t much that have been done when it comes
 Dattagupta 39

to the negative women characters in these books. They are still being depicted in the same

fashion as the original texts, in the visual narrative. One of the primary reason for this might be

to create her an exact opposite to the sweet Rapunzel. If Aunt Esme isn’t depicted in a negative

light, the children might not be able to understand Rapunzel’s need to break rules and go against

her. It is because Aunt Esme is hideous and mean that Rapunzel continues to be a positive

character even after going against prescribed norms and regulations. Rapunzel: A Groovy Fairy

Tale goes a long way to addressing the gender-role stereotypes that are present in children’s

literature. It makes use of images and the written word to drive home the point loud and clear.

While bringing out the dialectic between the individual identity and social conformity and the

changes that are coming about in the sphere, it makes use of hair symbolism and colour. In

creating a protagonist who appeals to young readers and who is consciously different in her

appearance to the original character of Rapunzel from the Grimm’s fairy tale, Lynn Roberts,

and David Roberts try to take a step towards turning the book into a companion for children

that wouldn’t have a detrimental impact on their attitudes. They try to stop the books from

becoming villains and changes the way they are perceived when it comes to highlighting the

role of women in literature for children.

 Dattagupta 40

Works Cited

Anderson, Chelsea J. “The Importance of Appearances in Literature: What Does It Mean to Be

a Redhead in Literature?” Honors Theses. 2015.

Bacchilega, Christina. Fairy Tales Transformed?: Twenty-First-Century Adaptations and the

Politics of Wonder. 2013. Detroit: Wayne State University Press. Google book Search.

Web. 20 August 2016.

Beauvoir, Simone De. The Second Sex. Trans. Constance Borde and Sheila Malovany-

Chevallier. New York: Vintage Books. 2011. Print.

Burnley, David. “Scribes and Hypertext.” The Yearbook of English Studies. 25 (1995): 41-62.

Web. 17 October 2016.

Carter, Angela. Trans. The Fairy Tales of Charles Perrault. London: Victor Gollancz Limited.

1977. Google book Search. Web. 24 August 2016.

Considine, David. “Visual Literacy and Children’s Books: An Integrated Approach.” School

Library Journal. 33 (1986): 38-42. Web. 23 August 2016.

“Counterculture of the 1960s”. Wikipedia. 25 August 2016. Web. 27 August 2016.

Donlan, Don. “The Negative Image of Women in Children’s Literature.” Elementary English

49.4 (1972): 604-611. Web. 12 August 2016.

Engel, Rosalind E. “Is Unequal Treatment of Females Diminishing in Children’s Picture

Books?” The Reading Teacher 34.6 (1981): 647-652. Web. 16 August 2016.

Galda, Lee, and Kathy G. Short. “Visual Literacy: Exploring Art and Illustration in Children’s

Books.” The Reading Teacher 46.6 (1993): 506-516. Web. 24 August 2016.

Giorgis, Cyndi, et al. “Children’s Books: Visual Literacy.” The Reading Teacher. 53.2 (1999):

146-153. Web. 24 August 2016.

Grimm, Jakob, and Wilhelm Grimm. Grimm’s Fairy Tales. Trans. Lucy Crane. Wordsworth

Classics. 1993. Print.

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Hammerberg, Dawnene D. “Reading and Writing “Hypertextually”: Children’s Literature,

Technology, and Early Writing Instruction.” Language Arts. 78.3 (2001). Web. 29

August 2016.

Hassett, Dawnene D. “Reading Hypertextually: Children’s Literature and Comprehension

Instruction.” Johns Hopkins School of Education. Web. 23 August 2016.

Heckert, Maria Druann and Amy Best. “Ugly Duckling to Swan: Labeling Theory and the

Stigmatization of Red Hair.” Symbolic Interaction. 20.4 (1997): 365-384. Web. 1

September 2016.

Joosen, Vanessa. Critical and Creative Perspectives on Fairy Tales: A Intertextual Dialogue

Between Fairy-tale Scholarship and Postmodern Retellings. Detroit: Wayne State

University Press. 2011. Google book Search. Web. 23 August 2016.

Kolbe, Richard and Joseph C. La Voie. “Sex-Role Stereotyping in Preschool Children’s Picture

Books.” Social Psychology Quarterly 44.4 (1981): 369-374.

Marantz, Kenneth. “The Picture Book as Art Object: A Call for Balanced Reviewing.” Wilson

Library Bulletin. (1977): 148-156.

Nikolajeva, Maria. “Fairy Tales and Fantasy: From Archaic to Postmodern.” Marvels & Tales

17.1 (2003): 138-156.

Roberts, Lynn. Rapunzel: A Groovy Fairy Tale. Illus. David Roberts. New York: Harry N.

Abrams, Incorporated. 2003. Print.

Weitz, Rose. “Women and Their Hair: Seeking Power through Resistance and

Accommodation.” Gender and Society 15.5 (2001): 667

 Dattagupta 42

Chapter 3

Rapunzel’s Revenge: A Counter-Narrative

3.1 Introduction

Ever since the first published 1812 edition of Children’s and Household Tales, the fairy

tale of “Rapunzel” had appeared in many variants. Translation is defined in the adaptation

theory as an examination of how a text that has been made for one audience is adapted for a

completely different one. The examination also involves looking at the fidelity of the texts, to

see how close the adapted text is to the original work. This method can be used to discover how

“Rapunzel” is manifested in modern text adaptations. The 1812 edition of Children’s and

Household Tales by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm had been adapted by them in the 1857 edition

of the same collection. Both these versions contained scenes that were later omitted and altered,

since they were considered to be “too risqué for children” (Barker 1). Over the course of time,

the tales had been adapted to different modern day values, by the change in the plot and the

ideologies of the characters. This chapter will aim at seeing how the fairy tale “Rapunzel”

manifests itself in the newer texts that were written for children audience through translation

and fidelity. It was, in fact, Jakob Wilhelm who was keen on this. Wilhelm Grimm, however,

saw to it that most of the tales were edited to make them more appropriate, which would make

the collection of the tales, one that was suitable for the children audience. The brothers accepted

that they had taken steps to delete parts of the tales that were unsuitable for children. The 1857

edition of the tales is the one that had been appropriated by the Grimm Brothers. As Maria

Tartar states, the rewriting of the text gives the readers an evidence of the changes that were

made by the Grimm to satisfy their selves and the taste and sensitivity of the German audience.

The adaptation of the Grimm’s fairy tales has continued, and modern text adaptations have tried

to keep in mind the sensibility of the current audience to make some necessary changes in them.
 Dattagupta 43

3.2 Countering traditional narratives

Some common specific details remain the same across the different adaptations of

“Rapunzel.” There is always a beautiful woman with very long hair, who is separated from the

world by a woman who isn’t her mother. There’s also a prince figure, but his role keeps

changing in the different adaptations. These three specific details are used to keep fidelity with

the original tale. The 1857 version of Grimm’s Children’s and Household Tales is very different

from the 2010 adaptation, Rapunzel’s Revenge. “Rapunzel” is a traditional narrative material

and as such it is part of a landscape that is well known. The audience is familiar with the nuances

of this narrative and knows the outcome of the tale and derives satisfaction from the familiarity

of it. The authors in the modern times are taking a conscious step in trying to move away from

the tradition to open the space for alternatives. Shannon Hale makes a conscious move away

from the fairy tale of Rapunzel. While the background of the story remains the same, the

situation is slightly different in Rapunzel’s Revenge, from what we have read in Children’s and

Household Tales. Rapunzel in Rapunzel’s Revenge was taken away from her parents by the

wicked Gothel, who is a rich landowner. She is proficient in magic and has plunged the entire

country into a drought. With no way to grow crops and survive, farm owners would agree to

pay Dame Gothel double her share of the yield to get a chance to use her growth magic. While

Gothel’s villa and the surrounding garden was teeming with lush green vegetation, the condition

outside the high walls of Gothel’s mansion was completely different.

The first thing that needs to be mentioned is that while the Grimm’s edition is a third

person narrative, which hardly gives any voice to Rapunzel, in Shannon Hale’s Rapunzel’s

Revenge, it is Rapunzel herself, who starts with the narration. She is the one who introduces the

readers to her world and has an agency. This seems like a conscious effort on the part of the

author since Hale had made it very clear that she wouldn’t be creating the quintessential fairy

tale princess out of Rapunzel in her book. Rapunzel here is someone who takes charge of things.

She isn’t the one to sit and wait to be rescued by the prince from her towered confinement.
 Dattagupta 44

Rapunzel starts the story of her life in the style typical to the fairy tales. She starts with “Once

upon a time, there was a beautiful little girl.” (Hale 4)

Fig. 11. Nathan Hale. Rapunzel’s Revenge. 2010.

Rapunzel in the original fairy tale is a princess and the mansion that the viewers see in Shannon

and Dean Hale’s novel also indicate that Rapunzel might be a princess, but instead the readers

encounter a little girl who is swinging from somewhere, only to crash land into a pool of water.

Rapunzel’s Revenge eliminates the whole idea of the perfect and dainty princess the moment

readers reach the panel where Rapunzel peers out of the pool and Hale writes, “That’s me

there.” (Hale 5) Her hair is matted and wet, and the readers realize that Rapunzel is a clumsy

little girl.
 Dattagupta 45

Fig. 12. Nathan Hale. Rapunzel’s Revenge. 2010.

Rapunzel is the narrator of Shannon and Dean Hale’s Rapunzel’s Revenge, and she introduces

the readers to her world and her life. She lives in a grand villa, with loyal servants and tasty

food. Rapunzel goes ahead to say that she lives with her mother, but then adds, “(o)r who I

thought was my mother.” (Hale 6) The moment readers see this particular panel and look at

Dame Gothel’s expression; they know that something isn’t right. The panel immediately takes

the readers back to the original plot of “Rapunzel” where Gothel had snatched Rapunzel away

from her parents since they dared to take parsley from her garden. Hale makes the readers wait

to find out more about Rapunzel’s past. The narrative focuses on her present. Rapunzel

introduces the readers to her life in the huge villa, with three stories and seventy-eight rooms.

She has nothing much to do and hence counted all the thousand and twelve chairs. Rapunzel

had a privileged life, but there was always an emptiness inside her. She couldn’t understand

why she would feel so empty and why she would have the recurring dream of two loving

individuals. Mother Gothel would never be happy with the dreams that she had and would chide

her for indulging in sadness.

In the Grimm’s version, Rapunzel never realizes who are parents are and why she has

been kept shut in a tower. She isn’t given any voice. There is a complete lack of consideration
 Dattagupta 46

that she might have some thoughts on her situation. On the other hand, Rapunzel in Rapunzel’s

Revenge is very curious and tries to find out what’s on the other side of the wall of her huge

palatial house. Finally, on her twelfth birthday, she decides to climb the huge wall and find out

what’s on the other side. She agreed to climb it even though Mother Gothel didn’t approve of

it.

Fig. 13. Nathan Hale. Rapunzel’s Revenge. 2010.

Fig. 14. Nathan Hale. Rapunzel’s Revenge. 2010.

After a difficult climb, Rapunzel comes face to face with the mines on the other side of the wall,

and she is shocked. She is speechless and wants to know what was happening out there. This is
 Dattagupta 47

when she encounters her mother, and it triggers in her the realization that Mother Gothel had

been lying to her for all these years and she decides to confront her. Rapunzel in the Grimm’s

“Rapunzel” was kept away from society and there was always a clear demarcation between the

social and individual spaces. “When she was twelve years old the witch shut her up in a tower

in the midst of a wood, and it had neither steps nor door, only a small window above.” (Grimm,

76) The Rapunzel of the modern children’s book is an individual who connects with the reader

from the first sentence, whereas the reader of Grimm’s fairy tale, looks up at Rapunzel from

beneath the tower and never gets the opportunity to know her. Her hair comes to represent her,

and it is not her individuality that helps the audience to remember her. Rapunzel of Rapunzel’s

Revenge, on the other hand, connects with the reader with her humour even before they get to

find out how she can make use of her hair. Rapunzel introduces the reader to her world, exactly

how she sees and perceives it.

3.3 Countering gender roles

Unlike the linear narratives explored in traditional fairy tales as seen in Grimm’s

“Rapunzel,” the graphic narrative in Rapunzel’s Revenge, gives the readers the freedom to

explore a narrative and isn’t limited to the so-called accepted roles of a woman. Rapunzel’s

action and body language in Rapunzel’s Revenge exude confidence. The author makes a

conscious step to move away from the stereotype and negates the image of the innocent

persecuted heroine that is present in fairy tale narratives.

 Dattagupta 48

Fig. 15. Nathan Hale. Rapunzel’s Revenge. 2010.

Fig. 16. Nathan Hale. Rapunzel’s Revenge. 2010.

Fisher and Silber spoke about reconstructing traditional theories to include the developmental

experiences of culturally diverse women, in “Good and Bad Beyond Belief: Teaching Gender

Lessons through Fairy Tales and Feminist Theory.”. The traditional fairy tales offer “male

fantasies” (Fisher, 122) which restrict the vision of children, especially girls, about their social

roles. To move away from the tradition narrative of the Grimm’s and to appropriate the fairy
 Dattagupta 49

tale for the audience of the 21st century, Hale brings in a powerful word. She uses the term

“revenge” to show that Rapunzel isn’t a typical fairy tale princess who will sit and accept what

life has to provide her with. Rapunzel in Hale’s Rapunzel’s Revenge heads to right all the wrong

that had been done to her. She finds out the story of her past, unlike the original Rapunzel, who

never found out about her parents.

The chief source of patriarchal power is the unquestioned acceptance of the narratives

that have come down the years, and this is where Hales tries to bring about change. A need to

study fairy tales from a “new woman centred socio-psychological understanding.” (Heilbrun

154). Hale gives the narrative power of her story to her heroine, instead of the omnipresent

narrator in Grimm’s “Rapunzel.” This step of Hale’s in Rapunzel’s Revenge is a way to show

that the perception of gender roles in fairy tales has changed since the time Grimm Brothers

came out with Children’s and Household Tales. Analysis of “Rapunzel” and Rapunzel’s

Revenge highlights the changes in symbols. The change in the perception of gender roles, sees

Hale adapting the original tale to her imagination and making conscious changes in the symbols

that will instruct the young readers. The readership of the fairy tales has changed between 1857

and 2008. Children in the 21st century are more aware of their roles in society, and the ideas of

social roles associated with conformity and beauty have undergone massive changes. They have

in fact been challenged by generations.

Rapunzel in the Grimm’s fairy tale accepts her confinement. She never questions the

wicked witch about her past, and neither does she try and change her situation. Rapunzel in

Rapunzel’s Revenge isn’t one to keep quiet. She realizes that Mother Gothel had lied to her and

didn’t think twice before blaming her for lying. She charges her with the words, “You lied to

me.” (Hale 19). Her expression makes it evident that she isn’t one who would let go of things

easily and is determined to find out the truth. Her behaviour ultimately backfires, and she is

imprisoned in a magical tree-tower in the middle of the forest. She tries to lie and escape the

tree, but when Mother Gothel realizes her plan, she doesn’t think twice before speaking her
 Dattagupta 50

mind to Mother Gothel. Rapunzel says, “I guess I’d never stood up to Mother Gothel… I was

scared spitless, but I knew that I couldn’t pretend anymore.” (Hale 32)

Fig. 17. Nathan Hale. Rapunzel’s Revenge. 2010.

Fig. 18. Nathan Hale. Rapunzel’s Revenge. 2010.

 Dattagupta 51

She realizes that the incident causes more trouble for her since the opening to the tree-tower

keeps shrinking and food stops appearing. However, all four years in captivity had left her with

long red hair and with nothing much to do, she learned how to make use of the hair as a lasso

and swing. Rapunzel decides to escape the tree-tower by swinging down with the help of her

hair rope. After a lot of effort, she does manage to “land triumphantly on the forest floor” (Hale

35) and begin an epic adventure. Rapunzel tames a wild boar and is on her way out of the forest,

when a strapping young man ends up killing it, in an attempt to rescue her.

Children throughout the ages have grown up reading about the prince who rescued

Rapunzel from her miserable living up in the tower. As Hoffman states in his book, From

Modernism to Postmodernism: Concepts and Strategies of Postmodern American Fiction, the

role of the prince, is to rescue from outside what cannot be liberated from inside. Hale turns

this very concept to the head when it comes to her depiction of the prince in Rapunzel’s

Revenge. The prince assumes that he had helped Rapunzel when she hints at a disapproval.

Instead of rescuing Rapunzel from her predicament, he ends up snatching her wild boar, which

was her only chance of exiting the forest. The prince in Grimm’s “Rapunzel” is a romantic who

falls in love with Rapunzel because of her sweet voice and goes on to have an affair with her.

Hale doesn’t get into the romantic side of the tale. She points out the romantic notion of the

prince charming going on an adventure to rescue the damsel in distress. Men tend to believe

this notion and assume that women wants to be rescued. In Rapunzel’s Revenge, the prince says

he was getting bored at his farm and had hence followed the tales of a beautiful maiden trapped

in a high tower. Hale’s Rapunzel isn’t one to sit tight waiting for the prince to come along. She

asks the strapping young man, if he was heading to “help her” (Hale 41) but the prince ends up

saying “I can’t actually rescue her, of course. The word is she’s Mother Gothel’s pet and I won’t

risk crossing the old lady. But I can tell her I’m going to rescue her. She’s bound to be too naïve

to know the difference, and it’ll be such fun in the meantime.” (Hale 41)
 Dattagupta 52

Fig. 19. Nathan Hale. Rapunzel’s Revenge. 2010.

These words are a direct dig at the world of the fairy tales and the notions that the children

inculcate through them. The fairy tale narratives have always reflected a cultural expectation of

femininity. This invariably reflects the “dominant ideology of female dependency” (Conrad

129). As a counter-narrative, that brings forward an alternate version of the world that the

readers are too familiar with. Rapunzel might have started her story with the “once upon a time”

trope, but she ends it with the way she sends the prince away. Rapunzel makes it clear to the

readers that “This is where the “once upon a time” part ends…” (Hale 41)
 Dattagupta 53

Fig. 20. Nathan Hale. Rapunzel’s Revenge. 2010.

It becomes evident while readers enjoy Rapunzel’s story that Rapunzel’s Revenge is a counter-

narrative to a traditional fairy tale. Hale picks out instances from the original fairy tale plot and

makes sure she changes and rewrites them to suit the sensibility of her readers. The first sign of

a counter-narrative can be seen in the genre of the text. Hale makes use of the graphic narrative.

The narrative has always been used to state the dark and violent world. It is associated with

crime and action, but Hale establishes that the world of the graphic novel isn’t restricted to the

young boys. While talking about her decision to work on a graphic novel for her adaptation of

“Rapunzel,” Shannon Hale said that she fell in love with the graphic novel thanks to her

husband, Dean Hale. Having read about superheroes, she decided to give girls a heroine that

they can look up to. Hale also decided to use the character to venture into a genre that was

dominated by male readership.

 Dattagupta 54

3.4 Medium of instruction in schools

Hale while talking about Rapunzel’s Revenge as a graphic novel makes it clear that she

has decided to call it so since it is a novel “with pictures” and not because of any specification

of the genre of the graphic novels. She said that she wanted to work on something for non-

readers and felt that the best way to bring them to love books would be to add pictures in it. The

non-readers might be visual learners, and when they grab a book and complete it thanks to the

images that it contains, they have a sense of fulfilment. She wanted to add the images as a

“visual hook” in the counter-narrative to Grimm’s “Rapunzel.” Shannon Hale and Dean Hale’s

Rapunzel’s Revenge is used as teaching aid in primary classes. The instructional content of the

novel is recognised by the Joint Standards of National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)

and the International Reading Association (IRA). The Mid-continent Research for Education

and Learning (McREL) also benchmarks the novel for Grades 6 to 8. The educational board

realized that the counter-narrative helps students develop an innate idea of the traditional text

and think about the jarring differences in the two texts. The readers think and talk about the

Rapunzel’s Revenge’s departure from the traditional narrative of “Rapunzel,” and why it is a

necessity to look at the text in a different light. Fairy tales in the hands of women were always

meant to be counter-narratives. D’Aulnoy started a trend when she included her fairy tale, “The

isle of Happiness” in the novel Histoire d’Hippolyte, comte de Duglas in 1690. The nymphs

she used in her tales weren’t fairies, but they bore a resemblance. D’Aulnoy very clear

establishes in her stories, the intervention of the fairies to make up for what is lacking in the

real world and the human nature. (Zipes 223) With d’Aulnoy’s popularity, there was a surge of

fairy tale writers, especially among the women author. The 17th century saw authors like Marie-

Jeanne Lhéritieťs Oeuvres meslées, published in 1696, Charlotte Rose Caumont de La Force's

Les contes des contes, published in 1698. Henriette-Julie de Murat, Catherine Durand, and

Comtesse d'Auneuil were some of the other authors who published their own “contes des fées”

during the time. It was evident that the use of the term was a declaration of resistance. Zipes
 Dattagupta 55

notes that in no other period of literary history that “so many fairies like powerful goddesses

were the determining figures of most of the plots of fairy tales written by women, and also by

some men.” (224) There is a reason why so many female authors came forward to write stories

and term them as fairy tales during the 17th and 18th century. The French women who wrote

these stories were part of the literary salons where they would read and share their stories before

they were given for publication. The private salons provided them the scope to demonstrate

their talent at a time when women didn’t enjoy much freedom in the public sphere. The fairies

included in their stories marks their resistance under the conditions in which they lived. They

had strict regulations and manners they had to adhere by. It was only in the fairy tale world,

where they were unsupervised by either the Church or the state, that they could show an

alternative world, talking about their desires. Patricia Hannon talks about how the 17th century

considered the fairy tales as a domain governed by women. It was “inseparable from the

feminocentric salons that nurtured it.” (Hannon 171) Even scholars like Holly Tucker and Anne

Duggar have come out in support of the salon culture being a primary stimulation to the female

authors of the fairy tales. The salons helped them establish a specific code and the tales gave

shape to a new idea which was intended to “transform the relationships between men and

women.” (Zipes 225)

3.5 Transformation of the princess

Keeping the tradition of the counter-narrative intact, Shannon Hale and Dean

Hale go forward to create an alternate world for Rapunzel. It has been stated time and again

that children are sensitive to the stories they read and it is wrong when they read about passive

heroines who need a prince to come and rescue them. Hale’s twist to the classic fairy tale stops

Rapunzel from becoming a passive heroine. She is a vigilante hero who gallops “around the

wild and western landscape, changing lives, righting wrongs and changing (the) world forever.”

(Hale) James Blasingame in his review of Rapunzel’ s Revenge, in the Journal of Adolescent &

Adult Literacy talks about how the traditional trope of the blonde princess is transformed into a
 Dattagupta 56

tomboy in her pants, shirt, vest and cowgirl gear to take on an adventure. Blasingame points

out that Shannon Hale was careful not to sexualize Rapunzel. Instead of the typical blonde

princess, Rapunzel is a skinny red–head. They paid special emphasis on how Rapunzel’s

character is perceived in the story and in keeping her casual and ordinary, there are no men in

the story who is attracted to her. She is not the typical fairy tale character that sits locked up

and attracts men with her beauty and singing.

3.6 Changing hair symbolism

The first thing that we think of when we talk about Rapunzel is her hair and the hair

symbolism associated with this character is of importance. Hair has always been defined in

details when it comes to female characters, and the same is followed by the Grimm Brothers in

the case of Rapunzel. The first instance when the readers are acquainted with Rapunzel, it is

her beauty that is highlighted – “Rapunzel was the most beautiful child in the world… Rapunzel

had beautiful long hair that shone like gold.” (Grimm 76) Rapunzel’s hair in the tales of Grimm

serves the character no purpose apart from enhancing her beauty and becoming a performance

of gender role as the beautiful damsel. It is used by the witch and the prince, but it doesn’t serve

the owner any purpose. Hale changes this in Rapunzel’s Revenge. Her hair grew as she was

confined in the tall tree-tower by Mother Gothel. In her boredom, she decided to use it to pass

her time. “There were three books in the tower. By the second year, I had them pretty well

memorized. And then I started to find other ways to pass the time. To keep from going batty, I

made use of my dratted hair.” (Hale 30) She used it as a skipping rope, a fly swatter and when

it was long enough, tried to use it as a rope to lower herself down. It was short initially, but it

grows enough for her to escape. Hair was initially a source of control. For Rapunzel in Grimm’s

tale, her hair and beauty caused her to be confined in the tower, away from the gaze of the

world, but in the case of Hale’s Rapunzel, the hair becomes her way to escape the tower and

gain freedom. Rapunzel says that she was beginning to worry that she was the “naïve and

helpless” as the “rifle-toting ninny” (Hale 43) the prince-charming had expected her to be, but
 Dattagupta 57

she instinctively ends up using her hair when she sees Jack being attacked. ‘I didn’t think twice

before pulling out my braid.” (Hale 45). She doesn’t try to be a hero, but she isn’t a raggedy

little girl who would stand and watch. Rapunzel realizes that her hair can be used as a weapon

and uses her lasso lessons from Mason, to attack enemies and tame wild beasts. When Rapunzel

and Jack are about to tackle the coyotes in Pig Tree Gulch, Rapunzel jokes about using her

“feminine wiles,”(Hale 67) but ultimately uses her hair to drive the coyotes away. She uses her

hair to kill the frightening serpent as well and gets her hand on the pick that could break even

the unbreakable. Rapunzel in Rapunzel’s Revenge is never shown to be careful of her hair or

use it as a seat of her beauty. Rapunzel is expressive about her discomfort with the long hair.

She says “…try hauling around twenty feet of hair. It’s likely to break my neck.” (Hale 74) She

carries it wrapped around one her shoulder like rope and she uses it as a weapon instinctively.

After Rapunzel and Jack escape from Macmillan’s men and the jail, the two become wanted

convicts, and there is a huge poster with Rapunzel’s face on it. Rapunzel is charged with horse

thieving, kidnapping, jailbreaking and also for using her hair in a fashion that is different from

the way nature intended her to use it. The image shows Rapunzel holding her braid, which is

depicted as a noose.

Fig. 21. Nathan Hale. Rapunzel’s Revenge. 2010.

 Dattagupta 58

The adventures of Rapunzel and Jack continue in Rapunzel’s Revenge, and the readers

realize that Rapunzel is braver and more capable in most of the situations when compared to

Jack. She thinks of how to fight the coyotes, controls and catches the gigantic sea serpent and

fights of bandits in the wild west.

Fig. 22. Nathan Hale. Rapunzel’s Revenge. 2010.

When she finally confronts Mother Gothel, she almost succeeds in strangling Brute with her

hair, but his sheer strength overpowers her, and she ends up getting her hair chopped. Rapunzel

in Grimm’s tale isn’t shown to be vocal about having her hair cut off and being cast off into the

forest. She has no agency at all. This is changed in Rapunzel’s Revenge. The tier showing

Mother Gothel snip off her hair depicts Rapunzel looking distraught and helpless. It was her
 Dattagupta 59

hair that could bring her this far and ensured that she could fight Mother Gothel and her evil

deeds, and she almost senses defeat.

Fig. 23. Nathan Hale. Rapunzel’s Revenge. 2010.

She stares at the long strand of red hair lying on the floor and it almost indicates the end to

Rapunzel’s adventure. However, it needs to be remembered that Shannon Hale and Dean Hale

aren’t out to create a passive heroine. The counter-narrative has to rewrite the character of the

passive Rapunzel, and this is when we see Rapunzel look up to glare at Mother Gothel to say,

“Hardly” (Hale 129) when Gothel asks her if she was “…submissive. Ready to obey my every

word.” (Hale 129)

 Dattagupta 60

Fig. 24. Nathan Hale. Rapunzel’s Revenge. 2010.

Fig. 25. Nathan Hale. Rapunzel’s Revenge. 2010.

In spite of her hair being cut by Mother Gothel, she refuses to bow down to her. Her strength

isn’t limited to the hair. The panel depicts an individual’s refusal to bow to societal pressure.

She doesn’t mind being confined to another one of Mother Gothel’s magical tower if she would

spare Jack. Rapunzel is smart enough and ends up using the magical pick to break the totem

that Mother Gothel used to unleash her magical power.

In the end, we see Rapunzel use her hair as a rope to go up the clock tower to look at

the green countryside. Hale brings in the chant used in “Rapunzel” where the witch would ask

Rapunzel to let her hair down so that she could climb the tower. Jack asks Rapunzel to let her
 Dattagupta 61

hair down so that he could go up when there wasn’t another way to do so. The two texts clearly

highlight how hair symbolism in texts like “Rapunzel” and Rapunzel’s Revenge have gone

ahead to show the dialectic between individual identity and social conformity. There is a

marked change in how hair symbolism was used to serve the purpose of the dominating forces

in society and how in the later adaptations of the fairy tale, the authors have made a conscious

step to make sure that hair symbolism goes ahead to uphold individual identity and subverts

societal dominance and authority. This goes on to show the counter-narrative of Rapunzel’s

Revenge and how it takes a step forward in addressing the bigger picture that the dissertation

aims at achieving.

3.7 Conclusion

The first thing that readers of the graphic novels and comics realize is that the only thing

that helps them distinguish between characters is their hair. It should be noted that initially these

comic strips and graphic novels were printed in black and white and this made it difficult to

distinguish between characters. The easiest way to bring out the difference between the

characters was by highlighting the hair. The characters could be “easily recognized even

through the silhouette alone.” (Funn) “Hair is an important aspect of how people define

themselves and how other people define them.”(75) Druann Heckert and Amy Best sums up

the importance of hair as a symbol for constructing identity in their statement. Hair has always

been the focus of much preoccupation, and the way a person wears their hair can go ahead to

describe the individual’s identity, beliefs, and sentiments. Hair, being a malleable aspect of the

human body, becomes an essential vehicle for conveying symbolic meaning. Hair becomes an

important means to understand how the social and individual forces of the time are constructing

the female body and femininity. Hair was meant to be the seat of beauty and femininity, and

Shannon Hale depicts how Rapunzel broke that notion when she used her hair in a fashion that

nature didn’t intend her to do. A girl’s hair is meant to be adorned with flowers and should go

on to accentuate her beauty. However, Rapunzel wasn’t one to adorn her hair. She used it for
 Dattagupta 62

survival and till the end, kept using it as a weapon and a rope. Rose Weitz says that hair is both

private and public. It is private because it is part of the human body, and it is public since hair

has been used by society to establish control over an individual. Mother Gothel wanted

Rapunzel to grow up to become the heir to her property. She even had her tested for magical

powers, but Rapunzel didn’t have any iota of magical power within her. Gothel tried her best

to force Rapunzel to conform to her expectations. It should be noted that Rapunzel’s hair is red

and this refers to the analysis of redhead in literature, as discussed in Chapter 2. Shannon Hale

made it very clear that she didn’t want to narrate the story of a typical fairy tale princess and

hence the first thing she did was give her red hair. Repeating the symbolic implication of the

redhead in literature, Shannon Hale establishes the intellectual superiority of the Rapunzel’s

character in Rapunzel’s Revenge as compared to the typical fairy tale princess. The counter-

narrative of Rapunzel’s Revenge has a cover illustration depicting Rapunzel in cowboy attire,

with her long red braid held like a lasso. She is standing and looks like she is ready to attack.

The readers start Rapunzel’s Revenge with the idea that Rapunzel wouldn’t be a character that

they have heard of. She is different from the princess who sat in the tower, singing. Rapunzel’s

Revenge as counter-narrative highlights the attempt made by authors of recent Rapunzel

adaptations to create a different worldview for the readers. There is a need to change the idea

of the princess. Children readers are impressionable and do not take the time to pick up ideas

and notion. Given the hue and cry about a world with equal rights and privileges, it doesn’t

make sense to have fairy tale princesses who are still stuck in the ancient world of conforming

to social pressure by foregoing their individual identity. They need to be given a voice and what

better way to give Rapunzel a voice than with the one symbol that defined her across generation

– her hair.
 Dattagupta 63

Works Cited

Avery, Gillian. "Chapbooks" Oxford Encyclopedia of Children's Literature. ed. Jack Zipes.

Vol. 1. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2006. Print.

Baker, Jessica. ““Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair!” The Manifestation of Rapunzel

Across Modern Text Adaptations.” Longwood.edu. n.d. Web. 28 January 2016.

Baker-Sperry, Lori, and Liz Grauerholz. “The Pervasiveness and Persistence of the Feminine

Beauty Ideal in Children’s Fairy Tales.” Gender and Society 17.5 (2003): 711-726.

Web. 24 August 2016.

Baumgartner, Joseph. “The Grimm Brothers As Collectors and Editors of FairyTales.”

Philippine Quarterly of Culture and Society 7.1 (1979): 93-96. Web. 7 April, 2016.

Botteigheimer, Ruth B. Fairy Tales: A New History. SUNY Press. 2010. Print

Bratton, J.S. The Impact of Victorian Children’s Fiction. Croom Helm, London: Barnes &

Noble Books, Totowa, New Jersey. 1981.

Carrier, David. The Aesthetics of Comics. Penn State Press. 2001. Print.

Conrad, JoAnn,. “Docile Bodies of (Im)Material Girls: The Fairy-Tale Construction of

JonBenet Ramsey and Princess Diana.” Marvels & Tales 13.2 (1999): 125-169. Web.

14 August, 2015.

Darton, F. J. Harvey. Children's Books in England. 3rd ed. revised by Brian Alderson.

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1982. Print.

Eisner, Will. Comics & Sequential Art. Poorhouse Press. 1985. Print.

Fisher, Jerilyn, and Ellen. S. Silber. “Good and Bad Beyond Belief: Teaching Gender Lessons

through Fairy Tales and Feminist Theory.” Women’s Studies Quarterly 28.3 (2000):

121-136.

Funn, Mamoru, The Hair Makes the Character. The Graphic Novel. N.p. 29 March 2013. Web.

10 August 2016.
 Dattagupta 64

Gallo, Don, and Stephen Weiner. “Bold Books for Innovative Teaching: Show, Don’t Tell:

Graphic Novels in the Classroom.” The English Journal. 94.2 (2004): 114-117. Web.

16 August 2016.

Grimm, Jakob, and Wilhelm Grimm. Grimm’s Fairy Tales. Trans. Lucy Crane. Wordsworth

Classics. 1993. Print.

Hale, Shannon, and Dean Hale. Rapunzel’s Revenge. Illus. Nathan Hale. London: Bloomsbury

Publishing P L C. 2008. Print.

---. Rapunzel’s Revenge. Squeetus, 24 October. 2014,

http://www.squeetus.com/stage/books_rap.html

Hale, Shannon. Interview by James Blasingame. “Interview with Shannon Hale about

Rapunzel’s Revenge.” Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy 53. 6 (2010) : 518 – 520.

JSTOR. Web. 13 August 2015.

Hannon, Patricia. Fabulous Identities: Women’s Fairy Tales in Seventeenth-Century France.

Amsterdam: Rodopi. 1998. Print.

Heckert, Maria Druann and Amy Best. “Ugly Duckling to Swan: Labeling Theory and the

Stigmatization of Red Hair.” Symbolic Interaction. 20.4 (1997): 365-384. Web. 1

September 2016.

Heilbrun, Carolyn C. Embodied Voices: Representing Female Vocality in Western Culture.

Cambridge University Press (1996): 154. Web. 27 August 2015.

Hoffman, Gerhard. From Modernism to postmodernism: Concepts and Strategies of

Postmodern American Fiction. Amsterdam: Rodopi. 2005. Print.

Moeller, Robin A. ““Aren’t These Boy Books?”: High School Students’ Readings of Gender

in Graphic Novels.” Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy. 54.7 (2011): 476-484. 20

June 2016.

Schwarz, Gretchen. “Expanding Literacies through Graphic Novels.” The English Journal 95.6

(2006): 58-64. Web. 20th June, 2016.

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Seifert, Lewis C. and Domna C. Stanton. Enchanted Eloquence: Fairy Tales by Seventeenth-

Century Women Writers. Toronto: Iter. 2010. Print.

Warner, Marina. “After “Rapunzel.”” Marvels & Tales 24.2 (2010): 329-335. Web. 12 August.

2015.

Weitz, Rose. “Women and Their Hair: Seeking Power through Resistance and

Accommodation.” Gender and Society 15.5 (2001): 667-686. Web. 24 August 2016.

Zipes, Jack. “The Meaning of Fairy Tale within the Evolution of Culture.” Marvels & Tales.

25.2 (2011): 221-243. Web. 20 August 2015.

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Chapter 4

Conclusion
Maria Nikolajeva writes, “Jack Zipes has repeatedly demonstrated that fairy tales have

an enormous subversive potential. The nature of subversion, however, may vary radically

depending on the society in which fairy tales appear.” (171) The fairy tales as we know it

usually deal with princesses who have to be rescued from a particularly tough situation in life,

by a handsome prince. Over the course of the three chapters, the evolution of the fairy tale

genre was traced, in order to highlight how it has always relegated the voice of the women in

the background. A conscious attempt was made to return the voice of the voiceless and the

feminist movement of 1970s started a new trend. From early folk literature, it was seen how

fairy tales evolved to incorporate changes and grow. The fairy tale started as a magical

mystical tale that had its source in the oral folk tradition. The dissertation discusses how the

genre undergoes transformation to come closer to the real world. The fantastical elements

were replaced to incorporate more instructional elements, which would better suit children

readers. Fairy tales dealt with traditional roles of men and women, which kept women within

the house, while men managed the outside world. The feminist readers felt that this notion

didn‟t apply to the changing times and hence there was conscious attempt to change the

gender roles, or give more prominence to the women characters. The shift towards a feminist

perspective became clearer when feminist writers came out to try and bring the fairy tale

narrative within the purview of women. They said that men had no right to tell the stories of

women. Majority of the fairy tales were told by men, and this deprived the women and

silenced them.

It is interesting to note how the fairy tales were created bywomen, since the term was

coined by Madame D‟Aulnoy, but was kept out of women‟s reach. Marina Carter spoke about

the fairy tales being the stories that would lend voice to the voiceless class of the society, the
 Dattagupta70

women and children. Fairy tales as Atkins argues had a “general absence” (Jones 15) of

emotions and feeling. The only emotion they dealt with was “triumph of sympathy” and

“punishment of cruelty.” (15) Jack Zipes said that fairy tales in Europe were meant as a

“discourse on civilization.” (Zipes 9). The children are vulnerable and the traditional tales

were used to develop “male hegemony.” (33). Zipes saw in the fairy tales, a strong potential

to change and motivate children and hence constantly depicts how these tales supported

patriarchy. Fairy tales almost became a tool in the hands of the patriarchal society. However,

there was always an emphasis on feminism in the fairy tales and Zipes in Fairy Tales and the

Art of Subversion and how it inculcated certain performances.

The moral compass of the fairy tales wasn‟t conducive to children and women. While

women could still participate in the genre as a reader, the fairy tales were kept away from the

children, since the general sentiment was that they would tarnish the children. The fairy tales

were borrowed from folk tales and most of them had instances that parents didn‟t feel

comfortable reading out to their children. Children were kept away from the fairy tales, until

the 19th century, when authors realized that children could drive the book market. This called

forth a movement where they tried to sensitize the texts in order to suit the children audience.

Simone de Beauvoir writes in The Second Sex, “One is not born, but rather becomes, a

woman.” (267) Maria Tartar talks about fairy tale characters who are so elastic that they have

been reinvented by different cultures. (102) Rapunzel has been depicted in different manner

by adaptation authors. These versions as we see from the two adaptations under study, try to

counteract the image of Rapunzel as a “docile young woman” (Crowley 298) in the classic

versions of the fairy tales, as written by Charles Perrault and Grimm Brothers. Zipes has

constantly argued that fairy tales are “social documents” (Crowley 299). Feminist critics have

always been worried about the manner in which these tales have depicted women and

analysed gender roles. In Fairy Tales, Sexuality, and Gender in France, Lewis Seifert reminds

us about women writers during Perrault‟s time who tried to understand gender construction in
 Dattagupta71

fairy tales and could appropriate the genre to explore the possibilities of liberating women

from the “passiveness of many classical tales from Perrault, to the Brothers Grimm, to Hans

Christian Anderson.” (Crowley 299) The movement in the 1970s infused fairy tales with

feminism and caused the writers to try and reinvent the old tales. The “feminist fairy tale

conceives a different view of the world and speaks in a voice that has been customarily

silenced.” (Crowley 300)

Yes, the fairy tales were now suitable for the children readers, but there were still

numerous faults in them, which continued to make them unsuitable for children. It was

discussed that fairy tales continued to depict women in their traditional roles and didn‟t

contain enough female characters. The women characters in the fairy tales, even if present

were either naïve princesses who needed help from the prince, or were wicked witch, whom

people were scared and afraid off. Second wave feminism tried to change this notion. We saw

there was a “fairy tale renaissance” (Joosen 4) where women authors came out to rework and

reshape the fairy tale. The fairy tale transformed in their hands and numerous adaptations

started cropping up. Women started working on fairy tales to reclaim the voice of the woman.

These authors consciously brought about a change in the main plot from the original fairy

tale.

Rapunzel was always associated by her hair and there was a move to change that. She

was no longer the passive heroine, who would sit, waiting for her prince to rescue her from

the high tower. She wasn‟t the blonde beauty, who couldn‟t escape her situation. She was

proactive and a doer. She didn‟t need the prince to come to her rescue. She could take care of

her situation. Rapunzel transformed from a dainty princess to a girl that every reader could

look up to and associate with. Modern readership has changed and so has the way they look at

fairy tales. They no longer understand or associate themselves with the princess who lets her

hair down and waits for the prince to come along. Since every generation recreates the fairy

tale to suit their ideology and believes, the fairy tale as a genre has undergone change since
 Dattagupta72

the time the term was first coined in the 17th century. The primary texts under study are very

different from each other when it comes to their genre and discourse. While the first text,

Grimm‟s “Rapunzel” is a simple fairy tale, with a traditional narrative, the form changes in

the adaptations. The 2003 publication of Rapunzel: A Groovy Fairy tale is a visual narrative,

which becomes a hypertext as it used the metalinguistic tool of analysis – Hypertextuality.

Hypertexuality and the visual narrative, transformed the fairy tale readership and made sure

that it wasn‟t limited to the adult or the children readers. The fairy tale, especially Rapunzel‟s

story, always had a universal appeal and the changing form of the fairy tale made sure that it

remained intact.

The images in the visual narrative of Rapunzel increase the scope of the book and

moves it beyond the written pages. The third primary text, was published in 2010 and reads

like a graphic novel. Shannon Hale writes Rapunzel’s Revenge in the form of graphic novel,

with word bubbles, since she wanted the non-readers to “read‟ it as well. Illustrators come in

to play a very crucial role in the two adaptations of Rapunzel. The text goes beyond the mere

words since the images fill in the gap and takes the story beyond. The scope and reading of

the visual narrative goes beyond the traditional narrative and addresses new questions. While

the visual narrative in Rapunzel: A Groovy Fairy tale extended the purview of the traditional

narratives, the hair symbolism also evolved beyond being a mere idea of femininity. Rapunzel

goes beyond the hair and subverts the societal notions of femininity. Fairy tales proved to be

excellent means to both propagate and question the dogmas prevalent in society. She stops the

hair from being a symbol of identity and female subversion and takes it beyond the scope of

gender. She asserts her individual identity by making Roger and the Rascals wear the wig

made from her red hair. The same hair that was used to make her submissive, becomes a

means of liberation for her since she uses it to become independent economically.

We see a similar subversion in Rapunzel’s Revenge. The images speak without the

written words. They add detail and verve to Shannon and Dean Hale‟s words. Rapunzel in
 Dattagupta73

this novel is anything, but a dainty princess. She has had a privileged upbringing, but she

doesn‟t mind giving it all up for the sake of knowing the truth. She knows how to throw a

lasso and learns to use her hair as a weapon. While “Rapunzel” doesn‟t make any mention of

the character‟s hair and the problems associated with it, the visual narrative in Rapunzel: A

Groovy Fairy tale makes it clear to the readers that Rapunzel went through the same problems

as the other girls with long hair and she had to take care of it as well. Hale gives Rapunzel in

Rapunzel’s Revenge, the voice to speak up about the problems associated with her long hair.

She talks about how her long hair hurts her and it can be quite a burden. The adaptations make

Rapunzel‟s character similar to the readers and helps them become characters that the readers

can associate with.

The previous chapters bring out the hair symbolism and the change seen in the three

primary texts. Rapunzel‟s hair starts as a symbol of feminism, but it changes in the course of

the text. From the previous chapters we see that hair symbolism is used to bring out the

dialectic between individual identity and social conformity in the select adaptations of

Rapunzel. The manner in which hair has been treated in these three texts show us how there

was a change in society and how the attitudes of the people have undergone a change. From

the attempt to silencing the voice of the women in the folk tales and fairy tales, the

adaptations have made Rapunzel a vigilante hero, who is the antithesis to the passive heroine.

She has gone beyond the male gaze to transform how her hair and subsequently her individual

identity is viewed. She is no longer going to accept her subservient role in society and

consciously changes that with the one symbol of the body that has always been both private

and public – hair.

Hair‟s malleable nature and the fact that it is a part of our body, while at the same time

being a tool of control in the hands of society. Hair which becomes the tool for control is

something that the character of Rapunzel takes control of in both the adaptations. Thereby

sending the message that there is a change and women are coming out to assert their
 Dattagupta74

individual identity and are doing so with the help of the one aspect of the body that changes

with the change in time – their hair. Around the 20th century, women‟s hair was read as a

visual indicator of femininity. Hair in Rapunzel: A Groovy Fairy tale and Rapunzel’s Revenge

becomes a “nonverbal communicator of feminine individuality and social conformity”

(Davies 1) and highlights the dialectic between these two forces. The mention of hair with

regard to a specific character becomes a symbol of the author‟s understanding of femininity.

The very fact both these adaptations looked at Rapunzel with red hair, makes it clear that

Lynn Roberts and Shannon Hale and Dean Hale, all associated the golden hair of “Rapunzel”

with certain symbols and ideas and wanted to avoid that while depicting the character in their

adaptations.

The readership of the original “Rapunzel” and the adaptations mainly consists of

women and since these constitute popular literature they often deal with issues that have

alluded the forces of time. Women‟s hair is her seat of beauty and time and again hair has

been used as a symbol of femininity. By creating characters who have the freedom to

construct their femininity, Roberts and Hale introduce the dialectic between individual

identity and social conformity and establishes how hair symbolism brings it out. Rapunzel

took the initiative to construct her own individuality and did it irrespective of the social

expectations. Rapunzel in bothRapunzel: A Groovy Fairy tale and Rapunzel’s Revenge

highlight the changing times and work on to become more than a character from the fairy

tale.The princess has evolved from the passive Rapunzel in “Rapunzel.” The most

predominant way to notice the change is the way they used their hair to subvert the societal

norms and establish individual identity thereby bringing out the dialectic between identity and

social conformity.

4.1 Scope and limitations

While working on the dissertation, it was realized that a lot of study has gone into

talking about hair, sexuality and femininity, after E.R. Leach spoke about it in his work
 Dattagupta75

“Magical Hair.” Hallpike followed him and also spoke about the role of hair in forming

feminine identity and social conformity. Scholars like Bachhilega and Angela Carter have

also spoken about the need for feminine voices in fairy tales and children‟s literature.

However, there hasn‟t been any work on hair symbolism and how itaffects sexuality and

femininity when it comes to fairy tale characters. There is much scope in the study of hair

symbolism in select adaptations of popular fairy tales, especially Rapunzel, as she is one

character who is identified solely by of her hair.

A major limitation of this dissertation is the necessity of restricting the number of

works selected for the study. The primary texts were selected from the large number of

Rapunzel adaptations since they were the ones that predominantly deviated from the original

fairy tale, when it came to Rapunzel‟s identity and hair symbolism. Lynn Roberts and David

Roberts in Rapunzel: A Groovy Fairy tale and Shannon Hale and Dean Hale in Rapunzel’s

Revenge, consciously attempted to rework their adaptations to move beyond the image of the

fairy tale princess and make her an entity separate from her hair. Other writers, like Francesca

Rossi and Rachel Isadora, have also adapted the tale of Rapunzel, but they have kept the story

similar to the one in the original. While Rachel Isadora takes her Rapunzel to an African

village and makes her the most beautiful girl, with flower adorned dreadlocks, she doesn‟t

give Rapunzel a voice. Rapunzel has only one line in the story and she doesn‟t have a

character or a personality. Rapunzel‟s attribute stops at her being the most beautiful girl.

Since this is an adaptation, the book falls short of expectations since it doesn‟t help Rapunzel

evolve in the eyes of the reader. She is still a passive, submissive mute figure, who has a

prince to save her life.

Francesca Rossi‟s Rapunzel, might make some changes in the character of the witch,

making her more appealing. She is a loveable old lady and loved Rapunzel dearly, it doesn‟t

deviate from the original text. Rapunzel is still a young girl, with long golden hair and her

story remains the same. The only change can be seen in the fact that Rapunzel has the scope
 Dattagupta76

to explore the forest and interact. She has a voice, but not one powerful enough to speak up or

change her situation. While these two adaptations shift from the original “Rapunzel,” they still

continue to follow the same plot and storyline and there is no dialectic between individual

identity and social conformity and hair symbolism plays no role in bringing about a change in

Rapunzel‟s character.

Since these ideas were more pronounced and clear in Lynn Robert and David Robert‟s

Rapunzel: A Groovy Fairy tale and Shannon Hale and Dean Hale‟s Rapunzel’s Revenge, the

list of primary texts included these two texts since they helped to clearly state how hair

symbolism can help bring out the dialectic between individual identity and social conformity

in the different adaptations of Rapunzel. Hair symbolism was more pronounced in the

selected adaptations and consciously tried to subvert the notions associated with female hair,

as compared to what was depicted in the Grimm‟s version of the story.

 Dattagupta77

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